Guitar students like different types of music. So as a teacher, you have to know it all. It could be classic rock or country, punk or pop, folk or heavy metal. You may have to give guitar lessons in all these styles.
I welcome that, as variety keeps it interesting. Ideally, I would like to have a student for every genre of music. In fact, let’s make it a project. I’m going to list various styles of guitar lessons and put a ‘position vacant’ notice for each one. If you would like to learn one of these, get in touch.
CLASSIC ROCK
They didn’t know it at the time, but the golden age of rock was the 1970s and 80s. It was the age of rock stars and guitar heroes, when most of the best bands were in their prime. There’s so much good music from this era, for both guitar and bass lessons, that you’ll never run out of songs to play.
Of course, the rock genre continued into the 90s and right up to today, but the classic era was 70s-80s.
FOLK / ACOUSTIC
If you’re into folk, then we’re talking more the 1960s and 70s, which was the heyday of the singer-songwriter, the likes of Dylan, Cat Stevens, and Joni Mitchell.
On the other hand, it’s been said that in the 2020s there are far more solo artists than bands. So there’s plenty of modern folk material if you’re into the sound of just one guy or gal singing over an acoustic guitar. That’s people like Ed Sheeran, Noah Kahan, or even some of Taylor Swift’s stuff. The singer-songwriter genre has really made a comeback in the last few years.
METAL
You’re either into heavy metal or not – but if you are, then you’ve come to the right place. I’ve always been a big fan of this style of music. What an amazing musical genre it is, especially for guitar.
UKULELE
And now for something completely different – the ukulele! Popular with both kids and adults, this miniature instrument can be used for playing strum along chord songs, or some surprisingly good solo arrangements. Whether you’re a beginner or more advanced, I’ve got a lot of material for you.
BASS
Now to another instrument with four strings rather than six, although much fatter ones. Bass guitar is in almost all styles of popular music. Less well known than the guitar, bass is incredibly fun to play, and once you start playing bass you’ll be a fan for life.
JAZZ
Jazz was the main music genre in the early decades of the twentieth century, before it was overtaken by rock in the 1950s. But jazz has never gone away and still plays a big part in our cultural consciousness, if you think of all the movie soundtracks, for example.
It’s good to see a young artist like Laufey reviving this genre as a popular form today.
BLUES
Blues is a unique genre in itself, and it has also been seen as the well from which rock draws. There’s some truth in that as many of the most well known classic rock solos are blues based. You could see rock as in some ways an off shoot of blues, and of course there was the ‘British blues explosion’ of the late 60s. Metal icons Black Sabbath, for instance began as a blues band, as did Led Zeppelin.
For pure blues, there’s a lot of good guitar music from the early days with BB King, through Stevie Ray Vaughan, and modern virtuosos like Robben Ford.
INDIE
Indie rock is almost an alternative universe of music. You’ve got your mainstream classic rock and its genres. Then you’ve got Indie rock, a whole other scene.
I call one of my long time students the ‘king of indie rock’ as he keeps bringing in song requests by obscure bands I’ve never heard of. The indie rock world quite a rabbit hole to go down.
CLASSICAL
When I started learning guitar, I was made to learn classical, and that was my good luck. It’s a great foundation for other styles, especially anything with finger picking. It is also an incredible genre of music in itself, with a rich selection of pieces from the Spanish repertoire as well as Baroque.
ACOUSTIC INSTRUMENTAL
This is a cross between classical guitar and pop, in which popular songs are redone as solo instrumental pieces. This is a underrated genre, but is becoming more popular. I plan to record some of these songs for YouTube later in the year.
COUNTRY
Country has made a comeback in the last few years, so this is a good time to learn that style. Whether it’s the old style country artists or the new wave of stars, there’s plenty of material.
BEGINNER
All these styles of guitar music come from the same basic techniques of picking or strumming the strings, and fretting the notes. If you’re a total beginner, we will start with these basics. A lot of good songs are easy to play, so you’ll be playing songs pretty much straight away.
THE CHALLENGE: ONE STUDENT FOR EVERY GENRE
So, these are some of the main guitar genres for guitar lessons. Let’s see if we can meet the challenge of having a student for every one of them. For more information, inquire below!
Now, just for fun here’s a short video about different guitar genres.