[PepticDust]

I've been taking Guitar lessons since May or June and it has been going well. It's helped my progress immensely. Lately however, alot of my teacher's advice on a new technique or song is to do it slow and to analyze what I'm doing. I don't really feel that he can go deeper into it or anything like that but am wondering if that's all I really need to do to learn something, if I should go about it on my own.

It's costing me $70 a month and I'm wondering if it's worth it. The place I take lessons at does have a curriculum, but it's more for kids. I really don't care for grades and having to do tests. So I'm wondering if there is anything else I can do for these lessons or if I should just cancel them.

[stalkofta]

I've been plinking with guitars now for about a year. Already, I've been thru two different instructors. In both cases, the amount of material covered, was too much too fast. At first, I was getting about 3-4 hrs of practice in a week. But recently, up until I injured my wrist, I was getting closer to 10 hrs of practice a week in. I noticed that I was getting pretty good with dexterity and hand coordination, and I could play a few things that sounded 'ok'. But I was(and still am) having a hard time understanding the guitar, and music in general. Maybe because I'm an old guy, and my mind is hard-wired to process information in a certain way, I have a more difficult time trying to mesh all the information being taught to me together???.... During my lessons, I would try to get my instructors to break down the information they were giving me to the most fundamental elements and then teach me the logic behind the concept I was having trouble with. The instructors would try to do this, but they wouldn't break it down far enough for me, and then we would move on to something else and I'd still be confused about certain things. I still think the lessons were good for me. I did learn some good things, but I think when you cover a lot of material in a short time, you can get really frustrated. I also think that a person can 'burnout', so to speak, and need a little bit of down-time away from the guitar for a short time in order to regain and recover mental energy and inspiration. So anyway, I decided to use my wrist injury as an excuse to break off from lessons for a while. I'm finding that I can locate specific information and half-decent lessons on-line. I've decided that I will continue with my guitar training on my own for now. Then, if and when, I feel I'd benefit from more lessons, I'll find another instructor. Maybe I was unlucky and wound up with instructors that just weren't a good match for me. I figure, eventually I'll find an instructor I can connect with and take my guitar/music learning to the next level.

I guess that this wasn't really an answer to your question, just a response describing my own experience with learning the guitar and instructors.

GOOD LUCK!

[jdpaz]

If you think you're getting your money's worth keep going. Otherwise, shop around for a new one or try it on your own for a while.

[allthumbs]

It can be difficult to find a teacher that fits what you are looking for. You may get lucky and find one. Interview them and ask them if they can teach what you want to know. It takes a great deal of skill to break down a complex subject into simple concepts.