Guitar Lessons vs. Teaching Yourself
So you’ve decided you’re going to learn to play the guitar. You’ve gone out and bought yourself beautiful new guitar, gig bag, music stand and a million other pieces of guitar themed paraphernalia. You get back home, take the guitar out of the box and then it dawns on you.
How on earth do you play this thing?!
You’re faced with a fork in the road. Do you take guitar lessons or do you teach yourself?
In this article I’ll be looking at the pros and cons of both. Taking guitar lessons is the most formal route, however today there are more resources to help you teach yourself than ever before. It’s a tricky decision as there are unique benefits to each method.
Is one way better than the other? Does everyone benefit from guitar lessons? Is it possible for anyone to teach themselves?
I’ll be looking at answering these questions, but first let’s look at each method in detail.
Teaching Yourself
Teaching yourself is the most easily accessible method, as you don’t need to find a guitar teacher before you can start. Anybody can set out the teach themselves to play, but it takes a certain type of person to succeed.
Just be aware, teaching yourself is a trial and error process. If you’re the kind of person that gets frustrated when you’re stuck, teaching yourself might not be the best option. On the other hand, if you enjoy a challenge and figuring things out for yourself, then teaching yourself to play the guitar could be right up your street.
So what are the benefits of teaching yourself guitar?
Inexpensive
One of the great benefits about teaching yourself is that it’s often free or costs very little. You can also choose when to study, rather than attend a set appointment with a guitar teacher. This factor alone means that pretty much anybody can begin teaching themselves to play the guitar.
You’ll need to find some suitable resources before you can start. Two of the best resources out there are guitar method books and online video lessons.
Method Books
Get a method book to suit your level of ability. If you’re a beginner, find a book aimed at complete beginners. If you want to learn jazz guitar, find a jazz stylebook for your ability level.
There’s still a lot to figure out for yourself, but a book is a safe and trustworthy source of information.
The downside of books is that they come with limited support. You might get a CD containing examples of the music in the book, but that’s usually all you get. Some method books contain excellent information but offer no additional support.
One of the major downsides to learning from a book is that you won’t actually see how anything is done. There are no video demonstrations and no access to a living breathing guitar teacher to help you. The closest you’ll get to seeing how it’s done is through photographs and diagrams.
Method books are best used as a resource in real life guitar lessons, or as a supplementary resource to video guitar lessons. Which leads me nicely onto my next point.
Recommended Method Books
Here are our top 3 recommended method books for beginners.
Video Lessons
One of the best ways to teach yourself to play the guitar is to find lessons on YouTube or sign up to an online guitar course. YouTube videos are free and available to everyone with an internet connection. Online guitar courses charge a relatively small subscription fee per month.
There must be thousands of guitarists on YouTube who have uploaded tutorials. You certainly won’t be short of choice.
If you want to find a lesson on how to hold the guitar, you can.
If you want to find a lesson on how to fret a note, you can.
If you want to find a lesson on creating an improvised solo using the locrian mode, you can.
But this in itself presents the first obstacle.
How do you know if any of these online guitar teachers are any good? How do you know whether they’re teaching you the correct skills or knowledge? What if they’re missing something really important? As a beginner guitarist you simply won’t know.
You can usually do a bit of digging around and discover more about the teacher’s history and training. This will give you some insight into their authority and credentials. A music college graduate is more likely to be a trustworthy source of information than someone who has studied on a casual basis. Although please note, there are some great casual guitar teachers out there too.
If you can’t find any background information on the teacher, there’s a risk you may be learning the wrong thing entirely. It does happen, and not just online.
I’ve taken on students who have previously been taught by some awful guitar teachers. I’ve had to correct mistakes such as incorrect rhythmic understanding and basic technique. I’ve even had to correct another guitar teacher’s lesson resources because he had been teaching guitar TAB upside down!
That’s right, UPSIDE DOWN!
I was left totally speechless by that one.
Find out more about the teacher who is giving the lesson. It might just save you a lot of frustration in the future.
Then comes the next obstacle.
You’ve found what you believe to be a trustworthy source of lessons. You’ve followed the first lesson on how to hold the instrument. You’ve also been successful in playing open strings. But now you’ve come to fretting notes or chords, and something doesn’t sound right.
You’re doing everything the guitar teacher in the video is showing you, but it still doesn’t sound right.
You’ve replayed the video a hundred times, clocking up over 4 hours worth of screen time. But it still doesn’t sound right.
What do you do?
When you’re teaching yourself, it’s up to you to find the solution.
You could post a comment below the video and hope the online teacher provides some killer insight. You could seek out another video lesson on the same topic. Maybe another video will shed some light on why things aren’t working. You could seek out an alternative source of information, such as a relevant article on the internet.
If you’re going to teach yourself, it’s likely that you’ll need to do all of the above and much more. But even when you’ve digested all of that information, you still need to put it into practice and make it work.
Teaching yourself is no easy task, but it must be very rewarding when it all comes together.
Trial and error is the name of the game. If you manage to succeed in teaching yourself, you can bask in the knowledge that it has been thoroughly earned.
Pros:
Cons:
Guitar Lessons
Taking guitar lessons are the traditional method of learning to play the guitar.
You’ll need to do a bit of research to find the best local guitar teacher in your area. It can be a bit of a lottery as to the standard of guitar tuition available.
Big cities with prestigious music colleges tend to have a lot more quality tutors than small towns out in the sticks. If there are no quality guitar teachers in your area then guitar lessons might not be such good value for money compared to a city with a strong music scene.
So what are the benefits of taking guitar lessons?
Motivation
When people think about guitar lessons, they tend to focus on the ‘learning’ side of things. But lessons serve a much more comprehensive purpose. Something that is frequently overlooked.
Guitar lessons are a great tool for keeping you motivated. This is one of the key factors in whether or not you’ll succeed with learning to play the guitar.
I’ll say that again because it’s that important:
Motivation = Key Factor to Success
It’s equally as important as learning the right techniques, correcting mistakes and practicing your scales.
Taking lessons keeps you motivated because your teacher will be constantly encouraging you and driving you to improve. Having a weekly appointment with your guitar teacher will also spur you on to pick up your guitar more often.
The reason motivation is so important is very simple. The more motivated you are, the more you pick up the guitar to play. More playing equals more improvement.
Feedback on your Playing
This is the crucial difference between guitar lessons and teaching yourself. It is the one single difference that takes out most of the guess work when things aren’t working.
Let’s take the example of fretting a note. Let’s say you’ve been practicing how to fret a note, but it keeps buzzing and just doesn’t sound right. This is a pretty common problem and something pretty much all guitarists go through at some stage.
Whilst a video lesson can only show you how to do something, a guitar teacher can show you what to do when things don’t work. Your guitar teacher will be able to notice the subtle difference between what you are doing, and what you need to do to make it work.
They will be able to inform you about all of the variables which affect your ability to produce the right sound. You can read about how important this factor is in this fantastic article by Noa Kageyama.
In addition to explaining why the precise movements you’re making are producing the wrong sound. They can then pinpoint the changes you need to make to achieve the correct result.
If you have a really good guitar teacher, they will probably give you a set of exercises specifically designed to help you make the right movements. They may even compliment this with a study piece to help you master whatever you’re stuck on.
Taking guitar lessons is like being able to search YouTube for the solution to your exact problem…
Then have an expert guitar teacher explain and demonstrate the solution…
Who then publishes a mini book of practice tasks to help you overcome the issue…
Along with a personalized practice routine.
Guitar lessons offer a tailor made method of learning to play the guitar. This is something that video lessons, books and other resources simply can’t match. I don’t think anything will ever replace this core benefit of taking guitar lessons.
Structured Lesson Plan
At what point do you go from being a beginner to being an intermediate guitarist? How do you find suitable pieces of music to learn based on your current ability level?
If you’re going to teach yourself to play the guitar, you need to know the answers to these questions. It’s no good searching for intermediate video lessons if you’re still a beginner. You might end up struggling with the content of a lesson which is above your current ability level. This can lead to frustration and ultimately giving up with the instrument.
If you take guitar lessons, your teacher will know exactly what you need to work on next.
They will have accumulated a wealth of suitable repertoire and be able to pick the most appropriate songs or pieces of music for your ability level. This will keep you engaged and motivated, whilst still making improvements to your playing.
A guitar teacher will be able to put together a structured practice plan containing appropriate repertoire, exercises, studies and scales. All of these will help you to make huge improvements without being too overwhelming for you.
Pros:
Cons:
Conclusion
So which is the best method of learning to play the guitar? Should you take guitar lessons or teach yourself?
I would highly recommend finding a good guitar teacher in your local area. I’ve experienced the benefit of this approach first hand, having had lessons from an early age. I can honestly say that I wouldn’t be making a career as a musician if I hadn’t taken those guitar lessons.
If you happen to choose a bad guitar teacher, don’t be afraid to stop lessons and find a better teacher.
But I wouldn’t stop there. There’s no harm in seeking out relevant YouTube videos, method books, text books etc. The more you expose yourself to, the better informed you will be. This will ultimately help you to become a better guitarist.
If you’re taking guitar lessons you can always discuss whatever you’ve learned on your own in your weekly lesson. Your guitar teacher will be thoroughly impressed with your dedication and independence.
Learn with CGA
You can now take online guitar lessons with Classical Guitar Academy!
Take the uncertainty out of learning to play the guitar by taking lessons with us. We’ve taught hundreds of happy guitarists over the years, with many going on to start their own careers in the music industry as performers and teachers. Of course, most pupils just want to play for fun. We love teaching people to play the guitar no matter what your goals may be.
Get in touch and let us show you how we can help you to become a better classical guitarist today!
Sorry Ed, maybe we could talk about this more, and I’d love to because I think about this a lot, but I had to stop reading after the third strike. Strike one: the claim that one of the cons to learning on one’s own is “little or no motivation”. You’ve got it backwards sir. Self-taught’ers have the purest motivation there ever could be: ‘I want to play guitar!’ Lessons can – and ESPECIALLY ones that use method books (strike two: your recommendation to find a good method book) sabatoge this intrinsic motivation by having it resemble homework with irrelevant exercises and cheesy songs that nobody cares about. And what’s up with that creepy picture of that guy holding hands with his student? Ew. Strike three. This article needs revision.
Hi Aaron,
Thanks for your comment, your opinion is most welcome here. I hope you’ll return to the website and respond to my comments below, as I’d love to get a good debate going here. Like you said, it’s a topic which you and other guitarists such as myself think about often. In fact, that’s why I wrote the article in the first place. I hope you find time to read through to the end.
Strike One: I would agree with what you say about guitarists who are self taught. One must obviously need to be very motivated to continue studying on their own steam alone. But I think you’ve perhaps misunderstood what I mean when I say “little or no motivation”. What I mean is that if you attempt to teach yourself to play, your only source of motivation comes from within. The only person encouraging you to pick up the guitar is yourself. When you have a teacher, you have at least two sources of motivation; your own internal drive, and the encouragement of your teacher. Therefore I believe guitarists who take lessons have more motivation (or perhaps I should say more ’sources of motivation) than those who don’t. The size of your own motivation is not something I can comment on, because everyone’s internal motivation is different. I think the size of motivation may be what you’re alluding to? Please feel free to correct me if I’ve misunderstood.
However I would have to disagree with your comment about method books dampening motivation. I think this perhaps depends on the teacher and whether or not they know how to get the most out of teaching from a book. Teachers who just teach from cover to cover probably do dampen motivation in most students. Lessons should incorporate much more than just the dots in the book. Did you have a bad experience with guitar lessons that just covered material from a book? I’d be interested to know.
If you’d read all the way to the end of the article you would have seen that I fully endorse incorporating other methods of learning into your practice. Not just studying from one source (be it a method book, online course, a teachers own course or lesson resources etc).
Strike Two: I understand why you might think that about exercises in a method book, as they can seem very plain without proper direction as to how to play them.
However I would have to disagree when you call them ‘irrelevant exercises’. No exercise is completely irrelevant. There is always a purpose behind every exercise (and indeed every cheesy song in a method book – assuming the book in question has been thoughtfully put together by it’s author). The only way to make an exercise useless or irrelevant is to simply play the notes in any way you find convenient. When practicing an exercise, I believe you should be striving to improve at least one aspect of your playing. The exact aspect to improve depends on the exercise you’re working on. By focussing on improving a particular facet of your playing, you can cultivate your motivation. Your goal is not to play the piece of music for the sake of it, but for the impact it has on your technique, musicianship or whatever the exercise is designed to do. By completing the exercise you become a better guitarist, more capable of playing the songs you enjoy. Knowing that I’m becoming a better musician certainly motivates me.
If you see the exercises/songs in a method book as homework then that might just be where you’re going wrong. If you look at it from another point of view, a method book provides the beginner guitarist with a great way to build up the fundamental skills in a progressive, structured way. It’s an opportunity to improve with a clear path from novice to competent guitarist. This actually helps you to play the songs you love more easily. If you can play them more easily you can enjoy them much more (that’s how I feel, anyway). Furthermore exercises/songs in a method book provide the beginner guitarist with achievable targets which can actually help to motivate them more.
I would argue the case that if you only attempt to play songs that you know, you will become disheartened or demotivated. Why? Because the pieces of music that drive us to pick up the guitar are typically more complex than the standard of your average beginner guitarist. If you attempt to play Asturias or Capricho Arabe the very first time you pick up the guitar, you will soon become disheartened. I think it’s easy to see how this might lead to demotivation.
If you’re an established guitarist then there may be less need to work on exercises, as the songs you want to play may already be within your capability. But everyone has to start somewhere and I believe the best way to get to a competent standard includes some form of exercise or specific workout on key aspects of technique, musicianship etc. Not just working on your favourite songs.
Strike Three: 100% agree!! But it proved difficult to find a stock photo of a guitar lesson and I wanted an image to accompany the text. I think we can safely agree that this is indeed a creepy photo. It may alarm you to learn that there were some even creepier photos out there. Believe it or not, this one is the best one.
As a side note to any new teachers reading this, especially those who work with children or vulnerable groups. It is strongly recommended that you do not touch a student in a lesson. Even if it is to move a finger to the right string etc. There are other things you can do to safeguard yourself and your student but that’s a discussion for another day.
Aaron, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed thinking about your comments and writing some responses to the points you made. It has certainly made me more aware of another perspective on the whole lessons vs self taught topic. So thanks for taking the time to comment on the article. I hope you find time to get back to me as it would be great to continue the conversation.
Likewise, if anyone else has made it this far down the page, please feel free to chip in with an opinion.
My thoughts:
1.) I thought this article was pretty decent!
2.) I think Aaron’s comments could have been less caustic
3.) I’m self-taught and was overtly motivated by an absence of lessons via my parents and by an overwhelming desire to play guitar! I went down to a music bookstore and bought “Pocket Beatles” and just persisted in playing it until it sounded like Beatles! I’d also had the good [mis]fortune to be made to take piano lessons [at which I did not excel…] so I knew how to read music already. Either way, my learning was all on me. Then I got into high school and we had a classical guitar class at which I did excel! The rest is history… If you really want to learn, there aren’t many things that will stop you, but a good, patient teacher can really speed things up for you!
4.) I use method books, with the caveat that once you can read music, you graduate to learning songs you actually want to play! And this is not a hard and fast rule…Everyone’s needs are different and I customize their lessons accordingly.
5.) Most guitar “songbooks” are written from a pianistic bent that deems them virtually worthless for anyone that wants to learn EXACTLY how their fav’s play their songs, and that’s where I come in! I have a real talent for dissecting recordings and techniques and while I can’t always play everything that I tab, I can assure my students that it’s as close to the recording as anyone can get…classical, pop, death metal, country, no matter, I dissect it all!
6.) The guy “holding hands” is clearly helping the student to form their hand into the required chord shape. Anyone who thinks otherwise should not be allowed near children. As for touching, absolutely not without warning…and not inappropriately… Guitar related re-positioning, sure….
7.) Further to the questionable contact dilemma, I have been to my local Police Department and undergone [and passed] a National Criminal Record Check with special focus on the “Vulnerable Sector” and I post my Certificates for the peace of mind of all my students/parents.
8.) Everyone is different and learns differently, so we have to be open to alternate methods of teaching…some people just DO NOT read well…music or words, and guess what ? They’re related… Poor readers make lousy music readers, but SHOW them how to play the chords and where to put their fingers and they’ll be fine! Help them become a better reader and improved reading music will follow! I gave one young student some children’s books to read at home and his music reading is excellent now. Granted, that didn’t happen overnight, but the small token of my belief in his ability to read bore tremendous fruit.
Anyway, I have to go be a responsible person and do yardwork, so thanks for letting me rant a while!
Happy Thanksgiving!
Dave Grandel
String Theory Guitar Academy
Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada
http://www.facebook.com/stringtheoryguitaracademy
Thanks for your comments Dave, it’s great to add another point of view to the foot of this article. Your point about being open and flexible when teaching is one that I share. Not everybody learns in the same way and part of the teacher’s job is to figure out the best method for that particular student.
I’ve given your Facebook page a like (from Classical Guitar Academy). I’m looking forward to hearing more from you. Please feel free to visit again soon and share your thoughts on future articles.
Here are my two cents for what it’s worth. I studied classical music for four years at a conservatory but it was clarinet and not guitar. With all the theory and solfège I learned and my sudden love for the guitar, I started teaching myself. I could figure out Beatles tunes, tons of Led Zep. It was fun but then got boring. Here is the point though – when I started to try to master new more challenging things such as in the classical realm and became fascinated with Bach, I learned the hard way that the mechanics of how I used my hands – in particular the right hand – were wrong. Now, after years of plinking around here and there without really practicing, I’m trying to learn classical guitar thoroughly and properly. And the challenging lesson I learned is that it’s incredibly difficult to delete and reprogram bad muscle memory and the mechanics of hand movements that result.
My advice? If you ever, ever plan on playing really well and take it very seriously, get lessons. Get lessons from someone really good. Learn it right from the beginning. Take your time. Don’t rush anything. Have them constantly evaluate your form and address even the most minor of things. Then you can become a true master without going through the frustration of the reprogramming phase that I find myself in now.
A third method may not have occurred to you — Android or iOS apps. I have to admit though that I haven’t tried any of them. There’s one for piano, name of which escapes me at the moment, which claims you start with single notes after a week (?) and progress to playing everything on the score in a matter of six-to-nine months. Could be one for guitar as well, haven’t really found anything on the Play Store yet
Hi Daniel,
Thanks for your message. I imagine a lot of ‘teach yourself’ guitarists will gravitate towards tuition apps. As you say, this could well be a good resource (depending on the quality of the app). There are certainly more options out there now than when I first began playing!
With regard to note reading, I’d hope for a faster rate of learning than learning notes after a week. I like to introduce 2-3 notes from day one, as there is nothing to be scared of when it comes to reading notation. By 6-9 months, it should be possible to be reading quite fluently at around Initial/Debut to Grade 1 standard. Some players will even go beyond this.
It all comes down to practice, of course!
Regarding lessons – my experiences have lead me to conclude that many guitar teachers are great musicians but not great teachers. They seem to “wing it” when it came to my lessons and I felt there was little emphasis put on my techniques or how to practice with purpose. I get the notion of finding a good teacher and the testimonials I read about various teachers often came from parents of young children – so, perhaps, there was an element of keeping a child entertained rather than providing instrument instruction…..I’m in my 60’s and wasn’t impressed when my teacher demonstrated their prowess on a guitar.
Additionally I felt there was a lack of any curriculum – maybe that is by design so lessons are tailored to a student, yet I was a rookie and didn’t know what I needed to begin my journey of becoming a guitarist.
My experience is guitar lessons are not at all needed with the wealth of courses available online. These will offer systematic ways of learning chords, playing melodies and learning music theory – and at a cost of one to two private lessons. Online drills can be repeated, slowed or sped up as needed by each student. Often there were multiple camera angles used to help me see my proper finger placement on frets. Plus there were periodic assessments of my skills before progressing to new lessons.
Bottom line – I think private guitar lessons are not needed. If a student is self motivated and eager to improve there are loads of options out there. I could even purchase two or more online courses – offered by different companies – and benefit from multiple teacher’s philosophies on guitar methods.
Great guitar players don’t (necessarily) become great teachers — if this were true Michael Jordan must be the greatest basketball coach of all time!
Investigate online guitar courses – there are several – and practice. In my opinion the guitar lesson community needs to wake up to their competition online and reinvent themselves somehow to offer value….. currently there is little accountability on guitar teachers and their ability to deliver students to a level of musicianship that would be considered reasonable.
Mastering any musical instrument is never easy but online courses offer beginner, intermediate and even advanced instruction – save your money, create a music room or regular space to practice, use a metronome and use a larger monitor than your laptop to assist with the visual instruction.
And with all the money you saved buy a nice guitar! ????
Hi Jeffrey, thanks for leaving such a detailed comment. You’re certainly not alone in having had bad experiences with guitar teachers. A number of my own guitar pupils have told some pretty horrific stories of their previous experiences. From ‘just play it again’ to being downright discouraging and even teaching entirely the wrong information (I have a great story about counting the rhythm which left me speechless!)
I agree that there are a number of great resources out there on the internet that, compared to a weekly guitar lesson, appear to offer excellent value for money. You can access seemingly limitless content from some excellent guitarists and teachers. If you’re struggling to find a decent teacher, I would recommend one of these online courses as a starting point. I think they offer a lot to guitar pupils today that wasn’t previously available to such a high degree 10 years ago.
There is a catch though… As good as online courses are, there is still one element they just can’t replace and that’s receiving real time feedback. You can’t ask a prerecorded video for help with your technique, or for an alternative explanation on the spot. If you do some digging, you might be able to unearth the answer somewhere else, but that’s your time and effort that could be directed elsewhere and there is still no guarantee of finding the solution. This is one of the huge benefits of having a guitar teacher. Talk to them, question them and even challenge them on points on which you need clarification. This is a great way to learn.
The risk with an online course, and I see this in lessons quite a bit, is that it’s very easy to practice the content in the wrong way. Just producing the notes does not mean you’re playing in a way that is most beneficial to your playing long term. It’s possible to hack through some Grade 1-2 pieces with a limited technique, but attempt to apply the same inefficient technique at Grades 5-6 and it can be impossible to make the music sound as you wish. A little careful direction in the early days with the guidance of a teacher who knows how to help can set you up for a lifetime of enjoyable music making.
I admit that finding a teacher of high quality can be a challenge and it sounds as though you’ve not had a great deal of luck in that department, which is unfortunate. I wouldn’t discourage you from following the curriculum of an online course, as this provides the framework you desire, but I’d also recommend you maintain an open mind to live tuition with a good guitar teacher should the opportunity arise.
I’ve been very fortunate to learn from a number of fantastic teachers, and I wouldn’t have had the same rich experience had I stuck to just books, videos or online courses. Perhaps I’m just one of the lucky ones to have only encountered a handful of bad teachers in my time. I’m truly sorry that your experience has been different so far.
Best of luck with your musical journey! Do let me know if there’s anything I can help with.