In this edition of the RGT Guitar Tutor Interview Series, we will be sitting down with Manchester guitar tutor Justin Proudman.
A graduate of the prestigious Humber College of Music program in Toronto, Canada, Justin has been teaching and performing professionally in the UK for the past 14 years.
A veteran of both private studio teaching, as well as working in the Manchester area school system, Justin has worked with students of all grade levels throughout his career, and has garnered praise from professionals in the music education community for his work over the years.
We recently caught up with guitar tutor Justin Proudman to discuss RGT exam preparation, how to attract new students and how to deal with any nervousness students might feel when taking RGT guitar exams.
You can find out more about Justin’s performance and teaching career by visiting The Guitar Studio Website as well as The Guitar Studio Facebook Page.
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RGT: How did you become aware of RGT, and why do you chose to encourage your students to take RGT guitar exams?
Justin Proudman: I became aware of RGT when I first started my private teaching practice and was looking for ways to advertise myself as a teacher.
At that time, I had very recently relocated from Canada where electric guitar grade exams were not widely established.
RGT exams were immediately an exciting idea, and I wished that they had been available when I was learning how to play guitar.
I like that RGT offers different styles of exams in order to appeal to the broad range of individual goals that students may have.
I can work with my students to decide what it is that they want out of playing the guitar, and guide them towards the RGT exam syllabus that is right for them.
RGT: What do you find is the biggest challenge when preparing a student for an upcoming RGT exam?
Justin Proudman: It can sometimes be a challenge to get students to concentrate on their weaknesses, because naturally we all like to play to our strengths.
As a teacher, I need to make sure that the students have a strategy to ensure success in their exams.
In order to achieve this, I like to assign specific homework every week so that we can make sure that the right kind of progress is being made.
In general, theory and ear training are the topics which students tend to give less attention to while practicing so they usually need to receive more focus.
RGT: Most students, if not all, deal with nervousness on some level either before or during their exams. How do you address this issue with your students in their lessons?
Justin Proudman: Nerves are a natural part of any performance situation, but are especially problematic in exams.
Even to musicians who are used to playing for an audience, exams can still be a little unsettling because it is often an unfamiliar situation and a portion of the exam will deal with previously unseen musical challenges.
There are some specific things which students can do to help them prepare.
Firstly I advise that playing in front of friends and family members is a great way to simulate exam conditions, especially if this can be done in an environment which is different to the one where most of their daily guitar practice usually takes place.
People tend to develop a comfort zone on the guitar, which is related as much to their practice room as the material they are practicing. Anything that can break this connection is useful.
Another strategy is for the students to make audio recordings of their own performances. Most mobile phones have the capacity to do this these days so it is fairly easy to do.
Recording themselves gets them used to doing a complete performance under pressure.
For the non-performance aspects of the exam, such as theory and aural skills, flash cards with grade-appropriate theoretical material can be a great help.
RGT: You recently started a Facebook guitar teacher page, to go along with your website. How important do you feel having an online presence is these days to growing and developing a teaching studio?
Justin Proudman: I have always thought that a website is absolutely essential for guitar tutors in this day and age as potential students will always check out a website before making contact.
When I started teaching nearly 14 years ago, it was print advertising that got my teaching business up and running.
Now, I have completely abandoned print advertising in favor of the internet.
The Facebook page should be an interesting way of communicating with students and promoting my business, so we’ll see how it does over time.
RGT: If you had one piece of advice for other guitar teachers that are preparing students for RGT exams, what would it be?
Justin Proudman: My advice would be to take the time to make sure that the musical knowledge and aural topics are properly covered.
While they may be worth less marks than some of the other sections, they can easily make the difference between a merit and a distinction on the exam.
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