Guitar Lessons Advice: 3 Tips To Find The Right Teacher, Part One

Guitar Lessons Advice: 3 Tips To Find The Right Teacher, Part One

We as human beings are musical by nature, and many people seek to develop that musical nature in order to express their emotions and feelings about things important to them.  I was a self-taught guitar player for many years, working in bands and doing recording.  My prior experience playing in school bands helped me along for a while, but one day I realized that I hit a wall and was making no progress.  I needed help to make progress in my development as a musician.

My experience is that there are a very small number of self-taught players who are very accomplished.  These folks have a tremendous amount of god-given talent, even though they may not really intellectually know what they are doing.  Truthfully, the great majority of self-taught players have many gaps in their technical skills and study of music, and will probably never reach the level of musical expression they desire without help.

Playing the guitar and bass is not merely an intellectual exercise.  It is a practical art, which requires the development of technical skill (proper use of the hands, ear-training), and study in a very methodical manner.  Being a musician is more than learning how to finger a C major chord or to play a pentatonic scale.  Music is a universal language, and just as we learned to speak our native tongue from our parents and family, learning the language of music is best accomplished by working with an experienced and accomplished musician who is dedicated to teaching that language to you.

Simply speaking, the best way to learn to play guitar, bass, and any instrument is private lessons.  But how can you pick the right teacher to help you get the results you want?  I will address that question with my next article in this series.

For now, I’ve got to get back to working on a mix of a song that I’m producing that features one of my students playing all the guitar parts.  Then it’s back to writing charts for Li’l Ricky Blues.

And remember, I have an open invitation for you to suggest a topic which I can address in an article.  Just email me at rickcittar@yahoo.com with the suggestion and I’ll break out the thesaurus and get to it.  Till next time, I’m Rick at Arcadia Music Studio, building a community of local musicians and performers.

Peace.