With the world falling into chaos after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, many have been left with more free time on their hands than ever before. As a result, many pastime activities have seen increases in use, and taking up the guitar has been no exception. One of the biggest questions you have to ask yourself when you decide you’d like to play is whether you should sign up for lessons or teach yourself.
Do you want to be someone who focuses on learning all the hardcore details of the instrument, each invidious note on the fretboard, all the fancy chord progressions and scales, all the technical stuff, or do you want to simply learn a few chords and get going playing your favorite songs?
Lance Vallis tackles this question in his piece “Being Self Taught vs. Taking Lessons.” A major takeaway is the loss of creativity when you are taught by someone else. “There already is a Dave Matthews,” he writes, elaborating that uniqueness is what stands out in the musical world. In major musical education institutes, everyone follows the same curriculum, resulting in highly skilled players coming out, but their skillsets remaining nearly identical.
The Beatles were self-taught. Jimmy page was self-taught, Jimi Hendrix self-taught. So many of the most famous guitarists out there didn’t focus on a formal musical education but chose to form their own paths. When they did things their own way, they developed a unique style of playing, and that’s what got them into stardom. One of my biggest inspirations on guitar, Mark Knopfler of Dire Straits, is quoted saying that his style of playing would infuriate the majority of guitar teachers. He simply does everything differently, and this can be attributed to his lack of a proper education. And as a result, he has created some of the most iconic tunes on the guitar.
Now, this isn’t to say guitar lessons are bad. There are plenty of reasons you could take guitar lessons. As Vallis explains, lessons do have the ability to elevate your playing style, and fast. Sometimes we feel unmotivated or uninspired with our process of learning, and lessons can help affirm that you’re not as bad as you think. Some people struggle to push themselves to practice, but if you have a guitar instructor who you’re trying to impress after each lesson, you’ll find it easier to pick up and play.
Northeastern University’s Kerr Hall contains its biggest freshman community of musicians. Arien Wagen is one of these, an established multi-instrumentalist and singer-songwriter from Austin, Texas. In a recent interview, Wagen emphasized the abundance of resources aimed at learning guitar on the internet. A key takeaway of his is that its best to start out learning on your own and decide on lessons once you’ve figured some stuff out.
Although I agree with many of his points, I feel that it’s preferable to stick to teaching yourself for a multitude of reasons. Guitar lessons not only take up scarce time and money, both in already short supply for young people. Lessons also can take from one’s passion and creativity, turning practice into more of a chore than a pastime.
Another member of Kerr Hall is Lena Hildrich, an amateur guitarist as well as singer. She took up guitar around a year ago to complement her vocals. Although Hildrich is self-taught, she wishes she had taken lessons while starting out. She claims that had she created a better basis of guitar details, such as music theory, it would have been easier to become a guitarist.
The biggest takeaway here is that one should understand that her lack of musical knowledge can also be found online. In addition to detailed video instructions on almost every major song ever, there are countless articles and resources to learn about music theory. You can read up on scales and chord progressions easily and implement them into your skillset.
When I took up guitar in the summer before my senior year of high school, I was doing so entirely out of a desire to build out who I am. I had been wanting to for years, and with my dad being a lifelong musician himself, I knew the time had come. I relied heavily on YouTube for instruction, and with each song I learned it only affirmed my confidence in my skill. The feeling of reward and accomplishment after learning something on your own enforces your passion more than any lesson could.
If you see guitar as something other than a passion or a hobby, maybe as a manufactured goal, lessons might be right. They do offer efficient learning speed as well as more seamlessly provided knowledge. But lessons take away from the journey, and the journey matters more than the destination.
No one knows whether or not you should take guitar lessons except yourself, but there are several reasons being self-taught is the better move. If you aren’t looking to master the intricate details of the instrument itself or are taking up guitar for a purpose other than finding yourself or simply a new hobby, you should rely on your own resources.