Either an electric or an acoustic guitar is perfectly fine for learning on. I would choose one or the other based on what type of music excites you. If rock music is what inspires you to want to learn how to play music, you should probably look into getting an electric guitar. If you are mainly interested in folk or country music then an acoustic guitar would be the best choice. You can always start with one and switch to the other later on. Everything you learn will apply to both types of guitars.
There are a few stores in the area that I recommend going to first. American Music in Fremont is a great store to start with. The employees there will definitely be able to help you out. Don’t be afraid to pick their brains like crazy, that’s what they are there for and it’s a good way to learn a few things about what you are looking for. Once you know a little from talking to them and looking at a bunch of guitars I would go to some used shops, like Trading Musician on Roosevelt and Ravenna, and check out their used guitars. Compare the feeling and the prices with the new ones you liked at American Music. Other stores I can recommend for acoustic guitars are The Folk Store, Dusty Strings, and Guitar Emporium to name a few. If you are looking for a classical guitar (nylon string guitar) definitely go to Rosewood Guitar in Greenwood.
Three-quarter sized guitars are a great option for young children starting new on guitar. Ask about these guitars at the stores listed above when shopping around.
Yes, I have extra guitars and you can use one during our lessons if you need to. However, I do recommend bringing your own guitar. The more familiar you are with your own instrument the better. It can be strange learning something brand new on one guitar then going home to practice it on another. Circumstances where a student needs to use one of my guitars could be: biking to the lesson (which I totally support), bussing, haven’t purchased a guitar yet, or if their guitar is getting repaired.
You don’t need to do anything, but I usually require at least a small amount of music reading in my curriculum. Ideally I want you to have some sort of basic foundation in understanding how to read music. If being a good reader does become important to someone after years of playing music, and they have had no exposure to it at all, it can be extremely frustrating to learn from scratch. This is why I especially require younger students to become familiar with it. Some adults make it very clear that they are not interested in reading music and that’s fine, but younger students have much less clarity as to what they want out of music and where it might take them in the future, so I do prioritize it for them. If your lessons are focussed on either jazz or classical guitar playing, then reading music will definitely be a very important part of the curriculum that I create for you.
If you are taking lessons from me, yes. I emphasize music theory in all of my teaching. I feel that the advantages of understanding the structure of music in any style or context is extremely powerful. Understanding music theory on the guitar is essential for becoming proficient on the instrument – it speeds up the learning process and substantially improves the ability to remember and retain music after you learn it.
Most people take lessons once a week, which is what I recommend. Meeting with a teacher regularly is an essential part of the learning process. Some people do choose to take lessons every other week, usually to save money, which is understandable. Sometimes this works if the student stays focussed and maintains a good practice ethic on their own, but often I see that progress is much slower on the twice a month schedule. If you are a beginner, once a week for a while is definitely critical. It’s important that you don’t end up practicing and learning anything with bad technique over a two week period that you will then have to unlearn at your next lesson.
How much you practice is not as important as practicing regularly. The amount is up to you, but whatever that is, make sure that it is consistent. For some it’s several hours a day, for others it’s ten minutes five times a week. I work with each student individually on their personal practice routine, refining it and updating it regularly. I also email a lesson recap after each session with specific practicing suggestions for that week.
This is a very common question and a very hard one to answer. It really depends on what you put into it. I’ve seen complete beginners playing songs they love after only a couple of months. For others it can take a whole year. If you prioritize practicing and take it seriously, then playing and having fun with it will come very fast. If finding time to practice is difficult for you, then you will still progress, but understandably it will take much longer. Either way, patience is the key. It will come if you want it.
I do not. I accept cash or check.
I rarely teach half hour lessons – they go by very quickly. However, for young children just starting out this is a very good option. It’s important for guitar lessons to be something that kids look forward to and have fun with. By limiting lessons to a half an hour, they are more likely to leave wanting more, which makes them more inclined to practice. Shorter attention spans and more delicate hands are good reasons for kids to take half hour lessons as well. At some point switching to hour long lessons is probably a good idea, but that depends on the age of the student and their level of interest.
I do not teach group lessons. I have taught two people at once before and I will consider doing it on a case by case basis. There are many factors that make double lessons much less productive than one-on-one lessons and therefore I prefer not to do them. Some cases where it may make sense to do this are if two friends or siblings are complete beginners and want to take a few double lessons to get started and get comfortable, but then split off and do individual lessons after a few weeks. On the rare occasions that this does happen, I do not charge any extra for teaching two people at once (still $50 per hour).
The answer is yes. I have no problems at all with extra people tagging along to a guitar lesson assuming that they will be respectful. My teaching space is very comfortable and private. It’s not incredibly spacious, but there are plenty of extra places to sit. Sometimes students like to bring friends along or girlfriends/boyfriends. I especially encourage this if your friend is interested in guitar and wants to experience what lessons are like. Some people like to observe and listen, others just read a book for an hour. As far as parents attending with their children goes, this is perfectly fine and sometimes necessary for younger kids, though if the child is a teenager they may actually be more comfortable and have more fun without their parent there – something to consider and communicate about.