Online lessons or Real Live teacher?

What do you prefer? taking online lessons or having a real live teacher to teach you the guitar?

For me, I prefer having a real live teacher.
With a real live teacher you can learn so much easier. Yes, the lessons cost alot more (Im being charged $45 an hour per week)
He has his Bachelors degree in guitar. Amazing guitarist.
Having a real live teacher - They can correct you if they see anything wrong and help you improve. They can answer and explain any type of questions you have and show you why.

Online Lessons:
They're cheaper
They really dont go into too much detail on the specific lesson
They cant correct you on your playing and help you with positioning and such
Dont have face to face interaction - building up the friendship.

What do you prefer? online lessons or a real live teacher and why?

I prefer an actual teacher to go to. There are tons of things you won't learn as well without that interaction. Online is good and you can get a lot of information, but ya....in person is better if the teacher is good.

I am learning with GT only. Mainly because I need something really flexible - I can practice anytime and have everything to hand, whatever time of day (or night!). Although a teacher is fantastic for that one-to-one, I'm doing just fine here! I play flute also, and was taught by a teacher for that. But I was younger then and had Mum as my taxi - now its the other way round it needs to fit in with me!! Theres alot to be said for learning when you are a bit (!) older too - I am so much more commited now than I was when I was a teenager learning the flute. I know when I've got it wrong, and I have the patience to get it right. I don't get frustrated, and I love practicing!
Now, if I could find a teacher who came at the same price GT charges, who is available 24/7 and doesn't mind helping me at 2am, then I'll be there!! ;)

Both! when i had a teacher it was great and i hope to be financialy able to get another one soon. but its also great to have tons of these vids in different styles and techniques to work with

Lots of what HJG said applies to me.

Before I joined GT I tried lessons. He was a young lad who was nice enough but all he kept saying was 'what do you want to play'. We liked similar stuff but I felt it was a bit too loose. If it was free it would've been great but it seemed daft to pay to have a guitar buddy!

The notion of going to a certified instructor is a great one but I probably don't merit it as I'm just doing it for my own satisfaction / pleasure and not a qualification. Plus it would cost much more than the young lad and seems OTT.

I'm also a bit rubbish at being told what to do :eek: so being able to dip in and out as the fancy takes me and my drive dictates suits me just fine. The GT instructers never object when I cut them off in mid-sentence and walk away!! :D

So GT suits me fine but if good quality structured lessons, from an instructer I enjoyed learning from, were cheaper and nearby I'd sign up tomorrow!

one thing that I think gets overlooked with online lesson sites like GT is the rest of the community.

Your monthly fee doesnt just get you access to the sites materials. It gets you access to the full forum as well. And all of the other players here.

Many of whom I am sure would help if someone had a question.

It's not just Guitar Tricks lessons, its the ENTIRE Guitar Tricks community.

I'm doing both
Taking a guitar class at the local community college, get three college credits,
and using this site. I like both, if I come across something I've tried here and don't understand it I can ask my instructor at school and he'll help explain it.

Don

Having said what I said earlier I got to thinking and I'm off to start some one to one lessons tomorrow! I'm hoping I'll get something different from it.
It seems pretty informal, a tenner weekly for half an hour and it's in the shop itself in the middle of the afternoon! Rock & Roll :D

Originally Posted by: SlickStringHaving said what I said earlier I got to thinking and I'm off to start some one to one lessons tomorrow! I'm hoping I'll get something different from it.
It seems pretty informal, a tenner weekly for half an hour and it's in the shop itself in the middle of the afternoon! Rock & Roll :D

OK so I had my lesson today. I'm curious to know if my experience is unusual or typical. I'll try to keep it short :)

The geezer who delivered the lesson was in his 50's (like me). We were in the shop among all the other goings on. I'd said that I'd been learning online via GT, to which he rolled his eyes (I'm half way through Rock primer 2 which of course meant nothing to him).
In the spirit of starting from scratch, I suppose, he then showed me a sheet with the C Major scale using open strings and the related chords. I rattled them off and he said next week he'd show me the sheet for the G Major scale. I sort of made sounds to suggest I already knew the basics and showed him my barre chords and scales at which point he went into 7ths which I haven't covered yet but which seemed to demontrate to him that I didn't know all the stuff I should know.
In a nutshell he just wanted to follow his own agenda and rubbish my online and book learning saying "you have to know all these things not just copying riffs.
I said I'd just started doing hammer-on's/pull-offs and vibrato and bends and wanted some pointers really not to go back to the beginning again and he sort of got my point but still seems to want to follow his own path with me.

I knew there'd be some sort of initial "tug of war" to establish where I am and where he can start from but I'm a bit unsure how we got on today and am wondering about next week and beyond! :confused:

This being such a great site and forum I'd really like to hear what everyone thinks about my experience. If any GT instructors want to chip in that would be much appreciated also.

Cheers

Jim

Originally Posted by: SlickString
The geezer who delivered the lesson was in his 50's (like me).
[/QUOTE]
Ha! :D

[QUOTE=SlickString]
This being such a great site and forum I'd really like to hear what everyone thinks about my experience. If any GT instructors want to chip in that would be much appreciated also.

Here is my thought fwiw. At this rate it's going to cost you 7 weeks and $70 to just get started on stuff that still might not even be new. I would suggest that (with his agreement) you spend your next lesson reviewing each of the scales. If you can do them, then move on to what ever he would present next after the scales. If you can do that, move on until you find the point at which he'll be able to teach you something of value to you.

I understand his idea that you need to meet his version of the "fundamentals", but if you can prove that on the spot, then he's just gouging you to make it take 7 weeks. If you can't do what he expects, then I guess you need to start there.

string, theres a chance this may not be the teacher for you. a teacher should work with you, not against you. some people, and its more often in older people, do not understand the internet or how much of a tool it can be for such things as this. i coul d understand a teacher being a bit troubled about having to work alongside other teachers with a student, but you need to find one thats willing and able to do just that.

the eye rolling at the mention of online training seems pretty elitist and ignorant, i dont think i would give him a second chance. , i imagine you are paying a lot of money for someone that refuses to work with you.

I like having both GT & my instructor. I started with lessons about a year ago with a teacher and continue with him today. However, GT has exposed me to new questions and direction with my instructor. This site sparked new interest with me and the guitar. I say both is good if you can afford them.

PS: I hate bar chords, they are my demon. :)

First & foremost, there is no substitute for a good in-person instructor. The immediate feedback, the personal one-on-one interaction can be invaluable, especially to a beginner.

Of course, GT (like any online learning resource) is a great option for those without the time, money or access to in-person instruction. And assuming the user has enough self-discipline GT can be more than enough to learn guitar.

Originally Posted by: SlickStringIn a nutshell he just wanted to follow his own agenda and rubbish my online and book learning saying "you have to know all these things not just copying riffs.

Like any human endeavor, there are good and bad businesses & people. It sounds like you found a bad apple. :(

Try to explain your skill level and, most importantly, your goals to this teacher. If he is willing to work with you, then great. If not, go elsewhere and find someone that will make it worth your time & money.

Hope this helps. Best of success finding a good instructor. :)

I think it depends on the person...I had tried for years with online lessons and being self taught, and in never worked out. But then again, neither did the teacher I'd pursued. All great players, but had difficulty providing the structure I felt I needed. I eventually read an article on how to select a good teacher and after going through a couple more guys, finally locked on down. It's been great, and now I'm going to split my time between this teacher and intensive online lessons. I think a teacher in person is the best, and most effective way to learn guitar, but you have to find the right one, one who provide long term structure for the student, as well as show the student how to effectively practice and learn on their own.

Thanks for all the replies guys.

I suppose I'm a little bit at odds with the whole formal learning process. Especially when trying to match my knowledge to the instructors method to avoid going back to stuff I've covered but maybe can't reproduce perfectly or well enough for the instructors liking.

I like the sound of what DMAN4505 does with the local community college. That would enable a different approach and a chance to get to meet some local players which is also what I'm after. I think I'll look into my local college.

I know exactly what you mean Razbo. Your idea is good, I'm just not sure if he'll be flexible enough. I'm also not too keen on the whole "in the middle of the shop bit". A customer was playing in the area we were going to use and it was 15 minutes before the lesson could start!! It felt a bit awkward.

DeadlyNo7. Your reaction was like mine and I'm not sure I can get over it - also the fact that he had a go at power chords and the like was a bit off to me - not very open-minded!

Chris. Your reply is spot on and good advice. I just need to keep looking to find that someone who'll strike just the right balance of encouragement and good instruction combined with open mindedness and someone I respect to boot!

Once again, cheers to all for the replies. It's great to get that sort of feedback :D

Originally Posted by: SlickStringI'm also not too keen on the whole "in the middle of the shop bit".

Oh, yeah, I kind of overlooked that little tidbit. I think that would be a deterrent for me right off the bat. It might be a great way to get over stage fright right from the beginning, though. :)

Hey. Until recently, it was possible to answer for sure - a real teacher is definitely better.[br]But let's not forget that we live in an era of the Internet and online learning opens up more opportunities. Let’s say I work as an academic writer in Paperell https://paperell.com/write-my-research-paper. I went there after working as a teacher at school. I think that many will agree that the transition to online is inevitable.