I have been playing the guitar for over 20 years, never seriously until fairly recent (last year to 18 months). I did play the clarinet pretty seriously even being in my universities jazz band. I have been a member here for 6-8 months and have enjoyed every minute and my guitar ability has increased very nicely in that time. I am a completely happy customer. Being somewhat of an academic, I tend to do a lot of research and reading on whatever I’m interested in and listen to as many informed opinions as possible when making a choice. Ultimately after doing a lot of research on how to study guitar and particularly the music I wanted to play, I choose a private tutor and the book A Modern Method for Guitar by William Leavitt. I left private study for various reasons mostly because of my work and travel schedule and ended up here at Guitar Tricks. I have continued and finished Modern Method level 1 and John Ganape’s Blues You Can You. I am currently still working my way through Modern Method level 2 as well as Blues level 2 here on Guitar Tricks. I don’t know if my history is relevant to my question, but you have it incase there is any bias in the question.

Doing all my research and reading on various guitar websites, message boards, reviews of guitar method books and even interviewing 6 private instructors, one question kept popping into my mind. My question is what makes a certain percentage of guitar players (in some cases even more experienced and fairly accomplished) seemingly think the guitar is different then all other forms of musical instrument study. What I specifically refer to is what at times seem to be hatred if not an outright blind rage toward formal music education. A certain percentage of guitars seem to take not knowing any music theory or not being able to read standard music notation as a badge of honor. There is a percentage of these same “musicians” that will even insult fellow guitarist for wanting to learn these things. While I have known a rare few people who played piano completely by ear none of them were proud of that fact, if anything they were slightly embarrassed or wanted to learn more formally. As far as clarinet, I never met or even heard of anyone that just learned by ear with no formal music training.

Having a background that serves me well both in music and formal education in general I find this attitude perplexing. Does anyone have any ideas as to what it is about the guitar that seems to foster the attitude that you don’t study guitar and music the same way as with every other instrument? Is it in the guitar as an instrument or in the rock n’ roll attitude that detests formal knowledge and the establishment? I don’t really expect to find an answer but the topic fascinates me and I would love to hear others’ opinions.