Guitar lessons anyone?

[JustABluesGuy]

I posted recently about trying to find people to play with, and I got many great suggestions. Thanks to everyone who chimed in to help.

Networking always seemed to come up, be it meeting people at open mics, jams, or at lessons. I have long thought about lessons myself. I’m curious about others and their experiences, both good and bad with lessons.

Also, if anyone has any suggestions for someone in the SE Houston-Nasa-Galveston area that would be great! I will need a to have good, intermediate to advanced teacher who can help me correct some technique issues and help with my theory gaps.

 

[loopfinding]

The ways I found some recent teachers was through like “fiverr of music lesson” type sites (there are a bunch) and one of the jazz guitar sites that lists teachers in different cities globally.

But I have a specific type of teacher in mind (down with both traditional jazz and the weird or heavy stuff I make), so it was just a matter of checking each person’s material out and then contacting who I thought would be a good fit/helpful directly via email.

A young-ish jazz guitar teacher is often a good pick, because it’s not 1970 something and no one’s so orthodox anymore (except for a lot of classical teachers). So you can learn “low” music but have the ability to get into pretty heady concepts if you want.

 

[JustABluesGuy]

The ways I found some recent teachers was through like “fiverr of music lesson” type sites (there are a bunch) and one of the jazz guitar sites that lists teachers in different cities globally.

But I have a specific type of teacher in mind (down with both traditional jazz and the weird or heavy stuff I make), so it was just a matter of checking each person’s material out and then contacting who I thought would be a good fit/helpful directly via email.

A young-ish jazz guitar teacher is often a good pick, because it’s not 1970 something and no one’s so orthodox anymore (except for a lot of classical teachers). So you can learn “low” music but have the ability to get into pretty heady concepts if you want.

Thanks. I didn’t know there were websites for teachers. I want to learn how to do chord construction on the fly, at any position eventually. I can construct major and minor chord triads in several locations. I want to be able to find the nearest root note and be able to build any chord I want starting at that point, so a good jazz instructor would probably be a good choice. Following the chord changes and being able to do chordal leads are all things I would like to know, so no beginner instructors.

My early piano lessons were with a mean old woman who was classically trained and she got physical if I didn’t curl my fingers exactly.

I was being forced to play chop sticks and reading music, when I told her I wanted to work on Beatles and other pop stuff, she said “That’s not music” and I was out. I was having more fun picking out tunes from the radio by ear!

Going from a “child prodigy” who could play single note lines and basic chords by ear (supposedly, according to my thrilled, musical mom) to a bad boy getting his knuckles beaten with a ruler turned me off to lessons for many years. I realize now, that it was just a bad teacher, and that the late 60s was also a very “transitional” time in western music. Most teachers where classical musicians and many of them hated rock and roll and (gasp!) “race” music and couldn’t and/or wouldn’t teach any popular music at all.

This blue haired lady was very “old school” in her teaching, and while there isn’t anything inherently wrong with that. It just didn’t work for me.

Hitting other people’s elementary school age children for minor technique flaws is totally uncalled for. It was a much different time though…

 

[Mjark]

I have a great teacher. I’ve known him over 20 years now. I met him on the old FDP and realized he was local. I went to see his band and was really impressed. I knew he could help me.

He’s really flexible, if you just want to learn songs that’s fine. If you want more of a musical education that’s fine too. I’m somewhere in between.

I’ve been a student off and on since 2020. I just saw him today and we discussed a song the band wants to do. There were a couple things in that were puzzling me and we went though it all in an hour.

I’m sure a huge city like Houston has some great teachers. Keep asking around.

 

[JustABluesGuy]

I have a great teacher. I’ve known him over 20 years now. I met him on the old FDP and realized he was local. I went to see his band and was really impressed. I knew he could help me.

He’s really flexible, if you just want to learn songs that’s fine. If you want more of a musical education that’s fine too. I’m somewhere in between.

I’ve been a student off and on since 2020. I just saw him today and we discussed a song the band wants to do. There were a couple things in that were puzzling me and we went though it all in an hour.

I’m sure a huge city like Houston has some great teachers. Keep asking around.

I’m sure there are some good ones around here. Now to find them.

 

[Cpb2020]

Don’t forget about on-line zoom type lessons through a platform such as lessonface. There are some great teachers out there that may not be local to you, and the benefit is that you don’t have to drive 30 minutes each way to find them.

Lessonface, which we used to use, allows you to book single lessons here and there so you can test out teachers to find the right fit. Some other sites require signing up for 6 months at a time, so be careful if you go this route.

 

[roeg]

My experience.Lessons=good. It's that simple.I only ever had 2 teachers,but, they were good, and the sky was the limit. I could learn as much as i was willing to put the effort in. That's the key. Do want to go at it with intensity,or do you want to leisurely go at it, and absorb new material at a rate that you are comfortable.(we all have real world lives,right?)

I got to the point were i had learned enough to teach myself. That took quite a while(a few years) . But then the real fun began. I've never looked back!

 

[JustABluesGuy]

My experience.Lessons=good. It's that simple.I only ever had 2 teachers,but, they were good, and the sky was the limit. I could learn as much as i was willing to put the effort in. That's the key. Do want to go at it with intensity,or do you want to leisurely go at it, and absorb new material at a rate that you are comfortable.(we all have real world lives,right?)

I got to the point were i had learned enough to teach myself. That took quite a while(a few years) . But then the real fun began. I've never looked back!

Thanks for the feeback!

I’m retired, so I have some time (but not nearly as much as I though I would) and I can teach myself as I have been, but I need the discipline and a second set of eyes/feedback. I’m in my 60s, so I am in a bit of a rush to be the best player I can be will I still can be.

 

[JustABluesGuy]

Don’t forget about on-line zoom type lessons through a platform such as lessonface. There are some great teachers out there that may not be local to you, and the benefit is that you don’t have to drive 30 minutes each way to find them.

Lessonface, which we used to use, allows you to book single lessons here and there so you can test out teachers to find the right fit. Some other sites require signing up for 6 months at a time, so be careful if you go this route.

Lessonface. I’ll make a note of that, thanks! That’s definitely an possible option. I have a couple of technique issues that might require in person lessons, but online lesson would be a good choice in most cases. The only negative is that I am hoping to network, and meet other players at the same time as I am getting lesson.

Thanks again for the suggestions!

 

[moosie]

Thanks. I didn’t know there were websites for teachers.

Many online instructors (youtube, etc) have Patreon sites. And the few I've looked at also mention personalized skype lessons for those who're interested. Some well-known players also teach via skype, zoom etc.

I haven't been in a while, but I believe Truefire has a section where some of their instructors offer personalized lessons.

 

[Mjark]

My guy does online lessons too. Here's a little video with his contact info.

 

[roeg]

Thanks for the feeback!

I’m retired, so I have some time (but not nearly as much as I though I would) and I can teach myself as I have been, but I need the discipline and a second set of eyes/feedback. I’m in my 60s, so I am in a bit of a rush to be the best player I can be will I still can be.

Sounds good! You clearly have the motivation.
Train the brain! good luck!

 

[JustABluesGuy]

My guy does online lessons too. Here's a little video with his contact info.

Thanks!

 

[zoomanderson]

I posted recently about trying to find people to play with, and I got many great suggestions. Thanks to everyone who chimed in to help.

Networking always seemed to come up, be it meeting people at open mics, jams, or at lessons. I have long thought about lessons myself. I’m curious about others and their experiences, both good and bad with lessons.

Also, if anyone has any suggestions for someone in the SE Houston-Nasa-Galveston area that would be great! I will need a to have good, intermediate to advanced teacher who can help me correct some technique issues and help with my theory gaps.

I used to take lessons from a guy named Paul Chester. He was in a fusion band back in the day called Stratus and now (or was a while back) plays in a bebop jazz group called Blue Monks. He can pretty much play and teach anything. No idea what he’s doing post-COVID, though.

 

[teletail]

With Skype and such, you don’t need to limit lessons to your area. The best way to get a good teacher is through referrals. I’ve had a few lessons with Johnny Hiland and Daniel Donato and it was well Worth the money. I hear Redd Volkaert teaches too.

There just is no debate that a good teacher can help you jump start your progress.

 

[DekeDog]

... I want to learn how to do chord construction on the fly, at any position eventually. I can construct major and minor chord triads in several locations. I want to be able to find the nearest root note and be able to build any chord I want starting at that point, so a good jazz instructor would probably be a good choice. Following the chord changes and being able to do chordal leads are all things I would like to know, so no beginner instructors....

Learning chord theory and construction based around intervals is pretty easy, but knowing and doing are two different things, and adding inversions on top of that can make doing even trickier. I get tickled by people who try to memorize chord diagrams from books and charts, because if you know chord theory, you can construct any chord you need on the fly from multiple positions on the fretboard, and as with anything, the more you practice, the quicker and easier it comes. What makes learning intervals and chord construction easier is to understand and equate intervals to fret distances from one string to the next, ascending and descending.