Are Guitar Lessons Worth It? (Face To Face, Online)

If you are playing the guitar or at least considering to start learning, there is a chance that you thought about guitar lessons and if they are worth it. There are many types of guitar lessons and even schools where you can learn everything about music and your instrument.

So, are guitar lessons worth it? Naturally, it depends on the person and the teacher. If you get a good teacher, you will undoubtedly progress faster. On the other hand, if you get a bad teacher, you will waste both your time and money. If you know nothing about playing the guitar taking lessons is a good idea. 

There are two factors to determine if the guitar’s lessons worth you. The first thing you should consider if you can afford it based on the price of a guitar lesson. The second is the types of the lesson which I will explain in detail in the following sections.

Types Of Guitar Lessons

There are two main types of guitar lessons that we will mention. The first one is face to face or in person, and the second one is online. Both methods have advantages and disadvantages, so depending on your situation, you will pick accordingly.

Pros And Cons Of Face To Face Lessons

When it comes to lessons in person, the teacher will have to go to your place (or the other way around). The main advantage of this option is that you will see for yourself how something needs to be played, and you can hear what it sounds like. Most people are visual beings and seeing something helps. Furthermore, it is easier for us to learn something when we see an example. 

These lessons are perfect for people who know nothing about guitar (absolute beginners). The reason for this is that even if you make a mistake, the teacher will be able to spot it in no time and correct you before the mistake becomes a part of your playing. Besides, with everything that you play, you will get live and instant feedback. If you do something right, you’ll know it, and if you make a mistake, your teacher will point it out. 

The best thing is that these lessons will be tailored just for you. If you are really good at something, you won’t spend ages focusing on that, and you will focus on improving the parts that you are lacking.

However, these lessons can be rather expensive. Not everyone can afford a great teacher, and finding one can prove to be quite hard. There are so many teachers out there, and truth be told, not everyone is competent. As a result, you might find someone that will only delay your progress while taking your money. Good teachers are not easy to find. 

If you live in a small town, finding a teacher won’t be easy. On the other hand, in a larger town, there will be many of them but you will have to travel. The second thing that is important is availability. You will have to find a time that works for both of you. Your teacher probably has a lot of other students and finding a time slot that works for everyone might prove to be tricky.

Finally, no matter how good your teacher is, you will still get a perspective and view of a single person. There are always several ways to do something, and you will get only one side of the story. However, there is a chance that other methods work for you better.

Pros And Cons Of Online Lessons

The first thing and quite an important one is the price. Online lessons are cheaper. These lessons are meant for thousands of people and everyone can check them at the same time. As a result, you won’t have to spend a fortune on them. Furthermore, you can take online lessons from your room. There won’t be a need to travel across the city to visit the teacher and you can find the best one regardless of where you live. Unlike in-person lessons, where you will have to settle for what’s near you, with online lessons world is your oyster. 

Of course, why settle for one teacher? You can get as many instructors as you want. This way, you can get a pooled knowledge, and avoid single person perspective. You will get several options and pick the one you like the most. Another important thing is that you will set your own pace. If you struggle with some part, you can just rewind and play it until it’s perfect. 

Finally, good online lessons usually have a structure, so you can follow the program that someone already created for your skill level.

While it might sound perfect, there are also some downsides to this method as well. The first one is that you won’t have feedback. Getting rid of bad habits is difficult, and there will be no one to point out your mistakes. Naturally, this might not be great for beginners. Players who are still learning about an instrument will have a hard time spotting their own mistakes, and it can only cause problems in the future. 

The second issue with online lessons is motivation. You won’t have a schedule, and there won’t be someone at your door every week. You will have to motivate yourself to learn, and there won’t be anyone to check your progress. Unlike face to face lessons, here you won’t get homework or something that needs to be checked during the next class. 

Finally, for these lessons, you will need an internet connection. While many people have it, you are still tied to your computer, and you can’t do anything offline. Playing the guitar is a great escape from the internet and all the technology and inability to view lessons without the internet might be a dealbreaker for someone.

When Should You Take Face To Face Guitar Lessons

Lessons For Beginners

While there are players who will use intuition to learn to play the guitar, others are not so fortunate. Furthermore, the more time you spend practicing something the bigger imprint it will leave in your muscle memory. The main issue is the mistakes you make. If you learn something wrong and continue practicing incorrectly, it will be quite difficult to change it once you understand where the mistake is. 

When you take lessons, the person teaching you will have no issues spotting a mistake that you might have missed, and they will quickly correct you. As a result, you will practice correctly and you’ll be able to improve much faster. 

This is especially important for beginners and people who just started learning. Whenever you start something new, you know nothing about that subject and it is nearly impossible to spot a mistake. Besides, beginners won’t usually know where to place their focus, and it might be hard for them to find what to practice. Another possibility is that they will spend time practicing something that they don’t even need, or that might be too advanced for them. With the teacher, they will get guidance and will keep them on the right track. 

Lessons For Advanced 

If you already have experience playing the guitar, these lessons might help you improve greatly. Since you are already familiar with the instrument, you will at least have an idea of where to go and what to do. Furthermore, there is a chance that you already know exactly what you want to learn and the teacher might help you with this. Not only that you’ll be able to find a teacher that is suited to your needs, but you can also ask for a specific type of lesson.

For example, players wanting to learn something like tapping or sweep picking can just find a teacher that can help them improve on this field. Another common thing is for guitar players to avoid music theory, and if you already know a lot about guitar, you can find someone to teach you the logic behind it all. These lessons will only serve as an improvement and will help you become better at what you already do. 

Conclusion

Deciding to start with guitar lessons can depend on many things. Firstly, you will need to find a teacher you can afford. Secondly, the teacher needs to be good or you will just waste your money and time. Finally, depending on your skill level, guitar lessons might be something that you shouldn’t miss. If you can find someone that fits all of these criteria, then you should take them. Learning something new can never be too much, and having someone to assist you along the way is something that you should definitely consider. 

It all comes down to what kind of player are you. There are so many incredible self-taught guitar players, and they managed to do it without anyone’s help. On the other hand, having someone by your side to point you in the right direction can’t really hurt either. So the only thing that you should ask yourself is if guitar lessons are worth you. If you don’t plan on playing the guitar or investing yourself too much, then you might as well skip it. However, if playing the guitar is something that you always wanted to do, and you can afford it, then you probably know the answer yourself.

If you found this article useful, you may want to save this pin below to your Guitar board.