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my comments was that theoretical learning would help now that i've developed my own playing style and sound etc. I dont think i would be playing the stuff i am now if i had lessons.
This is only relevant to me, as with most things in life, i like to do things myself and learn things myself. I lose interest in most things if I'm taught how to do it, because i think my brain perceives it as done, and the challenge of teaching myself is gone.
Ray Charles studied classical music as a child, to a pretty high level.
Studio: https://www.voltperoctave.com
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I then did the classic 'lifting the needle off the record' thing and have been self-taught ever since. I've dabbled with scale and chord books - but have a limited harmonic palette to work with. I phrase well, have good timing, vibrato and bending technique - I just wish I could play more sophisticated music.
If I had my time again, I would find a teacher capable of helping me develop that side of my playing.
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
As was Stevie Wonder and EVH who are both classically trained pianists.
See this is a complete an utter misconception by guitarists intent on finding an excuse for not understanding theory, even though they usually proclaim theory to be irrelevant. Again it doesn't seem to apply to other musicians. Alicia Keys for example is both a soulful and well trained musician but I doubt she ever said to her piano teacher (wrongly as it would have been) "Well Ray Charles and Stevie Wonder didn't need this theory bollocks!". David Bowie is another trained musician who did seem to let theory become a barrier to both creating 'nice' sounds or pushing the boundaries.
I am a trained musician. Classical guitar as a child and then a music degree in modern guitar and I have continued to learn from there. I NEVER think "does this dorian fit here?" *, which maybe because it has become so natural. My sole focus is on internal expression rather than regurgitating learnt frameworks. That's me but I would probably bet that @Octatonic and @Viz (as two others I can think of with really solid theoretical grounding) equally don't feel chained by rules or spend their time focused on what should go where. It's a bit like saying the learning English the correct way will stop you communicating with the natives, ignoring the fact that whilst you are learning you are also picking up colloquialisms.
*In fact the modal obsession safety net some guitarists seem to rely on bemuses me also as modes are only relative, but that's a whole other subject.
Seriously: If you value it, take/fetch it yourself
Studio: https://www.voltperoctave.com
Music: https://www.euclideancircuits.com
Me: https://www.jamesrichmond.com
Studio: https://www.voltperoctave.com
Music: https://www.euclideancircuits.com
Me: https://www.jamesrichmond.com
Well I'm self taught pretty much, but that includes teaching myself some theory too.
I'm very much an "ear" player and my knowledge of theory often lags behind what I play/hear/feel harmonically.
Having said that I'm seriously considering having a few lessons for the first time because I feel like my technique isn't improving much at the moment and I can hear that I should be playing better than I am. I've been playing for nearly 40 years now I feel like I really should be better at it than I am after all this time so, need to find a teacher.
I think claiming ignorance of theory as some kind of virtue is a bit strange.
I went back and checked the OP: Perhaps the title of the thread should have been: "What are your views on taking guitar lessons".
The next bit echos what was stated @octatonic
I think the best you can get out of a teacher is a grounding and the tools to develop yourself. I'm probably stating the obvious, but if you're going to be any good, you're going to have to do the vast majority of the work yourself. Any highly skilled person (in any walk of live) is largely self taught. Perhaps I should add the word 'autodidactic' to the other thread . It's the way I like to learn most things (including things relating to engineering and mathematics).
http://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/67413/words-that-are-your-absolute-favourites/p1
Firstly a disclaimer: I'm not a professional guitar player, although I have played in bands for many many years often working with professional musicians. I'm sure many of the forum members are professional and probably better qualified to comment.
At any given time in your development, the right teacher might vary. It's a good idea having a rough plan of what your hoping to get from lessons. However, I know that's difficult in the very early stages, because it's hard to define exactly what you want. So maybe try a teacher and see how it goes. Listen to what's being said, but don't assume it's all correct and right for you.
Ultimately it's best to take charge of your own development, drawing on whatever resources you need to progress in the way you want to. Which in my case is having fun, enjoying learning, gaining sense of achievement, working with other musicians and, most importantly, - showing off at gigs
I suspect things are different now regarding lessons. When I started playing I was obsessed with Paul Kossoff and then Jimi Hendrix. There simply weren't any guitar teachers around that could teach that stuff. I pretty sure that, if I'd gone to a guitar teacher at the time, they would have been rooted in the past and would have told me "that's not the way to play guitar!".
When I took lessons in my mid 20's, after 11 years of playing, I'd reached a kind of rut, in that my ear wasn't good enough to take me outside a rock/blues style of playing. Many people would be happy to stay there and there's nothing wrong with that. I wanted to include some of the more jazzy notes and chords, without actually wanting to become a jazz guitarist in the strictest sense. I now recall that I tried four teachers, before settling on one that worked for me.
After 47 years of playing, I've been considering taking a few lessons from a guitar player that used to dep for me in one of the bands I used to play for. We once did a gig together, when we couldn't get a keyboard player, and he did the keyboard parts on midi guitar. A phenomenal player and much more technically proficient and inventive than me. I'm sure I'd learn something.
Completely agree with all and there definitely is a transition period. I remember a point at Uni where I felt listened to some stuff I was doing and thought although technically it was impressive I had lost and element of the pure balls my playing in particular once had and massive credit to both Barry Langdon and Shaun Baxter at the time that they both also highlighted to me that you couldn't learn the feel I started with but could possible write over it. As a result I had to strike a balance. For me if we had to play a Malmsteem track (Far Beyond The Sun was on the curriculum) as much as I wanted to nail it I also want to impart an element of life over mechanism on it. I'm sure a lot of guitarist who start young and chase shredding as teenagers goes through this issue at some point.
The comment above about gigs is something I live by. I will try stuff with unlimited time in the studio but live I use stuff only one I know that even if I was pissed and Christina Hendricks was jiggling her boobs on the back of my head I could still pull off.