Hey guitar players; it's been a while!
I've been taking lessons for 2 months now. My growth is undeniable; I definitely sound better, and I feel more confident with my instrument. But how do you know your instructor is any good? Or how do you make sure you're getting the best out of them?
My instructor sometimes seems a little scattered, a little less invested. Like I'll use a technique he taught me last week, and he'll say "wow, you figured that out yourself?" Or he'll instruct one scale on a chart this week, and next week he'll just say "learn all the rest," and the week after he'll be back to the first scale. The school he works out of (a small, two-person outfit) has an online portal where he's supposed to write notes on what to practice in a given week, and he fills it out 50% of the time. I'm supposed to log my practice, and I don't think he reads it. Sometimes it feels less like he's mentoring me and more like he has a study plan he applies to everyone and is just sending me along that path.
Sometimes I wonder if I should shop around for someone a little more focused, and sometimes I figure it's just hard to keep track of several (possibly dozens of) students. Do I just need to have a "stop: hammer time" moment to check in with him re: my growth and goals? Or should I be shopping around for someone new?