It may come as a bit of a surprise to some of you reading this, but finding a guitar instructor, an actual 'valuable' teacher involves more than opening the yellow pages, calling a music shop and saying 'I need a guitar teacher'.
Sure, you're going to get connected with someone to get lessons from. You may even get lucky enough to get hooked up with a truly talented musician, but unfortunately you may also get in touch with someone that's not going to benefit your musical aspirations in direct proportion to the amount of money that you'll ultimately part with.
My reason for this article is because I've had a broad spectrum of instructors throughout my musical career. My first instructor was just a friend that learned how to play Stairway to Heaven and some of the other top tunes of the day before I ever did. Therefore he was automatically a guitar god in my book.
In all fairness, he was, and still is a great musician. He's a very accomplished guitarist and pianist. Possibly above all else, he was the first person that I heard play a piece of classical guitar music, which I immediately feel in love with. I'll always be indebted to him for that.
Needless to say, we were kids and the lessons didn't go on for long, but I did learn very much from my good friend, even more than just learning to play the popular songs of the era. He gave me my first brief introduction into music theory. Thanks Tim.
After my friend, I had a few other instructors that ranged from fantastic teachers to 'almost' a waste of money. I'll touch on the latter first. One instructor that comes to mind was the type I mentioned earlier...the guy from the music shop.
I called the local shop, told them I wanted to take some lessons and the guy on the phone gave me a date, time and the name of my teacher. I should be fair here, the guy was a very good player. I was very impressed, but of course I had limited ability myself, and nearly anyone would have impressed me. However, it wasn't his ability, or lack thereof that has to do with him being, or not being in this case, a good teacher.
Although he could play well, my curriculum, if you will, consisted, I later found out, of the tunes that he was learning so that the band he was in could cover them. I never received any type of theory content, never learned what I really 'needed' to learn to become a more rounded musician.
Yes you can learn a lot of songs and impress listeners, but to be a real musician you need to educate yourself (with the instructors help) on so much more. I doubt I would have ever gotten what I would describe as a music 'education' from this 'instructor'.
The next teacher that I'll mention was at the exact opposite end of the spectrum. He was a classically trained guitarist. He was professional from the time I walked into his apartment/studio, until the time I left. What he taught me, I'll never forget.
Maybe I don't remember every specific topic, but I remember that he taught me to become not just a guitar player, but a professional. His instruction was structured with a specific purpose for the lesson of the day. I could tell he took it personally if I didn't come to my lesson fully prepared. He expected me to learn and provided his end of what I needed to do so. If there was no learning going on, it was my fault, he knew it and so did I.
So, I just wanted to give you an idea of the differences that you can, and probably will find when you look for someone to teach you to become a musician...not just a song player. Don't settle for someone just because they can play that Jimmy Page lead that you wanna learn.
Don't settle just because the guy has a hot sister that's usually hanging around. If you're serious about learning, find the teacher that's serious about teaching. Ask around, talk to a perspective instructor before you agree to hire him. Ask what his curriculum is like. If he gets a somewhat puzzled look, he's probably not the best person to be giving your money to.
In closing, I will say...if you're a complete beginner your immediate requirements might be a little less specific. If you want to get a few lessons from the guy (or girl) down the road that can play a few cool songs, go for it. Get a little something under your belt, get to where you can play a little to keep your interest up. Eventually however, you do want to seek out a true music instructor...not just the friend that can play Stairway to Heaven.