by Eric Dieter
If you’re interested in learning the guitar, you’ve probably discovered that there are numerous options out there for learning: Quarter Bend Guitar Studio, other guitar teachers in town, YouTube, Books, College Students, Uncle Bob…
You may be thinking “If I’m improving, does it really matter which source I go to?” The answer is ABSOLUTELY!
As an early student of any new skill/hobby (be it guitar or karate or extreme ironing), literally any information you receive is going to give you a result. But we need to consider how this will play out over time. Think of it this way…
Imagine you want to go on a trip through a jungle, but you’ve never done anything like this before. So you’d probably hire a guide. Now you’ve got choices in this scenario… which guide do you want to hire:
- A book with a 4.5 star Amazon review
- The flashy guy/gal that is very entertaining but is only going to send you videos on how to get through the jungle
- The young, enthusiastic person that’s never made it all the way through the jungle but has read 30 books on jungles
- A really fit guy that runs through the jungle every day since age 5, but has never successfully guided anyone through it… and can’t understand why you can’t “just do it” like he does
- Your aunt who visited the jungle back in college and knows enough to get you started
- A professional that has been through the jungle, studies the jungle, does guided tours daily, and constantly researches how to be a better, more effective guide
Do you want to just take a few steps in the jungle then hop out? Are you willing to risk getting lost? Or worse!?
I think we know who the obvious choice is here. And ok…we both know there’s no danger of getting eaten by alligators if I try learning guitar from YouTube, but there is a solid principle here…
Is the goal to “get started” on guitar, or is to actually learn to play the instrument and be confident while doing so?
As you navigate your way through guitar be aware that cheap guitar lessons can cost you more money in the long run if they are…
leading you down a path to a goal you don’t want…
or lead you down a path that is a dead end…
or create bad habits…
or frustrate you to the point of wanting to quit…
Because undoing bad habits and turning around from a dead end take time. Fixing these problems takes WAY more time in fact than it took to create these problems.
And they will require a true professional to untangle you from the mess. So why not just go with that professional from the start?
Things to think about…
Respectfully,
Eric
