If you enjoy playing guitar, you may want to become a guitar teacher.You can teach guitar without being an expert.Teaching guitar is a great way to improve your skills and gain a better understanding of your instrument.Being a guitar teacher is more about connecting with the mind of your student through patience and understanding than it is about teaching the nuts and bolts of playing the instrument.If you think you have what it takes to teach guitar, you should design your curriculum and work on your business model so you can start taking students.
Step 1: Start with the CAGED system.
The "CAGED" system is a set of five simple, open chords that are easy for beginners to learn.The common chords don't require complex finger movements and can be found in a variety of songs.You can find a lot of free resources to help you get started in this system if you do a search online.C, A, Am, G, E, Em, D, and Dm are included in the CAGED system.There are relatively simple shapes that are easy to learn and transition between.Students should be able to play thousands of songs once they have these basic strumming patterns.The easiest way to structure each lesson is to make a simple transition.
Step 2: You can find popular songs that use the chords you teach.
Students want to learn how to play guitar so they can play their favorite songs.Pick a variety of songs in different genres so that your students can learn something they already know.For example, you might want to look for a classic rock song and a country or folk song that uses the same basic principles in your lessons.Students can pick the songs that appeal to them if you can find several.You can use simplified, beginner versions of songs to motivate your students and make them feel like they're making progress.These are for students who mention their favorite songs.Don't tell them that the song they want to play is too complex or too hard.You can use the recordings of those songs to get your students up to speed.They can practice playing along with the recording once they learn how to transition between chords smoothly.
Step 3: Don't make your lessons complex.
It is easier for students to understand a limited number of targets.They may abandon their lessons if you give them too much.Determine early on what level of students you want to teach, and develop methods for teaching at that level.Intermediate or advanced students are different from beginning students.If your ultimate goal is to keep students for a long time and have them progress in their musicianship and handling of the instrument, you should be able to identify when you need to step up your teaching methods to match their progress.You'll learn to pick it up with practice.
Step 4: Focus on technique over theory.
A musician has to know how to play both theory and technique.In your first lessons with a beginner, include a light introduction to theory, but work on building their physical ability to play the instrument before you worry too much about it in your lessons.If the student expresses an interest in learning more, you can briefly explain the theory behind the focus of each lesson, but leave it at that.Even if the student is interested, too much technique at first can be overwhelming for an anxious student who just wants to start playing.Because they can fit the guitar into the musical understanding they already have, students who have been classically trained in another instrument may be reassured by a good bit of theory.
Step 5: Adhere to flexibility.
If you are giving private lessons to individual students, your curriculum should have flexibility so that it can be tailored to each student's personal goals and skill level.Everyone learns at a different pace.Before your students start their lessons, you may want to create a questionnaire for them to fill out.Questions will allow you to learn more about each student's musical background and experience trying to play the guitar.You should get an idea of the types of music they like and how they want to learn guitar.You can better tailor the lessons to each student with the help of these questionnaires.If a student's goal is to be able to play a certain song, you can start there if you know the chords in that song.Before moving to actual songs, some students will appreciate a lot of theory and practicing scales.Other students will be upset with this.The conversation with your students can help you figure out how happy they will be with their lessons.
Step 6: Practice should be emphasized between sessions.
Your students are not going to learn to play guitar if they only show up for their sessions and then leave their guitar in its case all week.Finger positions and strumming patterns will only get better with repetition.For students who aren't very self-motivated, you might want to give them a basic practice schedule.List the things you've done in the lesson, and leave room for them to place a check mark after each one.The last lesson should be briefly covered at the beginning of each lesson.Ask the student to play the song for you so you can evaluate their progress.Start a dialogue with your students if they don't practice.Understand and be open.If they have something else going on in their life that is preventing them from making a commitment to practicing, you may want to allow them to postpone their lessons until their schedule loosens up a bit.
Step 7: Improve finger strength with exercises.
It will be difficult for beginning guitarists to move their fingers with speed.This is true for people who have never played a stringed instrument.A number of finger-strengthening exercises can be found online.Students starting to learn guitar are the focus of many of them.Building finger muscles and spreading the fingers is the focus of some exercises.Students who have played other instruments may need to strengthen their fingers because they don't get the same amount of work with guitar.The stronger the student's fingers are, the easier it will be to move quickly and accurately on the fret board.
Step 8: You can teach friends for free.
If you have friends who are interested in learning how to play guitar, offer to teach them.It is possible to learn what methods are most effective and develop your teaching skills at the same time.Chances are someone has already asked you to teach them if you're a good guitarist.Ask your friends who don't know how to play guitar if they would like to learn.If you work with someone you know, they'll give you honest feedback on what's helping them and what isn't.You will get a good idea of what you need to know from your students.While you have the ability to tailor a lesson to your friend's interests, you can always reverse engineer that to figure out what information you relied upon when crafting your lesson plans.The practice sessions should be conducted in a friendly manner.Don't hang out with your friend if you're trying to develop good teaching methods because you can crack jokes and share stories.
Step 9: Rates for guitar instruction are researched.
If you feel confident enough in your teaching abilities to start looking for students publicly, you should spend some time evaluating the local market.You should be able to price your lessons competitively.You'll have a hard time attracting students if you set your rates too high.Setting rates too low will make it hard for you to be compensated for your time.Compare your skills to those of other instructors.As a beginning instructor, you wouldn't want to charge more than someone with 20 years experience or a college degree.You should keep in mind the age range of students that you want.The rates you charge as well as your advertising and marketing strategy will be impacted by this.
Step 10: A presence on social media is needed.
Social media can be a good way to let people know you're teaching guitar.You can start a website and build a social media account.Tell everyone you know about it.This is a great way to spread the word about your services, because you can build social media accounts without spending any money.If you want to spend money to promote your posts or create online advertising, you can make a decision later.Social media can be used to build your brand.Use the same user names on all websites if you pick a business name.You might want to set up a discount system for people who find out about your lessons through social media or who share your posts.You can use a code to create posts for a free lesson.When crafting the introductory lesson, make sure the student learns something right away and feels like they're progressing towards their goal of learning to play guitar in a positive and productive way.
Step 11: At first, rely on word-of-mouth.
If you want to grow your business until you teach guitar full time, start small.Word-of-mouth is free and can help you build a loyal following.You can offer a discount for existing students who refer new students to you.After you've had a student for a month, remind them of the referral offer.They have enough time with you to know if they would recommend your services to others.
Step 12: Other methods of promotion should be expanded.
You might want to look for other ways to find students, such as directories and fliers in music stores or coffee shops, once you've taught a few students.Record stores and local music venues are places where people often congregate to listen to music.If there is a bulletin board for advertising guitar instructor services, ask the owners.College campuses are a good place to advertise your services.Online advertising can be an inexpensive way to get the word out.Place advertisements on websites that cater to local or regional interests.
Step 13: Require advance payments.
You don't want to work and not be paid.It's possible that you don't need tuition from your students up-front.You can choose billing options that suit your needs.You can have students commit to a month at a time, and pay for that month up front.This method ensures a level of commitment from your students and makes accounting easier for you.If you are working a day job and teaching guitar on the side, paying in advance for a month's worth of lessons makes it easy for you to schedule and allocate your time.
Step 14: Continue to learn more about teaching methods.
You will attract students if you improve as a musician and a teacher.You can keep students longer if you become a better guitarist yourself.If you are an intermediate guitar player, you may be able to teach beginners.You have to let your students go because you don't have anything else to teach them.You are limiting yourself if you don't continually improve your skills.New teaching methods and tricks will be learned with time and experience.Get ideas from other guitar teachers by talking to them on a regular basis.You could join a band or do open-mic performances on your own.Someone listening to you play may want to learn from you.
Step 15: Keep track of everything.
You are also starting a small business when you start teaching guitar.Good record keeping is important regardless of whether you want to teach guitar on the side or grow your business and quit your day job.If you subscribe to a bookkeeping app or service, you will be able to quickly and accurately record your income and expenses.You have to include your income on your taxes, but you can deduct expenses related to your guitar teaching business.If you teach students in their own home, you can deduct the mileage to and from those lessons.The cost of materials, such as guitar strings or paper used to print handouts for students, can be deducted.You might want to set up a meeting with a small business advisor or an accountant to get a handle on the records you need to keep and how long you should keep them.
Step 16: An limited liability company can be set up.
If you want to teach guitar full-time, you should organize your business to separate it from your personal finances.It's the simplest way to do this.If one of your students has a legal dispute with you, or if you have a disagreement with another business, your personal assets will be protected and they won't be able to go after those.You should consult a local attorney to find out what the requirements are for setting up an limited liability company.You don't have to hire an attorney to do everything yourself.You may need other permits to conduct your business in your area.If you live in the United States, you need to register your business with your state's Secretary of State.