Topic: which is better. teaching yourself or getting a teacher?

I learned how to play by myself. im sure that it is harder but i just wanted to know everybody elses veiws on this.

Re: which is better. teaching yourself or getting a teacher?

I learned by myself and recently started taking lessons. Let me tell you, he made a difference in my playing. Some of the little things as well as someone who can answer my stupid questions.

Re: which is better. teaching yourself or getting a teacher?

Ive always taught myself, and it seemed to work, i never thought of getting a teacher..

Re: which is better. teaching yourself or getting a teacher?

The thing I enjoy most is learning as part of a group. It's less intense and more fun. If you can't get something then you can sometimes pick it up off your classmates or at least share the misery!


Current class ends soon and I hope to book  myself in for direct tuition after Easter. To me seeing, hearing and having the chance to question is better than struggling alone.

'The sound of the city seems to disappear'

Re: which is better. teaching yourself or getting a teacher?

iv"e been learning myself too.i have a couple friends who are accomplished players. we jam once a month and i watch and learn from them. they say iv"e improved in the last month or so. its encouraging to here. practice is the key.seems like this guitar has consumed my life.im good as long as i don"t drive my wife mad. lol lol. have a good day chordies   badeye

one caper after another

Re: which is better. teaching yourself or getting a teacher?

Id say teacher beacuse they can teach you the basics quicker and when your learn tabs you can have side projects like learning a new song along with The teaching stuff.( That is what i find easier)

Re: which is better. teaching yourself or getting a teacher?

I always tell people to learn from a teacher and think for yourself. eventualy everyone discovers something that a teacher hasn't shown them but inbetween those discoveries you can learn alot from a teacher and that leads to more discoveries. I look at it this way, by the end of it all, ateacher should teach you everything he knows but he shouldn't have taught you everything you know.

                          - Mike

"Nobody paints by ear so why would I play guitar by sight?" hmm

Re: which is better. teaching yourself or getting a teacher?

Either way as long as you keep it real.

Re: which is better. teaching yourself or getting a teacher?

i am learning by myself and i think im doing ok <img src="images/smiley_icons/icon_rolleyes.gif" border=0 alt="Rolling Eyes">. I think the most important is having a lot of music to play and to improve by playing it. If you need someone to give you the music and play it through with you i suggest getting a teacher. However, ive noticed by learning other instruments with a teacher, you dont enjoy practising as much if it music you dont like or have never heard it before.

I reckon you should do whatever suits you. <img src="images/smiley_icons/icon_biggrin.gif" border=0 alt="Very Happy">  <img src="images/smiley_icons/icon_biggrin.gif" border=0 alt="Very Happy">  <img src="images/smiley_icons/icon_biggrin.gif" border=0 alt="Very Happy">

Re: which is better. teaching yourself or getting a teacher?

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Lessons may help you to correct the bad habits that you have developed. The most important thing to remember is to do the lesson practicing about 1% of the total time that your playing, and have fun for the other 99%! There are some online lessons that have helped me a little, but I may still look into some lessons. I'm afraid that I am not going to be a very good student because like you I'm self taught. I started with a beginner Mel Bay simple chord book when I was a teen. Now I'm retired and in my 50's, and have plenty of bad habits that will be mucho hard to break! I still enjoy playing the easy chord songs in Chordie. The chord diagrams are what I have used the most, learning from piano books that were chorded for guitar also. And now I'm using Chordie. I know that I'll never be a George Harrison or Eric Clapton, even with lessons! But, I'm having a ball!

Re: which is better. teaching yourself or getting a teacher?

I'm a beginner teaching myself with the internet. Tons of free lessons on www.YouTube.com      Look for videos by TheNextLevelGuitar  and  JustinSandercoe

Excellent videos. Good luck all

Re: which is better. teaching yourself or getting a teacher?

The best is to do both in my opinion. The computer can duplicate the learning environment you get working with a live instructor but the instructor can't have 24 hour access to you so I say why not do both.

J  E  T  S
...and yet a Washington Commanders fan (unless they change their name again) ...long story...HTT...C

Re: which is better. teaching yourself or getting a teacher?

I taght myself for the first 4 months or so and by then could easily play chords, barre chords, read tab, solo on pentatonic scales and other stuff. I got a teacher and i improved even quicker with him. He taught me jazz chords,how to improvise on other scales. Basically what im saying is...

          <img src="images/smiley_icons/icon_thumbsup.gif" border=0 alt="Thumbs Up"> GET A TEACHER <img src="images/smiley_icons/icon_thumbsup.gif" border=0 alt="Thumbs Up">

[url=http://www.myspace.com/rdxfunk]www.myspace.com/rdxfunk[/url]

Re: which is better. teaching yourself or getting a teacher?

I would say that whatever suits your style. I personnally do a combination of both, as i only have guitar lessons once a week. Having a teacher really helps out with the basics and how to do things faster. I also learned about scales and root notes from him, but most songs that i learn i learn myself, either by tabbing them out myself or finding them on this website (Chordie you rock). It also depends what kind of teacher you have, if hes teaching you what you ask him too, or what he wants you to learn, if its a private or public teacher, what kind of music hes teaching you and so on and so forth. One thing that we have started at my lessons (we only have about 5 people at them) is that every week someone brings something to the lesson and teaches the rest of the class. Anyways that my opinion so rock on <img src="images/smiley_icons/icon_twisted.gif" border=0 alt="Twisted Evil">

Have you ever thought of a world with no hypothetical situations??

Re: which is better. teaching yourself or getting a teacher?

I think that having a teacher who can understand the tabs properly would be a good start because i cant understand the tabs and neither could my teacher but he taught me the basics like how to play chords.

Can somone tell me how to read the tabs <img src="images/smiley_icons/icon_redface.gif" border=0 alt="Embarassed">

Re: which is better. teaching yourself or getting a teacher?

thanks for the info guys. <img src="images/smiley_icons/icon_smile.gif" border=0 alt="Smile">

Re: which is better. teaching yourself or getting a teacher?

<table border="0" align="center" width="90%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td class="SmallText"><b>semiunmarked wrote on Sun, 18 March 2007 00&#58;15</b></td></tr><tr><td class="quote">
I'm a beginner teaching myself with the internet. Tons of free lessons on www.YouTube.com      Look for videos by TheNextLevelGuitar  and  JustinSandercoe

Excellent videos. Good luck all
</td></tr></table>


Same here, I'm starting out learning how to play in Drop-D style and it's coming along great. I got my first electric in October of last year and I'm already playing along with the band in my church. At first I thought that Drop-D was going to have limitations on playing but it actually makes everything soooo much easier for me. Now once I get the action lowered on my guitar I will be able to play for longer lengths of time before my left hand gets tired.


Dm101

"Talent instantly recognizes genius,
but mediocrity knows nothing more than itself."

-Sir Arthur Conan-Doyle

Re: which is better. teaching yourself or getting a teacher?

Hi

Trying to teach your self is hard&#8230;..been there got the t/shirts you get into bad habits bad technique. A few years down the line I wanted to take it more serious and joined a guitar class&#8230;..Its the best move I have made my playing has come on fantastic  and you get to meet other people  instead of practicing at home&#8230;.


Cheers

John

Re: which is better. teaching yourself or getting a teacher?

I think getting a teacher would be a lot better because your teacher can show you things you might not learn teaching yourself.

Re: which is better. teaching yourself or getting a teacher?

i taught myself too and im only 14, and im pretty good too, not to sound all cocky or n e thing cuz im not... so i'd go teach urself all the way

Re: which is better. teaching yourself or getting a teacher?

Im the same age as you but i have a teacher and i want to study but i have trouble concentrating what should i do to make me conceentrate?

Re: which is better. teaching yourself or getting a teacher?

I taught myself too.  Well, that's a lie really as I had some initial lessons on how to play an A Chord and strum downwards from the husband of my wife's friend!  Only thing was that he preferred to sit and play really cool riffs and blues numbers to me for an hour or so ... by which time I had to go home again!  Now been playing for about 5 years and reckon that I might benefit from having some lessons to put me on track again now that I seem to be stuck in a rut!  <img src="images/smiley_icons/icon_sad.gif" border=0 alt="Sad">


Chris

Re: which is better. teaching yourself or getting a teacher?

well i discovered that teaching urself takes much more time, then gettin a teacher. so i reckon beginners shud get a teacher 4 about 6months, and teach urself smile
just a suggestion wink

Re: which is better. teaching yourself or getting a teacher?

kujo LP wrote:

I learned how to play by myself. im sure that it is harder but i just wanted to know everybody elses veiws on this.

i agree

Re: which is better. teaching yourself or getting a teacher?

i'd say that getting a teacher is better, but it matters who the teacher is.
cool
danspr

Blues is easy to play, but hard to feel
Jimi Hendrix
cool danspr