Teach me how to find my teacher

[@lagatrix]

It's time to find the right guitar teacher.

With the exception of one Zoom class with Eric Skye (which was great, considering the obvious limitations of the context), I haven't had any musical instruction since early adolescence. I'm an autodidact by nature, but I've reached a point — dare I say ¿early intermediate level? of play — where it's clear I will benefit from experienced guidance to focus on my known and unknown deficiencies.

After decades of intermittent noodling, in the last two years I've found the passion and discipline for two hours of focused practice every morning. My long term goal is to bring my guitar playing skills somewhat in line with my vocal skills, as I explore ways to make music with others (I sang opera on some big stages as a kid, although this is neither my profession nor my musical taste at this point). I've got a strong ear, but my music reading/theory is quite weak. I'm focusing on flat picking at the moment, and have managed to learn the melodies (Carter-ish style and/or cross picking) of several fiddle tunes and American roots standards at a moderate tempo and with reasonably passable tone. But I know I'm just scratching the surface, and am hungry for more. My musical tastes are broad, but at this stage I'm most interested in building skills, fluency, and ease, and see where this leads me.

So what is a good teacher, and how do I find her or him? I know I want to find someone who is kind and personable, but that will really push me to expand and grow. I'd like this person to be well enough versed in theory to guide me through the basics; someone who has a broad music interest, but significant expertise within the acoustic roots tradition that I'm exploring at the moment. It would be great if my teacher is a singer too, not so much because I'm looking for voice lessons per se, but to help with integrating voice with guitar... I'm sure there are plenty of people who would meet these criteria, but I'm not sure where to begin to look.

I split my time between the western Catskills and upper Manhattan, so between NYC and being within a reasonably short drive of Woodstock, I imagine there are a ton of options... frankly this is part of what is so daunting, as I don't want to spend a lot of time and money spinning my wheels.

And speaking of time and money, like most, I don't have a ton of either to spare.
How much is a fair price for a really good teacher? And if I'm super self-motivated to practice at least two hours a day, what would be the appropriate minimum frequency for in-person lessons? once a month? Bi-monthly?

As always, I have tremendous gratitude for AGF member input!

[rllink]

I'm on my third teacher so I'm not sure I know how to pick the right one. I do think I have a handle on how not to pick the wrong one. I think that a teacher who is a good fit is interested in your journey, what kind of music you want to play, where you want to go with your guitar playing. A teacher who is not going to be a good fit will tell you want you need to be doing, where they think you should want to go with your guitar playing.

I was taking a lesson every week and it was going so fast that I wasn't learning the lessons before we moved on to the next. My current teacher told me that we weren't running a race and changed me to every other week. That has been going well. I think once a month would be a little too much time between lessons, for me at least. I think for someone just starting out I would say every week but be prepared to change depending on how it goes.

EDIT: I first posted that my current teacher changed me to every other month. I meant to say every other week. Sorry for any confusion.

[jacot23]

Originally Posted by rllink

I think that a teacher who is a good fit is interested in your journey, what kind of music you want to play, where you want to go with your guitar playing. A teacher who is not going to be a good fit will tell you want you need to be doing, where they think you should want to go with your guitar playing.

This x 100000000000000

[@lagatrix]

Thanks for your input, and it sounds like determining who would NOT be a good fit is a good starting point. And every other week seems intuitively right for me.

But starting with the most basic question, where/how do I research guitar teachers in New York City (or perhaps Woodstock)? It would be great if some of you could share your stories/strategies for finding a teacher...

Thanks!

[rmp]

I've taught for more than just a few years, and I'm actively giving lessons again.

I can tell you from the "other side" that looking for the right teacher isn't a lot different than finding the right used car

Without some test drives, and looking under the hood, you don't know.

As a teacher we definitely want and need to know the path our students are on. And sometimes, that means I don't think I'm the right guy for them.

As a student, you for sure need to be clear on what your goals are.

Usually this is the first discussion that you have when you meet someone for the first time.

I'd suggest be patient and start making some phone calls. and I get the internet lessons and all, and yea, that's all good but -- In person lessons is really the best way to do this

A zoom lesson would be ok too you need the immediate feedback when your teacher is watching you do something. He/She will see things right away that you may not even be considering as maybe not the best way to do something

you don't want to get 4 / 5 weeks down the road on something to discover you're not doing it quite right. Muscle memory can be very hard to undo.

[mawmow]

Some years ago I finally looked for a coach after thirty years of self learning…

I told him my goal was to rebuild my technique to overcome the limitations
I had encountered on my way in fingerstyle.

The key is getting your goal and find a coach that will share or help you see
the steps you have to climb toward your goal, or modify your goal.

[ljguitar]

Originally Posted by @lagatrix

…I'm an autodidact by nature, but I've reached a point — dare I say ¿early intermediate level? of play — where it's clear I will benefit from experienced guidance to focus on my known and unknown deficiencies.

Hi @l-etc…
I think everyone is self-taught (and I say that after teaching guitar locally for 40 years).

As a teacher, all I can do is observe what you do, and make recommendations and assign exercises. Then it's totally up to you to either buy-into-my-thoughts and alter your course in that direction, or reject it and move on to other teachers.

I've learned most from discovering players on YouTube (back in the day VHS or DVD), and then focusing on one or two songs and stripping it down and replicating what they can.

Then I either deploy it intact, or more likely alter it and incorporate it into my playing.

If you are proficient at the monkey-see-monkey-do approach, it is also known as 'free lessons'. Not totally free…because our time and energy cost us either in social contact, hanging out with friends etc and focusing and practicing to master things.

My best free lessons have been when I asked someone 'Can you show me that thing you did again' and I pull out my cell phone and video them showing it to me. I usually start by saying "I was amazed in the song about [tell them] and when you went up the neck during the bridge you did this lick…" then I follow it up with "Could you please show me again?" Never been turned down.