Do we really need guitar teachers anymore?
Sunday, September 17, 2006 | Trackback
Well the short answer, curiously, is yes and no. But before getting into how and why its important to understand how far we have come in terms of guitar learning methods.
You only have to go back around twenty years or so to the mid eighties when probably the only way to effectively learn the guitar was to go to a guitar tutor. The only other learning resources were restricted to a few music books with little or no tablature. This scenario probably rings a few bells with many guitarists who were learning at the time and who had no choice but to figure their favourite songs out by ear. I still know guitarists that have incredible ears as a result of having to do things this way. But it was time consuming and very frustrating to say the least.
I started learning the guitar in 1989 and by then guitar tablature was taking off in a big way and you could usually find your favourite album transcribed in tab. As I was self taught for over two years I really appreciated this insight into how to play tracks that I was never likely to figure out by ear. Just try learning a Joe Satriani or Steve Vai solo by ear and you''ll see what I mean!
Today with the growth of the Internet and high speed broadband we can look to online multimedia guitar courses as well as DVD's and CD magazines for an amazing range of tuition. Having the ability to watch an experienced player go through a track as slow as you like and as many times as you need in the comfort of your own home is invaluable. These range from complete learning kits such as Jamorama to membership based sites like Lick Library and Video Guitar Lessons which focus on guitar styles and songs. Perhaps the best thing about these courses, particularly the online versions is their price. Some are as little as the cost of a single guitar lesson.
So now we get down to the issue of guitar teachers. Now I was lucky to find a very good teacher after two years being self taught and I was able to go straight into learning scales, solos, chord theory and jamming techniques. As a complete contrast when my wife took up guitar she spent a lot of money learning three blind mice over the course of several weeks and as she'll confess it wasn't much fun. So experience's with guitar tutors can be mixed to say the least, especially when it comes to getting your money's worth.
I certainly don't want this article to be about the negative side of guitar teachers because as with anything in life you'll get good and bad experiences, that just the way it is. But I think there is a good way to use online guitar learning and traditional guitar teachers to get the most out of playing the guitar. I always remember my guitar tutor saying how nice it was to actually teach someone real technique rather than going through the basics each time so by getting to a decent level first you'll be guaranteeing a more rewarding experience for both of you.
So in conclusion you can save a lot of money buy buying a high quality online guitar course and getting your basic playing ability up to scratch before developing more advanced skills with an experienced and recommended guitar teacher. Learning guitar playing has never been easier with all the resources that are now available so what are you waiting for!
You only have to go back around twenty years or so to the mid eighties when probably the only way to effectively learn the guitar was to go to a guitar tutor. The only other learning resources were restricted to a few music books with little or no tablature. This scenario probably rings a few bells with many guitarists who were learning at the time and who had no choice but to figure their favourite songs out by ear. I still know guitarists that have incredible ears as a result of having to do things this way. But it was time consuming and very frustrating to say the least.
I started learning the guitar in 1989 and by then guitar tablature was taking off in a big way and you could usually find your favourite album transcribed in tab. As I was self taught for over two years I really appreciated this insight into how to play tracks that I was never likely to figure out by ear. Just try learning a Joe Satriani or Steve Vai solo by ear and you''ll see what I mean!
Today with the growth of the Internet and high speed broadband we can look to online multimedia guitar courses as well as DVD's and CD magazines for an amazing range of tuition. Having the ability to watch an experienced player go through a track as slow as you like and as many times as you need in the comfort of your own home is invaluable. These range from complete learning kits such as Jamorama to membership based sites like Lick Library and Video Guitar Lessons which focus on guitar styles and songs. Perhaps the best thing about these courses, particularly the online versions is their price. Some are as little as the cost of a single guitar lesson.
So now we get down to the issue of guitar teachers. Now I was lucky to find a very good teacher after two years being self taught and I was able to go straight into learning scales, solos, chord theory and jamming techniques. As a complete contrast when my wife took up guitar she spent a lot of money learning three blind mice over the course of several weeks and as she'll confess it wasn't much fun. So experience's with guitar tutors can be mixed to say the least, especially when it comes to getting your money's worth.
I certainly don't want this article to be about the negative side of guitar teachers because as with anything in life you'll get good and bad experiences, that just the way it is. But I think there is a good way to use online guitar learning and traditional guitar teachers to get the most out of playing the guitar. I always remember my guitar tutor saying how nice it was to actually teach someone real technique rather than going through the basics each time so by getting to a decent level first you'll be guaranteeing a more rewarding experience for both of you.
So in conclusion you can save a lot of money buy buying a high quality online guitar course and getting your basic playing ability up to scratch before developing more advanced skills with an experienced and recommended guitar teacher. Learning guitar playing has never been easier with all the resources that are now available so what are you waiting for!
Labels: jamorama, learn guitar online, lick library, video guitar lessons
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