By definition, a student is someone who’s trying to get better at something you, the teacher, are pretty good at, so they want you to exemplify good guitar playing and explain why things work. Beyond that, what do students really want from their guitar teachers? I asked the students of a few dedicated and successful private teachers just what makes their lessons work for them. While no two students are the same, and one of the main reasons people choose private lessons is for the individual attention and hand-tailored subject matter, teachers with satisfied students do seem to share a few common traits.
Most students expect you to balance a well thought out agenda of your own with respect for their needs and interests, particularly stylistic. Negotiating that balance may be the trickiest (and most psychological) part of the job.

Balancing Your Agenda and Theirs
“The guitar teacher I was studying with before was really good for beginning students. He made me practice a certain amount of time each day,” says Natalie Ulrich, a singer-songwriter studying guitar in New York. “But what happened was, he wanted me to play what he wanted to play. What I love about my current teacher is that he allows me to play the songs that I get excited about.”
Students who arrive at lessons with some clear goals of their own often still hope for or expect some direction from their teacher, usually in the form of combating their weaknesses with appropriate exercises and assignments. “As a student, I couldn’t pinpoint what I was lacking, just that I was boring myself,” recalls Ulrich. “The teacher I have now figures it out, teaches me different scales . . . he always has some kind of a plan.”
Keith Rosprim of Austin, Texas, may be typical of the adult who’s got some specific goals but not a lot of time to spend on becoming the world’s most informed guitarist. “Time is a critical issue for me,” he explains, “so playing stuff that I enjoy brings some added focus and helps me maximize the time that I’m able to play and practice.” He and his teacher manage to strike a balance between songs and study, by keeping the exercises and techniques they work on germane to the repertoire at hand.
“He gives me enough foundation work--exercises and scales--to get me to where I can play the songs I want to play,” says Rosprim, who appreciates his teacher’s input on what he may or may not be ready for yet. “He’s got the ability to judge where I want to go and bring it down to a level where I can pick it up,” he says, “but also to say, ‘You’re not there yet. Let’s work on these things first.’”

Filling in the Gaps
Other adults come in for just the opposite reason--to catch up on all the brainier parts of playing they skipped over as a kid. Neil Seas of New York studied briefly as an adolescent, but when he started writing songs and performing with a friend of his as an adult, he began to realize what skills he was missing and went for some lessons to fill in the gaps. “You can only get so far not knowing about sight reading, proper technique, and music theory,” he says. “I had a level of adequacy, but I wanted to learn how to do things properly, and I wanted a teacher who could really play, not just explain things theoretically.”
Seas found a teacher who would “get on his case” about those thing. “She’s pretty tough about building speed and playing cleanly up and down the scales. We got through the modes, which was kind of a big thing for me. I’m a little bit older now, so if I’m going to do it, I’m going to do it right. I take some pride in it; I put the work in.”

Projecting the Right Attitude
Even with students who appreciate the discipline of regular lessons, you may need to temper your expectations with encouragement. “A teacher can really ruin it for you if they push you too far,” notes Ulrich. “It was really important to me to have someone encouraging, someone who believed in me. Even though my current teacher knows I’m not Jimi Hendrix, he has this belief in my potential, that I can do more than I’m doing right now.”