Questions & Answers with Neil Hogan #8

Q. Are there any specific questions I should ask a teacher if I am looking for blues guitar lessons??

A. Blues guitar lessons include a few small sub styles of guitar lessons in general. There are great blues teachers who focus on electric blues- in the vein of Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, and later B. B. King or Stevie Ray Vaughan, and acoustic specialists focusing more on the techniques of Robert Johnson, Blind Blake, or Rev. Gary Davis.

When you are looking for a teacher in any style you want to ask about a few important things; what is the teachers experience (performing and teaching), is the style you are looking for (blues) one of the teacher’s specialties or do they teach everything (be careful here), are they comfortable working with beginners or do they specialize in more advanced students, and even a little about their own ambitions (are they only teaching until they get that big record deal).

Many teachers are very comfortable teaching lots of different styles but as you advance as a student you might need a teacher who specializes a little more. Guitar lessons focused on blues are really no different than any other style where the teacher really needs to be familiar with the style and, even more importantly can communicate with the student. A very competent player is not necessarily a good communicator. A good teacher needs to be a great communicator

Check the blues guitar lessons category for more information.