Get More Out of Your Guitar Lessons

Sep 4, 2009

Susan Palmer's Guitar Studio - Capitol Hill & Madrona Guitar Lessons in Seattle

Private or Group Lessons | Weekly Guitar Jam Class | Seattle or Webcam

Fundamental Skills: Jazz, Blues Rock & Folk Styles | Acoustic or Electric

Email Susan Palmer: leadcatpress(at)gmail.com Phone: 206) 349-3226

Most people who take guitar lessons want to learn how to play their favorite songs, but first they need to learn the basics. I help students develop their skills quickly and effectively so that they can play a lot of songs in a short amount of time. I use a clear system and I simplify challenging concepts by breaking them down into smaller parts that are easier to understand and play. This approach helps students develop confidence in their abilities, which leads to better playing. The weekly Guitar Jam Class gives students the opportunity to meet and play with others on a regular basis, and that's where they really have fun and get good!

Student Testimonials:

Eric: Susan is one of the most dedicated people I've seen in any field. She brings a complete passion to her work, conveying a deep appreciation of music, musical technique and the effort required to get better.

Paul: She is a phenomenal player herself, and her instructional approach blends just the right amount of "vegetables" (e.g. counting, sight reading, etc) with ample "desserts" (e.g power chords, blues riffs, easy rock numbers/tabs) to keep me motivated, inspired, and practicing.

Allie: She goes way above and beyond in her efforts to transmit her knowledge and obvious love of the instrument to students. Lessons with Susan are demanding, but are well worth it. She embeds every aspect of music in your mind. Insisting that students learn the fundamentals of music, she sets us up for nothing but success later on.

Peter: The immense amount of information to be learned about jazz techniques can seem incredibly overwhelming at times, but Susan is able to break it up into manageable chunks. She is very passionate about music, and always full of energy and has a positive attitude during every lesson.

Contact Susan Palmer: leadcatpress(at)gmail.com or (206) 349-3226

Other Popular Blogs by Susan Palmer:

That Amazing Guitarist Never Took A Lesson
Find a Good Guitar Teacher in Your Area
Interviewing Potential Guitar Teachers and Understanding Policies
What to Expect at Your First Guitar Lesson
It's Okay to Quit Your Lessons
Your Child's Guitar Lessons
Should You Learn on an Acoustic or Electric Guitar
Fundamental Concepts and the Three-Year Plan
Illiterate Guitarists
Free Tabs!
The Art of Practicing Your Guitar
Terrible Teaching
The Importance of Music Education

Susan Palmer's Guitar Studio
Testimonials from Susan Palmer's Guitar Students
Reviews of Susan Palmer's Book

Susan Palmer is the Guitar Instructor at Seattle University and the author of "The Guitar Lesson Companion." Try a free sample, view the free lesson library and read the reviews to see if it's right for you.

Reivews of Susan Palmer's Guitar Method Book

Steven Kirby, Assistant Professor at Berklee College of Music

Susan Palmer has created a carefully crafted book for guitar students who want to learn to read and also develop fundamental chord and scale vocabulary that prepares them for playing contemporary styles. There are many features in this book that set it apart from traditional guitar method books.

1) It is extremely well paced and designed.

2) It is visually clear and appealing.

3) It reinforces learning of new material with a variety of activities including both the playing and writing of notes and note names.

4) An included CD provides chordal accompaniment for every stage. Simple melodies are thus made to feel more like "real" music right away because of these tracks. They make the learning process more instantly engaging while demonstrating how harmony can enrich even the simplest melody. The student feels like they are making interesting sounding music even when all they can play is three notes.

5) In addition to supporting the student's learning of standard notation, the book also contains important chord and scale lessons with corresponding play-along tracks.

6) Flexibility of design. The book's design makes it easy for teachers to assign lessons from different sections simultaneously to suit a student's level and progress. It's designed to be used in a very flexible way by different teachers and for students of varying levels.

Overall I rate this the best beginning level, learning-to-read on the guitar book that I've encountered not only because it does that so well but also because it offers in a well integrated way additional materials that are vital to preparing guitarists to play contemporary music and develop improvisational skills. I use this book with my students and I highly recommend that other guitar teachers check it out.

Rick Fortenberry, at Sandpiper Guitar Studios

Learning to play guitar is the easiest thing in the world to do. It can also be one of the hardest. One can learn to strum a few chords in relatively short order and make some nice sounds. But one can choose to dig a little deeper, to the point where one's guitar playing becomes an expressions of one's own inner music--the music of the heart--which is really what it's all about, isn't it?

Susan Palmer's new book/CD "The Guitar Lesson Companion" bridges a major gap in learning to play the guitar. It's the book I wish *I'd* written, having studied at Berklee College of Music and having taught guitar for 20 years.

This thick, rich and blessedly spiral-bound volume with its accompanying CD, is designed to be used while studying with a private guitar teacher. As the author states right up front, studying with a good teacher will save a lot of time and money and accomplish far more than the do-it-yourself approach, through which so many guitarists--unnecessarily--come to understand the instrument.

A student enters the book at whatever level she is in at the moment: "beginner", intermediate or advanced. This may mean studying chords and how they work with songs in jazz, rock or folk, or even learning to read notation, the language of music (the musical examples are also in tablature).

The well-known CAGED system of understanding the language of the fretboard is covered, along with a progressive, intelligent blend of reading and rhythm studies, all essential concepts a serious guitar player must master. The main scale types are thoroughly explored, against a musically satisfying backdrop of guitar, bass and drums on the CD.

This ground-breaking book/CD is the one I wish I'd written for my students, but it's also the one I wish I'd had when first seriously studying guitar. All the fundamentals and more are here. This is a good investment in a guitarist's education.

Jonathan Patterson, Guitar Instructor

I have taught guitar for almost 20 years, and looked for a book like this too many times to remember. Until now I always gave up and settled for using the Hal Leonard method plus my own hand-written extra sightreading exercises and supplemental materials about scales/theory/improvisation. I've wasted a lot of lesson time this way, and my students (and their parents) take hand-written materials less seriously than printed books. But the big problem I've had with books is that most students don't fit nicely into "Level 1" or "Level 2" of any available series. You know, you get some students know scale patterns all over the neck but can't read a single note, or students who can read melodies but don't understand any theory or chord-scale relationships.

Susan Palmer's book solves all my materials and organization problems and lets me focus on actually teaching. At about 150 pages this one book can easily replace several "Levels" of the Hal Leonard or any available series I've seen. She thoroughly covers the technical and theoretical fundamentals that all guitar styles have in common, and--my favorite part--she ties it all together into a continuous system that is easy to understand and immediately practical. I love it because when a student is stronger in one area than in another, I can approach the area that needs work by showing the student how it relates to what they already do well. Because of these connections I find that ALL of the material in the book is useful for all beginner-intermediate, and even many advanced students.

It's an easy sell to parents because the sheer amount of material will last a long time (no more "Didn't we just buy a new book for Timmy last month?") and looks infinitely better than a crumpled up pile of my handwritten notes. Combine "The Guitar Lesson Companion" with teaching students specific songs that they like, and your students will enjoy what they're playing while understanding what they're playing. Since that sums up my whole purpose and philosophy as a teacher this book is exactly what I've been looking for.

Jonathan Bloomer, at GuitarNoize.com

I was contacted recently by a guitarist called Jian who wanted to bring to my attention their guitar teacher and in particular this teacher’s guitar method book that she wrote. I was intrigued and was put in contact with Susan Palmer, a guitar instructor at Seattle University. Susan is very passionate about teaching guitar which led her to create ‘The Guitar Lesson Companion’. This method book was created to help students get more out of their lessons and provide a structured framework that provides teachers with an outline to expand upon and exercises that students can work through on their own.

First of all the book is ring bound which instantly makes it very usable, there is nothing more frustrating than trying to play from a book that keeps closing, this book will sit on your music stand, table, lap whatever and stay open at the page you want. This is usually overlooked by publishers or maybe it is more expensive to produce books this way? The book starts with the basics of playing guitar and reminded me of the Fred Noad classical guitar book that my teacher used when I was starting my classical guitar studies. To begin with there are some warm up exercises which a beginner will probably have trouble with but it is something that they can continually reference and use and it makes sense to be at the start of the book. Next up Susan dives into musical notation in relation to open strings. If you have ever wanted to learn how to read music, even if you can already play guitar, it is essential that take it slowly and learn to recognise each note on the stave in relation to the fretboard. Susan’s studies give you the opportunity to step through the reading exercises filling in the blanks so that you are reading the music, rather than just looking at it.

So Susan’s idea is you start out slowly, using a few notes on the top E string to progress through basic Rhythmic exercises. Each exercise is available on the included CD to help you to follow the rhythmic examples to start out. After a few pages of studies Susan moves on to the B string and so on slowly building in rhythmic complexity and expanding your fretboard knowledge and reading abilities until you are reading music that covers all 6 strings in the first position (first 3 frets and open strings). This is a great stepping stone for learning to read music across the entire fretboard and is the first thing you learn as a classical guitarist. The next section of the book moves on to scales and theory with plenty of exercises to help you learn. Susan has written studies to take you through the Major keys starting with G Major and then through the cycle of fifths each using all 6 strings to play the scale, a scale pattern and then arpeggiating the major scale to finish.

The next section of the book focuses on chords, using diagrams and TAB for chord changing exercises and jams. Each chord sequence either has a melody using the Major/Minor and Pentatonic scales that you have already learned or a set of scale diagrams that you can use to improvise over the changes. There are diagrams showing the Major and Pentatonic Minor scales in all 5 “box” positions and exercises to complete to make sure you know the actually notes as well as the scale degrees. There is also a section on the CAGED system of movable chord shapes to help you open up even more possibilities over the fretboard.

All in all it is a very thorough book, so who is this book for? Well it is definitely aimed at guitar teachers and students who are beginner to intermediate level or perhaps the more advanced player who simply wants to learn to read standard musical notation rather than just TAB. I can see how teachers would benefit from having this teaching framework to aid their own teaching syllabus and it gives students the opportunity to complete exercises on their own and work with the CD between lessons. Every aspect of learning guitar is covered in a systematic but simplified manner. What I’m saying is, don’t expect to learn entire songs or instrumental pieces however you will have the chord and scale vocabulary to learn your favourite songs if you follow Susan’s method, practice and don’t try to rush through it (easy to say I know!).

If you would like to order ‘The Guitar Lesson Companion’ head over to Lead Cat Press.

Donna Zitzelberger, Guitar Instructor

Last week I downloaded the free lesson sheets for E, F, and G and brought them to my beginning class of seven. The kids are ages 8-12. They have already learned rhythm. This year I tried a new twist on things in which I taught them all the rhythm notation first. We just started the notes on the first string, so I gave them the reading study that goes with the backing track. I turned on the CD and they totally started rocking out. Like all my classes, though, they did not know the notes really well yet. So, I told them to come back the next week and be ready to rock with the correct notes. Well, today they came back and rocked their hearts out. They were spot on -- all of them. I have to say in my 8 years of teaching, this is record time for learning those first notes. The backing tracks for the notes sure makes it easy and fun. I'm going to spend this summer reviewing the book and may add it into my curriculum as the text we use for learning note reading. I asked the kids if they would like to use the book next year, and I got a huge "YEA!" Today's class was all about finding the groove. We are just about 6 weeks away from recital and the kids need to groove to a rock song for one of their class songs. It was super cool to go to our note reading section of the class and still be grooving. Thanks Susan for creating a quality book that should make life easy and fun when it comes to teaching the little ones standard notation!

Nick Torres, at: GuitarNoise.com

On the surface Susan Palmer’s “The Guitar Lesson Companion” seems to be a throwback to the Method books of old. You know the ones, “this is the sixth string, this note is E, it’s played like this, here is what it looks like on the musical staff.” And as a reward you learn to play “She’ll be coming round the mountain” Ah, but to dismiss this gem of a book as that beginning guitarist’s nightmare would be foolish. This book is more of a hybrid of lesson companion, instruction manual and method book.

This book is presented as a method book to guide teachers and students on a logical path through the learning process. "The Guitar Lesson Companion" isn’t really a book for beginners to use on their own; the material needs to be supplemented with direction and exercises from a teacher. But what if you don’t have a teacher? Well the book does come with a CD with tracks to supplement your learning experience, but here’s an extraordinary value for you,

Susan has put together a companion website for the book with video lessons that match the book. Videos are no substitute for a teacher, but these videos with Susan, who has been teaching guitar in Seattle, Washington for 10 years, are a close second. If you are looking for a method book to teach yourself to read and understand music, look no further. Be aware that the book is written in standard notation and if you have no intent of learning standard notation you won’t find much use for the book.

Who is it for?

· Teachers who want a thorough method book for their students

· Students who want to learn standard notation

· Students who want their current teacher to take a more methodical approach to their lessons

Who isn’t it for?

· Tab readers who are happy with tab

What’s in the book?

· Standard Notation

· Major Scale Theory

· Reading studies

· Chord Changing exercises/Barre Chords/Jazzy Barre Chords/ Chord Formulas

· CAGED

It’s a well thought out book, easy to use with the CD and an excellent value with the videos.

Paul Wolf, Guitar Instructor

I received Susan's book today...! One day turnaround, not bad. My early review after skimming it on my lunch hour is that it's an excellent step by step method for incorporating music theory into your lessons without having to start from scratch...you can supplement her curriculum with song transcriptions and probably have enough raw material to use for a year or two's worth of lessons.

The book is written for teachers, not for the general public (although the students will be working from it, they would need a teacher's guidance)

I'm glad I bought it and recommend it highly.

Paul Chasman, Guitar Instructor

Susan Palmer has written a clear, comprehensive, and integrated method for learning the guitar. "The Guitar Lesson Companion" will be an invaluable resource for many students who want a solid musical foundation. The Companion will also provide many teachers with a method that is focused and directed, yet flexible enough to accommodate the individual teaching style. I highly recommend this book to students and teachers alike.

To learn more and sign up for private or group lessons and weekly jam classes, contact Susan Palmer: leadcatpress(at)gmail.com or (206) 349-3226

Other Popular Blogs by Susan Palmer:

Testimonials from Susan Palmer's Guitar Students

Eric Sorensen: 2009
Susan is one of the most dedicated people I've seen in any field. She brings a complete passion to her work, conveying a deep appreciation of music, musical technique and the effort required to get better. She is consistently positive, professional and personable. It's all a great formula for the success of her students.

John O'Halloran: 2009
Susan is an extraordinary guitar teacher. For starters, she developed her own very thorough course material - book, MP3, and YoutTube videos - that provides a solid foundation for her lessons. I'm amazed at how detailed and complete this material is. There's nothing else like it! More important, Susan is a great teacher. She always comes up with creative ways for me to learn a new aspect of the guitar. 'If this isn't working, then try this . . . ' Inevitably, she finds a method to help me along this journey of learning the guitar. For me, in particular, Susan has been very patient and supportive. I have to say, learning the guitar at my age (and I won't say what that is) has been difficult and slow. Susan has kept me motivated and helped me to continue the journey. It's only a matter of time before I realize this dream. I know she will help me get there!

Matt Hitchman: 2009
When I started playing guitar I was proud of the fact I was able to play without ever taking lessons. I ending up playing in a few bands and was able to get by as a good guitarist, however the more I played the more I realized I knew very little about the guitar. I could follow a few patterns/scales and knew a lot of chords but didn’t understand why these patterns worked. I became stuck playing the same things over and over and not being able to expand my playing.

I’ve been studying with Susan Palmer for a little under a year and am amazed at the amount of progress I’ve made. In the beginning I was wary of having to learn to read music but Susan made it a very enjoyable process. Within a few of months I was able to sight-read using all 6 strings. Being able to read music is integral to playing and understanding jazz, folk, rock, and blues as well as any other type of music. The Guitar Lesson Companion is a great way to start reading music because it offers very realistic sight-readings Susan has personally written for all levels, each of the readings logically leads to the next adding new elements. This method also involves chords and scale structures so you can begin to play music right away.

I’ve talked to friends who are taking lessons with other teachers who avoid these basic starting points and consequentially avoid a deeper understanding of the guitar. In my experience this type of understanding is vital to anyone who is serious about learning the guitar. I strongly recommend choosing this method of learning the guitar; you’ll be thanking yourself later and will be learning from a teacher who dedicates herself immensely to helping her students learn.

Mark Cote:
Susan is an excellent instructor. She is passionate about helping students of all ages reach their full potential. Her mastery of the guitar and her dedication to teaching make Susan one of the best professional music educators available. She gets my highest recommendation.

Peter C: 2009
I started playing guitar about a year before I started lessons with Susan. My previous teacher taught me the basics, like the note names on the bottom two strings, and the basic chords. Eventually though we just started playing whatever song he felt like teaching that day. It was fun and I learned quite a bit but looking back I could have learned much more.

Lessons with Susan were much more demanding and with time much more rewarding. The note reading exercises aren't the most fun in the world, but they are very effective. The packaged in backing tracks were well produced and made the exercises as fun as possible.During lessons she made sure I played intime. This improved my rhythm alot and made it easier to play in the jazz guitar band she set up for people that have gotten most of the way through her first book, and are taking lessons with her.

The immense amount of information to be learned about jazz techniques can seem incredibly overwhelming at times, but Susan is able to break it up into manageable chunks. She is very passionate about music, and always full of energy and has a positive attitude during every lesson. Every lesson that I prepared for I left feeling like I learned something useful.

Lynn Hepler: 2009
Susan “rocks” - literally! She is a phenomenal teacher. I took lessons from Susan for a year and learned more than I ever dreamt possible to learn in such a short period of time. (I am taking the summer off from lessons but will resume in the fall.) First of all – Susan developed her own teaching material – A Guitar Lesson Companion – as well as her own teaching/learning methodology. A Guitar Lesson Companion is a book that one could use on their own; however, working with Susan while working your way through this book is the way to go – in my opinion. She is able to help all of her students to learn and grow – despite the fact that we are all at different junctures in our personal journey. I was brand new to the world of guitar music and knew nothing about the strings or chords or frets or anything. Within three months – I was playing fun tunes. When I struggled with a particular thing (eighth note rests for example) Susan figured out a fun and easy way for me to grasp the “rest” concept. She always finds a way to help you through when you feel stuck. She is personable, professional, interesting, knowledgeable and best of all – always positive. One other thing that is a gift – in addition to learning music – is she helps you – the student – stay positive and to keep the negative thoughts (“oh I can’t do this”) at bay. I always walked away from a lesson feeling better about myself and found that I could apply that to other areas of my life – not just music. I recommend Susan hands-down and can’t wait to get back into the groove of lessons shortly!

Paul Swortz: 2009
I am a hobby musician who was leery of formal instruction -- I am not patient enough to spend three-four months playing "Row Your Boat" while learning scales and chords. Susan got this immediately, and after my first lesson, had me playing a blues riff that made practicing the scales and chords a lot of fun. She is a phenonmenal player herself, and her instructional approach belends just the right amount of "vegetables" (e.g. counting, sight reading, etc) with ample "desserts" (e.g power chords, blues riffs, easy rock numbers/tabs) to keep me motivated, inspired, and practicing. I'm a player for life because of Susan.

Allie Davis:
Susan Palmer’s book “The Guitar Lesson Companion” does an excellent job at teaching beginning guitar with a multitude of useful and helpful material. It provides straightforward sight reading, theory, chords, improvisation - not to mention tons of helpful warm-up exercises. This book is jam-packed with knowledge that can help make any guitar player better. It’s a comprehensive and well written piece of work, complete with a CD. Her free online lessons and instruction only service to compliment this already thorough and awesome tool.

Susan Palmer, as a guitar teacher, is no average bear. She goes way above and beyond in her efforts to transmit her knowledge and obvious love of the instrument to students. Lessons with Susan are demanding, but are well worth it. She embeds every aspect of music in your mind. Insisting that students learn the fundamentals of music, she sets us up for nothing but success later on. Susan wants students to work hard and won’t accept less than a 100% effort. I would be fearful to darken her door without having done my previous week’s assignment. That being said, Susan Palmer serves as a teacher, mentor, and friend. Because of all she offers, you will find that Susan Palmer is one of those few people we run across in life that we will never forget.

Chris: 2008
I have taken lessons with Susan Palmer for twelve months now and I am here to tell you that her book "The Guitar Lesson Companion" is worth every penny. The book itself is very well organized, comprehensive and has enough content to keep an aspiring guitarist engaged for quite a long time. The CD tracks are fun and exciting to play along with and short of having Susan Palmer at your side, her online videos are exactly how she approaches the content in person during private lessons.

If you are in the Seattle area and are interested in getting started, Susan Palmer has my highest recommendation. She holds a high standard for her students but is very supportive during the entire process. Always generous with her compliments and words of encouragement, Susan Palmer is a true ambassador for musicianship.

Thank you Susan.

To learn more and sign up for private or group lessons and weekly jam classes, contact Susan Palmer: leadcatpress(at)gmail.com or (206) 349-3226

Other Popular Blogs by Susan Palmer:

May 10, 2009

That Amazing Guitarist Never Took a Lesson!

I'm sure you know someone who has never taken a music lesson but who is able to captivate an audience by playing the guitar. That's because a lot of people learn how to play the guitar by ear and "feel." There are only a handful of shapes and patterns you need to know in order to play hundreds of songs; so if you learn the feel and sound of those patterns, you can play a lot of music on the guitar without knowing a lot about music.

It is very important for students to develop a good ear and have a good feel for the instrument. In fact, those are probably the most valuable skills a guitar player can possess. But there are a lot of other fundamental concepts that help guitarists get more enjoyment on their musical journey: Music Notation (Standard and Tablature), Chords, Scales and Theory.

These fundamental concepts have been around for hundreds of years, and beginning students who master them save themselves a lot of time, money and frustration. Those guitarists who do not learn the fundamentals at the beginning usually have to go back and study them later on (if they want to get off that plateau!)

Not all students want to learn the fundamentals of music, and that's cool; I am not the right teacher for those students. It is hard work to teach these concepts to all of my students but I understand their value, and that makes my work very satisfying. Since it is not up to me to decide who will become a serious player, I make sure that everyone who studies with me has the same solid foundation.

Everything you need is on the internet, and that may be the problem.

All the scales, chords, theory, songs and technique exercises are all available online, anytime. But where do you begin and how do you know what is most important to learn? How will you know if you have a song right, or if you are developing a bad habit that will lead to a permanent injury?

While there's a ton of information available, nothing can replace the effectiveness of a good teacher. A good teacher will create a plan that is specifically designed to help you reach your goals in the most effective way possible. Challenging concepts can be clarified quickly, and most importantly, the learned skills are applied to the music that you want to play. A good teacher will also be able to inspire you when you need it.

Most students meet with their teacher just once a week, so having access to more educational resources is something that is welcomed by most teachers. Of course, just because something is on the internet doesn't mean that it is accurate. Good teachers will point students to helpful resources and be able to correct some of the mistakes found on others.

When I first started taking guitar lessons…

I was so excited to practice and do everything my teacher told me to do. But I soon discovered that my teacher did not have a plan for me. Each lesson began with the teacher asking me, “What do you want to learn today?” I felt overwhelmed and thought, “YOU are the teacher, YOU should know what I need to learn.” I spent a lot of money, time and effort trying to learn how to play, but I came away from it all just knowing a handful of songs.

When I decided that I wanted to teach professionally, it was important to me that I had a plan for how I was going to teach each student how to play the guitar. Most people want to learn how to play their favorite songs, but first they need to learn the basics. My goal is to help students develop basic skills quickly and effectively so that they can play a lot of songs in a short amount of time.

What You Need: Clear Goals, a Flexible Plan and Accountability!

If you want to learn how to play the guitar, you need to make some goals, commit to a learning program, and devote some time each day to practicing the guitar. But it doesn't stop there. You and your teacher need to periodically evaluate the your playing and the plan that you choose to follow.

A good plan is one that offers small goals that can be met each week and larger goals that lead to good playing and a good understanding of basic music concepts in a year or so. If a student has been taking lessons for more than a year and does not have a basic understanding of music reading, chords, theory and improvisation, that person needs to evaluate their plan and/or their teacher's ability.

To learn more and sign up for private or group lessons and weekly jam classes, contact Susan Palmer: leadcatpress(at)gmail.com or (206) 349-3226

Other Popular Blogs by Susan Palmer:

Find a Good Teacher in Your Area

Since a person does not need any kind of degree or training in order to call him/herself a guitar instructor, you have to do some work to find yourself a good teacher. You may have a friend who knows of a good guitar teacher, but I encourage you to carefully research all of your options. Guitar lessons require an investment of money, time and energy. There are a lot of teachers to choose from, so take your time and make a smart decision.

Ask music store employees, performing musicians, schools and your friends who take music lessons for their recommendations. You can also check your local paper, do a Google search and pick-up some flyers from your local coffee shop. Make a list of names, websites and phone numbers, and leave plenty of room for your notes and impressions. Try to collect between 5-10 contacts.

After you have gathered their contact information, you can prepare to interview each teacher over the phone. Be prepared to tell prospective teachers what you would like to achieve by taking guitar lessons, your current playing level, any past music experience you have had, the style(s) of music you enjoy, plus any other information you think would be helpful for them to know about you. Keep it brief, and realize that the teachers you are interviewing are also interviewing you.

If you live out in the middle of nowhere, don't fret! There are many great teachers who are offering webcam guitar lessons, including myself. All you need is an internet connection and a webcam.

To learn more and sign up for private or group lessons and weekly jam classes, contact Susan Palmer: leadcatpress(at)gmail.com or (206) 349-3226

Other Popular Blogs by Susan Palmer:

Interviewing Potential Guitar Teachers and Understanding Policies

Most private guitar teachers set their own rates, schedules and policies. Since you will need to learn how each teacher runs her/his studio, the phone interview gives you the opportunity to listen to the way each teacher answers your questions so you can get a good feel for each teacher's style and personality.

The phone interview can help you determine if a teacher is a good listener, patient and able to give you the information you need to know. If a teacher cannot sufficiently answer your questions during the interview, she/he will probably not be able to sufficiently explain what makes a G7 chord different from a G chord.

Here are some questions that you may want to ask each teacher:
1. What is your education background?
2. How long have you been teaching people how to play the guitar?
3. How many students do you currently teach?
4. What musical style(s) do you teach?
5. What age and levels of students do you enjoy teaching?
6. What are your strengths, and what things set you apart from other teachers?
7. Where do you teach, what do you charge and what is your cancellation policy?

You should never feel rushed to commit to a permanent lesson time, but a good teacher may be honest and tell you that this is the only lesson time available. If the teacher sounds like she/he may be a good fit for you, ask to take a trial lesson, which is not a free lesson.

Good teachers know that there isn't one teacher who is right for everyone, and most teachers will appreciate your effort to find a good match, so let each instructor know that you are taking lessons from several teachers until you find the best one for you. After you decide on a teacher, remember that you can always go someplace else if you are not satisfied with your lessons.

Understanding Your Guitar Teacher's Studio Policies

Most guitar teachers will send you a packet of information before your first lesson. This packet will most likely contain a summary of the teacher's rates, payment plan, cancellation policy and it may include other information that you will need to know before your first lesson.

Read through the information as soon as you receive the packet and call the instructor right away if you have a question. Many teachers will ask that the person who is responsible for lesson payment sign their name to agree that they have read and are prepared to follow the teacher's policies.

Rates:
Guitar lessons are offered at a variety of rates. Currently in Seattle, professional guitar teachers charge between $50-70 per hour. Some instructors teach only hour sessions, while other teachers offer half-hour or 45 minute sessions. Most teachers offer weekly lessons, although it is not uncommon for a teacher to offer students the option of coming once or twice a month. "Flex-Lessons" are sometimes offered to students who cannot commit to a regular day and time but can fill in when regular students are absent, and with webcam lessons, you may be able to pay only for the time you need.

Payment Plans:
There are many different payment plans that teachers use. Most teachers ask to be paid in cash or by check. You may be asked to be paid before a lesson begins, or to wait until after the session has ended. Some teachers also use PayPal, but they usually include the fee from PayPal in their bill to you.

Some teachers allow students to pay them at each weekly session, but this is not very common for professional teachers who have a lot of students. Other teachers prefer to be paid for a month of lessons at the beginning of each month, while other teachers may ask you to pay for 3 months at a time. These plans help teachers plan her/his finances, and they also help students make a stronger commitment to their music education.

Rescheduling Missed Lessons:
All teachers should reschedule or credit students for lessons that they themselves are unable to make. Some teachers can be very flexible and can offer make-up lessons to students who are absent, but many teachers do not offer any make-up lessons to students for any reason. Most teachers will reschedule students if the students gave them advanced notice (at least 24 hours) and the teacher has time for the rescheduled lesson.

The Questionnaire:
Often times, there will be a questionnaire for you to fill-out. Even though your teacher asked you some of these same questions over the phone, it is helpful to have the answers written down and filled in the teacher's book for reference. Also, the questionnaire gives you the opportunity to clearly state your goal(s) for the lessons, which will help you and your teacher stay on track during lessons.

The questionnaire may contain questions regarding your past musical experiences, your current playing ability, your goals, and other information that would be helpful for the instructor to know about you. Your phone number(s), mailing address and email may be asked for as well.

Other Helpful Information Your Teacher May Provide:
• The kind of guitar you should use
• A good music store in the area
• Directions to the studio
• Tools you will need (usually a guitar, a metronome, tuner, music stand and method book)
• What you need to bring to your first lesson
• An introductory video lesson that your teacher has posted to get you started. Here is the one that I created for my students: Lesson Video

Bottom line: Every teacher is different - If you don't understand or feel like you can agree to your teacher's policies, let her/him know before your first lesson.

To learn more and sign up for private or group lessons and weekly jam classes, contact Susan Palmer: leadcatpress(at)gmail.com or (206) 349-3226

Other Popular Blogs by Susan Palmer:

What to Expect at Your First Guitar Lesson

You will probably be very excited to begin your guitar lessons. Your teacher is also excited to meet you and learn more about you so that she/he can adapt to your learning style and help you reach your goals. At your first lesson, your teacher will most likely take an inventory of your current playing level and experience, talk about your daily practice routine and help you with your posture and hand position.

If you have never played an instrument before, you will be given a lot of information during the first lesson. Don't feel bad if you can't understand everything, and remember that this is your lesson: It's okay to ask questions.

If you have been playing the guitar for a while, your teacher may ask you to play something for her/him. This is just to give your teacher an idea of your strengths and weaknesses. Keep in mind that you are taking lessons to improve, so just do your best. Your teacher may also quiz you to figure out what you know and where you need improvement. Be honest if you don't understand something so your teacher can help you.

At your first lesson, your teacher will discuss your daily practice routine. It is crucial, especially at the beginning, that you practice every single day. You will need a quiet place where you can practice each day for 10-60 minutes. Some teachers will have you record your daily practice if they feel that it will help you see your progress and improve specific weaknesses.

One of the most important aspects of playing the guitar that your teacher can address with you is your posture. There is not just one correct way to hold the guitar and position your hands on the guitar that works in all situations. To keep your hands healthy, you need to position your body and hands differently in order to play certain notes and chords. Your teacher will show you specifically how to move your shoulders and elbows to accommodate the different positions as you progress.

If your first lesson is a trial lesson, which is my recommendation, be sure to ask your teacher when she/he needs to hear back from you if you decide to sign-up for regular lessons. Evaluate your teacher's professionalism, knowledge, understandability and your overall vibe. If it felt like a good fit, go for it. If it didn't feel like a good fit, let your teacher know as soon as possible. Good teachers know that they are not the best fit for everyone, and good teachers will encourage you to find a better teacher for you.

The Student's Responsibility

When students walk into my studio, I have a responsibility to provide them with a good guitar lesson. Specifically, that means that I need to listen carefully to the past week's assignment, provide feedback and applications for the concepts, and then assign new material that will help them reach their long-term goals.

But students also need to contribute to the lessons in order for the lessons to be effective. It is not enough for students to be on time and talk enthusiastically about the guitar. Students need to make sure they understand their teacher's expectations and they have good time management skills so they can be prepared for each lesson.

At the end of each guitar lesson, my students agree to complete a specific assignment. They are told that if they do not have their assignment completed by the following week, they will be dismissed to the practice room. Students quickly learn that I will not work for them if they do not work for me.

While I do hope to inspire my students, it is not my job to teach students to fall in love with the guitar to the extent that I am in love with the guitar. I expect that students already have a strong desire to play the guitar. I do not have the time, energy or interest to give all students the amount of inspiration that I feel naturally.

Guitar lessons are successful when both the teacher and the student understand their roles. Teachers need to have a plan for their students and students need to follow that plan. When there are clear expectations, it becomes easy for students to reach their goals, or if they are not reaching their goals, they can easily see who is not taking responsibility for their share of the work.

To learn more and sign up for private or group lessons and weekly jam classes, contact Susan Palmer: leadcatpress(at)gmail.com or (206) 349-3226

Other Popular Blogs by Susan Palmer:

It's Okay to Quit Your Guitar Lessons

You have always wanted to learn how to play the guitar, and your family got you a guitar for your last birthday. You decided to take some guitar lessons. You did your research and found a great teacher and you have enjoyed your lessons for a few months.

But the spark is gone. Practicing is a chore, and while you love your lessons, you are not sure if you really love the guitar. Sure, you enjoy what you've learned along the way, but you feel like you've satisfied the itch and you would like to have more time to spend on something else.

Is it okay to quit?

We are taught that it is not okay to quit something until it is finished. But how do you know when you are finished with the guitar? It's hard to tell. It is important to listen to yourself and do what is right for you.

It could be a normal plateau that all players experience. You might feel a renewed excitement by playing some new music, taking some additional lessons with a new teacher, attending a music camp, playing at a local jam session, or just taking a break.

Talk to your teacher about it. There is nothing wrong if you decide that you don't feel passionate about the guitar anymore. There is something wrong with you if you realize that you don't enjoy the guitar and you don't do anything to address the issue.

To learn more and sign up for private or group lessons and weekly jam classes, contact Susan Palmer: leadcatpress(at)gmail.com or (206) 349-3226

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Your Child's Guitar Lessons

Parents should not assume that their child will be safe during private lessons with a guitar teacher. Many music stores and music schools that employ or rent studio space to teachers do not run background checks on their teachers, so parents should not drop off their child for a lesson without first getting to know the teacher.

All parents should be welcome to sit-in on their child's lesson anytime. This gives parents the opportunity to hear the concepts that are being taught, and it also allows the teacher to discuss the student’s progress with the parent. Parents may also be able to share useful information about their child's learning style.

I require the parents of young children to be present during every lesson simply because young children who have their parents with them during the lesson play the guitar better than those who have not had their parents sit-in on their lessons.

Most 7 and 8 year old children are not able to absorb all of the lesson material and then apply it to their daily practice sessions on their own, even when I make careful notes on their assignment sheets. I have seen many young kids feel frustrated and quit lessons simply because their parents were not present during the lessons and did not help their child at home.

In order for a child to be successful, she/he needs to understand the assignments, practice on a daily basis, and hear lots of encouragement that the physical demands of the instrument will be met if she/he continues to practice every day. Parents do not need to be able to play an instrument themselves to be able to help their child, they just need to show their support and help their child develop good practice habits.

Remember that a person does not need any kind of degree, certification or training to call her/himself a guitar teacher, so it is up to you to find a good teacher for your child.

To learn more and sign up for private or group lessons and weekly jam classes, contact Susan Palmer: leadcatpress(at)gmail.com or (206) 349-3226

Other Popular Blogs by Susan Palmer:

Electric or Acoustic Guitar?

Based on my experience, the short answer is electric. Here's the exception: If a person loves the acoustic guitar and only wants to play acoustic guitar music, or the acoustic guitar is all that a person has the option of playing, I would recommend she/he learns to play on an acoustic guitar.

Learning how to play the guitar involves complex motor skills and is a physically demanding instrument in itself – Why not make it a little easier on yourself if you can? You can always play acoustic guitar after first learning on an electric guitar.

Electric guitars are easier to play because they usually use lighter strings and the action (the distance from the string to the fretboard) is usually lower on electric guitars. Also, many people have the goal of playing a style of music that sounds better when it's played on an electric guitar.

For kids, and those of us with smaller bodies, (women) an electric guitar may fit better because it's a smaller instrument. Yes, there are a few smaller-sized acoustic guitars out there (I use a small Yamaha guitar in my YouTube videos: www.youtube.com/leadcatpress ) but they don't sound as good as a full-size acoustic, and the action is still higher than on an electric guitar.

Many folks living in apartments or sharing houses with other people play electric guitar because they can practice more quietly on an electric guitar, either unplugged, or with headphones plugged into their amplifier. Of course, if you decide to go electric, you will need not only the guitar, but an amplifier and a cable to connect the guitar to the amplifier.

Regardless if you chose to play electric or acoustic guitar, I encourage you to purchase a guitar from a music store. That way, if it needs any adjustments, you can take it back to the store to have them repair the guitar. (A lot of times they do that for free.) Here in Seattle, I recommend that students visit American Music in Fremont or Emerald City Guitars in Pioneer Square.

One more thing - Make sure that you buy a guitar that you really dig, not just one that is on sale. You are going to spend a lot of time with your guitar, so you want to have a guitar that you find attractive and you can really love playing.

To learn more and sign up for private or group lessons and weekly jam classes, contact Susan Palmer: leadcatpress(at)gmail.com or (206) 349-3226

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Fundamental Guitar Concepts and the 3 Year Plan

Most teachers agree that there are certain concepts that are important for every serious guitar player to understand: Music Notation (Standard and Tablature), Chords, Scales and Theory. By learning the fundamentals of music, students build a solid base of skills that will support whatever style(s) they wish to pursue. It's undeniable that students need to master the fundamentals in order to reach their full potential.

Beginning students need to learn how to play specific tones (notes) for specific lengths of time. It makes sense for students to learn the basics or reading music because slowly and progressively, they learn to identify and then play each note in time, in the context of real music. Students also are also exposed to the history of music which is unconsciously absorbed in their ears and hands as they play each new piece.

Learning to play one note at a time prepares students to play more than one note at a time, or a chord. Chords demand good eye and hand coordination as well as a good understanding of rhythm and time. (A song doesn't really sound familiar until the correct chords and the correct rhythm are being played.)

Many students are interested in jamming with other musicians. That's where scales and theory become useful tools. If person has a basic understanding of music theory, she/he can figure out which scales can be played over a specific chord progression. Scales and chord progressions are studied in beginning music theory classes.

Tablature is a system of notation that is designed specifically for guitarists. It can be helpful because unlike some instruments, like the piano, many of the notes on the guitar can be played in several different places on the neck. (I think the average note can be played about 2.8 different places, but it depends on the length of the neck.) Tablature tells guitarists where to play the music, but most of the time it does not show the rhythm. If the rhythm is shown, it is unintelligible to people who have not studied standard music notation.

Each teacher has a unique way of presenting, explaining and applying the fundamentals to the music that you want to play. Of course, many teachers do not teach the fundamentals of music, and those teachers have a lot of excuses to explain why they do not teach them. More often than not, teachers who do not teach the fundamentals of music do not know them well enough themselves.

Becoming a Good Guitar Player in 3 Years

One of the most common questions that prospective students ask me is, "How long will it take me to get good?" There are simply too many variables to answer that question. It depends on a person's desire, practice habits, intelligence, coordination, previous musical experience, along with many other considerations.

But let's say that a student has a strong desire to play the guitar, the self-discipline to practice each day, a fairly high intelligence, good coordination and has listened to lots of good music throughout her/his life. Let's also say that this person's learning style perfectly matches my teaching style. I could predict that that person could be a good guitar player in about 3 years.

Year One Skills:
• Reading Standard Music Notation in Open Position
• All Open Position Chords
• One Minor Pentatonic Scale Pattern and One Major Scale Pattern
• Chromatic Scale Theory
• Note Names on the "E" and "A" Strings
• Power Chords, Major and Minor Barre Chords with "E" and "A" String Roots

Year One Student Application: After 2-3 months of private study and practice, the student joins a Guitar Club and plays at weekly jam sessions. The student also learns songs from online videos and from friends in the Guitar Club. The student plays every day for an hour or so and practices about 10-40 minutes a day.

Year Two Skills:
• Apply Reading Standard Music Notation in Open Position to Jazz and Classical Pieces
• All 5 Minor Pentatonic and Major Scale Patterns, in different keys
• Dom. 7th, Major 7th, Minor 7th, Diminished, Half-Diminished, Dom. 9 and b9 Chords
• Major Scale, Chord and Major Scale Harmonization Theory
• The "C-A-G-E-D" System: All Major 7th, Dom. 7th and minor 7th in all 5 Positions

Year Two Student Application: The student attends the Guitar Club's weekly jam sessions and periodically brings tunes that she/he has written-out for the group. The student joins the school Jazz Band and may also start her/his own small group to play cover tunes and original music.

Year Three Skills:
• Reading Standard Music Notation in Different Positions
• Altered and Extended Chords
• Jazz Chord/Melodies and Chord/Solos
• Improvisation: Scales, Function/Note Name Identification, Ear Training, Transcription
• The Theory of Modes, Other Minor Scales (Modes and Harmonization)

Year Three Student Application: The student is leading some of the Guitar Club jam sessions, soloing in the school jazz band, performing in rock/blues/jazz bands, composing music and teaching other beginning students how to play the guitar.

I had a teacher who once told me that he could teach someone everything she/he needed to know about music in a year. I agree that the knowledge can be passed on very quickly, but I think it takes more time for students to really absorb the concepts. I feel that my plan works well for many students, as long as the student recognizes that it is her/his responsibility to use the skills they learn in real playing situations.

To learn more and sign up for private or group lessons and weekly jam classes, contact Susan Palmer: leadcatpress(at)gmail.com or (206) 349-3226

Other Popular Blogs by Susan Palmer:

Illiterate Guitarists

How do you get a guitarist to turn down her/his amplifier?
Answer: Ask her/him to read a piece of music.

Reading standard music notation is an important skill which is often neglected by guitarists. There are many incredible guitar players who never learned how to read music, but they were not incredible guitar players because they never learned how to read music.

It amazes me that this is such a hot topic among guitar teachers: http://acousticguitarclub.ning.com/group/teachers/forum/topics/teaching-students-to-read

Reading music is not a secret that should only be understood by a select group of musicians. The challenge is that it requires learning seemingly random relationships which must be performed in consistent time. This task becomes simple when concepts are isolated, repeated and applied to good-sounding tunes.

Music is a language. I don't think about the names of each letter when I read because I learned the alphabet when I was a child. If I didn't know how to read, I would still be able to function in society, but I would spend a lot more time figuring things out. I think it's amazing that our brains can take the building blocks and express countless thoughts and feelings through sentences, or musical phrases.

If you have a good teacher, you will stay motivated, and in just a few months you will have a valuable skill which will expand your musical options profoundly for the rest of your life. I don't understand why people who claim to love music and the guitar but are so opposed to learning more about music by studying the standard form of music notation that dates back hundreds of years. Think of all the music they could play, if they could only read it.

To learn more and sign up for private or group lessons and weekly jam classes, contact Susan Palmer: leadcatpress(at)gmail.com or (206) 349-3226

Other Popular Blogs by Susan Palmer:

Free Tabs!

At first I was sad when the online music sites removed all the guitar tabs. My students lost a lot of music. But then some of my eager students took my advice and started learning how to play songs by ear, by themselves. Isn't music all about listening anyway?

After figuring-out a few songs, I saw students get a lot better and faster at it. (There are software programs that can slow material down and loop short sections of it, so almost anyone can do it.) It became a fun challenge that significantly improved their ears and confidence in a fairly short amount of time.

There are several ear training computer programs available that are used in the music schools around the world. They can be very helpful for students who want to really get serious about their ears and develop a total understanding of music.

The programs usually cover intervals, scales, chords, chord progressions, rhythms and melodies. Listening is hard work, and it takes training.

My advice: don't be tricked into thinking that you need their tabs. Spend your time developing the skills that will improve your musicianship and show these big companies (who now want to charge you for the transcriptions) that you don't need them. Really, it's probably only a matter of time before they find a way to charge us for the songs that get stuck in our heads.

To learn more and sign up for private or group lessons and weekly jam classes, contact Susan Palmer: leadcatpress(at)gmail.com or (206) 349-3226

Other Popular Blogs by Susan Palmer:

The Art of Practicing Your Guitar

Practicing Verses Playing

Many students who take guitar lessons tell me that they practice every day, but they don't have their assignments mastered by their lesson time and they are not satisfied with their rate of improvement. Here is what I tell them:

There is a difference between practicing your guitar and playing your guitar. Playing is a very good way to spend your time, and you will definitely build some important skills if you play your guitar everyday. But when you play guitar, you are not necessarily practicing. Remember: Play is what we do for fun.

Practicing involves working on something that does not come easily. Often times it makes you feel frustrated, inadequate or board. If you experience some of these feelings, you have no doubt found an area that needs work. To address the challenge, break it down into smaller parts. Ask your teacher to help you isolate the problem if you cannot find a solution right away.

Because practice takes so much energy, mental focus and determination, I encourage my students to practice with full concentration for only 10-20 minutes a day, and then play music for about 30 minutes a day. You won't necessarily become a better guitar player by practicing more; it's the combination of practicing the tricky parts until they become easier and playing a lot of music that comes easily and gives you enjoyment that leads to better playing.

Daily Practice

Studying for your guitar lessons is not exactly like studying for your other classes. You may be successful in another class by simply cramming the night before a test, but because you need to develop small motor skills and muscle memory to play the guitar, daily practice is crucial to your progress.

You will be much better off if you practice 20 minutes each day than if you practice for three hours right before your lesson. That's because your muscles need to learn the music, and to do that, you need to give them breaks to properly absorb each task. If you want to improve at the fastest rate, practice for short amounts of time, several times a day.

On the days when you are extremely busy, practice for 5 or 10 minutes; but make it quality practice. Work on the areas that need the work, and don't spend your time playing things that you can already play well.

There is a way that practicing the guitar is similar to studying for your other classes: If you are reading and you do not understand a particular word, you don't simply reread the paragraph with the hope that you will magically understand it the second time. You stop reading, find the definition of the word, and then reread the paragraph. If you are working on a piece of music and you cannot play a particular section, you should stop and work on that particular section until you can play it, then go back to the top.

Frustration!!!

Many guitar students tell me that they feel frustrated when they practice the guitar. That statement actually makes me pretty happy because it tells me that they really want to learn how to play the guitar. The students who do not occasionally feel frustrated actually frustrate me because of their lack of desire.

It is important for students to keep learning new and challenging material. A lot of guitar players become comfortable with a handful of chords, a scale pattern and a few cool-sounding riffs. After a while, they may try something that demands a new skill, but they give up because the frustration overwhelms them.

These players forget what it was like when they were first learning how to play the guitar. It was not all fun and it didn't come easy. There were sore fingers, complex diagrams and the fear that no matter how much time they spent at it, they had no idea if they would ever be able to play anything at all. But they worked at it anyway because they had a strong desire to learn how to play.

Those players need to remember how frustrating it was when they couldn't "get it," and they need to remember how good it felt when they did "get it." That's the process that all musicians go through when they are first learning how to play, as well as when they have been playing for 20 or more years.

I believe there are a few very important skills that good musicians develop over the years. Here are a few: A strong desire to play an instrument, the ability to concentrate for long periods of time, and a way of dealing with the frustration of not being able to perform new skills immediately or consistently.

Good teachers welcome a certain amount of frustration because we all feel it. It can be helpful for students to talk about it and to be reminded that the learning process involves feelings of frustration from time to time. But if a student has an overwhelming amount of frustration, it might be a good idea for the student to take a break for a while. The student can then see if her/his feelings can be better understood and managed so that playing the guitar can still be a fun activity.

You Are So Talented, You Don't Need to Practice

Some students think they are fooling their teacher, or they must be very talented musicians if their teacher doesn’t notice that they have not practiced their assignments. What it really means is that the teacher doesn't care, as long as tuition is paid.

I have seen guitar teachers laugh at their students who keep coming back when absolutely nothing is being accomplished. "I just keep wondering when they'll notice," one teacher told me.

These students think they are fooling the teacher, but really, the teacher is fooling the students. Stop taking lessons or find a teacher who will hold you accountable to your assignments.

To learn more and sign up for private or group lessons and weekly jam classes, contact Susan Palmer: leadcatpress(at)gmail.com or (206) 349-3226

Other Popular Blogs by Susan Palmer:

Terrible Teaching

Guitar Teachers who Only Teach Songs

There are a lot of people who sound good playing the guitar, even though they have not had any formal training on the instrument. Many of these people make money teaching other people how to play the guitar; but how do they teach something that they do not understand themselves?

Someone can show you where to place your fingers on the neck to play specific songs and riffs, (which is great because you have to learn the feel of the instrument) but there's more to it if you really want to understand music on the guitar. Trained musicians know how music works: They know the language as well as the theory of music, so they are more capable of clearly expressing themselves through music, and they are more prepared and to explain music to you.

Teachers who do not teach the fundamentals of music to their students lead their students down the wrong path. After years of lessons, thousands of dollars and countless hours of practice, students eventually realize that they have a lot of gaps in their playing. They may feel that they do not have enough talent to really "get" music.

Maybe those students were adamantly against learning the fundamentals of music when they first started taking lessons because they assumed it was a long difficult path that wasn't as interesting as learning the songs that the teacher was willing to show to them. If their teacher didn't know the fundamentals of music her/himself, it may have felt like a perfect fit for both people. Eventually, these students realize that they cannot go any further without going back and learning the concepts they should have been taught in the first place.

Teachers who understand the fundamentals of music know the value of those skills, and they will pass them on to you, right from the start. Good teachers also know that you want to learn songs, and so they will apply the fundamentals of music to the songs that you want to play. By studying with a good teacher, you will gain a clear understanding of music on the guitar, have more fun, and you may actually surpass the goals you originally set for yourself.

I encourage most people to study with a teacher who understands how music works, but that kind of teacher may not be right for you. It's okay if you just want to be able to play a few famous riffs and not take it too seriously. Whatever your goals are, ask prospective teachers how she/he can help you reach those goals, and sign-up for a trial lesson with the teacher who sounds right for you.

Traits of a Terrible Teacher

There are a lot of teachers to choose from; here are a few traits that suggest to me that someone is not a very good teacher:

1) If a teacher begins each lesson asking the student what she/he would like to do, that can mean that the teacher does not have a plan for the student. Students need a plan so they can measure their progress and stay on track to reach their goals. Teachers need to have a plan to ensure that all of their students learn all of the important concepts and new students understand what will be expected from them when they sign up for lessons.

2) If a teacher makes the student feel bad or stupid for asking a question, the teacher is simply not doing her/his job.

3) If the teacher doesn't keep any record of the student's assignments, the teacher is probably not invested in the progress of the student. When a teacher cannot hold a student accountable for the lesson material, the student begins to take the lessons less seriously and does not progress at a good rate.

4) If the teacher plays or show's-off for the majority of the lesson, the teacher is wasting time. (Of course, if I had an opportunity to hear Wes Montgomery play for an hour, I would think of that has time and money very well spent.)

5) If the teacher is unprofessional: late, unorganized, using the lesson time for other tasks, etc., that person shows disrespect toward the music and the student.

Some bad teachers are lazy, some don't want to share their secrets with you because it took them so long to figure them out for themselves, and some teachers don't know enough about music to be able to explain the concepts to you. You are paying your teacher a lot of money to help you learn. If that is not happening, find another teacher.

Good teachers have a total understanding of the guitar and a system of prioritizing and presenting the key concepts that caters to the musical tastes and learning styles of many different types of students. They are patient, encouraging and brutally honest when necessary. They teach because they love the guitar, they get along well with most people and they love teaching people how to play the guitar.

$1,500 for a Few Riffs and An Ego

Many teachers have told me that they understand how important it is for guitarists to know the fundamental skills but they do not teach them because their students don't want to learn them. Really? All of their students are happy to spend thousands of dollars on years of lessons and come away with a few party tricks?

I don't let my students tell me what I will teach them. Sure, they can tell me what songs they want to learn and I will apply the concepts to those songs, but the curriculum is decided by me and informed by the experience and knowledge of my colleagues and myself.

Part of my job involves researching, networking and consulting with other teachers and guitarists. Students pay me not only for the lesson time that we share together, but to do this investigating so that I can deliver the best material in the most effective manner.

Some teachers have told me that the fundamentals of music are difficult to teach and they don't have the stamina to teach them to every student. Teaching people how to play the guitar is work, and that is why students pay teachers.

I am a very meticulous teacher and I work very hard to be consistent with each one of my students. I don't let laziness, boredom or a student's request to skim the material influence my work. The fundamental skills are important, and I work with each student until the concepts are mastered.

My students notice my hard work and my passion for teaching, and they work hard for me in return. I am very proud of them and I know that they appreciate the honest work that we do together. They will take the lessons they learn with me into whatever field they choose to pursue.

To learn more and sign up for private or group lessons and weekly jam classes, contact Susan Palmer: leadcatpress(at)gmail.com or (206) 349-3226

Other Popular Blogs by Susan Palmer:

The Importance of Music Education

I make my living by teaching folks how to play the guitar; so obviously I see an immediate value in supporting music education programs. But if I wasn't teaching people how to play the guitar, the lessons that I have learned by studying music would help me find another way to make a living.

One of the most important skills that students learn while studying an instrument is discipline. It is crucial that students practice every day in order to build the muscle memory and strength to play an instrument. I see students balance school, work, vacations and sports in amazing ways in order to achieve their musical goals.

Most students encounter periods of frustration and/or periods of time when progress is slow. Music students learn how deal with these feelings and how to keep working toward a goal that seems impossible to reach. When they do reach their goals, I remind them of their struggle and of the awesome feeling they earned by sticking to the plan and working hard. This inspires them to set more goals and focus on the work, without letting frustration debilitate their practice sessions.

Musicians are creative people. But their creativity is not limited to their compositions and performances; it is developed while they are practicing. When a student becomes aware of a deficiency in her/his playing, that student uses her/his creative skills to fix the problem. Music students understand that there are always challenges and there are always solutions; problem solving is a game and a part of life.

I'm sure that other teachers and students could add pages of reasons why we should support music education programs, and I welcome these additions. Music programs have been cut across the country and many people are forced to cut their personal expenses, including music lessons.

The reason I have devoted my life to the field of music education is because I understand the importance of music education. People need to understand the short and long term benefits of studying an instrument. Music education helps to develop discipline, problem solving skills and most of all, music sounds good.

To learn more and sign up for private or group lessons and weekly jam classes, contact Susan Palmer: leadcatpress(at)gmail.com or (206) 349-3226

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Get More Out of Your Guitar Lessons

Sep 4, 2009

Susan Palmer's Guitar Studio - Capitol Hill & Madrona Guitar Lessons in Seattle

Reivews of Susan Palmer's Guitar Method Book

Testimonials from Susan Palmer's Guitar Students

May 10, 2009

That Amazing Guitarist Never Took a Lesson!

Find a Good Teacher in Your Area

Interviewing Potential Guitar Teachers and Understanding Policies

What to Expect at Your First Guitar Lesson

It's Okay to Quit Your Guitar Lessons

Your Child's Guitar Lessons

Electric or Acoustic Guitar?

Fundamental Guitar Concepts and the 3 Year Plan

Illiterate Guitarists

Free Tabs!

The Art of Practicing Your Guitar

Terrible Teaching

The Importance of Music Education

Music Fundamentals for Today's Guitarists

Search This Blog

Get More Out of Your Guitar Lessons

Sep 4, 2009

May 10, 2009

Music Fundamentals for Today's Guitarists

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