When to have a longer lesson time

I suggest young students below the age of 11 to have 30 minute guitar lessons. Children this age tend to be a little restless, and giving them too much information can be overwhelming. 30 minute lessons are long enough to give adequate guidance to the student while not making the lessons tedious. But when is it time to move up to a longer lesson time?

First, lets discuss the reasons why a young student may want a longer lesson time. When a motivated student reaches a certain skill level, they may feel stunted with only 30 minutes worth of guidance, and want more work to practice on before the next lesson. A longer lesson time will allow the student to have more guidance, they will be given more information, and they will have more things to practice, which will keep the guitar interesting to them. Also, more complicated works that are too involved to cover in a 30 minute lesson, like ensemble songs, will be able to be introduced.

Age is the first indicator of how long a lesson length a student can handle. Students 12 and older can handle 45 minute and hour lessons. If a young student starts with a 30 minute lesson, he may be ready for a longer lesson length as he gets older.

The experience of a student is another indicator that a student can handle a longer lesson time. If a student has been practicing for several years and has good skills in reading music, understanding music theory, and good guitar playing skills, they are ready for a longer lesson length.

The motivation and maturity of the student is another excellent indicator they are ready for a longer lesson time. I have had young students move up from 30 minute lessons to hour lessons in a few months time all because the student would go the extra mile during their practice time at home. Such students crave a challenge, and moving their lesson time to an hour will give the teacher more time to guide his motivated student.

The student himself will usually ask the parent for a longer lesson time if they feel the current lesson length is too short. The teacher may also inform the parent that the student is ready for a longer lesson length.