It seems like you can learn anything by going online and searching for tutorials. But does that include how to play the guitar?
For children asking to learn to play, you may be considering online guitar lessons at home. But is this really the right option? The answer is – it depends.
If your child already has an established guitar teacher who can provide virtual lessons, the answer is yes. This can be a great fit for many new players.
However, here, we’re going to look into situations when a child doesn’t have a personal relationship with a guitar teacher and wants to learn the instrument from various sources online. This is not the best approach and not one we recommend.
It’s possible to learn some things, sure, but to truly gain a good foundation in guitar playing, you really do need to meet with a teacher in person.
Here are a few of the reasons why online guitar classes aren’t as good as working with a teacher.
Kids Need In-Person, Hands-On Instruction
It can be very difficult for kids to learn how to physically hold the guitar and how to play correctly from watching someone online. There’s nothing quite like having another person position their hands correctly or look at how they’re sitting with the instrument.
Even with online instruction done via webcam, it’s still very difficult for the instructor to really see every small detail or problem from the screen. Sometimes the only real way to notice a small issue is to be there in person.
Kids Have to be Excited to Learn the Guitar
Many online guitar classes aren’t done live—the player watches videos or reads through the information. They don’t actually work one-on-one with a live teacher, or if they do, it’s not always the same instructor or done at the same time.
If your child isn’t really dedicated to learning guitar and isn’t self-motivated, they’re likely to fall behind. It can be very difficult to catch up when this happens.
In-Person Lessons Are Personalized for the Student
If your child is learning online, they’re likely following the same video tutorials and courses that thousands of other people are. These courses are designed for the general student, not your child, so they’re not going to specifically focus on what your child needs in order to improve their playing.
Your child may find some of the lessons rather boring because they have a really good grasp of what the lesson is about. On the other hand, they may find some lessons more difficult because they needed to spend more time on certain foundational lessons that the online course went over too quickly.
Having a personalized lesson from an Atlanta guitar teacher and overall roadmap can help your child by keeping them interested and challenged without being so challenging they give up. A teacher can gauge how well your child is doing and adapt their lessons as needed. While online teachers may be able to do this to some extent, it’s much harder to read someone through a webcam.
It Can Be Difficult to Decide Where to Start Online
There are so many online resources that your child (and you!) may be overwhelmed while trying to find the right online lesson set or virtual instructor. You may try one, decide it’s not right, jump to another website, not like that one, and so on.
Your child may never really settle in and start learning because they will keep moving from site to site or trying different tutorials. On the other hand, you both may be so paralyzed by how much information is out there that your child never starts any online learning.
With an in-person guitar teacher, that’s not the case. The teacher has spent years putting together their basic lesson plans, and they will be able to adapt those plans to your child’s learning style.
Come to Us to Schedule In-Person Lessons
Our team of guitar teachers have years of experience teaching, and they’re ready to begin working with you and your child and will come right to your home for every lesson, plus we offer virtual music lessons, too. However, our online music lessons are being taught by local music teachers with live lessons tailored to your child! Contact us today to learn more about guitar lessons in your home.