Learning anything is an individual pursuit. By nature we all learn at a different pace and through different methods. Some of us can’t stand the thought of classroom instruction while others need the structure of a classroom to focus and learn anything. I’ve always been self-taught. It’s the way I work best. Guitar class never did anything for me.
That doesn’t mean I didn’t use guitar instructors. For me, learning with books and by watching videos worked better than any classroom instruction ever could. I always felt too confined in guitar class, particularly if the class had several students and I couldn’t get one on one instruction. Of course, there was always the option of a guitar teacher, but even that felt too structured for me. I wanted to learn at my own pace, studying what I wanted to study when I felt I was ready for it. That’s why video instruction has always worked for me. Watching videos is like having a teacher you can visit any time you want, and you get to decide what you’ll be studying.
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By no means am I suggesting you skip guitar class. If learning in a setting with a teacher and other students works for you, go for it. It’s important to choose the learning method that works for you, and for some people, guitar class might be the best approach. Besides having a teacher available, guitar classes usually follow a structured approach that starts at ground level with the basics and advances at a steady pace.
An alternative to a real-world guitar class is to purchase videos (or find a series online) of videos structured in the same way a real-world guitar class might be structured. There are plenty of them available, and as mentioned earlier, you can access video lessons any time and you have the ability to review them again and again, giving you a good balance between a guitar class setting and working on your own.
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In the end, the method you choose is going to depend largely on how you learn best. There are guitar methods suited to any type of player at any level.
