How should i continue learning the guitar?

Question

I have been playing the guitar for about a month, i had previous lessons about 5 years ago when i was a kid but it wasn't much. My friend has been teaching me what he can. I have just been practicing scales and learning some songs off youtube tutorials. I know a bit about music theory and the notes.

Should i continue practicing on my own and practicing scales and learning songs or should i step up and take lessons? Are lessons really worth it?

Answer 1

Lessons from a good teacher ( not necessarily a good performer ) will produce amazing results. You will hear music in a different way and progress much faster. Scales, arpeggios will only take you so far. If you get a teacher, be prepare to be very involved and dedicated. Good luck!

Answer 2

You have to be highly motivated to be learning by your self. I suggest you get a teacher to teach you initially the scales, theory, chord techniques and music notations. Getting the right direction when you start playing the guitar is important and this is money well spent and invested. Advanced studies can then be done ethier via short courses offered by music institutes or by investing on instructions DVDs and Books by famous authors. If you have dedicated around 2 hours a day religiously for a year you will be at a level to start studying by your selves from Instruction videos and can carry forward from there on. The value of a guitar teacher is un comparable but you need to see if you can afford such an option. If you can find a music teacher who can teach you notations then I recommend the Mel Bay guitar Methods that cost $8 per book and comes in 7 levels which is the all time best selling guitar education book avialable today with over 9 million in print. Te books come with a Audio CD of each lesson and is pretty effective. I am a guitar teacher teaching since last 15 years and found this approach to me most effective as student dont plan to stick around more than 1 year learning 1 on 1. Amazon has an amazing collection of guitar books that are rated by members which is also a good source of picking up stuff to learn.

Answer 3

There's no doubt that one-to-one lessons are the best way to learn guitar. A good teacher will asses where you are and help you get where you want to go. In short, the lessons will be personalised and tailored for you. No other form of teaching can offer that.



However, lessons are also expensive and not always convenient. The next best approach is to learn a few chords and use them to learn songs you like, then build up your repertoire from there. Keep practicing the scales and do some finger exercises to improve the dexterity of your digits.



I find video lessons much better than learning from a book. You could invest in a couple of DVDs, or keep searching YouTube for good lessons. There are some useful video lessons here: http://onlineguitarlessonsreport.com/video-lesson

Answer 4

It's impressive that you are practicing scales but you need to learn chords, lots of chords. We'll talk about the simple chords that go with a scale or key. Number the notes in a scale 1-8. The major chords will usually be 1-4-5 and the minors 3-6. This is simplified. You need to learn the Circle of Fifths. Lessons aren't a bad idea.

Answer 5

I think lessons are defiantly worth it. If you're worried about price from a private instructor you could invest in some guitar lesson books, DVD's or CD's if you haven't yet. If you still want an instructor I'd suggest online courses.



This one isnt just for beginners and you can start for free. There's also some software that helps you play guitar by ear which is pretty cool bonus:



http://tinyurl.com/guitar-lessons-online

Answer 6

Lessons are defintely worth it, but only if you can find a teacher with a good reputation. Don't go to a music store like Accent Music and expect good lessons, it won't happen. Either continue on your own or find someone who knows what their doing and is dedicated to teaching.

Also do not use the Mel Bay books.

Answer 7

How long it takes to learn guitar depends on how good you want to get and how much practice you put in. How good you can get with 1-2 hours a day for a few months depends on what methods you use to practice. There are effective practice methods that will help you make the best use of your time. This course is one of the best. https://bitly.im/aMZn0 It's not just about how much you play but how effectively you play that will determine how good you will get.

Answer 8

You will find lots of useful guitar lessons and information here - it works on an "honour system". If you can afford to pay for the lessons then please donate for what you use - imagine it was a pay site. If you can't afford to donate it is no problem at all - the site is free for you :). Updates and new material is pretty much donation dependant. Donations give me more time away from paid work to develop this site and make new lessons and features. BIG THANKS in advance :)



http://www.justinguitar.com/

Answer 9

the international needs extra drummers, yet once you learn the two, then you definately can go thoroughly solo as a musician, so, relatively, it relies upon on your subject, and the place you prefer to circulate musicially. i've got discovered the guitar, drums, bass, vocals, keyboards, fancy pc stuff, and am presently searching for trumpet training. specific, I basically very own 3, yet i'm hoping to circulate places, or, a minimum of, be in a band that somewhat kicks ***.