Learning Guitar By Yourself vs Having a Private Tutor
Teaching yourself the guitar is definitely possible - some of the 20th century's most successful guitarists were famously self-taught, including Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton and Noel Gallagher. But what is the best way to learn guitar? Holed up in your room alone for six months, or with the help of a professional guitar teacher?
Let's take an honest look at guitar self-learning vs having a private guitar tutor, to see if we can decide once and for all what is the best way to learn guitar, and how playing guitar self-taught differs from playing once you have learned from a professional.
An introduction to guitar self-teaching
What do we mean by guitar self-teaching? Well, exactly that - teaching yourself the guitar without the help of a professional guitarist or private guitar tutor. You just pick up a guitar and start strumming.
Realistically, most people are unlikely to learn guitar with no help at all. You might have a guitar self-learning book to help you, or you might watch YouTube videos of other players. There are some skills - the correct fingering, the position of the main chords - that you are unlikely to figure out for yourself.
Playing electric guitar self-taught is even harder. There are things you need to know about the technology, the various knobs and pickups on the guitar itself, how to operate an electric guitar amp, and how to alter the sound using guitar effect foot pedals.
An introduction to private guitar lessons
When you learn guitar from a private tutor, you break out of that isolation and leapfrog a lot of the difficulty of being a beginner. Although you might not yet have technical skill with a guitar, you have access to someone who has spent a lifetime learning and playing the instrument, and has probably studied the best guitarists in history too.
Private guitar tutors vary, so it's important to find one you like. A good guitar tutor should be able to offer you a private, relaxed environment in which to learn without worrying about disturbing your neighbours. This alone is one reason why many people choose to learn in a tutor's studio rather than in their own home.
Guitar lessons can vary too. If you want one-on-one guitar tuition, make sure that's what your tutor offers. In some cases, you might find your tutor offers group guitar lessons. You might enjoy the ability to jam with other players as your ability increases, but you might also prefer to have your tutor's undivided attention when you are first learning.
Learning the basics of guitar playing
Whether you are self-taught or learn from a private guitar tutor, there are a few basic skills you will need to pick up before you can start to really play a guitar, either from tabs/sheet music or by playing your own compositions and improvised solos.
Some examples include:
How to hold the guitar
How to tune a guitar
Fretting and picking
Notes on the fretboard
Basic chords
Guitar care and maintenance
Unless you already have musical training or an extremely good ear, you're unlikely to know the positions of the notes and chords without the help of a tutor or a reference book. Without a correctly tuned guitar and this basic knowledge of the notes and chords, it's impossible to develop more advanced skills.
It's no surprise that many people's progress stalls at this basic level - legendary guitar brand Fender found 16 million Americans started to learn guitar during the lockdowns of 2020, but as many as one in four had stopped making progress by October 2021.
Whether you have self-taught guitar at home to an intermediate level and now find you need a little extra help to improve further, or you're a beginner and don't want to attempt to figure out the basics for yourself, a private guitar tutor can help you to build not only your skill level, but also your confidence to help make sure you don't become a quitter too.
Benefits of a private guitar tutor
Over the years of working with beginners, intermediate and advanced guitarists, I have developed a teaching style that works:
Methodical
My method is organised and structured, so you know what to expect from your private guitar lessons. I focus on learning by ear and transcription, so you develop a natural, intuitive talent with your instrument.
Systematic
This methodical approach means we can track your progress together. This helps to highlight any areas where you need extra practice and support, leading to faster and better results overall.
Bespoke
We work together to set targets based on your individual ability and progress, tailoring your next lessons to your unique needs. We work to overcome any weaknesses while practising your strengths to hone your talents.
Together, these three principles have proven effective time and time again to help guitarists of all levels make progress, even including those who have self-taught guitar at home to an intermediate level, but found it difficult to nail the final few skills and performance embellishments.
You can learn more about my guitar teaching method here.
When do you need a guitar tutor?
As we've seen, there are many ways to learn the guitar. Playing the guitar self-taught can be more challenging, but if you have the time and patience, guitarists like Clapton and Hendrix show that the sky's the limit. So when do you need a guitar tutor?
If your progression stagnates and your confidence levels drop - and especially if you find you are practising less and less often - then it's worth contacting a private guitar tutor to help you regain your momentum.
For intermediates, even if you're able to follow basic tabs or strum your favourite tune by ear, a guitar tutor can help you to hone those skills into a more professional standard, and to focus on the technical aspects of a favourite genre like rock or blues.
Even for advanced players, if you're out of practice or you want a second opinion about any areas where you could still improve, a session with a private guitar tutor could be exactly what you need to keep up the good work.
Of course, hiring a professional to help is an investment. Prices vary depending on a number of factors including location, experience, style, even reputation. Read my blog titled ‘How Much Are Guitar Lessons Generally?’ to get a gauge on what to expect to pay, which includes rare insights exclusive to tutors who have signed up to listing platforms.
Final thoughts
So, what is the best way to learn guitar? The honest answer is, whatever way works for you. They're not mutually exclusive - a private guitar tutor can help you identify the areas you need to work on, while you self-teach the rest in your own time.
Learning guitar should be a positive, fun and exciting experience. It's a creative journey, not a chore. Speaking to a professional guitar teacher is an important step along that journey, and I'm always thrilled to meet a new guitarist and help them find their own voice with their instrument.
You can hear some of my past students on my website. I'm so proud of every student who has reached performance standard - and I look forward to helping you improve your own abilities too.
Check out the topics I teach, and the styles such as rock and jazz.
From a personal perspective of having weekly guitar lessons for over a decade, it is only natural that I found it useful and enjoyable to continue. Having a guitar tutor can be similarly compared with having a personal trainer in a gym, constantly pushing you past your limits and motivating you to improve. Aside from the obvious progress in learning, there is one important aspect I’d like to highlight, which is the master-apprentice relationship.
It is important to find a good match and often it comes down to things like personality, attitude, beliefs which aren’t necessarily music-related. I have started to realise how big the role of luck plays before the rational decision-making. In my case, I was nine or ten in Hong Kong when my mum brought me to Mark Leung, and it just so happened that my mum, a primary school teacher for decades, taught a kid (who is now a professional guitarist) 30 odd years ago who learnt guitar from the same teacher as Mark had.
Having said that, there are musical aspects which you should definitely consider. Do you share the same musical tastes? One wouldn’t go to a classical guitar teacher wanting to learn how to play Radiohead and Muse riffs! Always take the time to do the research and check out their music or their playing style.
Having tutors guide me over the years musically and generally in life as well has made me who I am today, especially considering the main chunk of learning happened in my teenage and young adult years. The guitar lessons extended beyond themselves into numerous occasions of work and leisure once I had gotten good enough to perform with my teachers, and there is of course the element of friendship in there once we started hanging out.
This is something that is harder to achieve in an institution or a school where teachers follow a syllabus and keeps the teacher-student relationship strictly to the class, compared with private tutors who have more flexibility and freedom in their teaching. I have experienced both styles of teaching, and hopefully understand them enough to gain the best of both worlds.
Read more about my learning journey here. Feel free to contact me for any help.
