Question:  I used to take guitar lessons when I was a kid.  It seemed like I never improved.  When I played the songs that my instructor taught me I could never sound like him.  I could never make the chords.  When I did they always sounded out of tune.  Why did I always sound bad?  Why couldn’t I do the chords – especially the barre chords?

Answer:
The most common reason given for quitting an instrument is the student’s inability to sound good on their instrument.  The surprising thing is that this is the easiest obstacle to overcome.  In almost all cases the problem is with the instrument.  An improperly built instrument won’t play in tune – even for the professionals.

Here’s the GitterPicker rule of thumb:
If a new guitar costs less than $99, it’s a toy.  It will not work for guitar lessons.  There’s most likely nothing that we can do to improve this toy.

If the new guitar is in the price range of $150 - $300 (most popular range) there’s a likelihood of problems.  These instruments typically come from an internet auction or a large discount chain.  A person might get lucky and get a good one that requires minimal setup.  However, the GitterPicker String Factory gets a lot of these instruments in for repair and we end up having to tell the customer that the guitar is not fixable.  We sell a lot of instruments in this price range as well but end up rejecting about 40% due to improper construction.  Where do these rejected instruments end up?  How can instruments be sold so cheaply at discount chains and on internet sites?

If the new instrument cost $350 or more it most likely contains solid woods and will require special care in order to maintain playability.  Even at this price range the guitar will need to be setup initially by a professional luthier.  Guitars costing $1,000 or more still need to be properly setup.  When a guitar is shipped to the retail store it is not set up for playing.  It is set up for shipping.

In sports they say “no pain, no gain”.  This concept should NEVER apply with a musical instrument.  If the instrument sounds bad, won’t play in tune, or hurts your hands, you will ultimately give up.

Question:  I already own my own guitar.  I think the strings are pretty old and I’m not sure if the guitar will be ok for my child to use.

Answer:  Prior to starting your first lesson the GitterPicker String Factory always recommends that you bring your instrument in for a free inspection.  A professional setup along with new strings is the best assurance that you will follow through with lessons.  If your instrument won’t play in tune, sounds bad, or hurts your fingers, you will quit!  For a basic setup of your instrument you should budget $50.  This is usually a worst-case scenario.  If your instrument needs repairs that exceed the value of the instrument we will let you know.  No work will be performed on your instrument without first providing you with an accurate estimate.  See our Repair page for an overview of the service we offer for your instrument.

Question:  What is the GitterPicker mentoring program?

Answer:  The traditional method for giving guitar lessons has been to schedule a student with a teacher for 30 minutes each week.  The student leaves the store and is expected to practice the exercises given by the teacher through the rest of the week.  Learning a new instrument can be BORING!  At GitterPicker we've taken away the excuses for not practicing.  Our students can call into the GitterPicker String Factory any day of the week to see if there are any mentoring slots available.  If a mentoring slot is available the student is placed into the half hour slot to come in and practice with any available teacher.  The GitterPicker String Factory leaves approximately 15% of the available lessons slots vacant for mentoring sessions.  No Excuses!!