Advice on direction when working with a teacher
Comments
Totally. That’s what you’d get if you were working with a songwriting or compositional tutor. My daughter did composition with Jamie Doe, fantastic songwriter, for a few years. She’d take her part-formulated stuff and they’d work on it together.
I don't think that's weird, at least you've got an idea of what you want out of it. Have you talked about it with your teacher? Perhaps they just need to know what you want to get out of it, and if they're a good teacher they will listen (or if they think you'd be better off with a different teacher then they would tell you or refer you to someone).
It sound as though song writing is your direction. However, for anyone who doesn’t want to get into lyrics, or resolutely doesn’t want to sing, there is a different direction. That is to compose instrumentals, either as performance pieces in their own right, or for someone else to put lyrics to.
There’s a tendency to think of electric guitar playing as either rhythm (chords) or soloing (single notes). There’s a middle way: a combination of partial chords and single notes. It’s similar to fingerstyle acoustic guitar, or jazz guitar, in that you carry a whole song by being economic about what you play. There are different ways of doing it. You can play a walking bass line on the lower two strings, with chord stabs above. 
You can play chords with incidental notes in between, often following a melody, or part of it, on the higher strings.
Thanks for the responses. I didn’t even know a compositional instructor was a thing, but makes perfect sense.
I can see both viewpoints. I certainly don’t want someone to write songs on my behalf. Maybe a more subtle approach is the way to go. “I want to concentrate more on complex chords and their arrangement, unique strumming/picking patterns etc”. I’m trying to think of some artists with this in mind, who’s songs might be worth focusing on (and gathering inspiration from). There’s an Ariel Posen rhythm triad course on TrueFire that may be worth looking into.
Maybe I really should be looking for an acoustic tutor!
Maybe I really should be looking for an acoustic tutor!
Cheers @Roland - I’ll look more into that.
Always find someone who will teach you what you want to play and not what is easy for them to show you.
Learning and playing what you want will hold your interest and inspire you to pick up your guitar.
Learning and playing what you want will hold your interest and inspire you to pick up your guitar.
As a teacher myself I always find out what the learner's interests are and steer my lessons towards that. No point teaching teenagers blues or theory and no point teaching older learners the pop crap in the charts.
Sounds like you're more into composition and how songs are built, and the the theory behind it perhaps.
80% of my learners just play their favourite artists/songs and that's enough for them. They get a sense of achievement when they can play along to the tune in the room when we have our lesson.
Sounds like you're more into composition and how songs are built, and the the theory behind it perhaps.
80% of my learners just play their favourite artists/songs and that's enough for them. They get a sense of achievement when they can play along to the tune in the room when we have our lesson.
Do you steer your pupils towards the theory behind their favourite songs too? I think a little theory is helpful in most cases too.Lestratcaster said:As a teacher myself I always find out what the learner's interests are and steer my lessons towards that. No point teaching teenagers blues or theory and no point teaching older learners the pop crap in the charts.
Sounds like you're more into composition and how songs are built, and the the theory behind it perhaps.
80% of my learners just play their favourite artists/songs and that's enough for them. They get a sense of achievement when they can play along to the tune in the room when we have our lesson.
Some aren't interested, some are. Even if its basic stuff like that chords belong to which key, etc. But if they just want to learn to play for pleasure then that's fine.guitarjack66 said:Do you steer your pupils towards the theory behind their favourite songs too? I think a little theory is helpful in most cases too.Lestratcaster said:As a teacher myself I always find out what the learner's interests are and steer my lessons towards that. No point teaching teenagers blues or theory and no point teaching older learners the pop crap in the charts.
Sounds like you're more into composition and how songs are built, and the the theory behind it perhaps.
80% of my learners just play their favourite artists/songs and that's enough for them. They get a sense of achievement when they can play along to the tune in the room when we have our lesson.
Teacher here!
More years of it than I care to admit to if I'm being honest...
The bottom line is that you don't seem to be enjoying what you're learning, and that needs to be addressed. I also feel it's very important for me to point out that this will not be addressed unless you talk about this with your teacher.
We aren't mind readers, and if you don't let us know when our material isn't motivating you then we are unlikely to guess until it's too late. So my first piece of advice is to have this conversation with your teacher rather than with us on here.
Secondly, you mentioned yourself that some of your comments sounded a lot like excuses, and I agree.
So, my second piece of advice comes as a player rather than a teacher, and it's to really ask yourself if the reason you're losing motivation might be because you aren't seeing progress as quickly as you'd like?
With less time available, maybe you aren't putting the hours in that are necessary to really dig in to those solos in the way you'd like to. There's absolutely nothing wrong with that, and the only reason I'm suggesting it here is because I'd hate for you to turn your back on an aspect of guitar which you might only be temporarily frustrated with. We all hit plateaus in our playing, and it can really feel like banging your head against a brick wall at times when trying to hit that next level. Maybe taking a break from it is the answer, but don't fall into the trap of convincing yourself that you aren't interested if you are. Don't walk away from it just because it's taking longer than you thought, if you're concerned with the speed of your progress then, again, that's a conversation to have with your teacher.
Maybe the answer is looking more into composition and theory for a while? Maybe the answer is forcing yourself to practice more? Most likely, it's probably a little bit of both.
Consider setting yourself some short term goals, this can really help to highlight your progress and give you some much needed encouragement. You say you aren't going to be playing these solos in a band, but there's no reason why you can't start covering these tracks yourself either on a small private (or public!) YouTube channel, or even just with a little home recording setup to churn out a few mp3s and make yourself a little EP. I'm sure we'd all love to see or hear what you can come up with!
More years of it than I care to admit to if I'm being honest...
The bottom line is that you don't seem to be enjoying what you're learning, and that needs to be addressed. I also feel it's very important for me to point out that this will not be addressed unless you talk about this with your teacher.
We aren't mind readers, and if you don't let us know when our material isn't motivating you then we are unlikely to guess until it's too late. So my first piece of advice is to have this conversation with your teacher rather than with us on here.
Secondly, you mentioned yourself that some of your comments sounded a lot like excuses, and I agree.
So, my second piece of advice comes as a player rather than a teacher, and it's to really ask yourself if the reason you're losing motivation might be because you aren't seeing progress as quickly as you'd like?
With less time available, maybe you aren't putting the hours in that are necessary to really dig in to those solos in the way you'd like to. There's absolutely nothing wrong with that, and the only reason I'm suggesting it here is because I'd hate for you to turn your back on an aspect of guitar which you might only be temporarily frustrated with. We all hit plateaus in our playing, and it can really feel like banging your head against a brick wall at times when trying to hit that next level. Maybe taking a break from it is the answer, but don't fall into the trap of convincing yourself that you aren't interested if you are. Don't walk away from it just because it's taking longer than you thought, if you're concerned with the speed of your progress then, again, that's a conversation to have with your teacher.
Maybe the answer is looking more into composition and theory for a while? Maybe the answer is forcing yourself to practice more? Most likely, it's probably a little bit of both.
Consider setting yourself some short term goals, this can really help to highlight your progress and give you some much needed encouragement. You say you aren't going to be playing these solos in a band, but there's no reason why you can't start covering these tracks yourself either on a small private (or public!) YouTube channel, or even just with a little home recording setup to churn out a few mp3s and make yourself a little EP. I'm sure we'd all love to see or hear what you can come up with!
I have never had high expectations of myself therefore I am fine with where I am and as an older learner my 'slowly but surely' approach works for me. You on the other hand seem to need something more to stimulate your interest and maybe the theory side of it will provide it? Or even something from 'left field' that you arent normally interested in like say Jazz,Country,Funk,Metal or whatever may provide it? Go outside your box and change teachers if you believe that may help. Sometimes putting the guitar down for a week or two may even provide this? Anyway,good luck and let us know how you get on.
Just checking, have you gone over 'functional harmony' with your teacher? That's vital to understanding how chords interact with each other.
My apologies for the late reply. I actually didn't realise that anyone answered! I haven't, but I just discovered your YouTube channel so I'll see what I can find.kelpbeds said:Just checking, have you gone over 'functional harmony' with your teacher? That's vital to understanding how chords interact with each other.
Evo said:Teacher here!
More years of it than I care to admit to if I'm being honest...
The bottom line is that you don't seem to be enjoying what you're learning, and that needs to be addressed. I also feel it's very important for me to point out that this will not be addressed unless you talk about this with your teacher.
We aren't mind readers, and if you don't let us know when our material isn't motivating you then we are unlikely to guess until it's too late. So my first piece of advice is to have this conversation with your teacher rather than with us on here.
Secondly, you mentioned yourself that some of your comments sounded a lot like excuses, and I agree.
So, my second piece of advice comes as a player rather than a teacher, and it's to really ask yourself if the reason you're losing motivation might be because you aren't seeing progress as quickly as you'd like?
With less time available, maybe you aren't putting the hours in that are necessary to really dig in to those solos in the way you'd like to. There's absolutely nothing wrong with that, and the only reason I'm suggesting it here is because I'd hate for you to turn your back on an aspect of guitar which you might only be temporarily frustrated with. We all hit plateaus in our playing, and it can really feel like banging your head against a brick wall at times when trying to hit that next level. Maybe taking a break from it is the answer, but don't fall into the trap of convincing yourself that you aren't interested if you are. Don't walk away from it just because it's taking longer than you thought, if you're concerned with the speed of your progress then, again, that's a conversation to have with your teacher.
Maybe the answer is looking more into composition and theory for a while? Maybe the answer is forcing yourself to practice more? Most likely, it's probably a little bit of both.
Consider setting yourself some short term goals, this can really help to highlight your progress and give you some much needed encouragement. You say you aren't going to be playing these solos in a band, but there's no reason why you can't start covering these tracks yourself either on a small private (or public!) YouTube channel, or even just with a little home recording setup to churn out a few mp3s and make yourself a little EP. I'm sure we'd all love to see or hear what you can come up with!
Very much appreciated comment. I managed to write 6 songs (a delay pedal set me off!) in my private time since, but still stuck in the same cycle with my teacher. A Truefire course is probably the way to go.
Teacher here, also. I’ve been teaching in schools 5 days a week since 2006.
Reading your post, the first thing that stood out to me is that you have two young children. As a dad to two ‘spirited’ neurodivergent children myself, I have to say this is your biggest obstacle. In fact, this morning I woke up, came downstairs and cleaned up, wondering when today I would be able to squeeze in a bit of guitar practice without pissing anyone off. Also, you might think I get chance to practice at work, but I really don’t any more, perhaps due to extra managerial demands (I seem to remember practising and writing songs at work when I was younger).
What I’m saying is I don’t think you’re making excuses - it’s hard.
What I’m saying is I don’t think you’re making excuses - it’s hard.
Some stuff that might help (us both): Have you got a space to play? Have you got your stuff set up, ready to go? Guitar on a stand? Maybe you need to print out the pieces and have them on a music stand (this works much better for me!).
As far as material - it’s all very well wanting to learn songs, be specific about the songs you want to learn. Make a long set list for your teacher and email it to him (I have an online pupil who has done this this very week and I’m happy because I can choose the order of difficulty and prep something for his next lesson).
I'm on the same boat too, two young children, autistic, not enough time to practice... comforting to read all this.
Here's what helps me:
- I have a guitar near the kitchen, wall mounted so the kids can't knock it over too easily. That's my workhorse, I play it everyday.
- I keep a headphone amp for night time practice. I also practice in the conservatory, putting my balls at risk from freezing.
- My songs are my main driver. I don't practice as regularly if I'm not working on something. It might work for you too!
- More often than not I'll try to include my kids too... they can play a bit of percussion, and little one can do bass lines on the keyboards.
Here's what helps me:
- I have a guitar near the kitchen, wall mounted so the kids can't knock it over too easily. That's my workhorse, I play it everyday.
- I keep a headphone amp for night time practice. I also practice in the conservatory, putting my balls at risk from freezing.
- My songs are my main driver. I don't practice as regularly if I'm not working on something. It might work for you too!
- More often than not I'll try to include my kids too... they can play a bit of percussion, and little one can do bass lines on the keyboards.
I’ve been taking electric guitar Skype lessons for quite a while with the same teacher. We get on well, it’s affordable, but outside of the lessons I’m struggling to find the motivation to pick up the guitar. We mostly work on songs, with focus on lead playing, but I don’t play with a band so am finding it tedious learning solos that I’ll never get to play live. Yes there’s backing tracks, but I’ve got two young kids so sitting in front of a computer/book painstakingly reading solo tablature is not that accessible, unless I can box out a lot of time. I’m aware these sound like excuses.