Is there a guitar teacher handbook?

Matt300ZXT

Matt300ZXT

Well-known member
I've given lessons a time or two here and there, but really to just friends who wanted to learn to play. Is there some sort of book, like a teacher's edition that tells you what to teach first, what should be in a class, how long it should be, when to progress, etc?

I know all kinds of stuff, but I haven't the slightest clue in what order to teach it in, how to construct a class, what to expect, etc...
 
Seriously, thinking back to when I was starting out learning lesson 1 was how to hold the guitar and how to hold a pick. My teacher started out with basic chords and E, E-minor, A, A-minor bar chord shapes. From there is was few songs with simple chord change progressions. Once I got those down we moved on to basic scales. At some point after I got the core stuff down I asked to move on to learning metal rhythms, playing techniques, and song composure so we worked on that.

I'm sure there's better methods, but that's what got me going.
 
I listened to the radio and rewound cassette tapes over and over until I figured out how to play shit. I had a buddy who showed me some shit. Smoke on the water, sweet home Alabama. Eventually The hellion, Electric Eye, bloodstone, buncha shit off Rocka Rolla. The rest I figured out on my own.
 
@Matt300ZXT at least with me, i like picking a lane.

i don't teach beginners, only intermediate students, and I have a process I go through where we diagnose why the student isn't reaching their goals, and then put an action plan to try to fix it - whether that's playing certain techniques, or other problems guitar players have in bands like recording etc

If someone wants to learn "smoke on the water" they have a smartphone, I teach skills and coping mechanisms musicians use lol
 
DanTravis62 said:
@Matt300ZXT at least with me, i like picking a lane.

i don't teach beginners, only intermediate students, and I have a process I go through where we diagnose why the student isn't reaching their goals, and then put an action plan to try to fix it - whether that's playing certain techniques, or other problems guitar players have in bands like recording etc

If someone wants to learn "smoke on the water" they have a smartphone, I teach skills and coping mechanisms musicians use lol
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Dude, I was 9. And I also learned The Sentinel. When I was 9. 😉
 
Floyd Eye said:
Never mind I lied. I was 13. And I was really a bass player. I still thought I was the shit though.
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My mom wouldn't let me get a guitar until I turned 12, unfortunately. I had to take piano lessons for 6 years to convince her.

It was probably for the best though, because i started improving really quickly at the beginning
 
DanTravis62 said:
My mom wouldn't let me get a guitar until I turned 12, unfortunately. I had to take piano lessons for 6 years to convince her.

It was probably for the best though, because i started improving really quickly at the beginning
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My dad was a bass player and bought me a bass when I was about 8. After a year or so I got bored not having anyone to play with and he gave me access to his SG. So from about 10 to 13 I learned a lot of stuff on guitar. When I got in my first band I went back to bass. Back then no one blinked an eye when we were playing in bars when I was 15.

Lessons probably would have helped but….

I have a good ear as a result though. If I can hear it, I can pick it out. You know, when all you have is a hammer everything looks like a nail.
 
Floyd Eye said:
My point is I never had a teacher. Back then we did shit the hard way. I learned the first 4 kiss albums by lifting the needle to back up until I got it right.
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Yep. Other than less than a year of lessons from a local teacher and a few lessons from David Chastain in high school, I was all self taught. I'm sure I'm a myriad of bad playing habits now and do wish I had done things a little differently. I've been asked a few times over the years to give some lessons but I just don't feel like I'd put a new player on the right track.

OP, good luck with your dive into teaching. I hope you inspire many new players.
 
You could start them off washing your car.
They'll be ready to defeat Kai and Vai in a few short months.

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Use this. This will put an end to their nonsense about learning guitar. It stopped me for a few years thanks to the sheer boredom; learning saxophone in grade school was more interesting than this book:

Amazon.com: Modern Guitar Method Grade 1: 9780871663962: Bay, William: Books
 
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