If you're reading this, chances are you've thought about teaching guitar or you'd like to teach the guitar. Even if you've never taught anyone before, I'm going to share with you today 4 reasons you should teach the guitar! Firstly, let me say that teaching isn't necessarily for everyone as a career but there are more benefits than purely on a monetary scale. Teaching is a great way to pass on and improve upon the knowledge you've gained yourself to others around you!
Let's get started with 4 Reasons You Should Teach Guitar
1) Teaching Is The Best Way To Learn
I started teaching several years ago when a couple of mates were asking me to show them how to play something. Truth be told, I didn't fully know how to explain it to them but as I started teaching them, I had to develop and be confident about how I understood it! As I taught them, I started to truly understand it for myself.
It's only when you stop and communicate something to someone else that you realise you really do know it. Similarly, if you've got friends who you're asking questions to about playing the guitar then don't feel bad. It's as good for them as it is for you! This isn't to advocate teaching stuff you don't know but to say that you don't have to know everything before you can teach at all! We're all on a journey of playing the guitar; everyone has something to learn!!
2) Teaching Is Fun
I've had many laughs teaching the guitar to my pupils. In November 2007 I decided to launch my own tuition company called Dynamic Tuition. This was a brave move as I had only taught mates for fun and thought I would give it a go. The thing is, you have to enjoy what you're doing. If you're not a big fan of people or you're not very patient then perhaps it isn't for you but teaching is a great way to have fun while playing the guitar! It's hilarious to see other peoples perspective of the guitar and it broadens your own playing. I'm constantly creatively inspired by my guitar students, even if their technical ability isn't as good as mine is. You can learn a lot from the way they practice and the way they approach the guitar. Teaching is most definitely fun!
3) Teaching Releases Others
Playing the guitar shouldn't be just about you? Someone took the time to show you the ropes or to give you a few tips or to inspire you; why don't you do the same? It'd be just as rewarding if not more rewarding to see someone else succeed in music because of your input than to see your own personal success. Why not let your life be about other people? Surely the whole point of playing music is to create something beautiful that inspires others anyways? It's very satisfying to see other people's guitar ability improve and get better; to see someone who couldn't even play E minor suddenly improvising a solo! Don't make it about you; teach guitar instead!
4) Teaching Makes Money
An obvious benefit of teaching is that you can make money for it but I've deliberately put it lower down in the list. It's the elephant in the room, you can earn some cash from teaching the guitar. Let me encourage you, when I first started, lots of people thought I was underqualified and it was bad that I was actually charging people (you don't need that sort of input). The truth was that I had a lot to share and to pass on to every single person I tutored. Of course, it goes without saying, don't overcharge when you're first starting out (or ever) as a music teacher; I started with ridiculously low rates and over time I've increased my prices to match my teaching ability and experience
That's it! Remember, teaching the guitar is a great way to improve your own skills, pass on something to the world and make a little cash on the side too!
