Could you teach guitar and make money?

Most people falsely believe that in order to teach guitar you need to be an expert guitar player and process advanced playing skills or even live your life as a professional musician. The truth however is that many amateur guitar players are able to teach guitar to beginners and intermediate players very successfully and in fact are full of students every week. So how is this possible and what are they doing to create such thriving guitar teaching practices which also generate excellent income?

Firstly you need to realize that you do not need to be an advanced guitar player in order to teach guitar to the average student who is looking for lessons. The mass market of guitar students is made up of either complete beginners or people who have been playing a while yet still find themselves very much trapped in a beginner's level. Most students are not looking for expert players but rather expert communicators, in other words, people who have a natural talent for teaching and are able to communicate information in a way which is easily understood.

If you have been playing guitar for a number of years and feel confident on the instrument then this is normally enough for you to be able to teach guitar to others who are just beginning. If on top of that you are also versatile in the kinds of music you can play them this will allow you to accept the widest range of students and maximize your potential income each week. Versatility means not only being able to play acoustic and electric guitar but also having a diverse musical taste as many students will request songs from a wide variety of artists and musical genres.

The most important skill any guitar teacher should have is the ability to communicate clearly which often means being able to put yourself in the place of your students and to devise ways which breaks down complicated information into its simplest parts. One helpful thing can be to remember what it was like when you were trying to learn guitar yourself as this can help you to empathize with your students. Try to be as clever as you can in forming ways to make information as easy as possible to digest and understand. This will immediately separate you from most other teachers whose students have been used to!

Students always feel encouraged by teachers who are easy to approach and talk to. This means that your personality is extremely important when it comes to creating a successful practice teaching guitar in your local area. Talk freely with your students and create a friendly and open atmosphere... not only will this help you to keep students on a long-term basis but it will also encourage your current students to talk about you with their friends which will help the most powerful forces - word of mouth.

The key to success in guitar teaching depends much upon how well you are able to plan your lessons in advance. Students will often notice when guitar teachers are simply making up lessons as they go along on the spot, almost as though they were improvising. This is not a professional way to conduct your guitar lessons and it may also mean that students will have less respect for you as a teacher. You should plan your lessons out on paper said that the content is very clear and you always know in advance the material you will be presenting two students. Providing photocopies or printouts for your students to take time at the end of each lesson will speak volumes about the professionalism of your teaching practice and most importantly, your students will feel as though they are receiving real value for money.

You should also have prepared in advance and approved list of songs which are suitable for beginners to learn. It is true that students will come with their own prepared lists of songs however many times these songs are simply too difficult for them to learn and serve a matter needs to be created whereby they first learn easier songs. Make sure that your list of songs incorporates only open chords and if necessary use of a capo to convert any Barre chords into open chords. This is what’s meant by taking whatever steps are necessary to simplify learning guitar for beginners.

The structure of your lessons should keep each student interested and be tailor-made according to their level of playing in their own musical interests. If a student becomes bored with the lessons you are giving them they will not be a student for very much longer so it's important to create dynamic lessons which engage and challenge the students in front of you. Always strive to have at least three pieces of information to deliver in any half hour lesson. You could have for example, a new strum to teach along with a pentatonic scale and also a new family of chords. Switching back and forth between these three elements will create an interesting lesson every time and do not see them sequentially but rather zigzag backwards and forwards between them, always keeping the student guessing about where you are going to go next.

Repeating what you have towards already in the lesson is very important as it will help your students to deeply learn the new material you are presenting them with in any one lesson. Do not feel that you must always be moving on to new information but rather take your time to make sure that things are thoroughly learned route of an always racing ahead to give them something new. The danger is that you will overwhelm your student and this will discourage them from continuing their lessons with you.

The ideal time for a beginner guitar lesson is 30 minutes. Not only will this allow you to maximize your allotted time available for students and increase your income but it will also significantly decrease the possibility of boredom for both you and your student. Make sure you have adequately prepared the room in which you are going to teach. The setup is normally quite simple to equal chairs facing each other in a room which will not be disturbed by other members of the household. Make sure you have also your prepared your files, paper and pens along with guitar tuners and plectrum's, all of which you be using during each lesson. It's also extremely important to have a clock positions where you can see it at all times without it being obvious to your students. For this reason it is normally best to place your clock on the wall behind your student so that you can very discreetly keep track of time. You do not want to be clock watching in front of your student as this is rude and unprofessional while at the same time we must always keep out timetable very punctual so that the next student is able to start their lesson on the dot.

The main problem associated with generating income from teaching guitar has always been the challenge of finding enough students to fill your timetable throughout the week. A lot depends upon your location and the ‘in-between’ locations are actually the best. By this I mean that you’ll find competition is too stiff if you are located in a city not to mention the fact that advertising will also cost you more principally because there are no cheap local newsletters to advertising and so you will have to pay premium advertising costs in one of the newspapers. In cities there is also a lot more advertising noise to compete with due to the fact that so many other people are advertising their services around you. In order for an ad to be effective it must first be seen.

Therefore living in a smaller or medium-sized town actually gives you the best case scenario where you should be able to find cheap advertising publications to use than the competing noise will not be so great. You may even find that you aren't the only guitar teacher offering lessons in area which will certainly make things easier for you and even allow you to charge premium rates for lessons. It is certainly worthwhile displaying some Ad’s on the notice boards of local stores and shops. These do not have to be professionally designed but remember the pictures will catch the attention of passersby much more so than words set any poster should have a large picture of a guitar with the headline “guitar lessons”. While this form of advertising will bring you some students who find that it will be your paid advertising which brings you the most. Look out for local publications such as a newsletter or parish newsletter which is marketed directly towards the local community with local news and reports. They will often have a classified section located in the back where you will be able to advertise week in and week out at very reasonable rates.

If you have enough confidence it is also very worthwhile approaching local schools where you'll find an abundance of potential guitar students. He didn't ask if it would be possible to display some of your posters on the notice boards within the school or to go one step further and actually teach students within a classroom after school. You will need to show that you have purchased the correct insurance as well as a certificate from the local police station proving that you have no prior criminal history or record. You must display the utmost professionalism when approaching local schools and having this kind of paperwork in order will demonstrate to them that you are a serious individual is someone who is well organized. Any class sizes within the school should be kept to a maximum of four or five students especially at younger ages otherwise you will find it extremely difficult and even stressful to run any organized class where you can teach effectively.

There is no reason to be afraid of the prospect of teaching guitar as you will always have full control over the students you accept or decline. During the first telephone conversation you can surmise quickly the level of the students and it is not difficult to make a quick judgment over whether or not you would be in a position to teach them how to play guitar. Remember that the cost majority of students who will contact you will be complete beginners not advanced players!

Another common question is what to charge for lessons. One of the best ways to judge the correct price would be to find out what other guitar teachers in your area are charging. You can also visit your local music store and ask them what the going rate is for guitar lessons in the area. Do not be afraid to charge high prices for lessons especially if you are the only guitar teacher operating in the area. So long as you are able to deliver good quality lessons and you have a friendly personality people will be quite happy to pay what you are asking. It is much better to charge on a monthly basis and week by week as this will save you a great deal of lost money in cancellations especially if the course of an entire year. Students should pay you at the beginning of each month and in advance, this will protect your earnings and save you a lot of potential frustration!

Guitar teaching tends to follow very closely with school terms meaning that your student numbers will drop significantly over the summer along with all other major holiday periods of the year. In fact you can expect your student numbers to drop by as much as 60% during holiday periods. Once everyone goes back to school however your student numbers will return to normal once again. The two best times of year for getting new students are at the beginning of a new school term and especially in January after Christmas holidays. You will be able to get many new students while also using some however this is healthy and will stop you from becoming bored having to teach the same students for month after month. The students can often be a breath of fresh air as they will come with different personalities, different musical tastes and different musical aspirations.

If you are really nervous or unsure about your ability to teach guitar why not try doing it for free and teach some of your friends? This could give you the confidence you are lacking in some great first-hand experience in teaching guitar before you move on to the next level of charging strangers for your guitar lessons.