Finding the Right Approach

Finding the Spark: How Changing Focus Can Revitalize a Guitar Student

As a guitar teacher, I’ve taught a lot of students at various stages of their musical journey. Some are naturally inspired and will to play almost anything, while others may struggle to maintain enthusiasm and motivation. One of the most important aspects of teaching is finding the right approach to keep students engaged and inspired.

My Usual Arsenal

I recently had an amazing experience with one of my younger students. He had been making steady progress, but I could sense he was losing interest in his lessons. I tried all the usual tricks to rekindle his excitement like trying popular songs, rock riffs, soloing, arpeggios, and even some advanced techniques. But none of that worked.

Some Different

As a last resort, I decided to try something completely different. I introduced a classical piece from a movie he liked. Classical music usually doesn’t resonate with younger students, but I figured it was worth a shot. To my surprise, he started to try to get the main line without any prompting. It was literally as if a switch had been flipped. He was now fully engaged and focused. At the end of the session, he couldn’t believe lesson time was already over. The experience reinforced my belief that anyone can be inspired on guitar, sometimes it just takes finding that one thing that ignites their passion.

Jurassic Park

In this case, the classical piece worked nicely for motivating him. It introduced him to a new style of music that he hadn’t explored before on guitar and it inspired him in a way that the other material hadn’t. By trying a song from one of his favorite movies, we were able to rediscover the joy of playing.