If you're considering teaching guitar to a friend or family member or you want to build a career as a guitar teacher, you've probably wondered whether you're good enough to be a guitar teacher. It's common for people considering teaching guitar to question their own abilities and wonder if they have what it takes to teach guitar. Let's look at how good you need to be and what really matters when it comes to teaching guitar.
The good news is that being a great guitar teacher has very little to do with your actual guitar skills. Students don't care about what you can play on the guitar. Students care about what you can teach them to play on the guitar. You don't need to be a virtuoso or have a wall full of degrees. You just need to be able to teach students how to achieve their goals.
If you are reasonably happy with your guitar abilities, that's a sign you have enough skill to start teaching others. Seeing as guitar skills aren't very important to becoming a great guitar teacher, let's look at what is important.
What Type of Students Can You Teach?
Another way of thinking about how good you need to be to teach guitar is to think about what type of students you could teach. Think about what you can currently play on guitar. What type of people would be interested in learning what you can play? For example, think about the songs you can play. Do you think you can teach those songs to students? Can you explain how you learned those songs and help students do the same?
The best starting point for becoming a teacher is to start by teaching what you've learned yourself. If you're a rock guitarist and you know how to improvise and jam over backing tracks, there will be students looking for a teacher like you to learn how to do that. If you're a songwriter and you've written a few full songs, there will be students out there wanting to learn from you how you did it.
Make a list of everything you know on guitar. Write down any songs you know, solos you've learned, techniques you can use, music theory you know, etc. You might be surprised with how much you're able to teach once you look at what you already know. Take a look at your list and think about who might also want to learn those songs, skills, and topics.
Do You Need Qualifications To Teach Guitar?
This is one of the most common questions we receive from new members wanting to become guitar teachers. They're often worried that potential students will run away when they hear they don't have any formal qualifications. The good news here is that for most guitar teachers, you don't need any formal qualifications. Not only do you not need formal qualifications to teach guitar, most students don't care about qualifications. Most students want to learn to play songs and jam. Qualifications don't play a role in teaching your students how to learn songs.
The only times you should consider getting formal qualifications is if you're planning on getting a job at a school as a teacher, or if qualifications are an important part of your student's goals. For example, if your student wants to take exams and study towards getting their own formal qualifications, it helps them if you've already gone through the process. You'll be able to prepare them for exams, explain to them what to expect at every step along the way, and guide them.
But if your student isn't interested in studying guitar formally with the goal of getting a qualification, then it's not important. Having a qualification won't magically make you a better teacher.
Do You Need A Licence To Teach Guitar?
Every country and every state is likely to have different regulations. While it's highly unlikely that you will be required to have any license to teach guitar, it's a good idea to check with your local council or state authorities if you plan on teaching children. Most countries require some sort of police check or 'working with children' card if you plan on teaching children. Getting these checks done will protect yourself.
If you plan on teaching privately in your home or in students' homes, check your local business laws for any potential issues. For example, there may be insurance or public liability implications from teaching guitar out of your home. As every country is different, it's best to check with your local sources than rely on third-party information.
Do You Need To Learn Music Theory To Teach Guitar?
If music theory is important to your students, it's important to you. If it's not important to your students, it's not important to you. Music theory is a highly debated topic with guitarists as it's possible to become a great guitarist whether you learn it or not. Some guitarists feel it's crucial to learn, while others feel it gets in the way of creativity.
Whatever views you have on music theory, the important point to remember is that there's no set rule on what you should teach students. If you don't know music theory and don't want to teach it, that's fine. There will still be plenty of students out there who will want to learn from you. If you do want to teach music theory, there will also be plenty of students wanting to learn it.
The key point to remember here is that there are many different ways to teach guitar and every student has different goals. Your job is to try and find students who will want to learn in the style that you can teach. If you don't feel confident with music theory, that's fine. Focus on your strengths and attract students who want to learn the topics you're great at.
How Do You Become A Good Guitar Teacher?
Everybody starts from zero when it comes to teaching guitar. The best guitar teachers in the world didn't know what they were doing in the beginning. Starting your journey as a guitar teacher is the only way you'll become a good guitar teacher. Some people procrastinate by thinking they need to first get some qualifications, but the only way you can start improving your teaching skills is by giving lessons. If you're not already teaching, give a practice lesson to a friend or family member to see what it's like. Nobody starts off as an expert, so don't feel you need to be in the beginning.
We have hundreds of guides available to help you not only start your journey as a guitar teacher, but grow your business and become a great teacher. We have guides on topics such as what to teach in the first few lessons, how to explain confusing topics to students, how to set your lesson rates and schedule lessons, how to promote your lessons, etc. If you're just starting out as a guitar teacher, we even have a 12 week course designed to take you from ground zero, and build up the foundations for your guitar teaching business.
If you're serious about becoming a guitar teacher, become a Live and Teach Guitar Member today. You'll gain access to hundreds of guides, courses, lesson plans, and more to help you start and grow your own teaching business. You'll also gain the ability to email us at any time with any questions or issues you need a hand with. We've helped hundreds of guitar teachers over the years so you'll be able to draw from our experiences. Instead of figuring everything out by trial and error, you'll be able to apply the lessons and best practices in our resources. Become a member today and get started as a guitar teacher.