Find a Guitar Teacher in Philadelphia
What to ask your potential guitar teacher
So you’ve decided you want to learn guitar. It’s never too late to learn anything and guitar lessons are no exception. Once you’ve made this decision, the next step is finding the right person to teach you. Not all guitar teachers are equal and the difference between understanding how to play and simply learning a few chords lies within just how you will be taught. Taking guitar lessons in Philadelphia has never been easier. It is a major city with many brilliant musicians. But finding the right teacher for you can be daunting. Here are a few questions you may want to ask a potential teacher to ensure you are getting the right lessons for you.
How long have you been teaching?
It’s ok to work with someone who is new to teaching but it’s even better to work with someone who has much experience in the guitar teaching arena. He or she will have had hundreds of students and can fully understand and appreciate each new student’s needs and levels of understanding.
Where did you learn?
While it’s true that many guitar teachers learned how to play guitar through lessons or even a musical education, many have no formal training when it comes to actually teaching the guitar. Most guitar teachers began teaching by using an improvisational, trial by error approach. While this may not necessarily be a bad thing, if there is no structure to how they are teaching, then how can you learn? This is the difference between taking mediocre lessons and learning from someone with formal training. You can’t expect to be great when your teacher isn’t.
What is your teaching technique?
Many guitar teachers have no training on how to teach guitar. On top of that, many have not even planned out what they are going to teach you from lesson to lesson. If there is no preparation to their teaching technic, there is no way you are going to learn. You want each lesson to flow into the other one, reiterating on what you learned the time before and naturally progressing to the next step.
Do you offer solo classes?
Many will argue that group lessons are far better than one on one lessons. The problem with group lessons is that, you don’t have undivided attention and if others are falling behind, chances are your teacher will focus on getting them up to speed and you will just be sitting there learning the same thing you already mastered. Solo classes are a chance to have the focus only on you. Your teacher will begin to understand how he or she needs to teach you in order for you to understand and excel.
The David Joel Guitar Studio has been teaching guitar for years. David Joel is a formally trained teacher who gives solo lessons and understands the needs and level of understanding of each of his students. He may just be the person you are looking for guitar lessons in Philadelphia.