How to Find an
Exceptional Guitar Teacher
The Ultimate Guide to Choosing the Best Guitar Instructor
Rose Park
updated 3/21/24 • 4 min read
Finding the right guitar teacher online or in-person can sometimes be tricky. It’s not always easy to tell if an instructor is experienced and a good fit for you.
So how do you choose which guitar teacher to go with? What makes one instructor better at teaching guitar fundamentals, techniques, and musical expression than another? And how do you find someone whose teaching style matches your vibe?
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The sooner you meet the expert guitar instructor, the faster you will advance in guitar playing. This doesn’t necessarily mean you have to pay extra to hire someone with impressive teaching and educational backgrounds. Whether a guitar teacher teaches online, in-person or hybrid, you should make sure that your potential teacher will:
- Tailor your learning path to match your guitar journey
- Widen your guitar repertoire
- Encourage you to tackle new challenges and level up
- Offer precise, real-time feedback to tune your guitar skills
Many guitar students make the mistake of initially going with an average teacher who charges lower rates, thinking they’ll eventually upgrade to a better instructor. But one thing to keep in mind with that approach is you may develop poor performing habits early on that can take months and years to fix.
Every guitar teacher is different in the way they structure lessons and what they prioritize. Some focus heavily on technical skills, working through one song at a time. Others will have you practicing multiple songs or exercises simultaneously while exploring musical expression and sounds.
Check the teacher's educational background
Degrees in Guitar Performance
Where possible, make sure to check the potential teacher’s degree they received during college. The best guitar instructors will hold at least a Bachelor’s degree in Classical guitar or Jazz guitar from music schools. They are also able to demonstrate a high level of performance through live performance recordings and frequency of touring and performance opportunities. Here are some suggestions for questions related to degrees:
- Are you majored in guitar performance or non-guitar fields?
- Do you have a Bachelor’s degree in guitar?
- What’s your main guitar type: Classical, Acoustic, Electric, Bass, Ukulele etc.
- Did you take any courses in audio engineering, music education, music theory or music history?
Recording and Touring Experience
When finding an ideal guitar teacher, it’s best to see if the teacher has listed any performance related accomplishments. This includes live performing, touring with US and international musicians, participating in the studio recording sessions and productions.
The first thing you should do is to go to the guitar teacher’s professional website and read their bio. If there are any live performance recordings listed, take time to watch the recordings.
Your potential guitar teacher should at least put several descriptions of touring and participating in recording sessions for popular musicians and bands.
Teaching Experience in Guitar
In addition to checking the teacher’s degree online, it’s also important to look for a guitar instructor with at least 3 years of teaching experience. The best guitar teachers will almost certainly teach a variety of styles such as the Classical, Rock, Pop, Alternative, Jazz and R&B.
Make sure to check which guitar type your potential teacher can teach. There are 4 main types of guitar: acoustic, classical, electric and bass. It’s also important to know which type of guitar the instructor is specialized in teaching and performing.
Background Check
Not every guitar teacher lists this online, but you should check if the teacher has done and passed a comprehensive background check, especially if the lesson is for your child. Some live online guitar lesson websites, such as Lesson With You, offer free trial lessons with expert guitar instructors who are fully background checked.
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Questions to Ask When Choosing a Guitar Teacher
Once you’re done with narrowing down a number of potential guitar teachers, the next step is to talk with the instructors. Here are some recommendations for questions to ask:
- How many guitar students do you teach? What ages and levels?
- How do you build a lesson plan? Is the curriculum customized?
- Do you expect students to participate in recital, jury or competition?
- What are your practice expectations for beginners and advanced guitar students?
- Do you use any guitar method books? If not, what music will the student work on?
- How to do motivate students to practice guitar and improve?
- Do you give daily or weekly assignments?
Take a trial lesson first
When you reach out to a few guitar teachers, make sure to ask if they offer trial lessons. Taking a trial lesson will give you fresh insights on a couple of things:
- Does the teacher speak clearly and ask appropriate questions to the student? How does the teacher respond to the answers the student provided and vice versa?
- How does the teacher lead the guitar lesson? Is the lesson engaging and fun? How frequent does the teacher play guitar and show the technique to the student?
- What’s the teacher like? Happy, quiet or rather moody? Is the teacher likeable?
- How often does the teacher give feedback? Does the teacher pay enough attention to detail and correct the student? It’s also important to see how the student responds to the compliment and criticism.
- How does the instructor end the lesson? When the instructor gives assignments or homework, does the student leave the lesson clear on what to work on next?
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How to choose the guitar instructor after a trial
Besides evaluating the trial lesson and teacher quality, check the following list before making a final decision. It’s totally okay to take some time thinking about the overall lesson experience, teacher quality, and other things like budget and convenience.
Lesson Costs
According to our recent guitar lesson cost guide, the average cost is $38 for a half hour guitar lesson. Live online lessons using video chats typically charge between $25-50 for a half hour lesson. Local private guitar lessons averages $50 per half hour lesson, while in-person group lessons can cost $25 per half hour lesson.
Guitar instructors without music degrees will charge as little as $35 an hour, and expert guitar teachers with advanced degrees in guitar charges between $50-$70 per hour lesson.
Before you decide, try to plan your budget ahead and schedule for regular lessons. Experts suggest sticking to weekly lessons for at least six months to see real progress.
Flexible Scheduling
Your ideal guitar instructor should offer a flexible scheduling and rescheduling option. Of course, it’s not a good sign when a teacher (or a student) cancels or reschedules lessons too often, but knowing the teacher offers a rescheduling option without a fee can be a plus.
Lesson Reviews
You should always check and read the lesson reviews. If you’re particularly looking for a live online lesson, you will notice the reviews left in the teacher profile. If 8 or 9 out of 10 reviews are positive, that means the teacher is skilled and able to teach a high-quality guitar lesson.
If you want to get in-person guitar lesson recommendations, you can ask friends, neighbors or even find a guitar teacher online and ask if they offer lessons in person.
Also, double-check if the teacher specializes in guitar only or teaches multiple instruments. Those who focus on just one instrument tend to be more professional and have specialized expertise in that area.
Contracts
Not many guitar lesson providers require long term commitment or contracts these days, but you’d still want to make sure if there’s a contract required before setting up the first lesson. It’s also recommended for students to check the type of payment the teacher prefers and when to send the payment.
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Rose Park
Rose Park is a graduate of the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University where she studied Piano Performance and Arts Administration, receiving both Bachelor's and Master's degrees before co-founding Lesson With You. As a pianist, Rose was a prizewinner in many international piano competitions and performed at various summer programs and festivals across the United States, Italy, and Japan.