Q&A with Collin Young, Guitar Teacher of the Year

We asked Lessonface Teachers of the Year about their process and goals for 2025. Here are the responses of Collin Young, our guitar teacher of the year for 2024.

What’s the most creative excuse you heard in 2024 for not practicing?

I had a guitar student this year who ended up with a cast on her fretting hand and still kept practicing really hard! I just think this makes every other excuse seem trivial :)

If you could gift your students one piece of automatic knowledge about music—no studying required—what would it be?

I would gift them perfect timing, once that's in place, everything's easy! I hope my teaching has helped shine a light on how important and challenging getting your timing right can be!

What’s the first song you ever learned to play, and does it still hold meaning for you?

Realistically, probably Chopsticks on piano, but getting the first part of "Come As You Are" by Nirvana on guitar was the first thing I felt really cool about!

What are some of your most indispensable pieces of gear, for teaching online and for playing your instrument(s)?

Boring answer, but with the importance of technology nowadays, my computer is everything. Both for teaching and writing and recording music, there's nothing I don't do with it. I wish more students were using full desktop computers, the rising popularity of smartphones and tablets often doesn't work as well for all applications.

What’s a skill or idea you’re excited to explore in 2025?

I just want to teach more, and play more. I've been working on my own music and should have a release coming in 2025 that I'm really excited about!

Learn more with Collin Young.