One on one lessons are FAR, FAR better than going through life ONLY self-taught.

I know, I have been there and let me tell you, my progress as a guitar player would have progressed much better having some kind of consistent instruction from someone who knows better.

Too many of us “self taughters” think we can do it ourselves and figure it out ourselves.

And then we get frustrated.

Why?

It starts with why we can’t play certain things: like playing different chord transitions, or playing a certain riff, or, even more scary, why parts of our hand (elbow, fingers, etc. – pick one) hurt.

I have seen some posts out there that incredibly profess many positives of being self taught.

Are they wrong? Well, my stance is why is that discussion even a thing?

Think about it: you are one on one with a teacher (in person or online) for maybe an hour a week. The rest of your practice/learning time is by yourSELF!

You took guidance and instruction, went home and worked on it yourself.

I as a teacher can’t MAKE you learn anything. At the end of the day you have to decide how YOU want to learn.

See where I am going here?

In a multiple choice test the choice would be: “All of The Above”

But there is a caveat:

You can be self taught as long as you ALSO have one on one instruction. You should NOT be ONLY self taught.

I have many students where I encourage them to figure songs on their own. I can’t do it all myself for them. They often come in for checks and correction and to find ways of doing it better. Many also discover that they had improper technique while playing that particular song.

Contrast that with learning on your own and not knowing if you are playing it correctly. (See my post about online learning concerns here).

What are your thoughts and experiences? Leave a comment here and let me know. I would love to hear from you.