- Are you new to the guitar and unsure of where to begin?
- Have you been playing guitar for years, but feel like you should be making more progress?
- Are you a parent seeking guitar lessons for your child?
- Have you been trying to teach yourself to play guitar with poor results?
- Have you tried taking guitar lessons, but felt you received poor value for your money?
- Have you concluded that you might just not have the talent need to sound great on guitar?
- Do you want a free guitar lesson and assessment of your current ability?
If you answered “yes” to any of these, you are in the right place.
What Approach Works Best For Learning Guitar?
We live in a time where information has never been more freely available. Books, websites, YouTube, countless apps (free and paid) all claim to offer the solution to learning to play music quickly and painlessly. Before investing your time and money into any of them, however, we should determine what the BEST and FASTEST way to learn guitar really is. This way you can make the most informed decision possible.
There are several problems with the YouTube, instructional DVD, and app route.
- All of these instructional methods follow a one-size-fits-all method. By design, they are not tailored to individual learning styles. If your learning style isn’t compatible with the approach in the instructional method you choose, it’s likely that you will struggle and become frustrated.
- Instructional methods are very general. Yes, there is often some good info to be had in some DVD’s and online instructional courses, but these learning formats are very limited as to the actual depth of information they provide. Many guitarists spend years with these products and think they know a lot, but when it comes time to actually play music, they find they have missed out on a lot.
- These instructional methods allow for the development of bad habits. When self-studying with a guitar method or app, there’s no one to properly check your or your child’s development. Often as a result of point #2, learners develop bad habits that are not nipped in the bud, but stay present in their playing years later.
- Kids and teens especially struggle with learning guitar in this way. It’s common for them to learn a couple of techniques, often improperly, get frustrated, and put down the guitar for good. Not a great thing for their self-esteem.
If you or your child wants to learn guitar, you owe it to yourself and them to get a trained professional to teach you. Getting an app subscription or DVD course might be tempting due to the low price tag, but these options are really only “cheap” if you place no value on your time (or self-esteem of you or your child). Making the investment into proper lessons is the way to guarantee a fun, pain-free learning experience that ensures your (or your child’s) enjoyment of music for the long haul. As opposed to having a guitar that collects dust in the closet. Kudos to you if you’re considering this option already, for yourself or your child, however…
“Matt is a likeable guy and a great teacher who made the lessons fun and adjusted everything to my level. He made it easy to learn and accelerated my playing in a short time. I highly recommend hiring Matt if you truly want to get better at guitar, he’s worth every penny.” — Aaron D.
“I have been doing guitar for a year and a half with Matt. I really enjoy the lessons as he has always been very kind and easy-going. He has taught me all different types of techniques, even the ones I never thought I’d be able to play, and believed in me that I would be able to succeed. And it made me a better guitar player for it.” – Bella H.
“Professionalism, with expertise, approachability and accessibility. Matt accommodates my schedule, provides instruction on my interests and uses innovative ways to reinforce our lessons. His ability to teach me where I am at in my playing journey is greatly appreciated.” – Brian K.
Not All Guitar Lessons Are Equal
“OK, got it, lessons are the way to go, I’ll just pick any guitar teacher, there’s lots to choose from.” It’s understandable one would think this way. When we think of the word “teacher,” we tend to think of standardized, regulated education and that while different teachers might have a different style and personality (you probably had teachers or instructors in high school that taught you the same subject, but you preferred one to the other), they are basically teaching “the same stuff.” As long as you and your guitar teacher get along on a personal level, that’s pretty much all that’s necessary to guarantee the lessons will go well and be a good investment, right?
Be very careful here.
It is very possible for two people to go to different guitar teachers, and pay the same exact amount of money.
Yet, these two people could have COMPLETELY DIFFERENT learning experiences and results.
You could get a guitar teacher who is friendly enough, but doesn’t really seem to have a plan for you. He seems to kind of just be winging it each week – a lot of times, he’ll ask you what YOU would like to work on (although you feel like he should be figuring that plan out for you, he would know right? He IS the teacher…).
Or you could get a teacher with experience, credentials, and a track record of getting clients success. A teacher that is “all-in” and is dedicated full-time to teaching music, is part of an international organization dedicated to guitar teaching breakthroughs, and attends annual conferences to further master the art of music pedagody.
If the 2nd option sounds more appealing to you, you’ve come to the right place.
“I can sincerely say that Matt has been immensely conducive to my continued growth as a guitarist, particularly in regards to my knowledge of musical theory and improvisation. His teaching is clear and he encourages his students to learn at their own pace. He is knowledgeable in many different styles of guitar and I highly recommend him for prospective guitar students wanting to play any genre of music.” – Nathania W.
What To Expect From Your Guitar Lessons
Most people naturally aren’t quite sure what to expect when looking for guitar teacher, so let’s look at some of the most important things you should be looking for.
- You should expect your guitar teacher to study your (or your child’s) individual learning style, so they can teach in an optimized way. If your guitar teacher isn’t willing to dedicate time to this, how are they going to know how to specifically teach YOU (or your child) how to progress as fast as possible? Hint – most guitar teachers out there do not do this at all. You want a guitar teacher that will put aside the time to do this for you or your child, before the lessons have even begun.
- You should expect your guitar teacher to invest time into assessing your (or your child’s) musical needs, and developing a plan to accommodate those needs. The world of guitar (and music) is vast. There are many different skills involved in playing music on the guitar that just aren’t obvious to somone researching into learning methods. Every student young or old is going to have different musical needs to play guitar in a way that is enjoyable to them, and to meet these needs, a trained professional needs to map out goals for them and create a plan that is going to accomplish those goals in the shortest time possible.
- You should expect your guitar teacher to show you how to practice properly. Well, that might sound pretty basic, but sadly, many guitar teachers are themselves stuck in this rut of just showing their students “more stuff” with zero detail as to how to actually apply it musically and practice it properly. These teachers tend to not hold themselves accountable for their students’ results. There is a direct correlation here that you don’t want to be on the receiving end of. The right guitar teacher will not only have you (or your child) making great progress in the lesson, but will also show you exactly what to do in between the lessons so you improve even faster.
- You should expect your guitar teacher to track your progression, and ensure they pace the lessons properly. Many guitar teachers are really just winging it with their lesson planning, and don’t have a system in place to track their students’ progress. As a result, they often jump around from topic to topic before the student has really gotten comfortable with the material. You want a guitar teacher who always know exactly where you or your child is at, and paces the lesson delivery so lessons are always fun, interesting, and yield amazing results.
- You should expect your guitar teacher to have actual training on teaching guitar. Another point that seems like it would be given, I don’t normally like asking people to “take my word for it,” but in this case you will just save a ton of money if you do. Degrees in music do not include this type of training. You want your guitar teacher to have invested time and money in learning how to play, but even MORE time and money into learning how to teach.
“I started working with Matt when I first started playing guitar, and I’ve been playing and working with him for about a year and a half. I honestly never thought I’d be where I’m at today with guitar, from learning songs, to slowly writing my own. Matt has been an outstanding teacher – every question I’ve had he’s always had an answer to, giving me tips that you can’t find anywhere else. Don’t give up!” – Ryan G.
“Matt is clearly an expert in his field and is effortlessly able to pass his knowledge on to eager learners. He has a way of making students feel comfortable and interested in playing the style music they want to learn. His talent is undeniable and it’s obvious he enjoys expressing that through teaching.” — Milan M.
Hire A Qualified Instructor And Experience The Difference
I am a member of the Elite Guitar Teachers Inner Circle, an international organization dedicated discovering breakthrough techniques in the field of guitar teaching. I am the only guitar teacher in the cities of Surrey and Langley with this certification.
I am a proud Fellow Of The London College Of Music, the highest credential the conservatory awards. The London College Of Music is one of the oldest and most respected music conservatories in existence.