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  #1  
Old 03-07-2018, 04:13 PM
Yanto Yanto is offline
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Default Self taught or Formally taught?

Hey everyone. Quick question re tuition. I’m currently having lessons in classical/fingerstyle playing and music theory. So far I’ve had 10, 30 minute lessons. My issue is that I’ve had a chat with my teacher re the aims I have as a guitarist. Now although he’s a qualified musician, he’s not strictly a classical guitarist. There are no formal classical guitar tutors within a 50 mile radius of my home.
My question is, should I continue as I am or try to self teach via books and videos etc? Has anyone else here ever do me this? If so how did you teach yourself? By the way, I’m a novice classical player but have played other genres for maybe 15 years.
Thanks in advance for all advice
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Old 03-07-2018, 06:17 PM
KarenB KarenB is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Yanto View Post
Hey everyone. Quick question re tuition. I’m currently having lessons in classical/fingerstyle playing and music theory. So far I’ve had 10, 30 minute lessons. My issue is that I’ve had a chat with my teacher re the aims I have as a guitarist. Now although he’s a qualified musician, he’s not strictly a classical guitarist. There are no formal classical guitar tutors within a 50 mile radius of my home.
My question is, should I continue as I am or try to self teach via books and videos etc? Has anyone else here ever do me this? If so how did you teach yourself? By the way, I’m a novice classical player but have played other genres for maybe 15 years.
Thanks in advance for all advice
You say "my issue is that I've had a chat with my teacher re the aims I have as a guitarist." What are the aims?

Nowadays there are many teachers who offer lessons over Skype. That could be another option for you.
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Old 03-08-2018, 07:30 AM
mrkpower mrkpower is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Yanto View Post
There are no formal classical guitar tutors within a 50 mile radius of my home.
I personally think that learning CG with a GOOD teacher is very important.

Usually, you need to meet a guitar instructor no more than once a week; therefore, you probably just need to spend a couple of hours on the trip of back and forth every week.

As a result, it really depends on how SERIOUS you want to learn the classical guitar. If you see that studying CG is just a hobby, "no formal classical guitar tutors within a 50 mile radius of my home" could be a great obstacle.
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Old 03-09-2018, 08:30 AM
Gitfiddlemann Gitfiddlemann is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Yanto View Post
Hey everyone. Quick question re tuition. I’m currently having lessons in classical/fingerstyle playing and music theory. So far I’ve had 10, 30 minute lessons. My issue is that I’ve had a chat with my teacher re the aims I have as a guitarist. Now although he’s a qualified musician, he’s not strictly a classical guitarist. There are no formal classical guitar tutors within a 50 mile radius of my home.
My question is, should I continue as I am or try to self teach via books and videos etc? Has anyone else here ever do me this? If so how did you teach yourself? By the way, I’m a novice classical player but have played other genres for maybe 15 years.
Thanks in advance for all advice
Just my .02c:
It comes down to what you want to learn. If it's strictly classical guitar, then even a qualified non-classical musician/teacher won't be able to help you learn the key fundamentals, even if he or she is a better player than the classical teachers you might be able to locate. It's a specialized field, so you need to learn those techniques.
If you're a novice, then learning correctly from books, videos, youtube etc..., without any teacher feedback, will be very challenging, but not impossible, given desire, talent, initiative and practicing the right way.

So, if you don't have any classical teachers reasonably close, then an on-line teacher, who can provide feedback, might be the best alternative to pursue.
It doesn't have to be a long term thing. You just need to learn the basics of the technique, which are particular to classical.
Once you have those, then learning from quality self-teach instruction books/videos, like Scott Tennant's Pumping Nylon for example, will make a lot more sense and be easier to grasp. You might not be able to play a lot of the desired material yet, but you'll understand what it is you need to do in order to get there. That's an important difference, and where a teacher's input will have proven itself very benefical to your efforts.
Best of luck with whatever you decide.
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  #5  
Old 03-09-2018, 09:16 AM
CEB CEB is offline
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Are you wanting to be a 'Classical' guitarist? I couldn't have learned it without a teacher. I took an elective class as a freshman which lead to 4 years of private study with my professor. I'm primarily a pianist. Guitar is mentally difficult. I can play middle C only one way on a piano. I can play C on a guitar in 4 different positions. Half the battle once you have some physical skills is deciphering what positions you are going to play various passages in a score. There are things she taught me that I just would have never gotten on my own.

Last edited by CEB; 03-09-2018 at 10:54 PM.
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  #6  
Old 03-09-2018, 07:22 PM
jaybones jaybones is offline
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I took some classical courses in college, as part of my music minor. Didn't own a classical back then, I was taking the courses on my steel string Alvarez.

After I got done with them I acquired decent Yamaha student classical, and continued with self study.

For me, I was able to pick up the techniques and continue to use them later.
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Old 03-23-2018, 08:30 PM
drjond56 drjond56 is offline
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I need to state that before I took up guitar I was an intermediate level pianist and a semi-professional trumpet player (regional symphony, jazz band). I took up guitar as a mid-life crisis—less expensive than a Corvette and less dangerous than a young blonde.

I started with lessons in a community class at a local college. Classical instructor who taught a number of styles. Followed with about 2 years of individual instrution, then went through a couple of methods including Noad and Shearer. Latter has really good DVD’s which were helpful.

That has carried me to be an intermediate level guitarist who can play musically. I can play what I want to in a variety of styles: classical, jazz, Celtic. I am at a level that I play in a trio with another guitarist and a cellist, and I have done some “house concerts” at Christmas and other times.

If I wanted to advance as a dedicated classical player, then I would seek out individual lessons, even if only on a monthly basis. Some of the technique is best learned “one on one.” There is no substitute for that, IMO.

I am currently learning viola as a late life crisis (age 60) and I have weekly lessons with a teacher. Fundamentals require hands on instruction, IMO.

Jon
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Old 03-25-2018, 04:30 PM
Pitar Pitar is offline
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I went the self taught way. One good book on the basics and a disciplined desire to learn is probably the starting point whichever way one chooses to learn. And, BTW, since when is self-taught not a formal method of learning? It isn't like an instructor is controlling your mind and hands; you are.
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  #9  
Old 03-25-2018, 05:47 PM
alohachris alohachris is offline
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Default No One Is COMPLETELY Self Taught!

Aloha,

I can unequivocally state that NO PLAYER IN HISTORY is completely self taught.

Every player has begged, borrowed & stolen from everyone else. It was that way among traditional folk musicians & is among "Serious" classically-trained musicians.

Me? I gigged nightly for 53 years. Borrowed a lot on the steel-string, took a few lessons in flamenco, studied a lot with classical techniques. Made an estimated half million dollars with my little gigs & never had to look for one. Never wanted to be famous (infamous in a bar or two, yes). Never wanted to work with a teacher for very long. It worked out at the level of commitment I wanted to & now I'm retired from gigging for health reasons.

Someone, in some studio once asked me, "Can you read music?" To which I replied, "Not enough to hurt me." I could - mostly - but not enough to hurt me.

Isn't the idea of the proverbial classical musician regurgitating his master's technique for decades a repugnant one? To creativity & individual expression?

alohachris
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  #10  
Old 03-27-2018, 01:34 PM
zavaletas zavaletas is offline
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Formally self taught and self taught formally, and both from time to time, except when formally taught. The question is almost too simple to be taken seriously. No amount of training-- will teach you if you don't practice, and what is practice, self-teaching.

Taking this as a serious question, one can teach one's self-- there are certainly a lot of methods, and others sorts of materials that can get one started, and if you practice and are diligent, you'll learn. The risk is that it is very easy to develop bad habits without a teacher (or friends who play well) to correct you. When I started... there were no classical or flamenco teachers in my area, and even if there had been, I made a church mouse look rich-- my $25 guitar was aside from some clothing was my only possession, so self-taught yes, but I had friends who would give me tips, and correct my technique. For me, this was optimal, as my experience with piano lessons had almost ruined any desire to play music. To be more reflective, I rebelled against authority, so my road was the only one for me, but I recognize now that there are many approaches to teaching and learning, and it is important to find a great teacher who understands these personal elements as well transmitting the knowledge of technique and interpretation that needs to be mastered. For me, such teacher would have to be much a friend as a coach.

Last edited by zavaletas; 03-28-2018 at 07:15 PM.
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  #11  
Old 03-28-2018, 04:00 AM
McGee McGee is offline
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This is my experience. I am a retired older guy who started playing guitar again about four years ago happily strumming cords. After about six months of that I started working on finger style blues. Lots of struggle and lots of fun. Endless supply of stuff available on youtube. About six months ago I started taking lessons with a talented young musician with a classical background. My original intent was to improve my right hand skills then something else happened. Although being a somewhat intermediate player I decided to start from the very beginning of the Christopher Parkening and Scott Tennant books and focus on a classical approach-learning to read music along the way. In the beginning (I guess still now) I spent a lot of time unlearning some bad habits. Much of every lesson is spent with my instructor coaxing me into better posture, getting my right hand out of a claw, getting my hand off the bridge, playing less robotically, emphasizing musicality, etc. It's a never ending dynamic. About three months ago my instructor put me in an ensemble with two other classical beginners working on a Mozart piece. We are still a bit herky jerky but we are getting there. I have learned more about music with three months of ensemble coaching than I had in the prior three and a half years. For me, I can't imagine any of this happening without a good classical instructor. I suppose with time you could learn this on your own but the presence of a good classical instructor certainly puts things up a notch.
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  #12  
Old 03-28-2018, 07:08 AM
Bikewer Bikewer is offline
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I’m not a “classical guitarist”.... Rather, I use nylon-string guitars to play jazz and fingerstyle.
I’m self-taught and most of the classical technique I’ve learned is from reading the classical guitar column in Guitar Player magazine back in the 80s. At the time, they ran about a year’s worth of articles starting from “square one”... The playing position, the fingernail care, the right-hand technique, etc, etc.

I guess this is successful in that I’m able to play what I want and I’m able to produce good tone and volume from my instruments.
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Old 04-22-2018, 04:32 AM
Jabberwocky Jabberwocky is offline
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I suggest you find a good classical guitar teacher. Is there a community college around with a classical guitar programme?

It is not impossible to self-teach but you have to be careful not to learn bad techniques. It requires a lot of discipline. The biggest bugbear is proper right-hand techniques and time values. Anybody can learn to read notes but it is difficult to learn read rhythm and time values. I find that in learning to play music, classical and jazz, rhythm values, playing in good time with good time feel, is most difficult to learn by myself without a good coach to show me. Find a teacher who has a good sense of rhythm and time values. Not all of them do! I won't take classical lessons from a non-classical guitarist. Technique is important in classical. I know a lot of non-classical guitarists are loosey-goosey with technique. That is why they are non-classical guitarists!

The Aaron Shearer books are good. Stanley Yates two volumes are good. Frederick Noad's two books can get you started. LISTENING a lot to the professionals and learning to follow the score as you listen will help you with a sense of time values when you have no access to a good teacher. Have a good metronôme and set it to click along softly with the recording if you can.

Good luck. It is not impossible to teach oneself with the help of books or DVDs. I am an autodidact as I do not take formal lessons well. This requires a lot of discipline to progress. Not always successful.
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Old 04-22-2018, 08:38 AM
Carey Carey is offline
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I also think that the two Stanley Yates books are very good. Having at least an occasional lesson with a *well-trained* CG teacher is a real good idea, and will
save a lot of wrong turns.
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Old 04-22-2018, 10:44 AM
Yanto Yanto is offline
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Quick update. I’ve now had 5 one hour lessons with a classical tutor. Very highly recommended. So far most of the time has been dedicated evenly between learning to read Standard Notation and dexterity exercises. I’m enjoying it immensely
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