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I got all the Rockschool guitar grade books a while ago when I was helping my youngest daughter with her guitar playing for her college course.
The grade 8 book is more challenging than I expected, but doable.
I'm self taught, largely and I'm OK with tablature, but I get anxious about the thought of teaching. Silly really, because I've been playing different styles for 35 years! I'd need to work to a strategy, and start to think about what I'm doing and put it across to students. 35 years of playing without thinking.
'It's not a competition' great advice, so appropriate. Probably the first thing to tell any student!
What level is your guitar playing at?
Can you read music?
Do you know the circle of 5ths/major scale harmony.
Can you play changes etc?
Jazz harmony?
Not being able to do any of this isn't necessarily a deal breaker but the more you know and can communicate at the student's level, the better you will be.
Also, work out what you want to be- guys like Martin Goulding get students because they are rock/metal music specialists- people come to him to get their shredding together more than anything.
Someone like Justin Sandercoe is successful because he hones in on the beginner to intermediate market (and his website is awesome).
Teaching kids, imho, is a fairly unsatisfying pursuit- I don't do it anymore.
Studio: https://www.voltperoctave.com
Music: https://www.euclideancircuits.com
Me: https://www.jamesrichmond.com
If I did teach, I'd want to be good at it. I have the patience, and I'm a 'people person,' as a support worker, I have to be.
I don't know if that's enough.
FWIW, most students don't want to read and resist my attempts to encourage them to.
Studio: https://www.voltperoctave.com
Music: https://www.euclideancircuits.com
Me: https://www.jamesrichmond.com
Someone I know has recently set himself up as a teacher and went down the route of getting qualified/approved with the Registry of Guitar Tutors. It's obviously more expensive than just going for it alone but some people may (perhaps wrongly) see it as a sign of quality, and they'll advertise your services too.
“Theory is something that is written down after the music has been made so we can explain it to others”– Levi Clay
But, aspects such as setting realistic goals, making small achievable progressions, measuring progress, how to explain the same thing in different ways, etc are all the same across any kind of teaching.
Also one aspect - while I'm sure you're highly competent at playing guitar well - can you demonstrate how to play it poorly, ie replicate common beginner faults? That would be a skill in itself, and might be handy to be able to demo if needs be. Also have you got a "structure" of how and what to teach, in the right order?
Not yet, but that's essentially what I mean by 'planning' - It wouldn't be possible to wing it.
I'd not worry too much about planning each individual lesson; rather, have a good idea in your mind of the overall structure so that each lesson draws on common themes. Yes you'll be repeating yourself to each individual pupil over and over....but that's not an issue in itself.
Good point, Paul.
So having a bunch of tips/tricks to help you dumb-down songs is an important skill.
Of course, having an overall objective is a good idea, like learning a new song every week. Getting the student to pick the material keeps them interested and motivated. I often agree with students to alternate choices of material: one week they choose, the next week I do. This exposes them to music/techniques/theory/etc which they might never encounter, and ensures they develop in every area.
Teaching is a great thing to do, and one of the surprising things is how much better it makes the teacher.
Overall, no, you don't need qualifications, and you don't even need to be technically brilliant. Being a good teacher is the most important bit.