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Post subject: Beginner need help with advice, help!
Posted: Thu Apr 02, 2009 6:35 pm
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Hobbyist
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Joined: Thu Apr 02, 2009 6:20 pm
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I need some advice. I started taking lessons again in mid life. I have
a new Stratocaster and signed up for lessons. I signed up at a local
music shop they assigned me a teacher who plays and teaches on a
Accustical guitar. Have been taking lessons for 6 months now and I am
doing good. I really want to do solo's and riffs in the future. My question:
should I have been assigned a teacher who plays the electric guitar,
not accustical. Should I go to some other shop and get an electric
guitar teacher. Or being assigned an accustical teacher the rght way to
go until Im advanced? Am I getting riped off and was just assigned
because te shop had to fill that teachers hours? Help!! What would you
do ?


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Post subject:
Posted: Thu Apr 02, 2009 6:56 pm
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Joined: Mon Apr 21, 2008 6:17 pm
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Location: Halifax Canada
When taking lessons, you need to speak to the teacher and some places/individuals will grant you a trial lesson before committing to more.

In my experience with teaches, if you share musical interests and are on exactly the same page with what you want to get out of lessons you will learn more and be happier.

The most important thing about getting what you want, is identifying what you want and then express it and stick to your guns.

Example. A few years ago I decided to get more serious about my playing. As a teenager, I took a few lessons that consisted of theory and hokey little tunes like twinkle, twinkle, little star. I got nothing out of this. This past time, I interviewed 6 instructors then tried lessons with 2 settling on one teacher who was providing me with what I was looking for.

Finally, remember, you are hiring them to provide a service...look at it like you are interviewing them for a job, and pick the best qualified person for the job.

Hope this helps.

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Post subject:
Posted: Thu Apr 02, 2009 7:25 pm
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I think you should discuss this with your teacher. I mean, what you want to learn. It is very possible your teacher is more diverse than you think. after all, you are a beginner. The use of the acoustic guitar is fine, especially for teaching you the basics. I know when I have shown people I know basic stuff, it doesn't matter whether I grab an electric or an acoustic,. i can show basic chord changes and strum patterns on either.There is no distraction, just pick up and go. If you feel you want to learn some other stuff, ask about it.

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Post subject:
Posted: Fri Apr 03, 2009 3:32 am
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Heres a great website to help anyone out at any level.It has over 300 backing tracks video lessons interviews with all the greats if u need it it has it LICKLIBRARY.COM.I have been MEMBER since it started check it out tou will love it good luck


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Posted: Fri Apr 03, 2009 5:39 am
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Just remember, you're paying him. You're "the boss". Tell him what you want to do.

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Posted: Fri Apr 03, 2009 5:45 am
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Darkly Dreaming wrote:
Just remember, you're paying him. You're "the boss". Tell him what you want to do.


+1

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Posted: Fri Apr 03, 2009 6:55 am
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I'm in a similar situation, in that I just got my first guitar since I was about 8 (I'm 47) a year ago. This one's electric. I've been taking lessons since I got it, and I've been happy with my teacher - mainly because he's willing to listen to what I want to know. I went in gritting my teeth, thinking, "Okay, if I've got to learn Greensleeves all over again, dammit, then that's what I'll do."

Instead, he gave me some good basic rock songs to play with, the Hal Leonard books to get me started on the concepts in the songs, and he tabs out other songs that I ask about. Or, if I ask about bending or something, he gives me a song with bends in it to try. Sometimes he reins me in, which I asked him to do.

Oh, and I'm playing the electric. If I'd brought in an acoustic, he would have grabbed an acoustic, and taught me the same stuff.

It's always a process - I sometimes try to jump to far, and he knows he can point that out to me. You should be able to work something like that out with your teacher.


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Posted: Fri Apr 03, 2009 8:22 am
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It doesn't matter what your instructor is playing as long as he/she can teach you what you need to learn. An example of this is my guitar instructor... He is perfectly comfortable playing classical on an electric or playing Randy Rhodes on an acoustic.


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Post subject:
Posted: Fri Apr 03, 2009 5:00 pm
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The teacher may be using acoustic so as not to confuse basics, theory and technique with issues unique to playing electric but not per se part of playing. As others have suggested, explain your concerns to the teacher and see what he (she?) says. You are paying, as suggested, but at the same time the teacher can't read your mind.

My teacher years ago was an electric guitarist but he always taught new students on acoustic for the reasons above. After you'd been at it a while, and if you asked, he'd be happy to work more popular current songs into the lessons. But if you didn't ask, he naturally stuck with the program.

A final point about "it's your money." Yes true, but keep in mind that you are also paying for the teacher's expertise. There has to be a balance between what the student wants (abstractly) and what needs to be learned. As an adult learner, that must obviously be tempered by the fact that you're learning for enjoyment, not to establish a career. Even so, it's another point that suggests having that talk with the teacher rather than saying nothing or writing him off.


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