We get asked this a lot. Why can’t I teach myself, or get lessons online? Of course, we are a little biased but here’s some things I might say in response…
A tutor knows what you don’t know.
Sure, there are hundreds of resources around on the Internet so why not use them? Well, remember that your tutor knows what you don’t know. If you don’t know why you should learn a natural minor scale, or what a scale mode is, or why playing the kick drum with a crash cymbal is important, how are you going to know that you need to learn it? When students realise this the light-bulb flicks on and they get excited about taking lessons.
Technique.
We see a lot of self-taught people with poor technique. Does it really matter? Well, I suppose not, but if you want to be great on your instrument then learn to do it right -and with more delicate instruments, like your hands or your voice, you probably don’t want your poor technique to do you any physical damage (eg RSI). A tutor can correct bad technique easily by suggesting different hand positions, etc; a Youtube video can’t do that.
Accountability and motivation.
When you know you are going to lessons you actually have a reason to practice, a reason to work on your instrument. If not, well there’s always tomorrow to practice.
Do you trust yourself?
I forget who it was but one famous guitar player once stated that he was self-taught initially until he realised he was a lousy teacher. You don’t teach yourself to drive, or to do maths -you go to someone who has experience and skills in that area (and who can also teach).
Why not learn from a friend?
Ask yourself the questions “are they a good teacher?”, “do they have the necessary experience?” and “do they know what you need to know?”
There’s a lot of rubbish on the Internet.
There’s some great resources on the Internet but there’s also a huge amount of rubbish. There are videos and tab sites and chords and lyrics but I actually think that more than half of it is incorrect. Yes, more than half. Sometimes I even wonder what the person was listening to ‘cos it’s certainly not the way I hear it played. Do you want to take that chance?
So if you are taking lessons with us—great stuff—you’re on the right track and you’re taking your learning seriously. Keep rocking!