Learning guitar online has no time constraints. You do not have to travel across town before your lesson starts, and if you feel like going through some theory or chord practise at 2am you can (though your family and neighbors might have something to say about it!). One problem with this style of learning guitar is that there are so many courses available, you can be caught out by some of the poor quality products, so it is essential that you do some research before parting with your hard earned cash.
If you are in the fortunate position to be able to afford lessons in your home or at a studio, then having someone in the room with you teaching you how to play guitar could be right for you, provided that you are happy to take both instruction and constructive criticism from them. Some people have a natural aversion to anyone 'telling them what to do'. If you are one of those people, then maybe you would be better considering the options outlined later.
Home Study Courses and Taking Guitar Lessons Online
Private Guitar Tuition or Online Guitar Lessons - Which Should You Choose?
Many will argue that the only way to master the guitar is to learn from a professional guitar player through one-on-one lessons. There can be no substitute for practicing under the watchful eye of an experienced musician who can intervene and guide you through the more difficult aspects of your guitar lessons. The one problem faced by those wanting to learn this way is that the cost can put it beyond their reach. Many cannot afford up to $60 for an hour of tuition, so their dreams of playing guitar fall by the wayside.
Before the advent of high speed broadband internet, if you wanted to study guitar at home, you had to buy a book or video. If you were lucky, it was in stock at the store. If not, you probably faced a delay of a few weeks before you could get started. Today, it is so easy to buy and instantly download digital products (books and high resolution videos), that you can literally begin your guitar practice within minutes of your purchase. Another upside of digital delivery is that production costs are so low that the savings are passed on to the customer, making some complete courses cheaper than an hour with a music teacher.
The Bottom Line
Private Tuition: Taking Guitar Lessons From a Tutor
Because the age of the internet has made it so easy to buy a guitar at discounted prices, more people than ever before are now taking up guitar lessons. But the web is not just good for finding a bargain - you can also learn to play guitar online too. This is a far cry from the choices we had just a few years ago, when our only options were private guitar tuition or getting a book from the bookstore or by mail order. In this article, we will discuss the plus points and problems associated with each method of learning guitar.
There are advantages and disadvantages to each method discussed here. There is no 'best' way to learn guitar because every person is different. Before you take the plunge, think about the following:
In our day, girls would dream of being a singer or dancer. Nowadays, though, she is much more likely to want to be a full blown musician. This is a desire that should really be nurtured by parents. This change in traditional "girly" attitudes is partly due to popular trends such as the TV show Hannah Montana, a show about a young girl who leads a double life as an ordinary schoolgirl and a famous pop star. You will discover many different pros and cons for young girls wanting to become stars. But, as her parents you can take your daughter's seemingly temporary interest in a trendy fad such as pink acoustic guitars, and then develop it into what could be a serious life-long interest or vocation.
Are you one of those parents whose tween daughter has been harassing because she is desperate to have a pink acoustic guitar? Guitars are normally what you would expect to see on the wish list of boys between the ages of 8 and 15, but not your sweet little girl who was happy dressing up her dolls just a couple of years ago. It might be tempting to just wait and see if your daughter will naturally go off the idea of getting a guitar, or go out and buy her something from a bargain basement store, just in case it ends up collecting dust in her bedroom cupboard. Before dismissing the idea entirely, there are some things you might want to consider.
For today's young woman, being able to show their feelings through some sort of creative outlet is hugely beneficial. Pressures and expectations faced by the youth of today, especially young girls, is greater than it has ever been. There are body image pressures, the social pressures, early sexual pressures and problems associated with school life too. Girls in general tend to bottle their emotions up, often with distressing consequences. Providing a vent for girls to channel their emotions - positive, negative or anywhere in between, into a creative outlet such as playing a guitar can help them process their feelings while still allowing them some privacy. While she is left alone in her room, a young girl can write songs about her first love, her first heartbreak, and all the other things where she might not want to confide in anyone but her guitar. She doesn't have to share her songs with anyone unless she wants to. Encouraging her to perform, even just for family friends, can also help you as parents gain insight into things that she may be going through that you normally wouldn't find out about.
Here are a couple of the things that you might want to consider if you have decided to buy your daughter her first guitar:
(C)I'm dreaming of a (Dm)white (G7)Christmas
The chord C#-dim7 can be played:
Am: 05 24 23 12 01
35 04 24 24 24 23 03 35 35 35 03
Guitar Lesson - Learn to Play White Christmas With Guitar Tabs
As you can see the first note to play is the second fret on string four. The last note 03 tells you to play the third string without pressing down a fret.
24
C7: 35 24 33 12 01
The chords C7, F-major and F-minor6 can be played:
(F)Just like the (G7)ones I used to (C)know
The chord A-minor can be played:
Guitar tabs show you how to put your fingers on the guitar fretboard in order to play a song, chords or something else.
The chords C-major, D-minor and G7 can be played as follow:
Where the (C)treetops (C7)glisten and (F)children (Fm6)listen
And may (C)all (C#dim)your (Dm)Christma(G7)ses be (C)white
G7: 36 25 04 03 02 11
24 34 24 14 24 34 44 03
index: first fret
middle finger: second fret
ring finger: third fret
A very common type of tabs has a staff with six lines representing the six string on the guitar and numbers showing which frets to press down.
I suggest that you memorize the melody by practicing one line at a time. Then you are prepared to play the melody as soon as you find a guitar around.
C#dim: 15 24 03 22 01
Dm: 04 23 32 11
(F)With every (G7)Christmas card I (C)write
I suggest that you assign your left hand fingers to play specific frets on your guitar fretboard according to this table:
35 04 24 24 23 25 25 25 35
F: 34 23 12 11
35 04 24 24 24 23 03 12
I have also included chord suggestions in brackets in the lyrics immediately before the appropriate syllable.
23 02 12 32 12 02 23 03
Let us take a look at the first line of the Christmas carol White Christmas and the corresponding melody written with this type of guitar tabs:
Time to continue with the next tabs:
May your (C)days be (C7)merry and (F)bright (Fm6)
To (C)hear (Am)sleigh bells in the (F)snow (G7)
Here is the end of the first verse:
Fm6: 04 13 12 11
In this type of guitar tablature notation you will not find any indication of the length of individual notes. I suggest that you sing the melody as you memorize the lines to get the rhythm right.
34 24 34 24 04 35 04
The next verse starts with an identical melody but the last two lines have changed.
(C)I'm dreaming of a (Dm)white (G7)Christmas
24 34 24 14 24 34 44 03
C: 35 24 03 12 01
In this guitar lesson you will learn to read a special type of guitar tablature. We will use the song White Christmas as an example. You will learn to play the melody and the chords on your guitar.
The first number tells you which fret to press down and the second number which string to play. These two numbers tell you to press down the second fret on the fourth string.
If you use these left hand fingering suggestions it will be easier for you to find your way around the fretboard as you can keep your left hand in a relatively fixed position as you play. It might be a little bit tricky at first but with practice it will soon be a natural way to play on your guitar.
23 02 12 32 12 02 23 03
Time for the next tabs:
Don't jump ahead of your ability. You should know your own ability's on a guitar, what you can play and what you can't. Don't try play something that is far beyond your current level of playing, because you simply wont be able to do it. Instead, build up your skills slowly. I know nobody wants to hear that, but it is the tried and true way to really get good at the guitar.
What Not to Do When Playing Guitar
Have you ever seen someone play a song, make a mistake, then stop, start again and make the same mistake? This is because they are training them selfs to make mistakes! Whenever you play a song, if you make a mistake, whatever you do, do not stop! This is the worst thing you can do, especially when first learning a song. Even if you make a complete mess of it, try to get the rhythm going and after you finish the song, go from the start. If you stop as soon as you make a mistake it can be very easy to get stuck at that point, and that is when a lot of people put the guitar down and never look at it again. Just because they didn't know they were training them selfs to make mistakes.
It seems that some guitar players are so focused on what they should be doing when playing guitar, that sometimes bad habits can creep in without them even knowing! Could you be one of these players?
The main thing you have to remember is that the rock stars you try to emulate have been playing guitar in some cases their whole life! It takes a long time to get really good at guitar no matter how you learn. But stick at it, and one day all that work will pay off.
Another mistake a lot of beginners make is to only use 2 or 3 fingers, usually leaving out their pinky because 'It's too hard'. The only reason it is too hard is because people do not generally use the little finger separately in day to day life so the muscles are not developed enough for your brain to tell it what to do. Get all your fingers moving, even your pinky. Soon you will find that with a little practice is will soon become just as easy to use as any other finger.
When guitar players watch each other, usually they try to pick up on all the bad things that they are doing rather than the good things, I'm sure you know what I mean as you have probably found yourself judging another Guitar player just on their mistakes. This is an easy trap to fall into, and most will never realized they even fell into it! What this means is that if you want to impress other Guitar players (Especially good ones) you are going to have to go back and fix all those bad habits you may have created for yourself along the way.