First, because the vast majority of teachers alienate their students. Not through any malicious intent. They just make some fundamental mistakes by teaching the way guitar has been taught for years and years. Teaching students to play specific songs or passages doesn’t make them musicians. It makes them robots. When you’re in a real musical context with other musicians, those skills simply don’t translate. For the super dedicated, it can and does work. But it’s really not geared towards everyone. Just those who have the overwhelming drive and commitment to overcome the deficiencies of the teaching methods.

Second, because the vast majority of students suffer from either overwhelm, or underwhelm. Teachers naturally want to teach content. They perceive delivering content as providing value. More content means more value. But how much content can a new student take before it becomes overwhelming? Too much to fix; too much to master. It just feeds the sense that the student lacks the talent to achieve his/her goals. Conversely, the student who shows up at lessons week after week who isn’t progressing, or being properly engaged or challenged will simply lose the desire to continue.

Third, because guitar teachers traditionally teach linearly. Today’s lesson needs to be mastered before the next one, because the next one will build upon it. It’s a logical, rational progression: Complete step one, before attempting step two. Nobody can argue with the reasoning. But—it’s not the most efficient way to learn. A non-linear approach produces much better results. It gets you to your goals significantly faster than the traditional serial, linear methods.

Forth, did I say …goals? Do you set goals? Do you know what your goals are? Are your goals hindered by the false thinking that you lack "natural-born talent?" If you don’t know what you’re capable of, how can your expectations be correct? Most guitar teachers simply teach; they’re not goal oriented. We’re not looking for incremental improvement from week-to-week. Don’t get me wrong: It’s great to improve every week. But are you improving towards achieving your goals? Or just satisfying your teacher on the way to his/her goals?

After 30 years, I finally got myself on track. I found some extremely talented people. A teacher. A trainer. An instructor. A coach. A mentor. All wrapped in one amazing educator, inside a vast worldwide community of like-minded people. They changed my thinking. My expectations. In fact, my career path. I’m leaving a long successful career in engineering to build a business around teaching others in the same fashion. I’m still a student myself. In fact, I hope to be a student for the rest of my life. Any teacher who isn’t also a student isn’t worth studying under. They’ve plateaued. They lost touch with the process of learning—of striving to be better. I belong to a network of guitar teachers that can’t help but make my business and myself and my students successful. I train continuously, and communicate with like-minded teachers routinely. We even get together for two weeks every year to discuss teaching methods and how to provide the maximum value for my students. In fact, you can’t get that benefit from any other teacher in the area.

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So, ROI Guitar Studio was born. Return on Investment. Invest in Self.

Learning to be a musician is a hobby for most, and a career for some. Either way, it’s an enrichment program. It’s a challenging pursuit for anybody who has the desire to tackle it. It provides a sense of accomplishment and fulfillment. It’s an investment in the student, boosting confidence and self-esteem. For many, music is a life-changing pursuit. Getting a return on that investment can be monetary, but for most, it’s the enrichment. The methods we employ are designed to advance the student to his/her goals as quickly as possible, while remaining fun and fresh and interesting.

The return on investment (ROI) is an important concept to me. I want my students to reach their goals swiftly. I want the time they spend with me to be value-packed. I want to be their teacher, trainer, instructor, coach, mentor. I want them to leave encouraged and excited about the progress they’re making. That, in turn, makes me fulfilled. That’s the return on my investment.

Additionally, there’s an important concept of “Self.” Building confidence; self-esteem; a sense of accomplishment, achievement and fulfillment is part and parcel with building “self.” Call it strength of character, or soul, or fortitude...

Learning to play the guitar really is an investment.

An investment in you.