How to find an instructor/mentor.

[ScornEmperor]

I'm looking for advice on how to find an instructor or mentor. I've been playing for about a year now, putting in a lot of time practicing. Largely self taught. I've got an instructor, but something isn't clicking. I feel that I'd rather work on things on my own. I think this is simply me not getting what I want out of the lessons.

There is a local musician whose work I admire. Asked if he would teach me, but ultimately he decided he was too busy to do so.

I guess I could go down to the Guitar Center and ask for lessons, but that feels kind of random.

I have a full time job, so I can't go off to music school.

So I want a higher level of direction, better feedback on what is correct and what is not. A better sense of how best to spend my time, etc.

If I google for "guitar instruction seattle" I get a ton of links, but have no idea how to evaluate them.

I'm at a loss on how best to proceed. I want to put the effort behind this and I know I would be a good pairing with some kind of instructor or mentor, but I don't know how to find them.

 

[StratoJazz]

You could ask the same guy if he could recommend anyone to you.

You could check out local guitar stores as well(other than Guitar Center), usually these places have some resident guy that can teach you.

It just depends on what you want to learn. If you want to learn rock, blues, or jazz find a teacher that plays alot of that stuff.

You could also try craigslist.

Hope this helped you some and best of luck to you.

 

[Solodini]

See if any of the teachers offer a free first lesson. If they do then they're probably confident enough in their teaching that they're not worried about losing money that way but are keen to attract people.

Try them out and if it doesn't work then it doesn't work. Explain that you're trying to find someone that you really click with and I'm sure they'll appreciate your honesty, if they're decent people.

 

[ronjhoser]

You may want to check out Tom Hess online. He has a very organized system. I think there's no substitute for one on one instruction with a good teacher (and not all good players are good teachers), but the online lessons can keep you moving forward.

 

[Solodini]

^ definitely agree about teachers and players. Learning to teach is completely different from learning to do.

 

[ScornEmperor]

I didn't even think about skyping lessons online! That opens up a lot more opportunities.

 

[Solodini]

If you're open to skype lessons then I'm able to help.

 

[ScornEmperor]

Wow, I posted this a long time ago. Okay I can frame my current problem better here.

So I did the Tom Hess thing that was suggested above. It was pretty good. I learned some theory, I learned a LOT about lead...in fact my lead and improv greatly outstrips my chords. I didn't learn much rhythm. I think Tom wants to teach a lot of songwriting, but the structure hasn't worked well for me so far in that.

Evaluation is pretty good, but I feel like I want to go to a different level now. More personal interaction. Tom's lessons are pretty good, but they are also correspondence. I have the motivation to practice by myself, but I think more regular and ongoing evaluation and feedback are really important for where I am now.

So my current quandry is how to find:

- Personal lessons that will lead me more toward metal.
- That will identify and help me shore up my weaknesses.
- That will give me more ongoing motivation and personal feedback.

I posted a separate thread, but then found this old thread when I searched for 'seattle.' For all the reputation Seattle has for a music city it really isn't. Nothing compared to Austin where I used to live. But for guitar, the city is pretty sparse or finding good lessons is difficult. Maybe I just don't know enough google-fu to get me into contact with the right teacher.

 

[Maniacal]

Aren't lessons with Tom Hess like $500 a month?

 

[ascl]

Aren't lessons with Tom Hess like $500 a month?

Nah, they aren't that expensive. I think I paid about $60 / month. I didn't really like the format tho, it didn't click for me either.