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What makes a good guitar teacher??

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I want to be a good all round player, I am in a band and we are wanting to do country rock/Americana originals. I want to be able to improvise solos and also write songs.

I feel I am not progressing with my teacher but before I jump ship I was wondering what I should be looking for?

I know this is a little vague but any help would be good as I pay a lot for my lessons and do not feel I am progressing.
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Comments

  • mike_lmike_l Frets: 5700

    Your teacher should be teaching the styles you want to play not what he thinks you should play.

    You should have had the basics (IE chords, chord spellings, scales (pentatonic, major, minor and if you get there modes). Picking (with a pick, and with fingers). left (fretting) hand techniques (slurs etc).

    And most importantly how to practise the above.

    Ringleader of the Cambridge cartel, pedal champ and king of the dirt boxes (down to 21) 

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  • GeorgieGeorgie Frets: 19
    edited October 2014
    I already did that with my last instructor. I was working towards my grade 4 but now because I am in my band I have not got the time to do it with song writing and learning covers. I asked for help to cover a Brad Paisley solo but not as complex as that due to him being phenomenal!! He told me to go away and work over backing tracks to work out my own.
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  • mike_lmike_l Frets: 5700

    Either he's out of his depth with working it out, or he thinks you're capable of doing it on your own.

    I'd put money on it that it's the latter.

    Ringleader of the Cambridge cartel, pedal champ and king of the dirt boxes (down to 21) 

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  • GeorgieGeorgie Frets: 19
    But where does that leave me with needing to have lessons. I don't need to learn to read music as such but I need to have some kind of guidance!
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  • mike_lmike_l Frets: 5700

    Have you tried anything away from lessons?

    If not then maybe try working through a book more specific to what you want to play., in addition to your current lessons

    As for the Brad Paisley, have you tried working it out yet? If not do give it a go, he might be thinking you can do this and he'll go over it at a later lesson. If you're in doubt, ask him to go over the solo after you've tried working it out.

    Ringleader of the Cambridge cartel, pedal champ and king of the dirt boxes (down to 21) 

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  • frankusfrankus Frets: 4719
    Biggest thing for me in a teacher is motivation. I've been taught by Justin Sandercoe, Lee Hodgson and Dario Cortese and frankly I came out of there wanting to practise on the way home... I've had other teacher who're pretty well known players who also teach and frankly it demotivated me... I react well to praise, energy, humour, enthusiasm and patience.

    Any teacher (in any topic) who thinks they withhold approval to get results shouldn't be in the game. Everyone learns fastest from a state of grace created by acceptance, instill that state in someone and they'll be self sufficient but recognise the value of having someone to lift them up, and reassure when speed bumps are found.
    A sig-nat-eur? What am I meant to use this for ffs?! Is this thing recording?
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  • GeorgieGeorgie Frets: 19
    I am going on a guitar holiday and Lee Hodgson is the tutor. I can't wait. And no i don't get that feeling!! I practice at home because i am excited about my band rehearsals and want to be able to hold my own in the practice room. Not because i have a lesson. I haven't played my guitar in my lesson for the last two weeks!!!
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  • VimFuegoVimFuego Frets: 15477
    I think for me a tutor needs to be able to understand what a student wants to achieve, needs to be able to assess where they currently are with regards to ability and needs to be able to give a path to get to where they want. They also need to be flexible, as does the student. One of the things with any form of study, is that learning things opens doors to new things, things that you may not have known about before and both parties need to have the flexibility to go down possibly unforeseen paths. I also think they need to be honest and say when they don't know something or lack knowledge on a particular subject or genre.

    I'm not locked in here with you, you are locked in here with me.

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  • GassageGassage Frets: 30826
    I always believe the best intuitive players make poor teachers as they simply don't understand the learning curve of lesser mortals. It's def the case with elite sport coaching

    *An Official Foo-Approved guitarist since Sept 2023.

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  • JAYJOJAYJO Frets: 1526
    Georgie said:
    I am going on a guitar holiday and Lee Hodgson is the tutor. I can't wait. And no i don't get that feeling!! I practice at home because i am excited about my band rehearsals and want to be able to hold my own in the practice room. Not because i have a lesson. I haven't played my guitar in my lesson for the last two weeks!!!
    I dont know about not getting to play your guitar in a guitar lesson. I changed driving instructors after being parked up on the side of the road for what i judged to be far too long. 
    I improved immediately with a new instructor though im not suggesting you change instructors you may well be happy with your tutor.
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  • sweepysweepy Frets: 4159
    Always find a guitar teacher that doesn't book his students with no handover time, a local one to me is well known for that "times up now bugger off" attitude, needless to say a few of us have had to re-progamme the poor buggers :( and try and get them motivated.
    Might be worth investing in slow down software  for the odd Brad Paisley tabbing ;) maybe your original teacher was out of his comfort zone as was mentioned earlier , good luck finding a reliable and motivational new one.
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  • I used to view that if they made a good tea, had any semblance of personal hygiene and didn't touch me inappropriately then they were all massive bonus points for me.  Sadly finding all three in a teacher of any kind is rare enough before you even start looking at what they are teaching.
    My muse is not a horse and art is not a race.
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  • VimFuegoVimFuego Frets: 15477
    I always regarded the inappropriate touching to be a bonus. I didn't take it for granted, but it was always gratefully received.

    I'm not locked in here with you, you are locked in here with me.

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  • sweepysweepy Frets: 4159
    Now if you supply Hobnobs you could even teach Banjo with a straight face 
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  • IMO it's not the tutor's job to transcribe stuff for students. The students should be learning to transcribe it for themselves, and the tutors should be telling the students how to do it.
    "Working" software has only unobserved bugs. (Parroty Error: Pieces of Nine! Pieces of Nine!)
    Seriously: If you value it, take/fetch it yourself
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  • frankusfrankus Frets: 4719
    Georgie said:
    I am going on a guitar holiday and Lee Hodgson is the tutor. I can't wait. And no i don't get that feeling!! I practice at home because i am excited about my band rehearsals and want to be able to hold my own in the practice room. Not because i have a lesson. I haven't played my guitar in my lesson for the last two weeks!!!
    Lee is awesome :D I hope you have a great time - have you read his book Hot Country? also excellent :D

    enjoy :)
    A sig-nat-eur? What am I meant to use this for ffs?! Is this thing recording?
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  • I have spoken about Lee before when you mentioned the guitar holidays.  I have no idea what he charges nowadays or if he has time for private tuition but you would have to go a long, long, long way to find a better teacher, by which time you'd probably find yourself in Oz with some wizard telling you that it has been inside you the whole time - which sounds a bit like the situation you are already in.

    My muse is not a horse and art is not a race.
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  • GeorgieGeorgie Frets: 19
    Thanks for this. I wasn't getting him to transcribe something - I showed him the song on YouTube, so he could judge the style, then told him it was in the key of G and could he help me to construct a solo. He ended up saying I should just improvise over the song until what I am playing sounds good. Then went on to ask what else I had in mind for the lesson. I had a Sheryl Crow tab book and so he almost totally disregarded it and starting writing down the beat timings of all the notes minim, crotchet etc. So I came away with a sheet of paper and nowhere closer with any practical work I needed to learn for band practice.

    I had a fab teacher but his wife doesn't like him having female pupils so I got sacked if you can call it that. :((
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  • ArchtopDaveArchtopDave Frets: 1367
    edited October 2014
    My impression from various threads on here and on the old Forum, plus talking to quite a number of people over the years, is that it's not simply a question of finding a "good teacher". You and the teacher have to get on with each other -something which is a two way process, and more than just the teacher being good at teaching.
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  • My impression from various thread on here and the old Forum, plus talking to quite a number of people over the years, is that it's not simply a question of finding a "good teacher". You and the teacher have to get on with each other -something which is a two way process, and more than just the teacher being good at teaching.
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