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Sorry in advance for the long post but:
The reason I ask is that whilst conventional wisdom states that private lessons are always superior, I’ve gone from online courses and just had my 2nd private lesson and find the whole thing rather frustrating. Now, I am most certainly gonna give the guy a chance, he seems really nice and I know full well that 2x1 hour sessions is nowhere near enough to really get into it.
But here’s the thing, I’ve been playing for about 2 years now. Solidly at an intermediate stage in certain aspects but still a beginner with lead work and theory. The only reason I didn’t take private lessons to begin with was due to financial reasons. The problem I have encountered though, unsurprisingly, with learning online, is a lack of structure and direction. I aim to practice for around 4 hours a day and I’m there or thereabouts, but it can get very frustrating not knowing if the routine is getting you anywhere, and whether or not you’re doing things properly, or taking longer than you need to be learning a certain technique.
So recently I bit the bullet and took my first lesson. The guy seems really nice and prior to our first meeting, I explained to him why I needed a teacher. Feedback & practice structure, in a nutshell. But, up until this point he’s provided me with next to nothing practical to take home with me, besides one lick to loosely practice here and there. He’s also not been technique orientated whatsoever and has instead just given me 2 lessons on foundational theory. The lessons have been cool and everything, but it just feels like we’re doing a course he gives all of his students and nothing that isn’t available online for 100% cheaper.
Also, whilst he isn’t stupid enough to overtly insult bands and musicians I love, he has made a few underhanded comments about them, which I’ve found quite off putting and frustrating.
Whilst it’s only been 2 lessons, I feel like I was actually making a lot more progress in weeks gone by purely with online courses and it hasn’t felt like his lessons are catered to me at all.
As I said, I will definitely give him a chance for a few more weeks. But I’d love any advise about this. Is it just normal for the initial lessons to be like this? Is the problem simply the teacher? Did anyone actually just favour and do better with online courses as opposed to private lessons?
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Comments
Of course. It is much more time efficient and covers exactly the ground you want to cover. You can follow up on things which appeal to you and change direction any time you see a new and promising technique or style.
Naturally, this has drawbacks too. The sheer variety on offer of different things to learn is overwhelming. It is easy to take a small bite from 20 different plates and not really learn anything much about any of them. You have to learn to be selective and you have to develop some self-discipline.
Finally, only an in-person teacher can watch you play and point out flaws in your technique or things - sometimes quite small things - which are holding you back. Note that this doesn't have to be a professional teacher, it could be the other guitarist in your band or the chap over the road you sometimes jam with. It just needs to be someone who isn't you and who can play a bit. But a good teacher is usually better at it.
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Now,. as to your current teacher. He doesn't seem like a good match for you, but you are wise to stick with it for a few more weeks. Everyone is different and there will be things about this chap's teaching which will be useful and valuable to you. Look for those things before you move on.
I’ve had 2 sets of about 8 lessons each in the past 10 years. The first I didn’t know what I wanted, but just wanted to be better and learn some new things, maybe rhythm guitar related. I’m not sure any one lesson did all or any of it, but by the end I really had improved my rhythm styles and grooves, timing, theory, songs, different types of music
the second was something similar but completely different player as teacher , but with same sort of generic “make me better” scope. We did scales, arpeggios, timing, and one song/ solo. Seems boring, bland and limited when read like that but blimey did all that make me a much much better player in all aspects.
First thing that I noticed was my ear for music and timing. Also theory and knowledge of the fretboard. I spent 4 years at ACM in Guildford and a host of top teachers. Really improved and I'm now a private tutor myself. I've seen many learners who come to me who've tried the YouTube method but they say it doesn't work for them. Having the regular weekly lesson with me forces them to play out of their comfort zone slightly and it does improve them.
So I'd go with what's said above and say its the teacher that's the problem. Maybe another one will see things different and actually know what to do to ensure you make progress.