In-person lessons to supplement JustinGuitar course

[Prickles]

Hey all

Been on and off learning for 2 years now with JustinGuitar and thought it would be good to try get some in-person lessons to supplement what I’ve learnt so far.

I went to a local guy (30 min lesson) and long story short, I learnt basically nothing and went home really disappointed. (edit: really makes me appreciate how much I’ve learnt here).

As a first lesson, I guess I expected some sort of questions in the lead up (in my email I wrote that I was after some feedback and to make sure I was on track) so we could get into it right away. Instead I feel like we spent most of the lesson talking and I literally spent 5 mins max actually touching my guitar. He printed off a couple sheets (7th chords and some sheet music with some chord progressions) and that was literally it.

I went home thinking how good it would be if I could get some lessons with someone who knows the JustinGuitar courses…

Next minute I found the approved teachers. I’m guessing this is what I’m likely looking for.

Anyone have any experience with them?

I’m assuming for these lessons I would have my amp playing into a mic which also picks up my voice, and a camera obviously, and other bits and pieces like a metronome etc.

Looking forward to hearing some feedback and likely taking the plunge.

[LievenDV]

Hi Prickles,

Your friendly neighbourhood admins @Richard_close2u and myself both are Approved Teachers as well so we can’t really speak for ourselves.

For those you didn’t know, Justin collected teachers that he trusts and endorses and gives them a platform here: JustinGuitar Approved Teachers | JustinGuitar.com
Justin scores absolutely 0% commission; he does this to handle the numerous questions of people seeking private lessons

Richard has tons of experience teaching, both guitar and math actually.
He’s patient and he’ll break it down to bits of your size.
I’ve known Richard for years and he is my partner in crime err adminning this Community for a long time already. Authentic guy with gentle approach that has the character to work through the tougher things as well!

The other teachers are people close to Justin as well.
Jed helped build the JustinGuitar Universe and Jon is an all round pro, long time musical and business partner… and a chill guy ^^. It’s been a while I’ve seen Jed but we see Jon in our Team meetings.

Lee is the most recent addition to the list but is raised on the JustinGuitar material, just like Richard and myself.

As for myself, I usually try to target players who are stuck on a plateau, missing some items in their foundation or aim to get on stage.

As you can see, these guys are all well known by Justin so he aint promoting some random guys here.

A first step is usually checking out where the student is, which foundations are (under)developed), what the goals are and if possible, some assessment through recordings or live sessions.

Part of that can be managed through some basic questions over mail etc; I usually prefer to do a introduction in a brief call, to manage expectations.
Is it a fit? Does the student feel confident this teacher can help him/her? What needs to be addressed? Does the teacher feel like he can teach this student? etc.
The brief call is usually free or if it starts off with being a lesson, I usually charge only half.
Lessons aren’t cheap so I’d like to offer a cheap chance of getting to know me

When A student decides he/she wants to get lessons, there is no fixed formula or frequency.
I’ve done weekly, bi-weekly, random on demand, monthly…
All depends on the student, goals, progress and life

In between sessions, my students usually keep contact via e-mail with questions, progress or an occassional recording. I usually don’t charge any of this time as it comes with the experience I try to bring them. Usually these mails are ramp-ups to what will be discussed in a next session and once again, that works well as expectation management both ways.

As for choice of teachers; everybody has different specialties and schedules.
We can help you decide who to try based on a brief description of where you are now, where you are struggling with and where you want to be working to as goals. You could also check the brief descriptions of the teachers on the page you discovered.

If you want to take it even to a higher level, check Jim and Mike, renowned artists.
They don’t follow the JustinGuitar material though.

[brianlarsen]

Hi Michael,

First of all, welcome to the community.
It’s always good to see folk who’ve been following the course for a while join in the fun here
@LievenDV has provided a pretty comprehensive and very balanced summary of your options.

You seem happy with Justin’s teaching method, so it makes sense to seek lessons with teachers familiar with his course.
If I were in your position, rather than choose a teacher and book lessons, I would try to arrange a single lesson with all (or some of) the approved teachers and see who you relate to the most. Then go with them.
Apart from finding the most appropriate teacher for your needs, you’d have the extra benefit of getting to know ‘the team’ better, which will undoubtedly enrich the time spent on the course/in the community.
Win/win

[Richard_close2u]

Hi Michael. A warm welcome to the community. @LievenDV Lieven has given a great overview. Some of my students I knew here in the community first, some are non-active members and some use the website but not the community.
One thing to consider is location and time zones. All but one of us are based in Europe.
Cheers. Richard:)

[adi_mrok]

I think @Rumil did do a quick entry about having lessons with Richard, I am sure once he is around he can elaborate even more if needed. See entry below:

@Rumil

Private guitar lessons

Finally, I decided to get a little extra help on my guitar journey. Even though Justin’s videos are excellent, and the community gives a lot of support and feedback about playing, I wanted a mentor that helps me avoid bad habits and burst a little bit of my progress by watching me play live with some good advice for my routine. And my teacher is the great and well known by the community… Richard!!. I already took 3 lessons with him and we are working on my strumming, improvisation, fingerstyle, and some suggestions for practicing scales.

[Rumil]

Hello Michael, and welcome to the community

As @adi_mrok said I’m one of Richard’s students. One student irregular with his contributions in the forum . And my experience is pretty much what I think you were looking for with the in-person teacher.

I have lessons with Richard every other week, and the lessons are oriented to what I found difficult on Justin’s course. I always try to send an email some days before and then, during the lesson, Richard offers advice and additional exercises. For example, two beasts we are trying to tame are the F-chord and the C7.

What I like is that Richard’s lessons (and I guess it happens with all the approved teachers) are an addition to Justin’s. I still have the curriculum with the routines, exercises, and videos. But, any trouble or question, can be addressed in a more personalized way.

[Prickles]

Thanks @LievenDV, @brianlarsen, @Richard_close2u, @adi_mrok and @Rumil for your responses, they were super helpful and reassuring, and I really appreciate you all taking the time to respond.

These lessons do sound like what I’m after. I’ll have to look into what I’ve got around in terms of camera, mic etc so I can get the ball rolling.

I’ll have a read about each of the teachers and shortlist those that I think might suit my level, availability etc and make contact from there - I like the idea of giving each a go and seeing who clicks best.

[Rumil]

Great . Good luck

[Richard_close2u]

@Rumil

What I like is that Richard’s lessons

Fixed that for you!!

haha

Thanks Edgar.