Learning Guitar on Your Own: Myth or Reality

Many people believe that those that have learned the guitar by themselves aren’t capable of growing as guitarists. The reason they give for this belief is that those who are self-taught are neither equipped with the knowledge of music nor have someone to point out what they’re doing wrong. 

In essence, what they believe is that without a physical teacher, learning the guitar is nothing but a myth. That’s not true at all and here’s an article that explains how you can learn the guitar by yourself while getting help from different sources.

Joining an online class

With the pandemic keeping us all stuck at home, the Internet has developed even more to become an educational hub. Learning online has grown far more efficient and much easier for online users. While it may not be possible to get a physical tutor now, you can still get the same quality of education through online classes. Luckily nowadays you can find a large variety of online education sources like Skillshare or even Youtube, however, for a more responsible approach to your musical education, you should consider joining online lessons of Guitar Zoom. 

Being a part of online classes has a ton of benefits and is useful for both those who wish to play just for fun and those who want to become a master at the art of guitar playing. Based on your preference, you can find a class that fits your needs. Moreover, accessing the materials and classes online provide both the convenience of learning and cheaper alternatives to physical classes. 

Your aspirations are the limit

Aspirations being your limits isn’t a bad thing in any way. Rather it makes your learning path much clearer. If you are someone who only wishes to learn to play the guitar for fun, attending intense classes or a music school is neither sensible money-wise nor is it sensible time-wise. Learning the guitar on your own isn’t a tough task, but it requires you to sit down and practice regularly. 

Just like building any other habit, playing the guitar regularly might seem difficult at first, but with a schedule that reserves time daily to practice, you’ll be able to settle in easily. 

If you’re someone who wants to become a professional, your approach and practice will certainly be very different. You could join a school but it isn’t necessary at all. Again, having a progressive practice habit and schedule along with diligence will only improve your growth speed. There’s an ample amount of resources on the Internet and elsewhere. If you’re dedicated to learning the guitar, you can learn as well as master the guitar by yourself.

The three-step growth formula for guitarists

Let’s suppose you’ve set your aspirations straight, have a proper plan to learn, and have built a habit of playing the guitar every day. But is there a way you can maximize your learning in each practice session? Fortunately, there is one and it’s what you’ll be introduced to now. 

The three-step growth formula is simple – revise, learn and practice. 

When you sit for a practice session, always start by playing a favorite song. This will give a boost to your ego, improve your mood to learn something new as well as warm up your fingers and your mind for a more challenging practice. This step is the Revise part of the three-step formula. You’re revising what you learned before and use that to get ready to learn something new. 

Once you’ve warmed yourself up for practice, take something new to learn or continue learning the piece you started the previous day. You could start by revising what you learned the previous day and then continue learning the next bit. Once you’ve completed learning a new piece, you move on to the third step. 

Here you practice what you’ve learned. Keep playing the newly learned piece on repeat and also take time to practice what you played the previous day or the day before that. Whatever you do, ensure you learn something new every single day. This style of progressive learning will improve your grasping speed and make it easier for you to learn new things in the future. 

Moreover, you’ll also be challenging yourself to get better every single day. Remember to always keep your practices fun. If a session gets too exhausting, simply go back to a favorite and play that. This is for both casual and professional guitarists. 

Conclusion

Learning to play an instrument on your own can seem tricky and even overwhelming, but giving yourself the time and patience to learn something new will always contribute to a positive mindset and make future learning sessions enjoyable and not taxing. Music must always be enjoyed so whatever you do, always find ways to keep your practice interesting.