Should I pay for lessons?

[nicknuisance]

I've been playing for a couple years now. I've been buying and selling gear, of course hoping it would let me explore what I really want to play, but recently been thinking I should get lessons. I've kind of hit a fork in the road and think that no matter how much I play, I don't get any further in technique or style. Is getting lessons worth it, or should I try some DVDs? I've got some scale books, but its all the same to me, doesn't get me really anywhere. I play the same licks over and over and don't go anywhere else with it. Give me some feedback!

 

[BigM555]

I believe it has a lot to do with the way you learn.

DVD's and books will do it for some people but personally I think I've always gotten much more out of being face to face with people. Most of mine has simply been through osmosis while playing with others. I never really took many official lessons.

A good teacher can certainly help branch you out into new styles and techniques and offer pointers that will take far longer to absorb from less personal learning methods.

While it can be tough to find a good teacher that will teach the type of stuff you want to learn you should remain open and be willing to "start at the basics" for some things. A teacher will often want to first establish a foundation (which you MAY think you already have but it may not be correct) before allowing a student the freedom to pick their own itinerary.

Ironically enough, though I didn't take lessons myself, I did teach for a short stint. It was amazing how many "students" just wanted me to show them "how to play Crazy Train" while completely ignoring any efforts to teach them even the basics of tuning, posture, picking technique, notes on a string, etc.

Good luck.

 

[Drew]

I was a fairly accomplished guitarist when I made it to college - certainly, I could hang as a blues/rock player, and I'd discovered Satriani about a year before s I'd gotten into shreddy legato and tapping. Arguably, from listening to old clips of me back then, I was faster then than I am now.

My sophomore year, I started studying under a jazz player who taught through the school named Paul Asbell (Busy Hands Records). I was a little hesitant at first since I'd always prided myself about being self taught, but I figured it was worth a shot and since my parents had offered to pick up the tab (they rule, by the way - they're the most supportive parents I could have ever asked for), I figured I lost nothing by trying.

I took lessons for every semester of my college career from that point on. The guy I was studying under, Paul Asbell, was a stylistically VERY different player from me, but I learned a ton of theory from him, picked up a bit of jazz comping, and learned just a lot about music in general. I was an economy picker at the time I started studying and he fiinally convinced me to give alternate picking another shot, since if nothing else then I would have two techniques at my disposal. Today, I can't quite keep up with Chrios Quigley's Alternate Picking of Doom chops or anything, but I'm a die-hard alternate picker and am completely sold on it.

The long and short of it is I have absolutely no regrets from taking lessons. I'm a better guitarist for it today, no questions asked. Hell, I've actually been thinking of looking for another instructor in the area to brush up my chops a bit and push me out of my comfort zone, myself.

EDIT - yeah, worth mentioning in light of BigM555's post - having taken lessons made a huge difference when I started teaching myself, both in being better prepared for a student-teacher interface, and being able to hit Paul up for suggestions of where to start with a beginner.

 

[7 Strings of Hate]

i think lessons are a waste of time honostly, a guy can show you some different techniques that can help, but instead of going and doing the normal, you should craft out your sound yourself, it will be more unique.
i would suggest watching youtube videos of j.p., paul gilbert, dimebag ....ect. to get the technique explained to you, thats how i learned to to a dimebag squeel and many other things, the technique can be taught, and thats the easy part, mastering it and using it in songs is all up to you and cant be taught.

 

[DDDorian]

Lessons would definitely be beneficial as long as you're learning from a teacher/player that you actually respect. Make sure that you look for a teacher who is a great player in their own right and understands the style of music that you want to play. Ideally, a good teacher will be able to teach you what you want to know whilst at the same time guiding you down paths that you wouldn't contemplate on your own, so make sure that your teacher understands where you're coming from and isn't going to force their own tastes or principles down your throat.

An easy way to make sure you get an awesome teacher is to take online lessons. A couple of guys who post here take webcam lessons with Steve Smyth and Chris Broderick from Nevermore and have been quite positive about it. The downside to online lessons is that you don't get quite the same level of intimacy as you would from being in the room with the teacher; plus, they're more stringent about time, so off-the-cuff jam sessions aren't really a possibility. Still, it's an option worth considering.

 

[neon_black88]

I started taking lessons this year from a jazz guy, and man I have learnt alot from him to do with theory/improvising/comping/chords/arpeggios, hes pushed me a bit and now im working on improvising over the chord progression in Wes Montgummerys "West coast blues", and its not easy , it changes key about every 2 bars. But as a result im now way more comfortable with modes and shapes that I wasn't used to using before, so its definatly worth it.

Honestly, I wouldn't get lessons to learn metal/rock style, theres enough resources especially on the net for me to progress on my own with that, im happy with my writing skills in that area as well, the only thing I really need is speed, and theres only so much someone can do to help you with that (alternate pick? no shit).

But each to his own, some people might get something from that but imo by learning a new style thats completely alien to me im getting much more from the lessons.

 

[Drew]

But each to his own, some people might get something from that but imo by learning a new style thats completely alien to me im getting much more from the lessons.

That's the thing with lessons - studying other genres and learning things you didn't think you'd need can actually pay off in other areas. I mean, sweep-picking is the classic example; it's basically a violin bow technique applied to a guitar. A violinist friend did a double take the first time she saw me play a sweep arpeggio while jamming on acoustics wiith some friends in a stairwell in college - "Oh, I didn't know you could DO arpeggios like that on a guitar."

 

[7 Strings of Hate]

did you have the john trovolta grease look? pack of smokes rolled up in your sleeves, muttenchops if full glory, rockin out in the stairwell pickin up chicks? thats what i'm picturin at least

 

[Ancestor]

I've been playing for a couple years now. I've been buying and selling gear, of course hoping it would let me explore what I really want to play, but recently been thinking I should get lessons. I've kind of hit a fork in the road and think that no matter how much I play, I don't get any further in technique or style. Is getting lessons worth it, or should I try some DVDs? I've got some scale books, but its all the same to me, doesn't get me really anywhere. I play the same licks over and over and don't go anywhere else with it. Give me some feedback!

Yes, get lessons. And get DVDs and anything else that will give you the knowledge that you don't already have. I've had private lessons, classes... everything. A real human teacher can evaluate where you are and tell you how to get where you want to be.

 

[Vegetta]

I had a great teacher and taking lessons definitely helped but I found the best way to learn was by playing with other musicians.

I was brought up with a ton of different kinds of music and I picked up bits and pieces from a lot of different genres. In the 70s when I was a kid my hippy aunt had a ton of friends that played music and they used to jam at our house a lot (Hey kid this is how you play a C chord) They played rock to bluegrass and country...

I don't play nearly as much now as I did say 10 years ago - parts of my playing is a bit worse for it (speed ) but i think my phrasing is a whole lot better now.

Everyone gets in slumps / hits plateaus - thats when you have to go outside of your comfort zone and try something a bit different. Having a good teacher will give you goals to work on - goals that will help your playing improve.

You can fart around and play guitar for 4 hours plus per day but you probably wont get any better unless you actively work on learning new things.

Books and DVDs do work for some people - so you could try those as well....

 

[ShawnFjellstad]

i'm a guitar teacher, so i'm biased.

yes, getting lessons would be beneficial to your playing.
if anything, a teacher could really break down your technique are make sure you're getting the most out of your playing style.

and i think that face to face lessons are the way to go, because you can't ask a book or dvd questions. it would be easier to get the most out of your lessons if you are able to interact with your instructor.

edit: also, i would suggest consistently playing with musicians who are better than you. nothing inspires me more than hearing my friends lay down some cool shit.

 

[fatfinger]

Taking lessons and paying for them are fine as long as you have a good teacher. There are al ot of teachers that purposely teach you the minimal amount necessary.....the less they teach....the more money they make by keeping you hanging on........stay away from those! Find a teacher that you know others have learned from....meanwhile and until then.....read books and watch dvd's.

 

[InTheRavensName]

Lessons, because I always felt two sets of ears are better than one...it's like, recording yourself and double tracking it (Blulb ) helps you to hear flaws, it just helps push oneself

 

[WildWayz]

Hmmm for me, I need a teacher.

I started learning to play when I was 13. I had lessons with a guy who would just say "bring a tape in and i'll teach you to play bits of the song". That was great as a kid but as I grew older I wanted more. I gave up playing when I was 16 for a few years, and took it up again at 18... for a few months. Then quit and gave up until I was 23. I had lessons with a teacher who taught me CAGED, scales and modes etc - lots of theory and it was great. I had to give it up in the end but I have just started lessons again...

My current teacher has a lot of influences with Vai, Satch, Petrucci as well as Moore, some Jazz etc
He teaches up to grade 8 and has studied courses from MIT, Rockschool and various others. When I met him last week, we 'clicked' so I am going to have lessons from now on.

When I was playing I would hit 'dead ends' and just give up. I want to LEARN to play and not just copy other peoples songs.

I've owned lots of guitars (Jem7VWH, RG3120, RG2820, JS1000 etc) over the years but now I have a Marlique Deluxe (apparently hand made in Indonesia). My wife said I can have another guitar if I keep lessons up - so after the Winter Namm I will choose my Ibanez

 

[Axel]

Yes get lessons. Heck I'm a teacher and thinking of taking some lessons myself

 

[CoachZ]

I took lessons when I was starting out but the teacher of mine wasn't so good and didn't teach me what I wanted. It's somewhat discouraged me to seek another in fear of not finding a good teacher.

 

[Jongpil Yun]

Move to Texas and get lessons from Rusty Cooley.

In all seriousness though, I think lessons are definitely worth it. From a pure technique standpoint I wouldn't pay much for lessons, but all the knowledge of theory and actual experience you get from taking lessons (plus the motivation of not wanting to look like a stupid ass in front of your teacher) really help you out.

The only reason I haven't taken guitar lessons is the two and a half years of violin lessons my parents put me through. I feel I have a pretty solid grounding in classical theory

Also, depending on the type of music you play it might help to learn to read music decently. It's probably not so important for blues-rock, but for anything neoclassical or shreddy or jazzy, it's a good skill to have.

An even better one is the legendary skill of "fretboard visualisation".

 

[nicknuisance]

Ha, I just moved from Texas. Boston has a ton to offer as far as teaching goes, I mean, come on, Berklee is here. I haven't had much time lately due to my new job transfer (Texas->New Jersey->Boston, with Nordstrom). But I've been getting some downtime and I've made a few calls. It'd really be nice if I could find some people in my area to just jam with as well. The hunt is still on.

 

[huber]

Most of the time people that don't take lessons are likely to fall into a habit of playing the same thing all the time because it sounds good to them and they have no one to get them to play anything else. A teacher will present new challenges to you constantly. Most teachers are also tons more inspiring than an idol like Petrucci or whatever. I've found with teachers I've had I'm more awestruck by them because they are like right there in the flesh doing cool stuff and that personally gets me more motivated than watching a youtube video.

 

[Demeyes]

I've never taken lessons but am considering it. I want to get more out of guitar. I can play rock and metal but would love to be able to play some real jazz or difficult acoustic. These are the kind of things that are much harder to pick up from the net. Technique is the easy part now I have to get my head going instead of letting my fingers do thinking. A good teacher might be able to help me out as lot with this.