I have been playing guitar for well over 10 years and I have tried just about every method out there to try to improve my skills. From some methods, I have learned much. Other methods I tried did not work out near as well. I have also had the privilege of being on the teaching end and have discovered that not all students have the same learning style. Here I will describe some of the best learning methods I have found for both the beginner and intermediate guitarist.
Learn Guitar Online
In recent years learning has become increasingly more accessible with video on the internet becoming more popular. You can actually learn guitar online from a well qualified instructor and from the comfort of your home. What method you take when learning guitar online just depends on what you want to get out of the lessons.
Free Video Lessons
One way to learn a few things is to just browse the free sites like Youtube for people teaching the songs you want to learn how to play. You can learn a couple of good riffs from this method without ever really learning how to play the guitar. If your only goal is to pick apart a few simple songs to try and impress your friends then this is probably all you need. For the rest of us, we quickly learn that to gain any real skill or master any music or tablature reading skills we are going to need a bit more guidance. But don’t fret (pun intended), there are some other inexpensive alternatives for those that are really serious about learning to play the guitar.
Subscription Guitar Lesson Sites
Sites like JamPlay and Guitar Tricks have ever expanding libraries of lessons on all styles and techniques that you can access anytime and from any computer with an internet connection. With this method you typically have access to multiple instructors and thousands of lessons for a low monthly fee that is a fraction of what you would pay for private lessons. This one of my favorite ways of learning since I travel a lot with my laptop. I have a travel guitar I can take with me and can watch the lessons right on my laptop computer. The only downside is that it does come out a bit more expensive (yearly) than a DVD course would.
Learn Guitar DVDs
Guitar DVD courses are another great way to learn guitar on your own time. While you don’t always get as many lessons or instructors, the quality is far superior to what you will find online. It also ends up coming out a little bit more cost effective over the long term since most quality DVD courses will contain a year or more worth of lessons. Also, one thing I liked about courses like Learn and Master Guitar was that it came with a book to follow along with and I could do the lessons sitting in front of the TV rather than in front of the computer.
Private Guitar Lessons
Some students prefer to learn from an actual instructor so that they can ask questions and get feedback as they are learning and practicing. For those students the best bet is to go ahead and hire a private guitar instructor. This is by far the most expensive method of learning guitar and can cost more than $2,000 USD per year. However, for those that need that personal touch, private guitar lessons are irreplaceable. Of course finding a good instructor is not an easy task either since there are so many self-proclaimed instructors out there with varying skill levels and education. There are tools like TakeLessons though that can help make this process much easier. Still you may have to try more than one instructor before you find the right fit.
Group Guitar Lessons
A more frugal option where you still get some of that personal touch is to team up with other like minded people looking for beginner guitar lessons and form a class. You won’t get quite the same amount of personalized attention as you would get with the private lessons but it might also be more likely to fit your budget. TakeLessons can also set these types of lessons and classes up as well or you can just check your local community college or churches for classes as well. I have been both a student and a teacher in these classes. I think the major advantage other than the slightly lower cost is that you have the ability to also work with other classmates which makes it a much more exciting experience. After all, music is meant to be shared!
