Are Guitar Lessons Worth The Cost?

Learning a musical instrument is a great hobby and if you’re passionate about music, learning to play the guitar will challenge your musical abilities and provide opportunities for the future. Many music lovers enjoy playing at live gigs and making music a part of their everyday lives.

Learning the guitar can be tricky, and you may be wondering whether you should invest in lessons or utilize places such as YouTube and teach yourself. There’s no doubt the world of technology has opened up many ways to learn vital skills without ever needing the assistance of a teacher or tutor. 

If you’re serious about playing, you may have done much research to identify the best guitar and invested in all the accessories you need, but now it’s time to learn!  So, what are the pros and cons of lessons or self learning? Here is some handy information to consider. Let’s look at self learning first. 

Teaching Yourself 

 

As already mentioned, teaching yourself is a very accessible way of gaining new skills.  And if you have a computer, you can find almost any information you wish to learn about. Or order anything you need.

Books & CDS

Firstly, you should research music retailers online that specialize in self-paced learning tools such as books or CDs. Most books will have been written by industry professionals and will have clear guidelines broken down into easy bite size segments.

Often, you’ll find diagrams to demonstrate the parts of the guitar each part is referring to. You may have a CD that you can play alongside the book, so you can hear what different chords sound like.

The advantage of this way of learning is that you learn at your own pace and at a time when you’re most productive. Some book based courses are better than others, so it’s useful to shop around and read reviews.

Always ensure you check qualifications and credentials of musicians who produce the learning aids, so you know they are trustworthy. 

The disadvantage of learning through a book is there is very little 1-1 support. You are pretty much on your own, so, if you’re struggling with something, you have no point of contact.

Whilst some may enjoy the challenge of figuring the problem out themselves, others may get frustrated. The danger of this is that your lessons may be abandoned altogether if you get stuck on specific areas that you need to master in order to continue.  

Online Videos

If you are a visual learner, You won’t need to search far for beginner lessons, as YouTube is saturated with videos and streams of real people providing lessons and ‘how to’ guides. Again, you may need to do some searching to find the right content.

YouTube is mostly unregulated, so anyone can post videos on there. So, how do you know if you’re receiving the right information through an online video? Is it just trial and error?

The short answer is yes, however you can conduct background checks on people who claim to be teachers and also utilize the comment section of YouTube for feedback on other people’s experiences.

The risk with learning this way is that you may be taught incorrectly, and learning a technique that you then need to unlearn can be problematic. 

Cost

Another advantage of self learning is cost. If you’ve spent all your money on buying the guitar and your new set up it may be a step too far to add lessons into the budget so, low cost books and free YouTube videos may be your only option at this stage. 

Another pro to teaching yourself is that if you succeed, you will enjoy the feeling of satisfaction that you learned the guitar relatively cheaply and overcame a big challenge with limited support- that’s got to be a confidence boost, right? 

Formal Lessons 

Investing in formal lessons certainly has its advantages and if you can afford to, you should choose a fully qualified and experienced teacher to give you the best chance of success. 

Motivation

Perhaps the biggest advantage of music lessons is that it helps keep you motivated. Motivation is the key to learning, and learning with a teacher will provide you with the interaction you need to succeed. 

Feedback

Teachers will also give you feedback, and this is crucial to the learning process. If you don’t know what you’re doing wrong, it’s unlikely you will change it, so input from a teacher will help you correct mistakes before they become embedded in your psyche.

As mentioned earlier, if you learn something incorrectly, and it becomes a habit, it’s very difficult to unlearn. Having immediate feedback from teachers mitigates this, and makes learning smooth and consistent. 

For example, if you’ve learned a specific chord, but it doesn’t sound as it should, your teacher can identify this and give you specific feedback about how you can get better results.

Many teachers will give you exercises to practice in between lessons to practice each new technique.  Lessons are usually structured but adaptable, and teachers should give you an idea on what you’ll be learning each week, so you know what to expect. 

Quality 

Using a teacher that is professional in the industry as well as experienced in passing on knowledge can be the difference between you becoming an accomplished Musician or just ‘learning a few songs’.

They will give you clear guidelines and consistently tell you how you have progressed, which will motivate you to continue with lessons and build confidence. 

Another advantage to guitar lessons is the option to ask questions. Interacting with an industry professional has so many benefand you will likely make quicker progress than if you were teaching yourself.

A professional teacher will also be proficient in choosing songs for you to play according to your ability level. They can identify your strengths and work on them, helping you to make improvements consistently. 

However, you decide to learn, whether through formal lessons or self learning, if you commit to it and work hard there is no doubt you will succeed and be playing in a band and living the dream quicker than you might think.