Method of teaching

Group sessions can be difficult because you don't get the same anount of one-to-one attention from the teacher. But - you should get SOME one-to-one attention from the teacher, otherwise how does he know you're learning anything?

Scales are good. Playing songs is good. There should be an reasonable balance between fun stuff and theory stuff or people will drop out and you need a critical mass to keep the lessons going.

So, what have you learned? Apart from the songs, that is.

Best

A :-)

You can't effectively teach just techniques in a group setting. The principles of technique might be the same for everyone, but everyone is strikingly different in size - even something as simple as "keep your thumb behind the neck" is going to be affected by all these factors off the top of my head:

student torso height
student build (beer belly/large breasts etc.)
guitar body depth
guitar scale length
student palm size
student finger length
student arm length

You really need to adjust physical technique on an individual basis, so there's not much to do in addressing the group. Even a simple instruction like "raise the peghead more" or "move your elbow farther out" will only improve the technique of some students, and may actually hurt others.

Group guitar lessons work out best when the topics are chord forms and/or fingerpicking patterns - songs are ideal for teaching those, and are enjoyable for students. If it's semi-private lessons with just two students, you can add in basic scales, improvisation, and reading standard notation (perfect for duets). But topics that are truly technique based, like economy picking, still have to be done one-on-one.

Some technique topics can still be introduced in teaching songs - for example, hammer-ons and pull-offs are part of many songs... but perfecting the technique (getting the same volume from both tones, getting the timing right) requires individual attention.

So, what have you learned? Apart from the songs, that is.

Best

A :-)

i can honestly say nothing.. no i found out what i cant do

Your teacher sounds a bit more like a band director than a guitar teacher. You might want to find someone who will give you individual lessons.

Denny

is going to be affected by all these factors off the top of my head:

student torso height
student build (beer belly/large breasts etc.)
guitar body depth
guitar scale length
student palm size
student finger length
student arm length

.
come to think off it Dolly Parton must have very long arms :lol:

is going to be affected by all these factors off the top of my head:

student torso height
student build (beer belly/large breasts etc.)
guitar body depth
guitar scale length
student palm size
student finger length
student arm length

.
come to think off it Dolly Parton must have very long arms :lol:

No, just fingernails.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XvLIq6rDxtw
:shock:

I took some group lessons after floundering on my own for a while. It wasn't a lot of help for me in learning technique. The variation in skills of the people in the class was pretty large and so probably everybody was not getting the right kind of attention and teaching. I now take private lessons and it is a world of difference. Some of my lessons we've spent just working on my rhythm and timing. Some weeks everything just clicks and we move on to something new. There's no way I would get that in a group lesson.

Now, my instructor does have group lessons but they are more of a guided group playing with everybody taking different parts of the song and learning to play together with a provided drummer and bass player.