Self-Taught vs Private Lessons

[newplayer_nyc]

That's true about the musical wavelength ... It's the most important factor to me in choosing a teacher.


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[beerfreak]

100% self taught. I wanted to play because when I was 6, I saw the Beatles on Ed Sullivan. 3 years after, I got a crappy guitar and a book and away I went. I am a twin and he did the same though he never really cared as much for it.
I have taught my self mandolin and banjo but am not even average with those.

I still want to take some lessons and learn theory but can't find the time.

[SunnyDee]

Self-taught, but very serious and an educator, too, so I can find the resources I need and identify what is needed next to make progress, etc. I don't need anyone prodding me to practice because this is important to me. I don't need anyone judging my sound or even my technique for me, because I can judge against the models I hear and see, so I'm fine without a teacher. I also think I'm faster/more efficient. I see lists of lessons covering a year and just seeing someone weekly instead of getting new info daily would've slowed me down a lot. I'm definitely cheaper.

If people want to do without a teacher, I think a key skill is being able to critically analyze resources. For example, although Justinguitar is good in many ways, I see that the chord changes he has beginners practicing are not organized by key. For my goals, practicing by key was far more efficient, so I modified that practice, myself. Most people just follow along, putting a lot of effort into practicing chords they aren't likely to find together in a song, without ever realizing what they are doing. Being able to see my goals and to analyze the sources of information along the way to my goals is important for me to keep progressing. Not everyone can do that, and those who can't, might need the help of a teacher.

But... all hail the internet. No way could I do this without it.

[Judson]

I have no one to blame but myself ...

[lodi_55]

Self-taught after having so-so experiences with teaches in my teens and 20's.

I'm going to a blues camp in September so I guess that is considered lessons?

[Glennwillow]

I started playing when I was 16 years old in 1964. Many of the people who started to play about the same time as I did took lessons, but I didn't have money for lessons and my parents were certainly not going to pay for them. My father, for the first few years, was actually quite antagonistic about my playing.

So I learned on my own, using books I purchased, and then later I learned to figure out music by ear.

If I had had the right teacher, I probably could have learned more things faster, but by the time I was working for a living (as an engineer) and could afford to take lessons, I'd been playing long enough that I had been making a fair amount of money at it. So by then, it would have never occurred to me to take lessons.

At this stage of my life, I have invested in a fair number of instructional DVDs from players whose instrumental music I wanted to learn. Back about 2006 I made the conscious decision that I wanted to become a better instrumental player, whereas up to that point I had been mostly a singer-songwriter. So I have learned a fair amount from others through these instructional DVDs.

I've also learned a lot from those whose music I have copied over the years -- Paul Simon, Gordon Lightfoot, James Taylor, etc.

None of us live in a vacuum, so even if we have no instructor, we are learning from others all around us.

There is no question in my mind that the Internet and YouTube have made learning the guitar much easier and faster.

- Glenn

[vindibona1]

Originally Posted by brancher

You can pick up a lot of tricks, licks, and such playing out in open mics (if you don't mind humiliating yourself a few times) and finding folks to play with if you can.

Originally Posted by Kupuna50

Self taught may result in 'a way to play', but more likely than not, it is not the 'correct way. As well, it will take considerably longer....Time here is NOT the issue. It is learning the correct way to play..

I agree with the above, but will approach this from a slightly different angle. There is difference between acquiring technique and developing repertoire. And then there is the issue of musical refinement. While I believe a lot can be accomplished without a teacher or coach, IF YOU WANT TO BECOME A GOOD MUSICIAN guitar/playing, it is extremely difficult to do it without a GOOD teacher/coach. If you've watched any full seasons of "The Voice" you can see how really good singers improve exponentially with the coaching.

Beginners- If you don't start with a good teacher, unless you are extremely naturally gifted musically where you can identify nuance and self-correct to a fine degree you're cheating yourself if you don't take lessons from a GOOD teacher. Are your ears trained well enough to be able to identify if you're right and left hand aren't PRECISELY coordinated? If not, you'll develop a slight imperfect habit in your playing that will hamper you in the advanced stages of playing. It's easy to develop good habits from the beginning, but difficult to correct them once they're instilled in your brain. Often musicians, when focused on technique are oblivious to the sound an nuances.

I think a good mix of lessons and self teaching is a good thing once you have developed GOOD basic habits of playing. Lots of good stuff out there you can teach yourself. I love Guitar Pro (learning to read music is something hopefully you'd get out of lesson) and pick up stuff from YouTube and have subscribed for a couple months to JamPlay. But I still get going faster on new material with lessons even after 40 years. Once you're beyond the beginning stages of playing IMO folks need to start paying attention to the musicality of what's coming out of the instrument. I find a lot of folks who are good players, particularly the self-taught, haven't been schooled in the nuances of musicality.

As an example, I play with a dude who is a decent enough player, but has poor sense of musical style and the different roles that we each need to play in different settings. While it's true that guys you play with will give you tips and tricks they may be limited. With this guy I just mentioned, I'll SOMETIMES, out of trying to make the ensemble better, suggest that he try one thing or another, particularly if he doesn't grasp the style or is stepping on someone else's feature. I usually just keep my mouth shut because I am not his teacher... but he needs one- and has the potential to be really good.

For me? I've been playing guitar for over 40 years, took lessons continously for 5 years as a kid, have a degree in music, and play trumpet semi-professionally and would LOVE to take lessons every week if I could afford it. While music lessons can be expensive, the skills you can get from a GOOD teacher will carry over for your entire life. And to me, that's well worth the price of admission. YMMV

My .02 worth.

[Flyingtigre]

Self taught from a "How To" instruction book, several songbooks, and 78 RPM records.

[EllaMom]

Been through 5 teachers. This last one...a keeper! (Steven King, in case you know the name.)

I've done self-teaching. I've done online lessons. I've done DVDs. They all add value.

But for me, right now, having a teacher guide me, and one as accomplished as Steven, is without compare. And I'm very much a beginner (yep...been saying that for 5+ years!). Still, he is taking me where I never could have gone on my own, or with videos/DVDs.

[Brucebubs]

Self taught 'idiot savant'..... except the 'savant' is silent.

[menhir]

I've learned a lot of things on my own, but the progress I made on my own paled vastly in comparison to the strides I took while I was taking lessons.

A few comments have been made about finding a teacher on the same wavelength. I think that's important...

Sometimes you gotta know when to walk. I had one instructor who's aim turned out to be teaching all his students to emulate his personal hero (I forget who it was). This guy had spent years modifying his guitar and chasing down parts so it was an exact copy of his hero's guitar and every lesson was directed to play in his hero's stye.

I didn't stay with him that long. I was learning things, but the focus was very very, narrow. Nowadays, I can't even recall what he taught me. I guess I'm not the right material to become someone's carbon copy.

On the other hand, my last instructor honored my wishes by teaching me the things I wanted to learn while also presenting me with a wide range of "stuff I didn't know that I didn't know." I think there's a big value in having an instructor who opens up doors to types of music, techniques, and styles that maybe I didn't sign up for. It broadens the landscape, so to speak.

I had to stop taking lessons from him because a downturn in the economy back then put a hurt on my business. I had to prioritize needs against wants until I could get everything back on track. God was was truly my co-pilot and all turned out well. That was almost a decade ago.

I wonder if he's still teaching? I should call.

[BluesKing777]

Tough teacher! One of mine was pretty tough...and rude.. and then forgot who I was.....but I was working like a dog on them chords and appeggios he kept giving me!

Drum content from movie "Whiplash" but still applies to learning guitar...maybe:



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7d_jQycdQGo


BluesKing777.

[islandguitar]

I'm self taught on the guitar....but, had formal roots in trombone and played in bands and symphonies all through high school, both in school, community and church activities, often consecutively for many hours each week. Had some lessons with trombone, played with pretty talented folks above my abilities back then and I think that created a lot of my musical foundation. When I picked up guitar in college during the sixties, there were lots of resources, usually down the hall or the next floor up in the dorm! LOTS of sharing and casual instruction going on.
I played guitar and sang in a folk group all through college and my partners were great influences and more experienced than I. I know this layered additional groundwork for ear training and further developing my musicality as related to guitar as we moved from covers to composing and arranging and recording our original songs. Even back then I was working in alternate tunings (Tom Rush, Mole's Moan, Panama Limited, etc.) and working things out with records and and going over and over each section.
Having a goal and dedicating myself has never been an issue for me. Back then it would have been fun to get formal instruction, but there was never a sense that you "went and took lessons".....you learned from going to the next room, the next gathering on the green, whatever and wherever you could.
Who knows how things might have turned out!!
For now, I'm enjoying and creating in my own lane. I'm good with that and feel I'm still growing musically!

[TBman]

When I was about 6 to 8 years old my grandmother insisted that we (my sister and I) take piano lessons. I learned the C scale, how sharps and flats work, the duration and notation of notes and what the time signature meant. Huge things, but at the time I didn't realize how important it was. Later on I had a few guitar lessons, but my friends and I were teaching ourselves Beatles songs and this guy was teaching me Twinkle Twinkle, so the guitar lessons didn't last long. Fast forward until I was about 19 when I took lessons from a flat picker who basically gave me structure in my practice sessions for about 6 months. He had started giving me almost free lessons (just $5 for an hour) as well at his house and his father was going to teach me too, but I totalled my car and had to discontinue my lessons. I never looked the guy up after I got my replacement wheels to continue, life got in the way.

I learned finger style though from Mark Hanson's books and now continue to learn different songs from various sources on the internet - Toby Walker, TrueFire, Homespun, Stefan Grossman, etc. Also I had gotten a great tip here from Pippin about Woody Mann's blues book which is a great resource of songs and styles.

I think taking lessons to at least build a foundation of understanding the basics of music notation and learn where the basic chords are in several places on the fretboard is a good idea. Knowledge never hurt anyone.

[s2y]

I took years of lessons in high school and college. I feel like I have progressed more with using True Fire lessons, but some of it could be that I'm more mature and can learn stuff much quicker than I did back in the day.