Online Guitar lessons
Beginner guitar lessons will usually introduce you to basic music scales and how to position for certain chords; it’s vital to have some amount of music theory so that you can save time, reduce frustration and communicate with other musicians.
Private tuition one-on-one is still a great way to learn guitar; a good flesh and blood tutor will take a personal interest in your progress, meet you at your level of ability and help you with your own specific challenges. Personal tutors also make you accountable because if you don’t practice it shows and poor progress due to not practising is quite disrespectful to a teacher. Just sayin’.
The down side to personal tutoring is being accountable, finding mutual time, commuting and, of course, cost.
Finding beginner guitar lessons online is easy and has many advantages: The cost is a fraction of the cost of personal tuition. Beginner lessons are the same for everyone. Video formats allow you to repeat things over and again without you feeling like a dummy. You can skip the lessons you already know, do the whole thing in your own time and advance as quickly as you can get away with being holed up in your room without anyone noticing.
Look for a program that’s been around for a while because that usually means it’s been refined over time. Make sure the virtual tutor is a good guitarist in his own right, a professional I-make-my-living-from-guitar-playing kind of person. The program should take you a long way for your initial investment and it should have add-on options for more advanced training now that you’ve become used to this particular tutor’s style.
There should always be a money back guarantee and lots of real people saying how good the program is (testimonials). The cost of even the best online programs won’t cripple you so you can take a risk. It’s hard to disengage from a flesh and blood tutor you don’t like; it’s awkward. But killing an online program with a money back guarantee is a bloodless murder and you won’t lose any sleep.
Playing with other people in jams or ensembles improves your playing without you even noticing because you’re having so much fun! Sharing chops and licks, tips and your favourite performers comes with the territory that is playing with others.
Online courses (some) can take you to professional level playing, certainly. However, you may find eventually that a mentor will be best to deliver finesse in keeping with your style and genre of music.
We were talking about beginners.
