Online Guitar Lessons by Stephen Carrington
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (click a question in blue to show/hide the answer):
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How long have you been playing guitar and ukulele?
I've been playing guitar for over 30 years now, and ukulele for the last several...actually, all the info you'd probably want to know about me, you'll find on the About Me page.
Why should I choose you instead of one of the many other guitar teachers on the internet?
There are LOTS of guitar teachers online...believe me, I know! But I feel confident that you'll find that I am the best deal, and I also offer the most "extras" (like my helpful weekly reminder emails)—not to mention that students will learn more under the guidance of an experienced, seasoned musician and teacher like me; I've played hundreds of shows in dozens of cities over the past three decades, and my playing can be heard on lots of songs (at last count it was in the hundreds) that have been released on CD, online, on vinyl, and even on cassette.
I studied music education, and I continue to better myself as a player every day; throughout the years I've taken lessons from some of the best teachers around, and I've read more guitar method books than I can even remember. I'm actually in the process of writing my own guitar method book, and it's those same time-tested approaches—and often even excerpts right from my book—that I use with my students.
All together, counting personal practice time, band rehearsal time, performance time, hours spent recording and working in various studios, time spent in music classes in grade school and college, time spent in lessons throughout the years, and also time spent giving lessons, I've got tens of thousands of hours of experience to draw from...and more and more each day! I've got the know-how and the ability to help you learn how to play guitar well, and to have fun doing it. Give me a call to set up your introductory lesson, and judge for yourself; you'll be impressed, I guarantee it.Is it true you teach all ages, all styles, and all levels?
Yes, it is! I pride myself on being well-rounded, versatile, experienced and capable, as a player and as a teacher. I can teach any age, as long as the student is willing and able to physically hold and play the guitar, and as long as they can listen attentively in lessons and then apply what they've learned in regular practices in between lessons.
I can teach all styles, but my specialties are rock and blues—so if you want to learn to play guitar with a focus on rock and/or blues (or focused on a related style like country, pop, metal, etc.) and then occasionally we might work in elements of classical, jazz, or funk, or some other style (as the situation dictates), then I would be perfectly suited to be your teacher; however, if you want to learn to play black metal on an eight-string guitar, for example, and that's pretty much all you want to focus on—even though I have a solid grasp on the basics of that style, in a situation like that I would probably recommend finding someone that specializes in it instead.
And I feel comfortable teaching players of any skill level; I welcome beginners—even if you've never even held a guitar before, and even if you haven't played any musical instrument before—and I'm confident that I have something to offer even the most seasoned and advanced players (although I understand that more advanced players may not expect to take lessons from me long-term, the way that a beginner would). And so with those few exceptions, I'm happy to teach anyone how to play the guitar (or how to play the guitar better, as the case may be)!If I have to pay for the intro lesson up front, how is it free? And what can I expect at the intro lesson?
I do require payment before we confirm the first lesson, but if you decide to go with a package (and pay for that package in full within three days of the intro lesson) then the package will be discounted by the amount paid for that initial lesson...so those players who choose to continue with a package right after their intro lesson will essentially get that intro lesson for free, and I am happy to continue to offer this service in some form or another to all of my potential students. You'll receive either 45 minutes or an hour of real instruction at the intro lesson, just like with any other lesson that I give. I want prospective new students to come away with some new skills even at what will (hopefully) become a free intro lesson.
I'm happy to offer prospective new students the choice of 45 minutes or a full hour for their intro lesson; however, schedule constraints may make it so that I can only offer a 45-minute intro lesson at a given time. Either way, the intro lesson would be priced at the single per-lesson rate for whichever timed length you prefer, and that amount will be deducted from the first package that you purchase (as long as that package is purchased and paid in full within three days of the intro lesson).What can I expect from the lessons as a regular weekly student?
Once you've purchased your first lessons package (please note that all lessons and packages must be prepaid in advance in order to be placed on the calendar), you'll have the option to begin receiving emails containing links to download the audio and/or video files of each lesson (you just have to tell me you want them to be sent, and provide me with a valid email address). These files are provided at no additional charge, but they are for the individual student's practices in between lessons only; read more about the audio and video recordings here. I also give all of my students any tab/music that we go over in advance via email...and that's not to mention the fantastic instruction you'll receive at each and every lesson!
Where is your lessons studio located?
I am located in the northen metro Atlanta area, but I can give lessons to almost anywhere via JamKazam, Zoom, or Skype. At the present time, I do not host lessons at my studio.
What is this "JamKazam" that you've mentioned, and how is it different/better than Zoom or Skype?
JamKazam is a real-time audio and video communication service that I've recently been working with that is sometimes a little buggy, but generally works pretty well and—importantly—solves the two biggest issues that I've had with other services like Zoom and Skype: lag/delay between participants (it's greatly reduced in JamKazam if all participants follow all recommendations), and the ability to speak or play at the same time that another participant is speaking or playing (something that doesn't really work with Skype or Zoom). It does require users to wear headphones (speakers generally cause feedback when used with JamKazam), and to connect via the JamKazam software (rather than through a browser—much like Zoom and Skype), but it does seem to be worth the effort.
Sometimes it doesn't work as well as Zoom or Skype, though, and so for those situations we can still do lessons via either of those other platforms. I prefer Zoom to Skype, personally, but honestly they are both so similar that I am happy to do whichever the student likes better (if we don't use JamKazam instead).What is a "VideoXchange" or "VX" lesson?
A "VideoXchange" lesson (or "VX" lesson) is a lesson where the student sends me a video of themselves playing and/or asking questions about some music or material that they are working on or wanting to work on, and then I record a reply video with comments/tips/suggestions/etc. that I send back to the student. These would still generally be weekly lessons (as described in the next question), but with each VX student I would create a weekly timeline (tailored to the student's specific situation) regarding when I would need to receive the student's video each week, and then also when I would be expected to have the reply video on the way to the student.
br /> The student's video would need to be limited to 5-10 minutes or less, and my reply video would generally be about 20-30 minutes; since these are not interactive like lessons where we connect in real time, they are less expensive than the regular remote lessons...and so as a result, they are quite a bargain! VX lessons are only available in packages; they are not available as single lessons.Do you offer lessons on the weekends? What are the days
and times that you offer lessons?
My normal lesson days and hours are Monday through Thursday 3:30PM to 9:30PM, Fridays 3:30PM to 8:30PM, and Saturdays from 12:00PM to 5:30PM (all times Eastern), and I offer make-up slots for lessons missed during the week most weeks either on Saturday or the following Sunday; however, I can sometimes make an exception if there are extenuating circumstances...and with the current health crisis, I'm happy to schedule lessons outside of those hours as well (as I am able to do so).
Please be aware that I often have a waiting list for the prime spots (after 6:00pm or so on weekdays), and sometimes my schedule gets completely full and I have to put all prospective new students on a waiting list; if you have more than one slot that would work for your lesson, then the chances are much better that I'll have something that works for you.Are your packages for "once a week" lessons, and would I have the same slot each week?
Yes, my package rates all assume one lesson per week in the same slot each week, as that works better not only for me but also for students' retention of the material if they can count on that regularity. This also allows me to let a student keep their slot as long as they want it, in most cases. Of course, if a student wants to permanently move a lessons slot, we'll see what I have available at that time and go from there.
VX lessons won't be scheduled for a specific slot each week, but they will still be weekly lessons that will have deadlines each week: a deadline when the student will need to have their video submitted to me by, and then a deadline by which I will have the response video sent to the student. I understand that sometimes weekly schedules can get very full, and with VX lessons not being time-specific it can be easy to not be able to go through a response video from me before your next video is due to be sent to me—making the learning process difficult at best—and so I am happy to discuss the possibility of bi-weekly VX lessons for students that fit that category (real-time lessons are expected to always be weekly, though).
I want to be as accommodating as possible whenever a student has a need for a temporary lessons schedule change, so I'll offer every option I can when a student needs to miss their regular weekly lesson—including allowing a make-up lesson up to or on the Sunday immediately following any given week—but any lesson not attended in a given week will be considered a "missed" lesson (a "missed" lesson is a lesson you are charged for even though you didn't attend), and only certain lesson packages get allowed "missed" lessons that don't count against that package. Please see my lessons cancellation policy in the question below this one for details about allowed "missed" lessons, and cancelling or rescheduling lessons.What if I miss a lesson? Can you explain your lesson cancellation policy?
If you won't be able to make your regularly scheduled lesson for any given week, please let me know as much in advance as you can; we'll try to find another slot for your lesson on another day during that same week, and I'll also usually have some options on the following Sunday for a make-up lesson if need be...but for any week that we don't have your lesson at the regular time and we're not able to reschedule it for later in that week (or the following Sunday), that week's lesson will be considered a "missed" lesson and it will be deducted from the lessons package (and please note that only one rescheduling of a lesson will be allowed during any given calendar week; if you're not able to make the slot we've rescheduled for, then that becomes a "missed" lesson).
Packages of 6 or 8 lessons get one allowed "missed" lesson before I start deducting them from your package; packages of 10 lessons get one allowed "missed" lesson during the first 5 lessons, and a second one during the remaining 5 lessons; and packages of 12 lessons get one allowed "missed" lesson during each third of the package (so three in total). Allowed "missed" lessons expire at the end of each package; they do not carry over from one package to the next.
So if you elect to either go lesson by lesson, or only with 4-lesson packages, then any lesson that we aren't able to reschedule for that same week will count as a missed lesson and be deducted from the package; those on a lesson by lesson basis will then need to prepay for another lesson to get on the next week's schedule. If your schedule changes a lot, or you have a tendency to need to miss a lesson every few weeks, then I would recommend getting a package of 6 or more lessons. Individually-purchased (single) lessons can only be rescheduled once, and that would be dependent on a suitable alternate option being available in that same week (so the sooner you can let me know if you need to reschedule a single lesson, the better chance I'll be able to make the change); refunds are not available for single lessons once they are purchased.
Please note that I reserve the right to count any lesson that a student schedules (but doesn't attend) as a "missed" lesson, whether the student has allowed "missed" lessons that haven't been used in the current package or not; an example of a situation where this would be the case would be if a student simply forgets about their lesson, or otherwise doesn't contact me ahead of time to reschedule the lesson.
To help ensure that you get every lesson that you pay for, I send out emails every weekend that remind each student of whatever lesson I have booked for them in my calendar for the upcoming week; if I don't have a lesson booked for a given student that week, they won't receive an email from me. This way each student will have a reminder that they can count on receiving somewhere around halfway between their weekly lessons, in addition to a verbal confirmation at the end of each lesson for the lesson the following week.Do I have to sign a contract for a lessons package? What if I need to cancel part of the way through a package?
No contracts—you can take as few or as many lessons as you want. Even the package deals can be canceled part of the way through, but I'll base the refund on whatever package is closest to what you actually used and then refund the overage from that perspective (meaning, if you cancel a package of 10 lessons after you used 7 of them, then I would subtract the cost of a 6-lesson package, plus the cost of a single lesson, from the cost of the 10-lesson package, and the remainder would be your refund). If you cancel a package less than 7 days before your next scheduled lesson, then that lesson will be considered a "missed" lesson, and it will be counted as a used lesson in the package before the refund is processed.
Also, if you discontinue lessons before you have attended 4 paid lessons there will be a $40 administrative fee deducted from any refund, to cover my time and effort to set you up as a new student.What if I need to put a lessons package on hold temporarily?
I'll be as flexible as I can with any schedule changes you need to make (as per my cancellation/rescheduling policy), including putting a package on hold temporarily if need be. However, I won't be able to guarantee the same slot when you resume your lessons package, and if a reasonable amount of time passes without any contact or response from you once you put a package on hold, I reserve the right to deduct some or all of the remaining lessons (depending on the circumstances) once you do resume the lessons package.
Are there any other costs or charges or anything else to buy?
There are no hidden costs—all of the rates are listed clearly here on this site and will be discussed and confirmed before the lessons begin (click here to view, download, or print a pdf copy of my current guitar lessons rate sheet, which breaks down all the costs you could expect to incur in my lessons program); no sign-up costs; no materials to buy, either...HOWEVER, I highly recommend that you obtain things like a metronome, tuner (there are several free apps for those that are great options), music stand, etc., if you do not already have these. I will generally be able to provide a metronome during the lessons when needed, of course, but you should have them for your individual practices; I would be glad to point you in the direction of the best value for any of those items, so feel free to ask.
I've taken lessons before, and the teacher was great...but the day after each lesson, I couldn't remember most of the little details and specifics that we went over during the lesson, even when I went back over the music that we used. What do you do that will help me out with this?
Each lesson I give is video- and/or audio-recorded, at no charge; upon request, I will send those files to you within a day or so of each request. The audio recordings are generally compact, hi-res mp3 files: easily downloaded, and they still sound excellent. The video files are generally either QuickTime movie files, with the camera is trained right on my guitar the whole time, or a recording of the Skype call or Zoom meeting as provided by the software; either way, it's (almost) just like being there in the lesson again!
All video and audio lessons will be owned and copyrighted in full and in their entirety solely by me, and licensed indefinitely to the student for their own personal review only. No other use is authorized or permitted. Requesting or accepting an audio or video file of any lesson means you acknowledge and accept these terms; these terms also apply if you choose to record the lesson via any audio or video recording software you may have.Is it true I get a free lesson if I refer a friend?
Yes, it is; current students that refer a friend (new students only) get a free lesson when their friend signs up for a package deal of 10 or more lessons! Wow!! Just tell them to let me know that you referred them whenever they book their first lesson, and I will add the appropriate lesson(s) to your schedule (the free lesson will be the same length as your most often and/or most recent lesson package). This offer only applies to the first package a new student purchases.
Is it true I get a free lesson every year if I'm consistently taking weekly lessons from you?
Yes, that's true as well! Each year on (or close to) the anniversary of your intro lesson, I'll add at least one free lesson to your current package. You must be a current student in good standing, without having missed/postponed/cancelled/rescheduled an excessive amount of your regular weekly lessons (determination of what qualifies as "excessive" is solely up to me). Putting a package on hold may also prevent a student from getting an anniversary bonus lesson.
I'll add one free lesson (of the same length as that of your most often and/or most recent lessons package) for you on my calendar on or about the anniversary of your intro lesson for the first and second year that you take lessons from me; on the third and fourth anniversaries I'll add two lessons; and for the fifth and each subsequent anniversary I'll add three lessons. No other guitar teacher takes care of their loyal students like that!Do you offer group lessons?
Sorry, I do not offer group lessons; I have found that they are not nearly as effective as one-on-one lessons, and my lessons studio won't easily accommodate multiple students.
What if I want to give a lessons package as a gift; do you offer gift certificates?
Yes I do! All of my packages can be purchased for someone else, and I'll send over a gift certificate that you can present to that individual. Please note that gift certificates are NOT refundable, and any unused lessons from the package would expire one year after the purchase date.
Can my child's brother/sister/friend/etc. be there at the lesson, if they just sit there quietly?
To ensure that every student gets the full benefit of each lesson, I have found that it's best for only the student to be present during the lessons—siblings and friends can be an unwelcome distraction that will hinder the student's progress. If friends or family want to watch the video recording of the lesson afterwards, that's up to the student; I'm happy to send over any video files after the lessons if a student wants to "show off" their learning progress to the parents/siblings/friends/etc.
Didn't find the answer to your question? Send me an email or call me at (770) 971-6093
Please: no calls between 10PM and 9AM! Thank you in advance for honoring that request. All messages prior to 10PM that I am not able to answer will be returned as quickly as possible; usually that means within a few hours, but please be aware that it may sometimes take a day or more for me to respond if I happen to be especially busy when you leave a message or send me an email.
