There are many reasons why a guitar teacher might make the decision to start teaching live online guitar lessons, from in-person lessons not always being possible, to simply wanting to keep up with the changing world.

No matter your reason for wanting to teach guitar online, you will also be faced with other daunting decisions, and we’re here to help guide you on:

• The best platforms to use for teaching guitar online
• How you can effectively teach online guitar lessons
• How you can find guitar students for your online guitar lessons

If you’d like more guidance and resources to help you run a fulfilling and stress-free studio, TopMusicGuitar can help.

Table Of Contents

1. Why You Should Teach Guitar Online
2. Platforms To Use To Teach Guitar Lessons Online
3. Top 5 Online Platforms For The Modern Guitar Teacher
4. Do I Need To Change My Teaching Style?
5. Tips to Help You Teach Online Guitar Lessons
6. How To Find Guitar Students for Your Online Guitar Lessons
7. Can I Teach Music Theory Online?
8. Your Online Guitar Teaching Community
9. The Verdict On Switching To Online Guitar Teaching

Why You Should Teach Guitar Online

While many of us prefer teaching guitar in person, embracing technology in the modern digital age can open up so many more opportunities to reach more students as you’re no longer limited to the small number of students in your local area.

More and more guitar teachers are starting to teach online either as a stand-alone business or in conjunction with their face-to-face lessons, moving the world of guitar teaching into an exciting new age.

The transition from in-person lessons to online may seem daunting, but we’re here to help make the change easier for you.

The Pros of Teaching Guitar Online

• Find guitar students from anywhere in the world to fill in previously unusable daytime hours
• Become the go-to teacher for your favourite genre of music or style of playing
• All you need is a stable internet connection, a good computer microphone and a quality musical instrument

The Cons of Online Guitar Lessons

• More competition in the form of guitar tutors all over the world who have also made the shift to teaching online
• Reliance on your student also having a good internet speed
• Keeping up with new technology (but we can help with that)

Platforms To Use To Teach Guitar Lessons Online

When it comes to teaching guitar online the first decision you need to make is which type of platform you are going to use to teach your online lessons, so you can familiarise yourself with all its features before you start using them.

There are several options available to you.

Some will be more conducive to live guitar playing where you can jam and play guitar in real-time while others will have a time delay where you demonstrate while the student listens.

• Free platforms (such as Skype and Zoom) allow you to demonstrate your guitar playing while the student watches. These platforms are also perfect for helping students with both guitar and music theory, and is also conducive to teaching multiple students who wish to learn guitar online in group guitar lessons.
• Premium platforms (for example RockOutLoud) have no latency issues, meaning you can play guitar with your students in real-time. Playing guitar along with your students gives you that interactive feeling that previously you could only get with in-person guitar lessons.
• Creating an online course removes any issues you may face with live lessons. Many guitarists face challenges with their playing, so if you can create online courses for those who want to embrace online learning with a seasoned guitar teacher, you can reach students all over the world, using the same material and resources for multiple students.

Top 5 Online Platforms For The Modern Guitar Teacher

1. Zoom is a great free option that works well with both group and private guitar lessons. It is my recommendation as the best online platform for guitar teachers and music tutors looking to teach their lessons online.
2. RockOutLoud is a premium option optimised for exclusive lessons and rock band jams. I highly recommend this for music teachers of any instrument.
3. Skype doesn’t have as many music optimisations as Zoom but still works great for music lessons.
4. Forte is a new player in the online teaching game. Read all about it here.
5. Webex is very similar to Zoom, and is beneficial for larger groups of students

Do I Need To Change My Teaching Style?

Not at all!

Many guitar tutors think they’ll have to learn a whole new way of teaching online when they make the switch to live online lessons from in-person private lessons, but this isn’t the case.

Of course there will be some adaptations to make to your usual guitar lesson plans, with online learning sometimes relying on more descriptive instructions as not being in the same room as your student means you’re unable to do things physically for them so you have to talk them through certain things.

But there’s no need to change up how you teach just because you’re now teaching guitar (electric guitar or acoustic guitar) online – but if you’re looking for creative ways to keep your online guitar students engaged, check out this podcast!

Tips to Help You Teach Online Guitar Lessons

• Utilising technology in virtual guitar lessons can help improve the learning process for students, from increasing the sound quality of lessons to creating professional looking music with music notation software. There’s a whole host of music apps out there for teachers just like you!
• Upgrading to a premium online guitar platform like RockOutLoud will enable you to play music live in real-time with your students, a feature of in-person lessons that guitar teachers don’t need to miss out on when making the switch to online lessons
• Backing tracks can be used in place of playing in real-time, and by including a backing tracks section in an online guitar course will let your students play along to your own music at their own pace, as if you were in the room with them

So just because you’re now an online guitar instructor doesn’t mean you need to change how you run your music school or the approach you take as a guitar tutor.

Simply teach the same way you always have and keep teaching and playing guitar as normal.

How To Find Guitar Students for Your Online Guitar Lessons

After you’ve made the decision to teach online, the next step is finding online students.

Teaching online opens you up to a world of people who want to learn guitar, but also a world of online guitar tutors who you are now competing with.

If you want to be known for giving the best online guitar lessons, you need to have a great marketing strategy.

• Advertise a free first lesson. When you give people free lessons, it allows them to see if you’re the right teacher for them, and also illustrates how online guitar lessons with you will run
• Create a website. If you’re teaching guitar online, you need to have a good online presence
• Create a YouTube Channel and give away free resources and links to a lead magnet on your website. By providing helpful resources for free, prospective students will see the type of learning experience they will have if they sign up for guitar lessons with you
• Sell online courses on online marketplaces
• Referrals. Ask your current students if they know anyone who’d be interested in guitar lessons. If you’ve provided them with a great teaching experience then they are much more likely to refer friends to you for guitar lessons
• For more tips check out our Find Students Fast free download for a comprehensive checklist of all the best free ways to find students for your studio.

Can I Teach Music Theory Online?

Yes!

Teaching music theory online can be even easier than guitar lessons.

By using a platform like Zoom you can use the interactive whiteboard function where you can draw and annotate using the inbuilt software.

You can also screen share to bring up music and worksheets to illustrate theory, and to save you from writing on a sheet of paper and holding it up to the screen.

If you have a great music theory lesson plan, you could run a music theory class over Zoom, teaching dozens if not hundreds of people online at the same time.

Of if course creation is more your thing, you could reach thousands of people by selling an online course on an online marketplace.

Your Online Guitar Teaching Community

Teaching online can feel lonely. You’re not physically seeing your students, and if you’re not teaching in a studio then there’s a high chance you’re not seeing any other teachers.

This can make you feel like you’re a one-man-band trying to thrive in an intimidating and unfamiliar environment. But we’ve got you.

A membership with TopMusic Guitar Pro will give you the guidance and resources you need to grow in confidence not only with teaching online, but in your in-person lessons too.

TopMusicPro is an educational membership website for guitar teachers to improve their teaching skills, level up their business knowledge and join a community of like-minded guitar teachers looking to teach better lessons, make more money and do better for their guitar students.

Whether you’re looking at teaching music online, creating an online guitar course or helping people learn guitar, music theory or any number of guitar skills in private lessons, our online guitar courses will help you 10x your business and teaching.

Sign up to TopMusic Guitar Pro to find your online guitar teaching community today.

The Verdict On Switching To Online Guitar Teaching

Whether you’re a professional musician looking to get started or a long-time teacher with years of experience, I recommend you make the shift to online guitar lessons today.

Teaching online means you will:

• Reach a wider audience of people wanting to master guitar
• Find students to fill previously unusable daytime hours
• Enhance your lessons with new technologies to give you more creative ways of teaching

It’s never been a better time to teach guitar online and with the way the world is going, the sooner you get in the bigger advantage you’ll have.

About the Author

Michael is an expert guitar tutor and musical educator from Melbourne, Australia. He is the owner and head teacher of the prestigious Melbourne Guitar Academy and creator of the Guitar Ninjas curriculum which is used in studios all around the world.

Michael is also the Head of Guitar at Topmusic and has the personal mission of raising the standard of guitar education globally so that guitar students world over have a better quality musical education.