Ever found yourself staring at a guitarist in action, their hands moving intuitively and without effort to create a dynamic sound with depth, excitement, and intrigue? How do they do that? You wonder. Can I teach myself guitar?
The short answer is yes. You can teach yourself guitar. The long answer is a little more complicated, but we’ll break it down for you below.
Understanding your goal
You’ve asked yourself, can I teach myself guitar? But what does that actually mean to you? What is your goal? Defining your objective – what it is you’d like to achieve as a guitarist – will help you better understand what’s involved. Here are a couple of examples to illustrate:
- I want to learn my favourite song. If this is your objective, you certainly can teach yourself. You’ll find high-quality guitar arrangements available for purchase online. These do, however, often assume some background knowledge, such as how to read standard notation or tab.
- I want to jam with my friends. Maybe your friends are musically inclined, and together you’d like to start up a band. A guitarist in a band needs a bit more foundational knowledge – they need to know how to improvise and compose. Again, you can still teach yourself guitar, but you’ll need to opt for online guitar lessons rather than a one-off arrangement.
- I want to pursue music as a career. If you want to be a career musician, we highly recommend working your way through the Trinity College London music education system – and completing all of your exams. This world-renowned, graded program gives you real credentials that you can use to pursue music at the tertiary level. The good news is, you can work your way through the Trinity College London system in your own time and in the comfort of your own home with the Steve Flack Guitar Academy.
Once you have defined your goal, you can decide how to teach yourself guitar.
How to teach yourself guitar
Those looking to master the guitar without traditional in-person lessons are faced with three options:
- One-off arrangements
- Free or paid ‘quick-fix’ programs
- In-depth online guitar lessons
Let’s take a look at the pros and cons of each.
1. One-off arrangements
Purchasing a one-off arrangement is a great way for beginners and seasoned guitarists alike to refine their skills and expand their repertoire. They also allow you to see first-hand how talented guitarists create various sounds and moods through technique and composition. The downside? You’re just learning one song without any background or foundational knowledge.
2. Free or paid ‘quick-fix’ programs
The internet is saturated with both free and paid ‘quick-fix’ guitar programs that promise to transform total novices into experts in a matter of days. Unfortunately, they just don’t work. Free tutorials are often created by amateurs, and shortcut programs that promise the world will leave you feeling frustrated and disheartened.
3. In-depth online guitar lessons
If you are serious about learning guitar properly – and want to teach yourself – in-depth online guitar lessons are undoubtedly the best choice. Here are just some of the advantages:
- Learn at your own pace. If there’s something you’re struggling with, you can revisit the lesson over and over again.
- Learn in the comfort of your own home at a time that suits you.
- Get the support you need to pass your Trinity College London exams and obtain real, recognised credentials.
What’s more, if there’s something that you just can’t seem to teach yourself, you can schedule a one-off or on-going private, one-on-one Skype lesson. Our private online guitar lessons are taught by none other than Academy Director Steve Flack, a lifelong musician and music teacher with the best student success rate in the world. How good is that?
Teach yourself guitar today
Ready to get started? Learn guitar properly in your own home at your own pace with the Steve Flack Guitar Academy’s online guitar lessons.