$%#^ Problem #2

Recently I started offering private lessons by email through Guitar Tricks. On the first 4 days I got literally hundreds of replies. I too the time (14 hours) to try and answer every single one of em. I unfortunately had to resort to a slightly boilerplate response because it was just too much work. Since then a whole ton of those initial people haven't contacted me after I sent out a first lesson.

My main suspicion is that the people who initially responded had no idea that this was going to be a PAY service.
In other words, rather than just give private lessons at home for $50 an hour, we're charging $49 for a month's worth of email lessons. (Basically constant email contact from me on a daily basis if necessary and about 2 hours of my own time put into each lesson)

After I sent out the initial replies to people... as soon as the $49 per month was mentioned, the replies I got dropped off dramatically.

If there's any of those original inquiry people who weren't aware there was a charge involved...I'd love to hear from you again. Mainly cause I'm wondering if all those initial emails were cause people thought I was gonna do this service for free and didn't read the online info.

If you did realize it was free... I'd be interested in knowing why you opted out of continuing lessons... mainly cause we're trying to make a go at this and make it worth the money and an improvement over spending just 1/2 hour a week with a private teacher.

Anyway... that's it...I'm just blabbing on, but I noticed since we put up a huge sticker saying Lessons only $49./99 per month... my initial inquiries have dropped off significantly.
'
Any opinions or comments are welcome cause we're really trying to make this a worthwhile.

That's it..

my problem with that matter is a bit different. is because all hosts have been asked if they where interrested in offering pay-lessons on the site and several other important sounding questions. i was also interrested. the thing that pisses me off is not that i´m not the one who has been chosen and i´m not jealos or something, nore is this something against you - its because i have never gotten a reply to the mail - noone ever told us (me) what changes are to be made and who will be the online-teacher(s) - all i saw what your logo that was on the mainpage without a warning.

this is rather directed towards jon i guess.

[Edited by Azrael on 02-14-2003 at 02:34 AM]

I think the problem is most 12yr-old kids don't have access to a credit card, so yeah, that fee is going to prohibit a lot of people from pursuing the matter any farther.BTW, if anybodys interested I'll give you on-line lessons for $48.99 a month!!! LOL

I pay 55 a month for 30 min lessons once a week so i dont think its that bad of an idea :), It would be harder to explain but you would get more out of it probley. im sorta intrested, might have to look into it.

Well the credit card problem is no hassle.
We offer PayPal, Money Order, Cheques or or even cash if ya wanna send by regular mail.

Lessons by Email

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http://www.guitartricks.com/schmange1.php

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i question the quality of online guitar lessons, especially when they cost $50 bucks a month.

oh sorry....$49.99 a month.

this isn't a diss towards anybody, im just saying, c'mon, do you really expect people to pay for somebody to send emails their way on how to get better?

Considering that most teachers (including me) charge $50 per hour for personal lessons at home it's actually a pretty good deal. For $49.95 per month you've got my personal attention as many times as you want for the whole month as opposed to just sitting in front of me for an hour and trying to memorize everything, then having to leave when your times up and the next student walks in. I correspond with each student numerous times a week and usually end up spending a couple of hours on each email writing out tabs and recording MP3's showing how to do it.
There's no commuting involved, no equipment to carry and you get to keep a copy of exactly what the lesson involves and study it at your own pace instead of struggling to get it done in time for the next lesson.
Plus I keep an ongoing database on your progress and keep every MP3 you send me so I always know how well you're improving.
It's a great alternative for those that either can't commute or live out in the sticks somewhere.
I'm also open to any kinda lessons you want, including just learning riffs and tricks or figuring out solos for ya..

Think of it this way... I've got some guys who show up for lessons here who take 5 minutes to set up and tune their guitar, spend another 10 minutes showing me that they didn't learn their last lessons properly. They're all uptight about playing in front of me so they can't do it properly... Then the rest of the lesson is spent trying to show the guy how to do as he watches me and I try to show him over and over again how to do it.
An hour later his dad picks him up and he forgets half of what I've taught him.

If you take lessons from me online, I spend about 2 or 3 hours on it...you get a hard copy of each lesson, a complete description of how to play it and why it's played in a certain way. You get an MP3 of me playing it at several speeds, plus homemade background music if necessary.
Then your lesson involves doing your own MP3 at home and sending it to me. When I hear you I criticize it and send you another MP3 showing where you're making the mistakes etc... take parts out of your lead and repeat them in my software and put them on one channel while I play it the right way on the other channel... You can study this stuff as many times as you want and you don't have to wait a week to see if you got it right.
With some students they're getting the equivalent of 20+ hours worth of lessons each month.

hm..i understand the pros now, but you can still understand why people are reluctant to do that.

by the way, i downloaded one of your mp3's, you are talented.

anyways, the thing that is missing is Jamming! That is how I got good at what i do (Improv!), my guitar instructor taught me how to communicate with other musicians, the most important skill i'll ever use in my entire life, as far as music goes.

of course, you could record tracks and send them back, etc, but it isn't the same, you can't get the same Climax effects and "break" effects, and other natural magics.

what is with that anyways? i'm a guitar student, but i spend about 5 hours a day on guitar, most students spend 15 minutes a day, then complain that they aren't getting it. In other words, in one month, i achieve more than many do in a year.

If you want to jam though, join a band or grab a bunch of midi files and jam to those. You'll improve your improvisational skills and many other things, but the one thing you won't be doing is correcting any mistakes you're making that you aren't aware of. You'll also be missing out on years of experience and techniques that a really good teacher can give you.

Originally posted by schmange
Think of it this way... I've got some guys who show up for lessons here who take 5 minutes to set up and tune their guitar, spend another 10 minutes showing me that they didn't learn their last lessons properly. They're all uptight about playing in front of me so they can't do it properly... Then the rest of the lesson is spent trying to show the guy how to do as he watches me and I try to show him over and over again how to do it.
An hour later his dad picks him up and he forgets half of what I've taught him.

Err.. i hate to say that dude, but.. if a student is uptight in the first one or two lessons its normal, but if that doesnt change, then there is something wrong with the lessons themselves.
I can only speak from my experience - i have been gifted with a few very great guitarteachers who are great pedagogues - and thats the important thing. it is more like a good friendship than "you havent learned your lessons again, have you?". a good teacher is more like a companion who knows what is best for YOU rather than using standard-formulas for all his students. The student should have too look forward to a lesson rather than "OMG.. i havent learned enough.. will he be mad at me?" - of course they got tensed up in the lessons.

no offense dude - thats only my point of view.

I never get mad at students & I think I'm doin a pretty good job with the 20 students I've got. Including developing relationships and knowing what direction to take with them.
I've been at this for 15 years and not too long ago was running my own music store with 8 teachers working for me so I do know what I'm doing.
I'm just trying to point out the futility sometimes of giving a student a half-hour lesson for $25 a week when there are better alternatives available.
For instance, I'm sitting here for 3 hours on a lesson sometimes and recording a half dozen MP3's and with some students I'm doing that ten times a month. I'm also writing out & describing techniques in detail that you can re-read at your own leisure, plus giving tons of studio and music business advice. I think it's a way better deal to spend $50 a month for practically unlimited lessons and having me available every day by email, rather than paying me $100 a month for just four, 1/2 hour lessons.

I find it very effective to kick over a couple of music stands or throw a chair against the wall when I'm fustrated and the students haven't learned there lessons.
-LOL-

yeah...there is one disadvantage in giving email lessons.
Ya can't seduce the female students. :)

well, you can still try, you'd just be playing the lottery as to whether or not they look good. it all depends.

Schmange,in your opinion,besides the mp3s and stuff,is there any difference in taking email lessons and buying a really good book?
I happen to feel at some point,nothing short of a dude in your facee will do.

Haven't had any complaints yet. In fact there's some guys paying me several month in advance so they don't have to keep topping up their account every month-& one guy from Barrie who just changed to email lessons so he doesn't have to drive here every week.
I've just been finding that giving private lessons doesn't teach anywhere near what I can cover in email lessons. The only thing really missing is you can't physically sit here and see me do something.
A good text explanation and a pic or two will usually get the point across.
The big difference between taking my email lessons and just reading a book is that you won't have an advanced guitar player breathing down your neck, criticizing and helping you improve every aspect of your playing.
I also doubt if any personal guitar teacher thinks much about you after you leave a lesson. 1/2 hr is what ya get, and it costs you $25. You get an assignment and you have to have it done by the same time the next week.
If you've got any questions in the meantime, you're on your own until the next lesson, where it'll cost you another $25 to go over the same material if you haven't learned it.
With me you can write me as often as you want. I've got some students who prefer one lesson every week or two. Some guys want a lesson every day and write me 4 times throughout the day to make sure they know it correctly.
Either way, you're expected to know and learn what I give you....and prove it. I listen to your MP3's in detail...repeatedly. I look for edits to see if you're cheating and I'll tell you what you need to work on cause I've been there...and I push you to do it.
If you wanna learn, I'll teach you everything I know.
On the other hand, if you wanna go to your local Acme guitar teacher and take the same generic lessons as every other student, go ahead.

The only real disadvantage to E-mail lessons is you can't really watch the students right & left hand technique.

And neither can a teacher once you've finished your lesson and gone home.
And when you play something for him he's only going to see you for 1/2 hour while you're actually sitting in front of him.

I mean, if you're talking beginner guitar playing 101, then sure, go get yourself a school teacher who can show you what fingers to use and how to play basic chords and scales. If you want to take your playing to the next level, then that's where I come in. Some of the basics I'd expect before even accepting a student is the ability to play at least one minutes worth of some 'showcase' material that involves several intermediate to advanced techniques.

Check here:
http://www.schmange.com/SchmangeLesson1.txt

This is a text version of the first part of lesson #1. (If you can't at least do this, you're better off learning more basics from a beginner teacher.)
Most lessons involve three assignments similar to this. For instance, I'll record 1 minute worth of example riffs and ask you to copy them. I'll record certain scales or styles, give you tabs and diagrams etc... and your assignment is to emulate them. (from beginning to end with no errors...cleanly and properly recorded)
I listen to them carefully and critique you, as well as walk you through the entire process...one note at a time if necessary. You get a reason for learning them and a reason why I'm particularly giving it to you.
If you get it...and I can hear that you get it, we move on to the next part of your playing that needs work. While we're doing that I'm keeping track of your progress, reinforcing what you've learned and seeing what techniques are working for you. (ie, I've got every single MP3 and assignment you've ever done stored on my HD)
Gradually if you stick with it, the assignments will get harder and harder until you're playing is at a pro studio level or you don't need me anymore.

having good technique has nothing to do w/how long you've been playing, how vast your repetoire is, or how much knowledge of the fingerboard you have, and can not be spotted in a recording.
I was playing for over 10yrs, had several different teachers and was in my second year of college as a music major when a former teacher helped me revamp my picking technique making me 10x the player I would have ever become. Having good technique will take the frustration out of playing and will enable you to play what you want too when you want to. No more "boy, I hope I can pull this solo or lick off tonight". As I'm sure you know. I see a lot of validity in what your doing I'm just pointing out a few disadvantages.
I would also miss the spontaneous jams and the intellectual exchange of musical ideas that can only occur when playing off of someone.

heh... then obviously email lessons aren't for you :)