I have heard many stories from current students about their past guitar teachers and these stories often leave me shaking my head. The good thing is that it helps me to know why it is that my students continue taking lessons with me.

10 Signs You Need a Better Guitar Teacher:

1. Your teacher can't remember what you learned last week, or even what level you are at. He or she asks you at the beginning of each lesson: "So what do you want to learn today?"

2. Your teacher has no plan for the lesson, and no structured plan for your long-term development as a guitar player and musician. He or she may even be oblivious to the kinds of music that you want to learn.

3. Your teacher offers little or no encouragement.

4. You leave your guitar lessons feeling uninspired, and don't want to practice

5. Your teacher is impatient.

6. Your teacher says "just do this" and plays something on his guitar without explaining how

7. You've learned how to play a number of songs, but still have no understanding of how the fretboard works, why certain chords sound good with others, how melodies are related to scales, etc. All these things make playing the guitar easier in the long run.

8. The teacher's studio is the size of a closet, or their studio or home is messy, stuffy, or generally uncomfortable.

9. Your teacher never wanted to be a teacher, but got stuck doing this because his or her rock star dreams didn't pan out. He is generally uninspired and you can tell he doesn't want to be there. He spends half the lesson showing off, rather than helping you.

10. If you've been taking lessons and feeling like you aren't getting anywhere but you're not sure why, it's probably because you need a better teacher. A good guitar teacher can pinpoint what you're doing wrong, give you some new ideas to help you play the kinds of music you want to play, and direct you to more music and ideas that inspire you. And a good teacher can do all this while at the same time inspire you such that you leave the lesson feeling excited and can't wait to practice more.

If you are looking for an excellent guitar teacher in Vancouver, please consider contacting me.