Teaching Yourself Guitar - Why Two Courses Are Better Than One

I've been a guitar player for about fifteen or sixteen years. I self taught myself the basics when I was a teenager and then just sort of rode out those basic open and barre chords for the last 12-14 years. About two years ago I decided I wasn't really satisfied with my overall playing ability and I was going to start taking some lessons to improve.

I have never been a fan of private lessons, although I do believe they are highly effective, so I was going to search for a home study course. That was two years ago and since then I've bought a couple of different DVD guitar courses and subscribed to two different guitar lesson online membership websites.

Why have I bought and subscribed to so many different lesson products? Shouldn't one course or membership be enough to teach you the ropes and improve your skills?

The short answer to that question is yes. One program is enough, however for the way most of us learn, especially those of us that are creative, we often cannot get everything we need from just one teacher, one DVD or one website.

Multiple Learning Methods for Busy Minds

I discovered over the past few months that one guitar instruction course isn't enough for me to master everything I want. While these courses are designed to be very linear, as in you start with the first Dvd or video and progress through until completion, my mind doesn't work that way.

I get bored after a couple of lessons, and I think a lot of other beginner and intermediate guitar players feel the same way.

So how can you overcome these issues to ensure you learn the guitar effectively and maintain interest?

Two or More Lesson Methods

What I have found is working best for me is a combination of

DVD Guitar LessonsGuitar lessons onlineFree Videos on Websites Like YouTube

While DVD and online guitar lessons offer a lot of the same content I find that it's easier to login to a membership website that offers guitar lessons and watch a quick 15 minute lesson. I can digest something new, add some new skills to my tool box and it all happens in a very short period of time. However I don't find that I utilize the guitar lessons online effective for long bouts of learning such as watching a lesson every day for a week when I'm really trying to master a particular skill.

For longer bouts of learning, say musical theory or a new genre like the blues, DVD guitar lessons are easier and far more linear to follow. You put in disc one and there are no other distractions. You just flow on through that disc to the end, do the practice instructions and then move on.

So at what point do I use free videos? I consider these to be more my goof off portion of practicing and playing. I will go to YouTube and search for a new riff or even a song. I find quick and easy lessons that are about five to eight minutes long and just watch em.

I'm not trying to absorb everything that is in the lesson I just want something fun and new to remember why I'm putting in the effort, practice and hard work to learn the guitar in the first place.

So the moral of this article is try not to get stuck on needing only one and the best guitar lesson product. Consider a couple, ideally a DVD course and an online membership. While a lot of the same lesson content will be taught in both courses you'll find you enjoy learning some things better from one place or other.

Ian is the owner and editor of GuitarLessonsReviewed.com a review and comparison website for guitar lessons online and on DVD. He owns and uses a variety of guitar instruction products and posts his thoughts and reviews of each course on his website for other beginners to review before choosing a guitar course.

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