What I Love (& Don't Love), About Floyd's Music Scene (P. 5)

BEING A GUITAR TEACHER

I have been giving guitar lessons in Floyd for three or four years now. It was not an intentional career move. I started giving lessons mostly by default. Although Floyd is loaded with guitar players, not many of them were willing or able to provide instruction when I got started. Thankfully, that role came naturally to me and fit within my work as proprietor of the Pickin' Porch.

What I Love:

There's a yoga sutra that states "To learn, read. To know, write. To master, teach." This applies directly to my accidental journey as a guitar teacher. Although I am far from mastery, teaching has deepened my understanding of music and the guitar more than all the years of playing and reading that came before. Teaching basic music theory, chord theory and a wide variety of musical genres and guitar techniques has focused my attention in ways I never could on my own. Boiling difficult ideas and techniques to their essential concepts and movements has improved my own playing immeasurably. Catering lessons to student's interests has broadened my own musical horizons and helped me find connections between and within idioms.

I started my teaching practice with just a few students, soon it grew to a dozen. I remember a few years back I said I'd never teach more than 20 lessons a week, then it became 25. For the past year it's been over 40! The first student recital I ever held was a half-dozen students performing at Oddfellas Cantina before my show. Now we rent the June Bug Center for two days!

I've have held jam sessions for students on the back porch of my store and had students perform with me at Sweet Providence Farm, the Floyd County Harvest Festival, school talent shows, church socials and Rescue Squad and library fund raisers. Many of my students perform regularly at their church, the nursing home and at school. Many more share their music with family and friends and several have started bands. I often joke with my students that when they get rich and famous I expect a 40% cut. Usually they quip that I'm not entitled to more than 15%. I don't think it will be too long before I wish I had that in writing!

This winter some of my intermediate and advanced students will participate in a new project that I am really excited about. Several of my students have written original songs that are very good. We've arranged them and performed them at some of the events listed above. Those students and others who have worked up public domain songs and a few willing to pay the license fee for copyrighted tunes will record and release a CD early next year. Students will learn how to write and arrange their tunes, coordinate the playing and vocal delivery and rehearse with other musicians. They'll also gain valuable experience in the studio and learn how to copyright and publish their compositions, see how CDs are mixed, mastered and pressed, and end the project with a CD release party and show at a local music venue. Stay tuned to keep up with our progress!

You can see video of some student performances on YouTube:

Amy Adams posted some videos from Sweet Providence Farm here.
Students Elijah and Ken Wheaton have some videos here.

I am eternally grateful to my students, their parents and spouses, and their friends and family for entrusting their instrumental instruction to me. The small but stable income being a guitar teacher provides allows me to remain a self-employed musician here in rural America where performance opportunities come all too infrequently. My guess is that I won't be remembered as a performer, recording artist and songwriter for very long after I leave this earth. My legacy will be the over 100 students who will claim me as the one who got them started on their musical journey. At least I hope they'll claim me!

What I Don't Love:

I've got a great group of students. Each has a supportive network of parents, brothers, sisters, grandparents, husbands and wives. What's not to love!