Self taught or did you take lessons?

[sosomething]

Re: Self taught or did you take lessons?

My dad showed me some 1st postition chords when I was 13. Almost 11 years later and I still play every day, but have never had a lesson.

 

[Guest]

Re: Self taught or did you take lessons?

Self taught... That explains why I suck :lol:

 

[bert123]

Re: Self taught or did you take lessons?

5 years of lessons. 1 year in elementary school then all through high school. Went through 7 of the Mel Bay books. Don't remember much of it except reading music in the open position. Also was in the high school stage band my senior year. Learned lots of jazz chord fingerings that I've also forgotten. Boy this post is making me feel old and senile.

 

[slash857]

Re: Self taught or did you take lessons?

same as yjm_rocks basically. ive been getting lessons, before my teacher tuaght me songs iw anted to learn, now he just teaches me jazz stuff, which is really cool IMO and i dont mind at all.

 

[RW James]

Re: Self taught or did you take lessons?

I was a music major in college - played trumpet - but I had a lot of music theory classes. Started a brass rock band (a la Blood Sweat & Tears and Chicago) and I was in charge of all the arrangements - also wrote a few originals.

I picked up an acoustic guitar at the local pawn shop and taught myself to play as an aid to the arrangements/compositions.

I never intended to perform the guitar. Now several years and four guitars later I play lead - and am trying to learn as much as I can. (Which is why I am here)

Rick

 

[nuntius]

Re: Self taught or did you take lessons?

I've had lessons since pretty much the week after I got my first guitar back at age 13

I think it's really helpful to have someone who can point out things you need to work on, as you often miss them yourself.

I think it's also helped my confidence when playing the instrument.. I have my lessons on acoustics, and you really have to play them properly to get a nice sound, nothing to cover up for you whatsoever.

When I first started I found I held back a bit, but then realised you have to play with some authority for it to work over another part. Not necessarily aggression, that is dictated by the context of the track, but you have to have some confidence in what you play otherwise it'll just sound lame. I think playing infront of a teacher every week helped me develop that... playing infront of someone is completely different to playing in your bedroom on your own.

Plus, a decent teacher will have a load of knowledge about guitars in general, and may even have contacts that could be useful within the music business

 

[Watroba]

Re: Self taught or did you take lessons?

Lessons ever since I started.

Books can tell you everything Guitar Teachers will, but you can't ask a book questions.

Lessons made all the difference in the world for my playing. In my opinion, it's just plain ignorance when people say you don't need them or they're a waste of time. Yeah, you can put yourself through hours of frustration trying to find answers in the index of a how-to book, but why?

 

[Hot _Grits]

Re: Self taught or did you take lessons?

Took lessons for a year in school. Then a couple of years later I went to a teacher for four lessons. He showed me how theory and modes work, plus a few technical things. Aside from asking good local players lots of stupid questions, everything else is self taught. Lots of videos and magazines, though.

 

[guitarsrock5]

Re: Self taught or did you take lessons?

lessons. i realized that i learned faster in lessons cause i used to do self taught and i still do lessons cause im only 13.

 

[bungalowbill]

Re: Self taught or did you take lessons?

Self taught but, I learned a lot from reading Guitar Player Magazine especially the columns by Rik Emmett & B.B. King. I wish I had time to go to the university for some Jazz classes for the theory.

 

[viewaskew2k5]

Re: Self taught or did you take lessons?

self taught when i was 16, i amnow 20, so i have no where near the skill most of you guys have lol

 

[Jeff_H]

Re: Self taught or did you take lessons?

Self taught...hence I'm not very good.

 

[H8Red442]

Re: Self taught or did you take lessons?

i started playing in January of 89 when i was 14 years old. I started my lessons with my first guitar teacher a few weeks after i got my first guitar. I had a very hard time as I originally started on a cheap accoustic that my parents bought me. They know nothing about music. I asked for a drum set and got an accoustic guitar. I took lessons for about 2 years from this teacher and he basically sucked as a teacher. He would teach me lead licks and some chords and what not. Mostly he was just there to practice while he would write stuff out that he was playing. He's an amazing guitarist but he wasn't much of a teacher to me. I joined a band after 2 years playing and that was where most of my ability came from. It really pushed me. In junior year of high school i took theory and in senior year I had Theory II self study. That was awful. I didn't learn a thing. I went off to college for music and after two semesters dropped out. I could never get my head around theory. I get the basics of chord structures and scales and keys and such. But sight reading was impossible for me. I can barely read a book let alone music. I'm now 30 and have been through a plethora of guitars. I love playing and never really used much of what I was taught in formal training. My ear sucks so I would buy song books to the albums I wanted to play from and force myself to figure out how to play the songs. That was my greatest teacher, playing the songs I wanted to play. I basically tried to mimic what I heard. From proper pulloffs and hammer ons to pick attack for down strokes and things like that. I know minor and major scales, the shapes anyway, we guitarists can cheat if we're not gifted. I know pentatonic scales too and major/minor relative major minor so it helps with lead playing. But my mental ability is probably far beyond my physical ability. I can't sweep pick to save my life and i never use my pinky, which is awful. What can I say i try to play as much as I can and i enjoy it. That's all that matters for anyone.

 

[marvar]

Re: Self taught or did you take lessons?

Self taught, and mostly by watching the local guys when I was young.
Like EVH said, if ya' don't know the rules, you aren't afraid to break them.
BUt, I feel that everyone should have some formal training, even if it isn't guitar. Theory is Theory. and eveyone should at least know the names of the notes, but not necessairly to be able to read music.