Learning to play the guitar is a goal for many people, and there are so many methods these days with the internet and all the resources we are given. Many choose to teach themselves, but taking lessons ensures a stronger, more efficient basis of skills of which to build your playing style. As Brian Hunker writes in, “5 reasons you should take guitar lessons,” taking lessons has many advantages over teaching yourself. Hunker claims the biggest hurdle people face when they go about learning guitar is a loss of motivation, and lessons are the best antidote to this. Explains Hunker, “most of the people who try the guitar quit before they can even play anything. Don’t let this happen to you. The advantages of formal guitar lessons are what makes this seemingly impossible task possible.” Other strong advantages include the routine of weekly meetings, as they create a structure to build practice habits, as well as the ability of instructors to filter the vast amount of information into what you need, as it can come across as intimidating.
I couldn’t agree with this information more. As someone who is self-taught, I have first-hand experience with the downsides of this method. It is hard to figure out where to start, as there are so many things to choose from online. I sometimes struggle with motivating myself to play, as there is no one else involved who I have to present to, no one to hold me accountable for how much I’ve done. When you have a teacher, you have someone to guide you through the process and watch you grow, and they can present this progress if you’re ever feeling down. The closest thing I’ve ever had to a guitar teacher was my dad, as he inspired me to play in the first place; when I needed help learning a certain song or chord, I would go to him to teach me. He wasn’t a real guitar teacher, and he didn’t spend a ton of time teaching me guitar, but had I had more time with someone who did, I could have gotten way better, much faster. Sometimes I build up bad habits with my playing, and they’re never addressed until I play for my dad. A true guitar instructor would catch these early on, correct them, and steer me on the correct path to greatness more efficiently. The biggest downside of lessons as seen by those who support being self-taught is a loss of creativity in your playing, but this isn’t necessarily true, as you can build any style you’d want once you obtain a solid foundation of skills. In all my interactions with guitar players here at Northeastern University, the ones who are the best always turn out to be those who took lessons, not those who built their skills on their own. If you want to learn guitar, you have two main choices, teaching yourself and taking lessons. If you have the time and money, lessons are always the way to go.