What Guitar Lessons Offer For Students Of All Ages & Skill Levels
In this lesson, we’re going to look at what guitar lessons offer for students of all ages & skill levels. Learning to play guitar is not always easy. Especially when you go at it alone. That is why taking guitar lessons can help to improve your learning curve.
YouTube for guitar lessons
YouTube is a great way to start. It offers tons and tons of free training that can grab your interest. anything you want to learn on the guitar, there is a video on YouTube with a teacher showing you how.
The only downside to this method is that not all YouTubers are guitar teachers. So learning from them can be a bit tricky as they may go too fast or not explain things as well.
Learning guitar out of books
Books are a great alternative to videos as they give a different option for learning. They are written in a step-by-step format where each lesson builds upon the last one. This is a great way to learn as you get things in chronological order.
You also get to learn at a much slower pace if that is what’s needed. Sometimes it’s best to go over a lesson multiple times to digest the information. Books allow the time to do this. But they don’t always give the visual that videos do.
Private guitar lessons
The best way to learn how to play the guitar is with a private guitar teacher. That is if you can find the right one. A guitar teacher that you can make a connection with. If you can do that and afford the service, this will be the best way to learn. For a few reasons:
Instant feedback
A guitar teacher can answer questions and give you instant feedback on questions and techniques. They can give you an insight into their own experience that can allow you to learn faster. Thus having more fun.
This is a huge benefit to a private instructor. With videos and books, you can’t get direct feedback from the teacher. Unless you leave a comment on a video and hope they get back to you. But even if they do, it’s not immediate. And books, forget it.
Avoid bad habits
One of the most common things that happen with students going it alone when learning to play the guitar, is developing bad habits. This can come back to hurt your progress later down the line. If there is anything you want to develop when playing the guitar, it is a good habit.
A good guitar instructor can help you to avoid these bad habits, and help you to develop good ones. Ones that won’t hinder you later down the line, but help you to keep moving forward and getting through learning obstacles.
Better learning experience
The right guitar teacher (and the emphasis is on the word “right”) can help you to have a better learning experience with your guitar lessons. Since they can give you instant feedback and help you avoid common mistakes, they can make learning more fun.
This will allow you to progress faster, and stay motivated to practice and if you have any problems, you can be confident you have someone there to help you figure them out,
Cater to your interests
The right guitar teacher will be able to cater to your interests and teach you what you want to learn. Instead of teaching you what they think you should learn. This is a problem I had with going to teachers until I found the right one.
A good guitar teacher should be able to understand what draws you to the guitar (acoustic or electric) what type of music you like and teach you about that instrument. If you like the sound of the electric, that’s what you should start on.
Customized lesson plans
If you get the right teacher and they understand what you want to learn, they can structure a customized practice routine and lesson plan for you. They can get you learning guitar much faster because you are learning the concepts, principles, and techniques that cater to your interests.
For instance, let’s say you wanted to learn to play Jimi Hendrix, then your teacher could teach you the techniques associated with his style of playing. If you wanted to strum acoustic songs while sitting around the campfire, that could be taught to you as well. That way no time is wasted.
Watch the video lesson below
Lesson conclusion
When it comes to learning guitar, there are many ways to do it. The best thing to do is to try out all of them if you can. The reason for this is that they all have their benefits.
Videos are great for visualization purposes. Where you can see what’s going on in actual time. Books are great too as they allow you to progress at a slower pace, and private instruction can be the best as you get immediate feedback and experienced insight you can’t get from videos or books.
But like I mentioned before, you need to find the right one. If you try all these out, you will find what works for you. Maybe a video, maybe a book, maybe a private instructor. Whatever it is, seek it out and you shall find the path that is right for you.
If you need any of these to help you let me know. My video library can help you learn, the books I’ve authored can help you learn, and my private in-person & also my online lessons can help as well.
Best of luck and keep practicing.
Sincerely, Dwayne Jenkins
Dwayne’s Guitar Lessons
