YouTube or Face to Face Lessons? Guitar Lessons Made Easy

I often get students coming through the door who have tried to self-teach through YouTube.  There are so many available resources online that surely it makes sense to teach ourselves in the comfort of our home using any free material we can get off the web.  There is a lot that can be said for this type of learning.  I’ve listed a few reasons below:

1.       It’s convenient.  Being able to load up the computer after work and not have to go anywhere is a plus.

2.       There is a lot of material available for all levels.  You can find easy tutorials for the songs you like.

3.       It’s free – who doesn’t like the word free?

When I get a student attend guitar lessons here I often ask why they chose to come here rather than continue online through YouTube? The answers are always the same:

1.       There is no support.  If you learn to play a song through a YouTube tutorial you have no way of asking the person who made the video questions that relate to why the song has been written that way or why it’s played that way.  OK – so you could leave a comment and hope for a response but you may have to wait a while or in certain cases not receive a response at all!

2.       There is no accountability.  We’re all human, we all have times where we feel motivated to challenge ourselves but there are often times when we don’t feel that way.  This is the reason a lot of people give up online guitar lessons.  There is no one there to encourage you, challenge you and to answer questions for you.

3.       Scrolling becomes monotonous.  If you’re having to scroll through 10 bad videos to get to the one you actually feel you can learn from, it can often feel like a lot of wasted time.  In a world where time is precious surely it’s better to receive lessons face to face knowing that each time you attend you’ll have resources ready for you to learn from.

Now don’t get me wrong, I love YouTube.  I have a channel for the business (Fresh Music Aberdeen) where I put up the sheet music/tab along to the music to make it easier for people to learn.  However, to use that resource well you need to know how to read sheet music/tab, chord boxes and rhythm.  I teach my students to do that so they can then use my channel as a way of playing along to the song easily at home.  Guitar lessons with Fresh Music Aberdeen are always personalised and tailored to give you the confidence and skill required to use these online resources with ease. 

Learning face to face would always be my preference.  Having the accountability, structure, reassurance and encouragement is always going to be beneficial.