Experiences With "in Real Life" Guitar Teachers, IRL - what's that? :D Options

[Barenaked Ninja]

So back in September (after over 7 years of being self-taught) I went to the local music store and signed up for lessons. I needed (and to some degree still need) to rekindle that fire I had for playing like when I first started.

I was pretty excited after my first lesson because my instructor is a great player and I was sure I was on to something with these lessons. Now, however, while I still believe I'm getting something out them I'm thinking about quitting because I don't think I'm getting enough out of them to warrant the $20 per weekly half-hour lesson. After all that's nearly 3 months of GMC tuition!

My major beef is that I'm not being taught any theory. My instructor doesn't know much as he himself is self-taught. He doesn't do tabs either because he's been playing since long before tabs were invented so anything he shows me how to play I have to watch his fingers (and use my ears) and try to play myself. I'm getting better at this, but sometimes, when I'm struggling to follow along, I feel like I'm playing a sadistic game of Simon!



And that's pretty much how our practices go each week. I don't get a homework assignment or a "I want you to work on this for next week". Just a wicked game of Simon!

In fact, after organizing my thoughts about the matter in this post, I think I'm done with this guy. He's always running 15 minutes late so I stand out in the hall while all the other instructors let their students in. I think the main thing I've learned is that just because you're a good player, you're not necessarily a good instructor.

Anyone have similar experiences?

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This post has been edited by Barenaked Ninja: Jan 2 2009, 08:11 AM