[corrall]

Hi all
I am trying to find a good guitar teacher to have some guitar lesson. I am a beginner, in my mid-30s and love the guitar.. so trying to get few lessons. I live in the east lansing area, close to MSU. Wondering if anyone would have any suggestion for a good guitar teacher.

[detwahDJ]

I would decide on what style I like first, then find a teacher who knows theory and teaches both. Keep in mind that teachers are often highly opinionated about what is good or bad, and might think your choice is "garbage". A staunchly traditional jazz teacher might despise Al Dimeola's music for instance (personal experience here).
I know Blues, but I studied theory first - point is, western music, whatever genre, uses the same 12-tone theory. So the ideal teacher would apprise you of this theory and then show how your genre-of-choice uses it.
The Blues, for instance, uses the "mixolydian mode" as its "tonic" and this ( among other things) is what makes it unique enough to give the genre a name. Some people prefer other music (folk) which uses the "Ionian as tonic" (this is not complicated, so don't be put off).
You might ask the teacher what this means to see if he at least knows theory. (Obvoiusly, you can also web search these terms).
Some good players can simply show you chords and progressions, but you may not realize WHY they work.
You may already know these things, but most rank beginners will not. Good luck.
Here's a bit of info: Walt Ribeiro » Music Modes Explained

[teachbeach]

Usually a music store that sells guitars has a list of people who offer lessons. You can also search Craig's List.

[Sgt. Buzzcut]

JMO but in my teens I got a teacher for a few weeks and it frustrated me more than anything. All he cared about was timing and I can't stay in time until I have a fundamental grasp of identifying and reading music (it's amost like learning another language).

After 20+ years of not even picking up an instrument, it's so much easier now with the internet. There are some excellent sites like Ultimate Guitar that have tabs, (I know it's cheating and one should learn to read music but at least you can quickly pick up on some familiar songs and it keeps it interesting). Here's one of my favorite sites Guitar Chords, it has all the scales in tab and notation, plus split chords. There are some nice scale and chord charts in Google Images as well. Youtube has several video intructions. Why waste the money on a teacher when those bucks could be used to buy a nicer instrument? Definetly learn to read music though and it's been my experience that learn all the Beatles you can. Even in their early days their chord progressions were quite complex, not your typical C,D, G chord stuff that most songs are written around.

I pick up all the used cheap sheet music I can get my hands on at thrift stores , yard sales, the library, (even if it's piano or organ music) because the treble clef is the same as guitar sheet music. I just recently bought a keyboard and am teaching myself piano as well. Get's complicated because now your reading 2 staffs of music and what used to be a c is now an a, a g is now a b, etc.. I find it helpful to get my practice lined up in multiple tabs on the toolbar so I can quickly refer to a chord chart in a click. Patience and practice, practice, practice.

[detwahDJ]

Well OP, it's been a while. any luck on finding that teacher? What have you learned? Keep us posted.

[michigan83]

Might want to try Elderly Instruments in Lansing. They have a list of guitar instructors, and each one specializes in different styles. Lessons - Elderly Instruments