Beggining Players (Part Two)

This is the second in a series of articles prepared for the beginning guitar player. In my last column I offered advice on finding the right guitar for someone just starting out on the guitar. This time we’ll talk about finding instruction. If you are a true guitar fan, I’m sure you can name at least one now famous artist that never had a lesson, yet is considered a “guitar god”. Recently I had the pleasure of hosting renown finger-style artist Ed Gerhard ( during his stop here while he was touring. Ed is considered one of the finest finger-style players in the world. He is a master player and tours the world playing concerts and recording. If you missed his GSLV sponsored concert you really missed some fine playing. I spent three days with this guitar genius. Ed has a terrific attitude towards other players; he considers them his colleges regardless of their playing level. We had many conversations about his playing and how he got to the place where he is. Ed is strictly self taught and admits to spending 8-10 hours a day playing, composing, and thinking about guitar. He further admits to spending most of his adult lifetime pursuing perfection at his craft. Be he also offered some sound advice.....”don’t think that what I did was easy or is for everyone”. And it’s true, many of us want to play for the passion of playing, and don’t have the time, desire or resources to make it our lives work. Being self taught is certainly an option, but what about starting out at our own community college with a Beginning Guitar class? It’s offered every semester, and available even in the summer six week mini semester. I talked to the instructor, Gary Queen, (a friend and supporter of GSLV) and he said the class is ideal for the absolute beginner. It includes instruction on guitar fundamentals, that regardless of music style, are essentially skills. He says the class size varies but the registration is usually small enough to give him time for one on one instruction. Gary also tells me that beginning in the Fall 2002 semester, they will offer an intermediate level class. What if you are not a “classroom” person? Well you can find a private instructor who can start you on your way to becoming the player you want to be. But what if you’re not sure what kind of playing you want to do? Ask your instructor to introduce you to several different styles. How do you find an instructor? Well our own organization (GSLV) is full of people who can help you find the right instructor. Also most of the High Schools in our own school system have an orchestra and that orchestra has a director. Those directors are music professionals and most of the ones I’ve met have a calendar full of private students and other music projects. A simple phone call to a local high school will usually yield a few names. Before you commit to your status as a student with anyone ask about their credentials. Ask to meet with them in person. Do they have other private students? Do they have a sample outline of a program they can share with you so you know what is expected?. Sit with this person and ask them to play some music for you. Do you feel comfortable? Take a piece of recorded music that you like and would like to some day learn to play. Have this person listen to it. Could they teach you to play that piece? Just because someone is a good musician doesn’t necessarily mean they will be a good music instructor. Are they available? The greatest instructor in the world will do you no good if he/she can’t see you on a regular basis, and is unavailable for an occasional phone call or e-mail question and answer session because they are touring all summer. Do not expect to gain these skills without some personal sacrifice. No pain, no gain really applies here. How hard do you want to work at this? How hard do they expect you to work? Do not expect your instructor to let you forget to practice, or fail to be on time or come to your lesson unprepared. Making a living playing music is tough, and these people have made serious sacrifices to pursue their passion. If you treat them or what they do lightly don’t expect to be taken seriously. Next time we will talk more about self instruction and about creating your own study program so you can develop the playing style you want.