By Scott Forrester


When it comes to learning the acoustic guitar, you have some choices to make. The Internet has made many things more convenient, but a personal instructor has it's advantages, too. Maybe you could just get a lesson book and teach yourself. Here, we look at the pros and cons of each so you can make an informed decision.

The Internet offers many choices for the guitar student. Professionals who certainly know what they're doing put most of these tutorials together. Some of these people offer written lessons, some offer you lessons by video, and others offer a combination of both. I suggest the combination method, for a couple of reasons.

First, you get the text lesson and learn it, but have no idea if you are learning it correctly. Learning from just a text lesson plan is the least effective method. Usually at the end of a lesson, there is a little song or piece of music that embodies the lesson material. Do you know how that should sound? Probably not.

If you learn from just a video, it's more effective, but you're not going to have the benefit of having it reinforced by seeing it on paper, too. What this means is that you see the material played by the person in the video and you can hear how it's supposed to sound, but you couldn't see what it should look like in sheet music. What that means is that this isn't the best situation, either.

If you use a video plus sheet music, this is probably the best way to learn the guitar. That's because it combines every proper learning and feedback method. You can see the music in print, you can hear how it should sound, and you can also see how it should be played. And if you wish, you can go over and over again until it sounds just the way you should be producing it, and until you've mastered each lesson.

Using a personal instructor is also a good way to learn guitar, because a good instructor will show you how to do everything properly. He or she can show you how to play, listen as you play, and point out areas that need working on. The instructor can also tell you what you're doing well and reinforce good habits, too. However, if you don't practice, you may spend two or three lessons on the same material with this particular method.

Self-teaching is actually a good way to go and may be underrated in some things. You can get a book and teach yourself the lessons, but if you just do that, will you have the ability to play guitar? Will you have become fluid or agile on the guitar? You're basically in the same situation as the person who chose to do text lessons online.

In any case, none of these methods will have a positive effect on your ability to play guitar unless you do one thing; PRACTICE! That is the key to becoming what you want to become as a guitarist. Take each lesson home and practice it until you can do it backwards in your sleep. In short, practice, practice, practice and then practice some more.

No matter how you choose to learn to play acoustic guitar, practicing is going to be the key to success. In the end, it doesn't really matter whether you go online or choose a teacher for hourly lessons; what really matters is that once you've got the knowledge, you practice. That will make all the difference.




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