Learning The Guitar - Traditional Methods Vs Learning Online

By: Marc Lindsay

What I'd like to discuss today, is whether or not is it, a)
viable, and b) better, to learn how to play the guitar by
methods of learning online.

Obviously learning online has it's huge benefits (less cost,
learn when you want etc.), but the real question is, will it
give you as good, or better of a result then learning through
traditional methods?

Hopefully today I can answer that question.

Learning The Guitar The Traditional Way

So, you've made the decision to learn the guitar, whether that
be because you want to be in a band and rock in front of
thousands of fans, or whether it is just a hobby and you would
like to improve your skills... either way, you'll need to find
someone to teach you.

Traditionally, you would go to a music teacher who would impart
their knowledge onto you, and teach you all the guitar secrets
that they know, and bring you up to speed. Now, to me, there are
some blaring problems with doing this.

Problem #1 - High cost... if you have to pay someone to teach
you how to play the guitar, chances are it is going to cost you
an arm and a leg over the period of time that you are getting
taught... which could be anywhere from 3 months to years. And at
$50 a lesson, it isn't cheap.

Problem #2 - Limited knowledge... now, yes you might be learning
from a teacher, but chances are they also teach the piano, the
flute, the trumpet and so on... what does this mean? It means
they don't have specialized knowledge, which means they won't be
as good as someone who just plays the guitar 8 hours a day.

Problem #3 - Learning speed... you are limited by the number of
classes that you attend, but you are also limited to the program
that your teacher assigns to you. They will have a set program
for their students that they take them through, and usually not
deviating from this program. This means that your learning
progress could be seriously slowed.

Now, with those problems in mind, lets take a look at the other
road, which is to find a program yourself (typically online) and
learning from that.

Learning The Guitar Through An Online Learning Program

These programs are usually written by professionals. They could
be written by ex-lead guitarists of some seriously high class
bands, or teachers that have made a name for themselves in the
industry, and are now trying to release a program to reach a
wider audience via the internet.

Let's look at the problems of going this road.

Problem #1 - Requires self motivation... by effectively taking
on a 'home study course' in how to learn the guitar; it requires
that you are a self starter. Why? Because the person who is
going to push you to learn, is going to be yourself. You don't
have a teacher you can go to who is going to kick your butt if
you have been slacking off, you have to do it yourself. Not
everybody can do this, so if you're not the kind of person who
is a self starter, don't even bother with this kind of course.

Problem #2 - Picking the right course... there are many courses
out there to learn the guitar, so it can be hard trying to find
which ones are good, and which ones are a waste of time. The way
you get around this, is to do your own research, check out
review sites, find out about testimonials and customer reviews.
Find out what consumers think that have already bought the
program.

So there you have it.

It really comes down to this fact, if you're a self starter,
then you'll love getting an online learning program. The pace at
which you will learn will be drastically increased, since you'll
be able to go at your own pace (be that fast or slow).

If you're not really a self starter, but want to learn, then
chances are that you should go find a decent teacher that will
keep you in line.

All I will say is this, do your research on the teacher as
well... have they produced any 'stars'? Have they been a
successful guitarist themselves in their career? Or are they
just teaching as a 'job'?

Enjoy, and good luck with finding the right course or teacher.

About the author:
If you are looking to Learn Guitar or Play Guitar By Ear
then
http://www.helplearntheguitar.com will make learning the
guitar easy.