Online Guitar Lessons

Online Guitar Lessons: The Perfect Solution or Hitting the Wrong Note?

Whether or not Internet guitar lessons are right for you depends on what stage you at in learning the guitar, your learning style, your ability to motivate yourself and what kind of music you want to play. Beginners in particular might find that online lessons are a challenge for them. If you don’t have any experience holding a guitar or pick, tuning a guitar or reading music, not having a trained teacher there to keep you on the right path can mean that you develop bad habits that will hinder your playing later on. Learning to play with Internet-based lessons is best for people who have some kind of musical experience already and have the basic skills to recognize notes, tune their instrument and read sheet music.

Before you settle on Internet-based guitar lessons, you should also consider how you learn. Since there is no real give and take with online teaching, these lessons really provide guidance and a foundation of knowledge and require you to work out the details yourself. Some people prefer to learn in this way, but others prefer to have someone give them the complete picture and guide them through the entire process. If you like more interaction and appreciate feedback from your teachers, you might be better off heading to a real life class.

Self-motivation is another crucial trait for being successful with guitar lessons online. If you have a scheduled lesson every week, you can be “guilted” into practicing. You know you’re going to have to look your teacher and fellow students in the eye and explain why you blew off your homework if you don’t. With lessons in the virtual world, you can keep putting it off and putting it off, until pretty soon you’re not learning guitar anymore.

If you have very specific goals for your guitar playing – say, you want to play jazz or you want to play in a nu-metal band – you’ll need to be sure you can find the kinds of lessons you need online before you commit to learning this way. Sometimes finding a teacher who specializes in a particular genre can be better if you have very narrow guitar goals.

Last but not least, if you’re planning on taking lessons online because you’re too nervous to play in front of other people, dragging yourself to an in-person class will do you a world of good. One of the greatest joys in playing music is sharing it with other people. For this reason, it is best to shake off the nerves up front and get used to playing for an audience, even if you only ever hope to pull out your guitar at family gatherings.

What You Need for Online Guitar Lessons

If online lessons sound like just the thing for you, here’s what you’ll need to get started:

• The guitar, of course. If you’re a beginner, make sure you get plenty of advice from the pros in the guitar shop before you settle on one. Playing with a guitar that just doesn’t fit will lead to endless frustration for you. If you’ve got your eye on a good deal on eBay, at least go to a shop and check out the online model you like before you shell out for it. While you’re at it, don’t forget the picks and strings.

• A computer and Internet connection capable of handling the MP3s and videos you’ll need to watch to take your lessons is essential.

• Invest in a few books that show you proper finger placement for chords and what different notes look like so you have handy references for practice without booting up the computer.

With these tools, you’ll be well on your way to becoming a guitar virtuoso with a click of the mouse.