My First Lesson

Today marks a new beginning.

Today marks the day I became a guitar teacher. It's been a long time waiting. It's been one of those things you realise one day and keep in the back of your head. It's one of those things you say you'll get around to. Something you'll do later.

Screw that. I did it now. And I had one of the most fulfilling experiences today when I spent 30 minutes with a young kid who wanted to learn how to play guitar.

I won't go into details of how the lesson was conducted. But it was great to be able to relate to a child (being childish myself), and him understanding me. His biggest issue with guitar lessons was how boring they were. So I told him we won't be doing boring stuff. But we will have to cover some key elements on how to play guitar. How to hold it properly. How to strum and pick.

He asked me some great questions, like why does the note go higher when you play closer to the sound hole? And, what are the dots on the fretboard?

The most fascinating part about the lesson was the ending. Instead of me saying "Thanks for today, see you next week" Which is what I usually tell my clients in IT.... who are generally not pleased to see me because me being there means they're spending too much money. I have to say it to them only to hear it back. Otherwise I'll just get a "bye"

Today, this kid said to me "Thanks for the lesson, I learnt a lot. See you next Wednesday at 6PM"

I give him and his mother a "You're welcome, it was my pleasure, see you next week" and I walked to my car..... with the biggest, cheesiest grin. I thought to myself, "Why am I smiling like a dork?" Why shouldn't I? I just enjoyed the best work I've done since, well.... since I can't even remember.

I can't wait for the next lesson.