Online Guitar Lessons

If learning guitar is so easy, did all those self-taught rock stars have it right all along? That may be what you’re thinking when you hear so many claims these days that it’s possible to learn how to play this instrument on your own, without much more than a few websites and perhaps some books. Are formal guitar lessons really not needed at all? Have guitar students just wasted their time when they could have done it all themselves? Or did they receive something that people missed when they learned on their own?

In the past, you might have avoided taking lessons by studying on your own from guitar lesson books similar to those used in a teaching studio. But now you can learn guitar online as well, in two formats often used in combination. Written web pages provide diagrams showing where to position your fingers and what combinations of positioning will create which chords.

But as online video technology has increased in power, written descriptions are often supplemented by videos showing you how it’s done. And sometimes the written material is eliminated altogether, with the video and its commentary constituting the entire lesson.

If you teach yourself guitar from a book, you lack something these videos now provide, which is a visual demonstration of how to hold your hands and perform the techniques. Yet some professional guitar players still claim that this can’t substitute for formal guitar lessons taught in person by a trained teacher. This is because a teacher can spot flaws in technique, or detect skills that need more work, which the student would never recognize on their own. A teacher can also provide extra tips and fill in gaps that aren’t covered in do-it-yourself lessons.

Your style of learning depends, of course, on why you want to play in the first place. If it’s just for casual occasions, online guitar lessons may be sufficient. However, if you want to play professionally, perhaps in the classical world, then it’s essential to learn acoustic guitar under the guidance of a trained professional. For the grey area in between personal and professional playing, the choice isn’t always cut and dried. Your choice depends on what your ultimate purpose is.

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