Question: I've really bought into your guitar teaching method with beginners. Your Teaching Beginner Guitar Students books are great. I have several guitar students who I'm teaching out of other method books and also showing them some songs outside of the book that I think they could handle. Several of them have gotten to a point in these other books and are at a stand still. Should I move them over to your book and start from the beginning or just assess where they're at and move from that point? I wasn’t sure how I should approach this. I really believe in a formatted type of lesson approach for beginners. All of my new beginners I will be teaching out of your beginner guitar book! I’m going to move the other ones over also. I just wasn’t sure how I should approach this.

Tom Hess's Answer: As you know my beginner guitar book method use my Geometric Guitar Teaching Method™ and the other books you are using by other authors all use the old ‘linear guitar teaching method’ this is likely the reason your students (who use the other books) are not getting anywhere. So, you have made the right decision to move them over to my books.

The best way to make this transition is to simply give them my book, then tell them to start at the beginning and practice as many pages as they can get through over the next week. Then when they come into their next lesson, simply ask them to play through all that practiced in my book. You will find out quickly what they can play well and what they need to work on again. So the starting point for using my books with each student will become obvious to you at that point.

Are you dedicated to becoming a great guitar teacher? If so, let me show you how to earn a good living by teaching guitar.