Not sure if teacher is really helping...

I've been taking lessons for a few months. My teacher is cool as hell, and plays great but I'm just not progressing as fast as I'd like to. All he wants to do is teach me songs. Sounds fun, and it IS but I don't really feel like I'm grasping the basics or learning any music theory. I go in, we play some Nirvana, or Zeppelin, or whatever I want. I practice a few chords and leave. I try and practice what I have learned at home as much as I can but I'm pretty limited because I really have not learned a lot of the basics. I mean I can play all of the 7 basic chords with no problems, and a few others but that's it. He never gives me any finger exercise’s to do, or any type of scales or anything like that. I've resorted to trying things I read off of the Internet. Not that doing that is a bad idea, but I am paying my teacher a lot of money every week for what doesn’t seem like much learning. Is this just how a guitar teacher teaches? It just isn't quite what I expected.
Any advice?

He should be teaching you what you want to learn. Or in other words, speak up and tell him what you said here. If he can't teach you theory and other stuff you want to get into, find another teacher.
Hell, you can learn songs at home by yourself sitting in front of a stereo system. You really need to learn a lot more than that.
Try here for the beginners stuff to get an idea of the subjects that should be covered

http://www.guitartricks.com/guide.php

You don't necessarily need a teacher btw. These days with video lessons it's kinda a waste of money to be spending mega $$ for just 1 hour per week.

Originally Posted by: schmangeYou don't necessarily need a teacher btw. These days with video lessons it's kinda a waste of money to be spending mega $$ for just 1 hour per week.

He's right. For five dollars a month, which I know is way less than what your paying now, this site can teach you pretty much anything you can handle right now and then when you learn that they always got something new.

Save the extra money to buy some kick ass gear.

You should tell him that you can play songs from Tabs and you wanna learn techniques and theory.
Maybe he thinks you are having lots of fun playing songs and that`s what you want. If you don`t tell him he won`t know.

Understanding Music Theory and mastering the different techniques will give you the chance of playing any song and what is more important create your own music.
This world can use some more good music. Don`t you think?

getting paid to jam.....sweet

i think that lessons should be reserved for people who have already learned the instrument sufficiently, and want something extra from their playing. after all, most guitar teachers (i would assume) are advanced level players, and it seems like a waste for these guys to be teaching how to play a D chord or teach you "communication breakdown" or something. ive never had a formal lesson in the almost 3 years of playing, and i can honestly say i didnt do anything that magical, i just am really into guitar and i dont have a problem sitting and writing a song all day, or sitting and looking through a book of riffs for a few hours, or just jamming with the sterio. given, im not a virtuoso, but im pretty good for how long ive bene playing, and i know that theres alot of others like me that could tell you the same thing: you dont need lessons to learn this stuff. sure, the extra boost of having the teacher there to visually show you and correct your mistakes is a nice safety net, but its not needed if you just put in 5% more dedication. get a book, any book, and absorb it. if you find something you like, continue with it. once you find out what you really love about guitar, THEN go to a teacher and say "i want to be a master at this." and im sure you will get your money's worth. and if he cant teach you anything you couldnt learn on your own, dont waste your money.

I can relate. I've been taking lessons for a couple of months now and it does help but I wasn't really learning everything the way I wanted either. So what I do is combine the two. I use the books a lot during the week and then when I go into the lesson, I do what he suggests. Towards the end of the lesson, I'll show him what I've been learning on my own and ask him to clarify whatever it is that I have questions on and he'll help me with that too.

It's helped justify paying for lessons; I learn what he wants to teach me PLUS I am learning the things that I want as well. In my mind, there's something invaluable to having someone to sit down with who can show you what you're doing right and what you're doing wrong. But it's frustrating to think you're not learning what you want.

But in the end, if you're not satisified with the way things are going, find a new teacher. There are plenty out there. You can find one that will teach the way you want to learn. Good luck.

This week's lesson was a little more of what I was expecting. I told him I was pretty good at practicing at the level I am currently at, and would like to move on a little. He taught me 4 new barre chords that I never knew and gave me a song to practice them in. I am struggling a bit with these new chords which just gives me more inspiration to practice more. All in all a very good lesson this week.

As far what “quickfingers” said, I just cannot agree with you. I believe that an experienced guitar teacher is, and should be prepared for all levels of playing. For me, having a teacher there to talk to and bounce ideas back and forth is worth the money I pay him to teach. While I do agree that in addition to a teacher, a budding guitar player does need to read and do his or her own learning, a good teacher is invaluable.

Originally Posted by: binfordtoolsI've been taking lessons for a few months. My teacher is cool as hell, and plays great but I'm just not progressing as fast as I'd like to. All he wants to do is teach me songs. Sounds fun, and it IS but I don't really feel like I'm grasping the basics or learning any music theory. I go in, we play some Nirvana, or Zeppelin, or whatever I want. I practice a few chords and leave. I try and practice what I have learned at home as much as I can but I'm pretty limited because I really have not learned a lot of the basics. I mean I can play all of the 7 basic chords with no problems, and a few others but that's it. He never gives me any finger exercise’s to do, or any type of scales or anything like that. I've resorted to trying things I read off of the Internet. Not that doing that is a bad idea, but I am paying my teacher a lot of money every week for what doesn’t seem like much learning. Is this just how a guitar teacher teaches? It just isn't quite what I expected.
Any advice?

i went through two years of teachers who taught me nothing, except how to read tab, wich didnt help me at all. Then i started to take classical guitar, which i still do, i learn all of my rock and chords and watever you like off the internet, but the only reason i can and am so awsome at rock is because i do classical. point being, your teacher is not a good teacher find a new one.

Try a few teachers until you find you like. The proverbial test drive if you will.