Electric Guitar Learning Methods
The best way to learn the electric guitar
Our ‘Beginner’s Guide To Learning The Electric Guitar’ collection was made to aid you with your desire to study a brand-new instrument. We are here every step of the way, and this section focuses on the types of learning methods that are available.
What Solutions Are Best For Studying The Electric Guitar
People learn in different ways. Some have got photographic memories; some can speed read, while some can’t read in any way. We are all different, and for this reason, there isn’t one ‘correct’ method of mastering a musical instrument.
We have four very clear strategies for learning. They are:
- Traditional, face-to-face, one-to-one learning
- Traditional, face-to-face, group lessons
- Video Tutorials
- Apps
If you’re a beginner or have been playing for years, one of those four options will be perfect for you. It’s just a matter of finding out which be is most suitable.
Traditional, face-to-face, one-to-one lessons
Having private, one-to-one lessons can be an incredible experience if you find the right teacher. There really is no substitution for absorbing all the knowledge of your teacher and the personal connection and attention a teacher will bring to your music experience.
Out of all the options on this page, this is the most expensive, but I can’t stress how much people benefit from one to one tuition. As usual with things in life, you tend to get what you pay for…
Our guitar consultant – Fred Lawton, was taught by Johnny Heyes and Mike Walker at the Royal Northern College of Music. Johnny and Mike are two of the best guitarists in the UK in almost any genre.
There is a problem though: Not every teacher has their experience. In fact, the scary thing is that to become a music teacher, you don’t need any qualifications at all.
So how can you know that you’ve found a good teacher?
Quality control:
Look for the teacher’s credentials. Have they got a qualification from a good music school? Do they have good reviews from previous students? Have they been a professional player or teacher? Did they study with a great teacher themselves?
These are important questions to answer but you need to find a really experienced teacher who you personally connect with. One who understands your needs and that makes you look forward to going to see them every week.
PROS
- Personalised feedback
- Lessons Adapted To Your Style Of Learning
- The Most Efficient Way Of Learning
- Can Be The Most Inspiring Option
CONS
- Expensive
- Difficult Scheduling
- Finding Right Teacher Is Difficult
- Requires You To Travel
Traditional, face-to-face, Group lessons
Many teachers also offer group lessons. The ethos is similar to one-to-one sessions, but the cost is much lower as the teacher’s fee is split amongst all the students in the group. Whilst you do get personalised feedback in group lessons, it’s worth remembering that you will progress as a group at the speed of the slowest group member
PROS
- Personalised feedback
- Can Be Fun Learning In A Group
- Cheaper Than One-2-One Lessons
CONS
- Difficult Scheduling
- Limited Choice Of Teacher
- You'll Learn At The Speed Of The Group
- Sharing The Teacher With Others
- Requires You To Travel
Video Tutorials
Free Courses
YouTube is of course the global superpower in regards to video content. You can find a significant amount within this platform for electric guitar lessons and it’s impossible to review them all.
Like the majority of mass appeal platforms, 95% of the content is complete garbage, with the other 5% free gold dust. Finding that 5%, however, is definitely tricky!
Countless players on youtube have offered free video tutorials on how to play the acoustic guitar. Justin Sandercoe – ‘JustinGuitar‘ was one of the first guitar tutors to use the youtube platform and has built his channel around teaching beginners. He’s had tens of millions of views and is one of the most respected online teachers.
If you don’t wish to shell out money and are prepared to devote enough time while seeking for top quality content that drives you, then there is no superior place.
Paid Courses
With thousands of paid programs online, it’s totally unattainable to examine each of them. So we thought we would simply offer the two most desired alternatives:
It’s not just another beginner’s guitar course like so many of the products around. In fact, it appeals to guitarists of almost any level, as nearly all guitarists recognise that they need to improve their fretboard knowledge. It’s also applicable to guitarists in any genre, so the potential market is all but the most experienced guitarists – not just beginners, or blues/rock/metal guitarists, but nearly all guitarists!
And no, it’s not yet another overpriced eBook – it’s a high-quality software application that you’ll love. So try Guitar Notes Master now by clicking here.
Intuition Guitar have created some excellent books and ebooks that can really help kick you off in the right direction. Take a look at what they offer here.
PROS
- Low Cost or Free
- Huge Amount of Content
- Learn Whenever You Want
- No Travelling To Lessons
- Great For Popular Material
CONS
- So Much Choice It's Difficult To Find Great Content
- Quality of Content Is Questionable
- Not Great For Classical Playing
About the Author
Robert Emery
Robert Emery is Founder & CEO of Ted's List. He has performed all around the world as a conductor and pianist. From Sydney Opera House to the Royal Albert Hall, Robert has enjoyed bouncing around on stage in most of the major venues in the world. As a record producer, he has worked on fifteen No 1 albums, and hopes he can get to sixteen asap!
The Times called him 'the eccentric barefooted maestro' and the Mail quoted that 'the assured baton was controlled by the rather energetic and brilliant conductor'.
Robert has a wife (Mrs. E), two children (Master T and Master A) and four cats (Merlin, Mulberry, Partridge & Penguin). Between performing, producing, composing and running Ted's List, he runs an entertainment business called The Arts Group, comprising of a symphony orchestra, choir, live event production house, digital TV company and artist agency. Any spare time is usually devoted to sleep.
Other posts by this author
Zoom Lessons
If you’re looking for that one-to-one setup, but don’t want to trek around to a teachers house every week, then online lessons can work really well.
There are A LOT of companies out there that do lessons over Zoom, so you have to be ultra careful the quality is up to scratch. But the service we have found that has consistently great feedback is www.lessonwithyou.com. We like that they offer a half-hour lesson completely for free so you can try out the service and that they offer flexible scheduling with no contracts. They have teachers from Julliard, Berkeley, and Johns Hopkins – so the standard is high. Lastly, we LOVE that they don’t as for your credit card details for the trial lesson.
Bonus Courses...
Tom Morello Teaches Electric Guitar:
Masterclass is the premier tuition service currently available. None of the classes is designed to make you an expert. They are designed to help you ‘dip your toe’ into your genre of choice, and then use the platform to jump off into more specialised learning.
Two-time Grammy Award winner and one of the greatest guitarist of all time based on the Rolling Stones magazine, Tom Morello will teach you amazing things for you to be a great guitarist yourself.
Electric Guitar Learning Methods - Summary
If you’ve read this far and you’re still not sure which method suits you best then don’t worry. It’s really common to be in the position that you’re in right now. And many teachers plan for this eventuality.
Whether they teach online, in person, in groups or through an online course, most teachers will offer some sort of trial period or money-back guarantee if you’re not so keen after your first lesson.
Even if a teacher doesn’t mention a trial on their site, it’s always worth asking.
A good trial will help you decide what’s best for you and it will give you a chance to meet some different teachers and see which ones you have a rapport with.
When it comes to decision time then simply trust your gut. You’ve done your research, you’ve been through some trial periods which will give you a good idea of what to expect.
With that newfound experience in hand, you’ll be well placed to make a great decision and get your learning off to the best possible start!
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