Music Tips

- Guitar lessons from a local teacher

This is a very popular place to start and it's where I started. A quick thumb through the yellow pages, the local classifieds or a trip to the local music stores can uncover a bunch of local guitar teachers.

The pros to this type of instruction are one on one time with the teacher and the fact that you likely have several teachers to choose from.

The cons are that not all music stores require any sort of schooling for someone to teach out of their store. If a local player is well known and has been playing the local bar scene for a few years, that's generally all that's required to get hired at many music shops.

The same applies to teachers that give lessons out of their houses. Not having a music degree isn't all that important as some of the best guitar teachers I've had were self taught.

The other main inconvenience of getting guitar instruction from a local teacher is having to go out in the snow, rain, cold, and traffic at specific times each week to get to the lessons.

- Self guided guitar lessons through guitar magazines

This is more popular than you might think. I spent many years buying every single magazine that I could get my hands on to learn to play guitar.

I learned every song and exercise in them and I don't really regret it as it was quite a lot of fun and it gave me a very diverse look at different playing styles as the magazines covered every style to try to please all of their readers.

The drawback to this is that it's not a very directed method of guitar instruction. There is not blueprint or guide as to what you should be working on at any given time. That said, it can take a very long time to move to the next level with your guitar playing using this method of learning.

- Online Guitar courses/Guitar home study courses

Using today's technology, online guitar courses and home study programs gets my vote as the ultimate form of guitar instruction.

Some of the better courses out there can take a guitar player at any level and give them a solid plan to work their way up to whatever level they choose to achieve.

The courses are laid out with examples in audio and video format delivered either online or via CD or DVD and the student can access the lessons any time day or night as well as go back to the same lessons over and over if they need to review what's been taught.

The downside to this kind of guitar instruction is that there is nobody there to ask questions to should you become stuck at a certain part or need further clarification on something.

The best courses available have solved this problem by including access to a forum where you can pose your questions to instructors or other students.

The method you choose could depend entirely on what level you're at with your guitar playing. If I had to go back and do it all again, I think I'd choose the online guitar courses/guitar homestudy courses.

I think it's the fastest, most direct way to get the knowledge you need to become a great guitarist.