Choosing Guitar Lessons For Adults
Posted in Education on October 2nd, 2010 by Jim – Comments OffTraditionally, people used to start learning musical instruments in childhood. However, today increasing numbers of adults are learning to play as well. The guitar is among the world’s most popular instruments, making guitar lessons for adults very popular. So, if you’re an adult who is considering taking up guitar, here are a few things to think about going forward.
The most major decision you’ll need to make is whether you want to take private lessons with a guitar teacher, or to teach yourself at home. Both of these choices have their pros and cons. A private teacher will enable you to have the benefit of one on one instruction. This can be invaluable in the early days, as this is when you’re particularly at risk of developing bad habits that can hold your progress back later on. Your teacher will also provide encouragement when the going gets rough and you start doubting your decision to learn the guitar, as usually happens to most people at some point.
On the other hand, private lessons can be very expensive, making them difficult for the many people who are on a budget. You also have the additional costs that are associated with travelling to and from your lesson location, and this travel can also involve a considerable time expenditure, which can be an issue for many adults with busy schedules. In addition, finding a teacher can be challenging in some areas, and some private teachers prefer to teach children, and aren’t comfortable with adult students.
If you decide to go the self-taught route, for example by following a guitar instruction book or a course of online guitar lessons (see my Jamorama review for more details about one these), you won’t have to contend with these problems. The self-teaching path is a lot cheaper, and is also more convenient as you won’t have to fit into somebody else’s schedule.
However, becoming a self-taught guitarist isn’t the best choice for everybody. You need to be extremely well motivated, since there won’t be a teacher there to encourage you when things start to get tough. It’s also important to be diligent about maintaining good posture and hand position when playing, as it’s easy to fall into bad habits and not even be aware of it.
If you don’t want to commit to private lessons for the long term, but are wary about teaching yourself, one good option is to have some lessons to start with, and then to continue on your own after you’ve got a handle on the basics. Another option is to have group guitar lessons. A lot of areas offer evening classes which provide tuition for adult beginners, and this can be a fun way to learn, as well as being a lot cheaper than individual lessons.
So, give it some thought, choose the option that is best for you, and have fun!