By James Flood There is a well-known on line referral service that covers practically every service under the sun. When it comes to music lessons, these folks unwittingly encourage students in search of piano, guitar, flute etc. teachers to request hour-long lessons. Well, for many teachers, this is great news. They can get
By James Flood How many classical guitarists and musicians out there can relate to this experience. It may have been as an adult or as a child, but you’re performing something that you’ve practiced a ton. You’ve played it from memory so many times you could play it in your sleep. Suddenly in
By James Flood Practicing, as everyone knows, is absolutely necessary to learning a musical instrument. And it can’t just involve practicing once in awhile. It needs to be a consistent pattern in one’s life in order to gain the physical skills necessary for playing. With my beginning guitar students I recommend 20 to
By James Flood It happens sometimes that one of my guitar students feels embarrassed as they perceive that they are lacking in talent, and therefore I, the teacher, must be feeling either bored, annoyed, or thinking horrible thoughts like “Man, this person is hopeless.” Nothing could be further from the truth. If the student
By James Flood For centuries the idea of training for a profession has been assumed, whether that training is in the form of a school or university, or an apprenticeship in a skilled craftsmen’s shop, or an internship for a doctor. So why not teaching a musical instrument? While many musicians have a
By James Flood In Part II I discussed how to go about finding a good teacher. In Part III I will discuss how to assess whether or not to stick with the teacher once you’ve begun lessons. Positive signs -The teacher is fully engaged. -He or she appears determined that you be successful in
By James Flood I discussed in Part I the importance of having a good teacher and common mistakes people make in choosing a teacher. I did not, however, get into how to actually go about finding a teacher, and that is what this section will discuss. Remember there is enormous variation in the abilities
By James Flood In my over 25 years of teaching guitar it has become clear to me that many, if not the majority of those seeking guitar lessons are not looking specifically for competency in a guitar teacher. Many will sign up for guitar lessons at their nearest music store or music school and
