Teacher Teaches Guitar by worrandmu
Have you ever wanted to take lessons to improve your playing but felt ashamed because you consider yourself an “experienced” player and shouldn’t have to take lessons because you should already know it all? Not long ago, I had a new student sign up and told me he had put off taking lessons for that very reason. Some of his band mates looked at him kind of funny and said, “Lessons? Why do you need lessons? You play just fine.” His response: “Yeah, that’s the problem. I play fine. But I want to play better!”
What about you? Does this sound familiar? This student came to me wanting to learn to play new things as well as play what he already knows in a better fashion. So now we’re going over the material in my multimedia course, Texas Blues Guitar by Eric Beaty, and he’s now on his way to becoming a much more well-rounded musician … all thanks to his decision to overcome the peer pressure to just play fine.
It’s not a shame to take guitar lessons, especially if you already know quite a bit on guitar. It’s actually a wise investment – if you put in the work it takes to learn new things and hone your technique. Most of the time you’ll find that you won’t have to change the way you play a great deal in order to be a better musician; instead you may just need a new way of looking at things or only need to make small adjustments.
Some of the best guitarists in the world have taken guitar lessons. Steve Vai, former lead guitarist of Whitesnake and David Lee Roth; and Kirk Hammett, lead guitarist of Metallica, both took lessons from the great Joe Satriani who himself studied with two modern jazz masters, guitarist Billy Bauer and pianist/composer Lennie Tristano.
Would you call these guitar gurus musical “wimps” just because they took lessons? I seriously doubt it. Think of this, if taking lessons is so “taboo” then why are so many guitar magazines such bestsellers? Many people read them for the interviews with their favorite guitarists or for gear reviews, but a lot of people – especially experienced guitarists – read them to learn the tablature of their favorite songs or to learn the many lessons on chords, techniques, tips, tricks, etc. that are contained therein. They are in effect taking lessons from the experts who write for the magazines.
Not only that, but what about all the many video courses, such as my Texas Blues By Eric Beaty course, tablature books, and various other learning materials out there that are going off the shelves like hotcakes? The fact is, people are eager, even starving, to learn to play better; otherwise all the guitar instructors, studios, courses, magazines, books, CD’s, DVD’s, (you name it), would go out of business! So why all the fuss about taking guitar lessons?
Everyone learns from someone. Did you get that? If not, here it is again because it’s worth repeating: Everyone learns from someone! If you don’t believe me just take a look at all the Rock-and-Roll, Shred, Blues, Jazz, Country, etc. guitarists that give credit to their own mentors and influences; such as Stevie Ray Vaughan, Eric Clapton, Joe Satriani, Paul Gilbert, and many others who consider Jimi Hendrix to be one of the best guitar players to have ever lived!
Consider that the next time your friends pick on you or someone else for taking lessons.
Guitar lessons are an important bridge to get from where you are to where you want to go as a musician. And if you’re serious about being a serious musician, then you won’t just brush aside the thought of taking lessons simply because it isn’t “kosher” with anyone else. It won’t be someone else who’ll be benefiting from the lessons after all; it’ll be you. And if your friends wouldn’t dare make fun of their guitar heroes who might have taken lessons in the past, then they most certainly won’t make fun of you if you turn up a few weeks later with some new chops under your belt.
Until next time, Best Wishes and Keep Practicing,
Eric Beaty
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