# Becoming a guitar teacher in the UK... help please



## Uncle Remus (Jul 24, 2009)

Heyo 

So after searching tirelessly for a job in my area i've come to the conclusion that
i'd much rather spend my time teaching guitar and doing something i enjoy than stacking shelves.

I was wondering what i should do to start up though. I'm 17, 18 in December, with an area full of people wanting to learn
but i need to know how i can be more attractive than the local music store (that offers private lessons for around £12 for 30 minutes.)

I think my first questions are:

What should i do to advertise lessons?
What can i do to show that i can teach guitar?
What should i charge?
Any special offers to attract more potential students?
What legal requirements do i need? CRB etc

If i have missed anything important please let me know 

I recently performed a (what i've been told) is a grade 7 piece: Prelude No. 1 by H. Villa Lobos to a live audience.
I have played classical for around 10 years now but have never taken any formal gradings or examinations to prove what level i am at.
I also got an A in music GCSE so am pretty up to scratch with theory.

I have also played electric for about 5 years and am decent enough at that to teach beginner to intermediate.

Also any advice from people with personal experience who does teach would be cool  i'm thinking Maniacal ? 

Any help is very much appreciated.


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## ShadyDavey (Jul 24, 2009)

I've taken a few lessons over the years and whilst not a teacher (I'm sure Maniacal will weigh in with his more expert opinion) I know a few.

Without recognised qualifications its (IMO at least) a little more difficult to show that you have the right stuff to teach and to that end you definately might want to look at the Registry of Guitar Tutors:

RGT

It should be a fairly simple matter to sit and pass those graded exams and on a personal note I like to see a teacher with qualifications if I'm unsure about their overall ability - as soon as you sit Teaching/Performance diplomas then you're definately going to be a step ahead of the local scene for the most part. 

For referrence there are a bundle of teachers in my local area but only a couple of them have any sort of formal qualifications - the rest have simply established themselves through word of mouth over the years....the chaps with qualifications are more highly regarded but I'm sure you could teach without them as soon as you "put yourself around" a bit and word got out. 

Advertising is a little easier - without leaving the comfort of your own home you can organise media on YouTube, Facebook and Myspace without any difficulty demonstrating your ability and fully explaining your aims/goals/prices to a very wide audience.....citing your playing experience and also sticking up any performance videos from gigs would be a serious benefit. 

More locally, you can hit up the Music Stores (many of them keep notes on tutors in the local area) and see if there are any local publications you can advertise in for a small fee - gigging locally also helps raise your profile which is what its all about - getting known as a quality player so that people actively want you to teach them. 

Fees - I'd undercut your local store for certain. Have a look round established teachers in your area and see what they're charging to get an idea of the market. 

Work out WHERE you're going to teach. Teaching from your bedroom is one thing (and something I wouldn't personally do unless I had a massive "pro" style bedroom that doubled as a studio) teaching from even a small premises is another thing entirely and raises the question of insurance/rent/rates/facilities/location/being self employed etc etc

Extra equipment:

Media for all your lessons - CD's for backing tracks and documents, a printer + PC to knock out chord diagrams, tab/manuscript paper etc 
An Amp for the students, perhaps a second amp for yourself if you only have a 100 watt head. 
Metronome, tuner, guitar tool, music stand, spare leads etc

Know exactly what you can teach and what you can't - have lessons prepared in advance and work with each student so they have definite goals and ideas geared to them specifically. 

Legal requirements I have no idea on.

There's certainly more to it than that but hopefully thats something to think about until someone with more relevant experience fills in the blanks


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## Maniacal (Jul 24, 2009)

I am eating chicken and cant type now. Will write something later. Def get a CRB check though.


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## tr0n (Jul 24, 2009)

In my experience, a CRB is totally pointless, because:

a) I've never been asked for one
b) all a CRB says is: "At the time of applying for it, I don't have a criminal record." So essentially it goes out of date the second you get it in the post.

_However,_ I have been told that next year this will all change and CRBs will be kept up to date so at that point it may be worthwhile but at the current point in time it's meaningless waste of money - in my opinion.

Do try get yourself onto the RGT, it's the first result in Google when you search for guitar tuition/teachers. To join you'll need 2 references though. One that confirms your ability as a player and another that confirms your ability as a teacher (or your potential ability to). Fortunately for me I only needed the one reference which was written by the head of guitar at my college (Guitar-X) so it covered both areas.

A website would also be a good idea, just something simple to profile yourself. And throw some business cards around local music shops. And spread the word among friends, friends of your family etc because word of mouth is the best advertiser. All of this can be done quite inexpensively.

All this in addition to what Shadydavey said.


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## Maniacal (Jul 25, 2009)

Thats quite odd because I have been asked about a CRB by about 7 of my students this year. It also meant I got a consistent job teaching guitar in a school. Something I would not have got if I didnt have a CRB.


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## tr0n (Jul 27, 2009)

You would be asked for one by a school for definite. For private students teachers have had different experiences.


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## Ryan-ZenGtr- (Oct 29, 2009)

I recently discussed teaching at a Music establishment. First question was CRB, as I would have to deal with young children. Second question was would I teach grades from RGT. I walked away at that point as I found it quite insulting...

Teaching is an interesting and rewarding endeavour, but to work within an institution you must abide by its' value system and the politics that governs its' machinations.

Although I would have had no technical problem with the above, my personal feeling is that music and the wish to make it are expressions of individuality, not benchmarks of progress or easy UCAS points for a troubled education system.

In short, formal teaching wasn't for me, as I would have had to throw away my personal approach which I have developed over the years, which is incredibly simple and intuitive, being a brief summation of what I learned at the Guitar Institute, London, and designed not to impose on a beginning players early "Innocent" creativity.

It seems to me that from the details mentioned above, "Uncle Remus" should be well able to take someone to an advanced understanding. All the above information and advice is excellent. Reliability, Punctuality, Communication and Consideration being key concerns to building a successful business, especially with the tightening of family budgets during the present recession.

A friend of mine, who often made his pre teen students cry with frustration at his incredible playing, began driving to students homes to teach after he developed succesful tuition situations through working at a local music shop. At the shop, the student paid £20 and hour, he (the tutor) was paid £10 an hour for the teaching. He taught a wide age range from 6 years old to 40 and up, so it was a varied and interesting experience for him. The store was exploiting the gap in music education in the local area and, in my opinion, exploiting him as a teacher to some extent, which is why he left "to concentrate on his more mature private students", if you see what I mean.

Another friend of mine pays for his music career, or his reliable music income if you like, with teaching at another music store, which he has done for a few years now. He seems to be enjoying it and earning a regular wage from it. His focus is always on providing lessons which aid the student's desired direction; providing transcriptions and detailed (to the level of the student) analysis of songs they want to learn and suggesting directions of musical growth, with charts and materials to aid the student during practice. He really is very dedicated and seems happy with the situation he has made for himself.

I had an idea of making business cards and going to gigs, explaining to bands as they left the stage that I was a guitar teacher... Not my best idea ever...

Equipment wise to start with, I'd get a little mixer, two eBay multi FX units like a POD or older and run it through speakers / monitors and some recording software with drum loops or chord sequences to jam over or the days material ready to go. A well setup cheap Squire strat or other for students who have not brought a guitar.

The key with teaching is NOT to overwhelm students with knowledge or impress them with playing. This is much harder than you might think. It is more likely something in the area of arming them with tools of self expression, at a pace at which information relevant to their development can be comfortably absorbed.

All my young students turned into good players and have their own bands in college now, although my big disapointment is none of them wanted to shred *sigh*

Always remember that (especially young) people's attention spans can differ widely, and to accomodate their needs whilst still being able to gently motivate them towards the learning goal or objective of your plan for achieving their (mutually agreed with you) stated goals.

Good luck!!!


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## thedonutman (Oct 31, 2009)

I was talking to my guitar teacher, who's qualified with the RGT, about diplomas. The teaching diploma is pretty hard (compared to grade 8 at least) You need to know a lot of theory etc. Have a look at they syllabus: 

RGT exams


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