If you’re just starting guitar lessons, or even considering starting guitar lessons, there may be a lot of questions and doubts swirling around. If you’re thinking of starting your kids out with some guitar lessons, these doubts could feel even stronger. “Is this worth it? How much do guitar lessons cost? How can I make sure I enjoy playing guitar? How can I get the most out of guitar lessons? Can I learn to play the guitar online?” We will take some time to answer these very common questions throughout this article, but whatever your answers may be, these 5 concepts can help you to ensure success (or help you to support someone learning) no matter what!
1. Keep a positive attitude.
This may seem obvious, but having the right mindset makes or breaks most attempts to learn the guitar. Have you ever met someone who taught themselves how to play? For those who have tried, it may sound nearly impossible. But the truth is, those people who can teach themselves often have the most faith in themselves when starting out. Researching where to even begin can be daunting but to then continue on practicing regularly without someone ensuring you that you’re correct…there’s a lot of room for doubt and negativity. But those who succeed tend to be the best at ignoring the negative thoughts in order to focus on what really matters, the music. With online videos or in-person lessons it can be a bit easier to feel confident in your practicing but even then, staying positive and having fun while you practice are important to help you stick with it for the long haul. Learning the guitar or any other instrument isn’t something that you can just knock out in a few weeks, it takes a lot of consistent and focused time. With so many different options for how to learn music, don’t feel like you have to stick with the same option if it isn’t working for you. Some people can learn with just online guitar lesson videos, some need in-person sessions. Many people actually enjoy a combination of the two, using videos to supplement and reinforce ideas talked about with their guitar teacher. Whatever you decide to try, remember that it may not be the perfect way of learning for you, don’t be afraid to try something new if you aren’t happy with your results over time.
2. Don’t let equipment hold you back.
Equipment can play two major roles when it comes to guitar lessons, and honestly - music, in general. It can be a distraction when there are many, many options for just about every single piece of equipment involved, and if the equipment isn’t high quality, it can make it harder for you to practice and/or focus. When first looking into equipment for guitar lessons, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed by how many options you have. There are different guitar brands, sizes, colors, shapes, and types to name a few variables. Then you have all the extras like picks, amps, cables, tuners, capos, and there are tons of options for each item. Purchasing guitars and guitar equipment is something that is as subject to personal taste as choosing your favorite ice cream. So how would you want to choose your favorite ice cream? You’d probably want to try out a couple different samples first to make a more informed decision. Choosing a guitar and certain equipment is no different. First, it’s a good idea to do some research and narrow your search (do you want electric or acoustic? what shape or style do you like? what color do you like?), then go to a local music store with an idea of what you like and ask to try out some guitars! It will help if you know how to press down a string at a certain fret to create a note, but beyond that you don’t have to be a pro to go in and try out a guitar. When you’re testing out guitars, compare how it feels to hold the guitar, how hard is it to press down different strings at various frets and play notes? Ask questions about what the knobs and switches do so you can understand how you can affect the sound of the guitar. If you’re looking at acoustic guitars, pay special attention to how it feels to press the strings down. If it’s hard to press down, try others and compare them. Each guitar will have a unique tone, try to pay attention to the small differences in the sound. You want equipment that will make things easier for you to succeed, so try not to overcomplicate things. Just get what you need to get started and other equipment will come as you grow.
3. Communication + Community
The often overlooked C’s of learning guitar: Communication and Community. In the age of the internet, you can become a guitar virtuoso without ever discussing guitar with someone else, in-person. It might not be easy, but it’s possible. It can be easy to practice and play only by yourself, in fact most beginners prefer to play alone (there’s a little stage fright in some cases). However, there is so much to gain from communicating with other guitarists about the guitar. It helps to find other beginners to discuss common issues with, and it helps to talk with people who are really good, maybe they can offer an interesting take on a problem you may be having. The point is, it may be possible to learn and build guitar skills all on your own, but it can be easier and more fun if there are others with you along the way. Having a guitar teacher is the simplest and most direct way to open up a line of communication. But there are so many avenues of communication now, you can make a post on social media and you’ll surely be able to find someone else who is also learning the guitar. You can ask a question in the comment section of an online guitar lesson video. A combination of in-person and online help is often times the most beneficial. The physical nature of learning guitar makes certain things hard to explain via written message. Having an in-person meet-up can make learning a lot quicker. When it comes to getting over your stage fright and showing your playing to others, try to remember that everyone, from Jimi Hendrix to Ludwig Van Beethoven was a beginner at one point. They most likely had to overcome the same feeling of fear in order to reach greatness.
4. Understanding Practicing
I’ve met with many students who tried to teach themselves but it just didn’t work out for some reason so they decided to try to find a guitar teacher to work with. In many cases, the student really didn’t understand practicing. Many teachers and online lessons discuss what to practice, but they leave out how to practice. For a more in-depth explanation of how to practice, check out our blog post on practicing. Practicing is the key to success, we’ve been taught this from a very young age; practice makes perfect. So why don’t teachers spend time talking about practice strategies? Students are always so eager to be able to play music that it can be easy to look past this concept right from the beginning, when it matters most. The two biggest mistakes I see students make when it comes to practicing are: thinking they don’t need to practice something because they “understand” it, and taking the quantity over quality approach. What I mean by quantity over quality is, students will set a schedule for practicing, fulfill their schedule and expect the results regardless of how focused they were during practicing, or even what they were working on. Practicing guitar for an hour while distracted can be the equivalent to practicing for 15 minutes while highly focused. So it’s important to schedule your practice time but it’s even more important to make sure that what you’re doing with that time is actually helping you. Then we have those who think that just because something makes sense, they don’t need to practice it. Students who think like this quickly realize their mistake. Playing guitar or any other instrument is about mastering the mental, physical, and the interaction between the two. For the physical part, it takes repetition. Just like a weight lifter lifts weights to build strength and muscle memory, a baseball player repetitively throws the ball, a swimmer swims laps, you get the idea. Playing guitar is a physical activity and your muscles need much more time and repetition than your brain to play something successfully.
5. Have fun!
Now you may be thinking this is the same as our first point (and, wow, so cliche) but I mean it in a different way than earlier. The first point, “Keep a positive attitude” is meant as an overall outlook on your musical development. Now, I’m talking about always making sure you have something to practice/play specifically for the purpose of having fun. We all started playing music for similar reasons, one of those reasons is probably something related to “Music looks fun to play.” Music should be fun to play! But practicing is something that takes high levels of focus and self-discipline. Fun and high levels of focus don’t usually go together, music is quite unique in that way. Once you get into the habit of practicing regularly, it can be really easy to forget why you started or even what music you think is fun. So try to make it a habit to include something that’s a lot of fun for you to play in each practice session. Maybe it’s something that’s easy so you don’t have to think as hard, maybe it’s one of your favorite songs. Whatever it is, try to include it in your practice sessions on a regular basis. It’ll help you to feel good while playing guitar even when it might be hard.
Hopefully these ideas helped you to feel more confident in your (or your child’s) guitar learning. If you’re still wondering about the cost and value of lessons, you can check out our rates page to get an idea of what music lessons cost in the Philadelphia/South Jersey area. To stay up to date on all blog posts and news at Collingswood Sound, subscribe to our newsletter.