Guitar Lessons
Will I be Famous if I Have Guitar Lessons?
If that's the reason for seeking guitar tuition, I would suggest you brace yourself for disappointment! For the vast majority of beginners who pick up either the acoustic or electric guitar - it's all about expressing yourself and having fun and hopefully, you will get to share the experience with other people including other musicans.
Could I Teach Myself without a Guitar Teacher?
Historically, most guitar players have done so, but then again, most learners will feel they don't progress and mature as musicians and end up getting very frustrated.
What will Organised Teaching do for Me?
If you want to find out what depth of talent you have and improve to the best of your ability, then structured guitar lessons are definitley the answer. An experienced guitar teacher will allow you to progress at a pace that matches the amount of time you have to practice. You will be surprised at how quickly you can improve if you practice regularly to a structure.
It's not all down to the guitar teacher; practising basic chord shapes and single note exercises for just 15 minutes a day will allow you to play a surprising number of famous songs and riffs in a matter of months. Food for thought?
What will I learn?
The last thing you need is to pick up bad habits that will hold you back. It's important to work on fundamental single string and chord playing techniques until it becomes second nature to ensure that as you move forward, you will always be able to rely on a solid technique. Some of the best-known songs ever written were composed of simple chords which can be learned in a matter of weeks if you put the practice in.
One of the biggest selling chart songs in the UK consists of three basic chords:
Mull of Kintyre (Wings)
Will I get sore Fingers?
Since your fingers have probably not been asked to press down on nylon or metal strings in any other capacity, you can reasonably expect to your fingers to be little sore depending on the length of practice, but your fingertips will get used to it.
The Next Stages
As your dexterity with plectrum and fingers improves, you will gradually be introduced to a glossary of terms within the lessons which up until then, will have sounded very academic and 'classical'. Scales, harmony, arpeggios and modes are the nuts and bolts of music which will open doors to your own creativity and enable you to improvise over chord progressions.
This knowledge will enable you to compose your own music which can be so fulfilling as well as being so much fun. There's a musician in all of us, but unfortunately, not all of us seek to find the key that will open the door to the musician within, instead, preferring to say that 'I'm tone-deaf. Funny how I've yet to meet someone who is truly tone-deaf though...
Where does it all End?
Easily answered - it doesn't! It's a lifelong learning process regardless of when you start; as you ears become more educated, you will find yourself appreciating different forms of music which may have sounded altogether different before you set out on the path to becoming an educated guitarist.
Get Organised
Manage your expectations, try to practice a little every day, organise a practising structure, listen to different guitarists and genres so you can throw it all into the melting pot and find your own style and musical path. As you learn to unlock the creative forces within you - it just may be one of the most rewarding things you choose to do in your life.
What they say...
“I saw Dave's advert on a local Facebook page for a 'free intro guitar course'. I contacted Dave and within a very short time, he came back to me with an invitation to the next course. After attending the course, I was so impressed with his manner and professionalism that I now have one-to-one lessons with him. I'm 57 and thought it may be too late in life for me to learn guitar, but how wrong I was, Dave makes every lesson interesting and of course challenging without making it too difficult. I mentioned to a friend who plays semi-professionally that I am a student of Dave and his reply was "so am I"!!
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Nigel