A Teacher or Self Taught...
By ParaTed2k
@ParaTed2k (22940)
Sheboygan, Wisconsin
March 26, 2007 4:37pm CST
I am a self taught guitarist, I learned mostly from guitar tabs and music books. Now that I'm a guitar teacher, a lot of people say, "Why should I pay for a guitar teacher, you did pretty well without paying one?"
True, I do pretty well, well enough to teach others. However, I've been playing for 11 years now. I play at about the same level as people who were taught and have been playing about 4.
The reasons?
1: A good teacher gets more out of a student than they thought they had in them. External motivation, deadlines and goals help a student progress much faster than on their own.
2: Playing in front of someone is a lot different than playing alone. I noticed it in myself, and many other self taught musicians say the same thing. After playing alone for so long, playing for people becomes a hurdle. Those who begin playing for a teacher have a definite advantage here.
3: Playing shapes and finger positions. To me, nothing satired this concept better than the tv show "Friends". Joey asked Pheobe to teach him how to play. Not knowing the "names" of the chords, she said she gave them all names based on how her hand looks while she played (crows foot, old lady hand.. etc). I've found that most self taught players have no idea what chord or note they are playing, they are simply following "Pheobe Fingering". Of course, a lot of really rich guitarist have no idea what they are playing, so give this one as much credence as you like.
4: Guitar teachers usually know other players, teachers and often know people in the local music scene. It's hard enough to get your name out there without help, but if you're self taught, you are competing with people who have at least their teacher on the "inside".
Well, those are my 4 major reasons why I think it's well worth it to pay a teacher. Of course, being one, I'm not exactly an unbiased judge. ;~D
What do you think, those of you who are self taught do you think you would have been better off with a teacher? Those of you who had/have teachers, do you feel it was worth the money?
1 person likes this
5 responses
@Pigglies (9329)
• United States
28 Mar 07
I learned guitar with a teacher, but for many other instruments I was self taught. I can definitely say that having deadlines helped me, as did having concerts so that I'd definitely have to meet the deadlines. Practicing in a group especially makes you not want to bring down the group.
I think needing a teacher somewhat depends on the instrument and your motivation though. On piano, I can't imagine a teacher being able to help me more than what I've been doing on my own. I've been playing for over 10 years and still sound like someone who's played less than 5 years, but it doesn't seem to be lack of practice. More like lack of ability to read two lines of music nicely at once.
For harmonica, I guess it might have been nice to have a teacher, but I've fared pretty well on my own.
1 person likes this
@ParaTed2k (22940)
• Sheboygan, Wisconsin
28 Mar 07
Yeah, I'll agree with that. I've had kids ask me to teach them harmonica... the best I can teach them is what the notes of the wholes are, different ways to hold your mouth and (if you want to play blues) make sure you get the right key harp for the key of the song (since you don't use a C harp to play along with a song in the key of C with Blues).
The rest is learning how to breath without getting dizzy and mixing it up with other musicians... two things that just take time and practice.
@layney (1053)
• Italy
27 Mar 07
Well I started electrig guitar by myself, then I had some lessons...Iwas introduced into scales and fingering but it lasted little...above all for a lack of time I continued playing alone...I would have liked to learn much better but I used to play just few times a month so it was not possible.
1 person likes this
@ParaTed2k (22940)
• Sheboygan, Wisconsin
27 Mar 07
Yeah, a few times a month isn't enough to sustain any level of proficiency. I read somewhere that even Eddie Van Halen feels a little rusty if he goes a week without playing.
@littlemissmistress (187)
• United States
26 Mar 07
I myself am a self-taught vocalist. I have been singing since I was five, and I have never had a lesson. Now I am considered a professional (aka, I have been paid for live performances on several occasions).
Sometimes I regret never getting vocal lessons. I think my sound would be different with coaching.
But then again, I wouldn't be a unique sound anymore. As a matter of fact, I wouldn't be unique at all. Anyone can learn through a lesson, but I like being a natural, unchanged talent.
I never had the money for lessons anyway. I was going to be charged, by a family friend, $100/hour for a vocal lesson.
No thanks. My voice is fine as it is.
@ParaTed2k (22940)
• Sheboygan, Wisconsin
26 Mar 07
You have a good point, especially when it comes to vocals. On my business cards and flyers I have a saying... "When you're ready to learn guitar, not just songs". I teach the student the notes, chords, effect techniques, picking patterns...etc. That way they can take what I've taught them and come up with their own styles and play the songs and styles they want. In fact, I rarely assign a song for them to learn.
Have fun with your singing career!
@blustrings (26)
• Philippines
2 May 07
i learned guitar by myself.. i just used to read thru chordds & tabs.. it started it all
1 person likes this
@roelsonguitar (105)
• Philippines
6 Sep 10
I may call myself a "self-taught guitarist", but that would be over rated. Over rated because you can't learn anything by yourself alone. No bad intended here. Being "self-taught" is really, a combination.
I was taught by my step-father when I was in 4th grade, but it didn't last long. Still, I had the inclination and the desire to learn how to play guitar.
In High School, I returned to practicing chords and songs on local songbooks, using a borrowed acoustic guitar. Occasionally I would ask "someone how's this done?"
Guitar books were given to me, about rock, acoustic, etc. and I consumed them all. I practiced diligently. I now have a huge library of guitar books and videos, all of which I learned something from. Watching those guitar videos, I won't call it self-learning, because i'm learning from someone else, and it's not a negative thing.
A few years ago, I started joining a band that plays in bars. There I met another guitarist who is way more proficient than me. Technically, he's not my teacher, but in a band, one learns something everyday from his bandmate and the bandstand. I consider him my teacher, because I learned so much from what he tells me about and his experiences. I also learn from performing.
That experience is in the real world, not being alone and teaching myself. That's a real and better environment for me. Not practicing in the bedroom or woodshed, playing live is the best learning ground for me. (of course I still woodshed everyday to maintain and improve my skills)
That would be it. Thank you.
