Benefits of Guitar Lessons

I’ve come across tons of people who have varying opinions and stance on whether guitar lessons are important or not – from a beginner’s perspective of course. Similarly, I’ve met with and spoken to plenty of self-taught guitarists, as well as plenty of others who underwent formal training of some kind before taking music on professionally or seriously.

Personally, I recommend any and all budding guitarists and guitar players to undergo some sort formal guitar training, particularly at the beginning. Whether it’s online lessons, private lessons with an instructor, joining a guitar-learning course or taking classes, guitar lessons are important and come with many benefits as well.

1. Guitar Lessons are important because they start off from the basics. When it comes to learning to play the guitar, or just about learning anything else for that matter, getting the basics right is essential (understandably). Formal guitar lessons, will allow you to do that. With guitar lessons, private or online, you’ll learn about things such as how to hold the guitar, fretting and strumming, guitar theory, riffs, notes, etc. in an efficient manner.

2. Formal lessons will allow you to correct your technique, and work on any issues with your guitar-playing technique. For instance you will be able to work on aspects like speed, rhythm, chords and scales, and of course, your overall playing ability. Lessons will also allow you to enhance techniques such as playing solos, intricate scales, alternate picking, finger picking, hammer-ons and pull-offs, and so on and so forth.

3. Most self-taught forms of learning the guitar are slow, and inefficient. Yes, many guitar players can teach themselves how to play, but usually, the process is slow. With guitar lessons, you will be able to accomplish and learn the same amount of material in a week, for instance, that might take you more than a month to do so yourself.

4. You learn a lot more that you possibly could’ve learnt otherwise, when working with a professional. You’ll be able to pick certain things up when you learn the guitar under the apprenticeship of a good guitar teacher. Having an actual person there to show you exactly how everything is done – from the advanced stuff right down to the basics – will be much better.

5. Because of one-on-one interaction, your instructor will be able to identify and pin-point problems and issues with your guitar playing, and correct any issues with your guitar-playing on the spot, right then and there. He will be able to see what things you have trouble with, and maybe provide you with additional practice material or resources (books, DVDs) to work on these specific problems.

6. A good private guitar instructor, for instance, will always keep your needs and requirements on the top, and be able to tailor the course-work and the practice sessions according to your specific requirements. He will be able to personalize the learning process. If you’re inspired by Metallica, and want to play like Hammett, a guitar teacher will know that your interests like in Thrash Metal, and this information would allow him to customize the course for you. Above all, interaction with you will allow him to design the program based upon your level of skills and proficiency.

7. Guitar lessons will provide you with an excellent opportunity to practice daily and consistently, and put in a practice session every day. When it comes to guitars, consistency is the very important. Unfortunately, a lot of guitarists fail to realize the important to regular practice. With guitar lessons, you know you’ll be able to get quality practice time every single day, and that will be of immense benefit to you!

8. A guitar teacher will allow you to develop a warm-up regime. Most beginner guitarists don’t know the importance of warming up before playing the guitar, until they reach a point in their lives that this starts to become more of a problem (thanks to back/neck/finger pains, RSI, etc.), and they’re eventually forced to stop playing. Trust me, warming up before playing is essential. This should be one of the first things you speak about with your guitar teacher.

9. Guitar lessons aren’t very expensive. Many online guitar-learning websites offer cheap (or even free) lessons in the internet. At GuitarTricks.com, for instance, all you have to do is pay a monthly fee of $15 and you end up getting access to their massive 5000-lesson library! Private lessons, conversely, can be quite expensive, but as the points listed above would tell you, they can be immensely beneficial at the same time! Besides, you can always look for instructors or teachers teaching the guitar at lower rates, at a guitar store, a freelance teacher who could come to your home, Skype-based lessons, GuitarTricks alternatives such as JustinGuitar, and so on.

At the end of the day, working with a good guitar instructor – online or offline – will allow you to work on developing and honing different skills and techniques, and you’ll be able to learn stuff quickly, and efficiently.

And its not just for amateurs or beginners; if you get the opportunity to learn the guitar from a qualified and able instructor, or – as a professional guitar player – the opportunity to be better, then you should go for it!