My approach is to teach every student differently according to his or her own level, interests, and age. The difficulty of doing this is well worth the effort. Of course there are certain basic concepts and skills that everyone needs to have such as the ability to tune your instrument, knowing the names of the strings, basic theory concepts like chords and keys, and so on. However, even among these basic concepts, different elements will be stressed according to the student. For example, reading music and playing diatonic scales might be stressed for a student learning classical guitar, while pentatonic scales and improvisation might be stressed for someone wanting to learn rock guitar. I teach this way because it has been my experience, as a teacher and as a student, that information tends to be retained better as soon as it is necessary to know it in order to actually make music. In this way people can get into playing the music they want to play as quickly as possible, while using each new selection as an etude for a new basic concept or technique. Eventually everyone will come to know the basics through exploring their own interests, and at their own pace. In this approach, abstract concepts are reinforced through playing, playing is facilitated by greater knowledge, and the fun of learning is retained. As no one has an unlimited amount of time to practice, I have found this approach to be the best for the student, as it makes the most out of any practice time. What is best for the student is best for me.