Are you guys self taught on the guitar or did you have lessons? Maybe you started out teaching yourself then took lessons. Are you still taking lessons now and if so is your tutor a rock player or a more all rounder who knows a bit about all styles and music theory in general? I have given lessons since I was 17 and was wondering as well what prices you pay or have paid for lessons in the past (per hour). Also are any of your family musical (non guitarists) and were they able to help you with theory etc?

I tried to teach myself from books but once i worked through the first book i got, which showed me some basic chords and rythm patterns, i didn't know where to go next so i started taking lessons.

My teacher is primarily a jazz and funk player but he likes classical guitarists, rock and metal. I go to see him once every two weeks and pay 25 pounds for a one hour lesson.

£25!!!!! That's expensive to me. I charge £10 a lesson which can last up to 2 hours, depending on if we get everything covered that I want. On average though you're looking at 90 mins at least. I have found that the internet has taken a lot of potential pupils away. I used to have 17 pupils on the go and that was when I was 18 myself. :(

10 pound wow, that's real cheap.

Although, 25 pound is the cheapest round here where i live.

I'm self taugh. Like you said, the internet is basically the best source of information for pretty much everything, including the guitar.

I've taken drum lessons though, and I'm probably going to study classical guitar in some school someday in the future. I'd also like to give cheap lessons myself, but I don't have the theory knowledge for that.

When did you start playing and studying theory, ID? You gave lessons early on.

I think a lot of it has to do with your location and the cost of living in that area. But there is money to be made in tutoring if you have the time to do it.

I first picked up a guitar at age 11 but never really started practicing seriously until I was 14. I used to practice between 6 to 10 hours a day and I mean every day for years upon years. I could play Disciples of Hell before I could play Jonny be Good :lol: (true!) so I think I tried to walk before I could creep in many respects. I have always tried to keep abreast of the theory side of anything I have ever learned. This helps you put those hours of practice into something realistic instead of going widdly, widdly, widdly all the time with no sense of direction or purpose.

Wow, you really must have learned a lot through all these years.

I'm still mad at myself for beginning to practice like 3 years after I got my first guitar.

Yeah I can waffle my way through some stuff dude :lol: there are some guys on this site who are as equally terrifying if not more (ya know who they are). When you get into playing it's frustrating to think about misspent time so it's best to make sure it doesn't happen again so keep spanking that plank!!

BTW I've sat behind several drum kits through the years and harboured delusions about being able to thump it out like Neil Peart but noooo way, I'm pathetic at it. How can you do that stuff? I mean, sob, whimper...... I just don't have it.

Haha. It's not like I'm good at playing drums, just the basic stuff. I just like canning them every now and then when at rehearsals. Taking drum lessons also helped me with writing drum tracks a LOT.

i started with lessons in 8th grade then hung it up when all i could play was the theme from secret agent man and the keyboard part to a journey song.too frustrated.

picked ot up again in 10th grade and been at it ever since.learned highway to hell and catch scratch fever and been at it ever since.took lessons on and off thru my 20s and it was basically learning songs and scales.so i had never developed my ear or learned theory.

thats what i do now.ear training on my own.and music theory.i study with dave weiner.and the guy is the most musical person i ever jammed with.made me wanna be more musical and melodic.

he gives internet lessons too plus has a youtube channel where he gives weekly lessons and information for free.

yas should check it out.

its not neoclassical but its very helpful and inspiring.

www.daveweiner.com

I was self taught for the first 3 years then had about 18 months of lessons till i moved to the UK.

I used to pay $30 a Lesson back home (about 10 quid) for an Hour, and £45 (about 15 quid) with another guy at a guitar shop... he was this burnt out rocker dude from CA who was well cool but a bit to loose lesson wise. Used to show me tones of tech for like 10 bucks... we'd just sit round and talk BS and work on my guitars for hours.

Havent had a lesson in the UK so wouldnt know, but i may be looking at doing lessons myself to suppliment my income when i move to london. I was probably going to charge £20ish an HR plus £5 if i come to you (first two zones) transport if it was call out...

ED:
Yeah man Dave Weiners ROTW is the shizz... i dig that guy heaps...
And he plays 7 strings B)

Dont expend the energy on something thats been and gone, deal only with what you can get your hands on which is now... the future takes care of itself.

If i were to do that then id be screwed i picked guitar up when i was 17 and did practice properly till i was about 18 and a half (Ive played other instruments though wich probably helped)... its not nessecarily the time its the quality you put into your practice as well. 20 min spent keeping exact time with a metronome running through scalles is better than 20 min doing the same pentatonic shape over and over...

i teach myself now.

First took some lessons from one very good guitarist here.I didnt know anything.He show me some stuf,practice them alot.After that
i go alone.I've done some Stetina books,than Playloud...
I was practicing with metronom alot,and played everything on clean.After that start with distortion.

I've tried taking lessons many times, but teacher always seems to insist that I play something I don't like on the basis that it "sounds cool when you do it this fast bweedly-bweedly-bip-blip"

and so I generally end up using the opportunity to talk ideas instead of actually receive instruction

good thing we have the internet now, huh?

i havn't had any luck with teachers at all. i was taught by my computer. unless you call that self taught

I had two teachers: a friend (musician) and a rock guitarist named Fran Crespo; also a flamenco one for a short time and a vocal one. But I've played the oboe and that helps to read some music. Some books helped me a lot too, anyway I can say I am mainly self-thaught.

Never payed more than 10euros per hour.

Guys,


I was a real lucky guy. I met a guy named Rick that lived close to me. He liked Ozzy, Rush, Pink Floyd and other cool bands. he taught me about 80% of what I know. I was born in a small town and everyone that played played Bluegrass or Country. he was just happy to have someone that liked rock to try and play with. He always said he taught me how to play so he'd have someone to jam with. We jammed: IE he taught me how to play everyday after school. I'd learn a song and he'd always play lead. It was very funny. Then he taught me how to play lead and that is kind of the way it went. I can still play about 10 songs by Rush!! I still like the band Rush also.


Atlas

Now there's lots of resources in internet: videos, books, tons of music...
Anyway I still think it cannot replace a good master and everyday practice.

Muramasa,

I agree with you. Nothing can take the place of lessons from a good player. I have picked up some good things from books, videos and the net. That being said I'd hate to try and learn how to play without someone teaching me how.



Atlas

Yes, I hate it too since I've got no teacher currently...

I think playing and learning new songs you like is one of the best ways; theory may be important, but after all, music is playing songs... I take songs wich are not too easy and not too difficult.
Band in a Box is a fine tool when improvising too: provides lots of fun too (slowering and fastening songs, adding weird authomatic soloists, wathever...).

How long is it since you guys had lessons and when you did have them how long did you have them for and also how long were you playing before you started having lessons. Thanx. :D

10 Months since lessons.

Had them about er... maybe 18 months.

Id been playing 3 years... which would be about right because id picked up guitar way later than my mates, when i was 17. Hell i play so much these days i cant remember what it was like when i didnt.

In a few words... As you know, I am 14 years playing guitar. I had three different masters for a total of 7 years in separate periods; now it's 5 years since my last class and I return to guitar after 3-4 years of playing very little.

I'm thinking about giving some classes too, so I better check what people say in this tread...

Guys,

I know some of these guys will hate me for saying this, but I'll say it anyway.


Metal Method is a good thing to take man. Doug teaches some good stuff with those DVD's They are low cost and it beats not having a teacher. No joke Metal Method helped me big time. I know I will be made for of for saying this, but it is true. I would advise any of you to go with Metal Method classes until you get a new teacher. I'll also tell you that it will help you for sure. Try it man and you will thank me later. I might as well get ready for the jokes coming my way, but I am trying to help you.


Check it out and see what you think. It's also pretty low cost. Doug has had an ad in Guitar World forever man. The system really works.


http://www.metalmethod.com



Atlas

When one uses an instructor they are limited to that one persons experience.I try to catch as many concerts as i can at small forums so i can actually see what thier doing.A book on scales and modes plus playing along with cd's has helped me more than anything. :rolleyes:

I am self taught.I want to be as good as possible so I too sit around for hours being frustrated and if I'm not playing my electric I always carry around my acoustic and fiddle with that cause then once I get back on my electric it feels so small.I try to learn as much as I can.It kinda sucks though cause I live in a small town and I play with a few guys but they don't know any kind of theory and still make up beginner type riffs and don't really know how to tune.I try to talk them into working to get better but they don't want to.I'm not the greatest or anything but I wish I had musicians around to challenge me.Anyway enough whining from me.I'm glad I found this site it's really cool.

Good to have you on board, man! I'm sure you'll enjoy the forums.

I tought myself jingles and easy classical music melodies when I got hold of my Moms' old hippie guitar. After I got my own acoustic, I started taking public lessons for acoustic guitar. When I started playing electric, I took private lessons with several teacher for a short while each. Somehow, I managed to steal my first private guitar teachers' classical guitar book and several of his picks! Not on purpose, of course, but still... :blink: I still got them, I never got to return them before my teacher strangely vanished. It's in sheet notation (with an easy page and an advanced page for each study) - and I'm a noob at reading this - so, I'm reading and playing pages from it every day now!

My current teacher plays guitar in a Progressive Metal band, so he teaches some of his bands' stuff, and sometimes classical pieces.

BTW: Welcome to the forum Neozombieshredder!

welcome man, and I had the same thing happen to me. Two people I used to play with didn't want to improve, and they always made up bogus, unordered, unstructured solos. It drove me mad, so I just stopped playing with them all together. I didn't throw a fit or anything, I just politely took my amp and guitar and left after the session, never to return :)

Sometimes you gotta go solo man, everybody has different levels for appreciation of music, yet alone the drive.

Word. Go solo until you can find others in the same boat to work with instead of wasting precious time pulling teeth

In 1993 I took about 3 months classes with a very good brazilian guitarist called Mozart Mello,me and kiko(angra) took classes with him but kiko stayed with him a lot more time.
Then I took more 3 months with Eduardo Ardanuy who plays in Dr.Sin.
At that time he played malmsteen songs better than malmsteen himself LOL
Then with the intenet I started studying other guitarists licks and upgraded them to my own style cause I never wanted to be a clone playing other guitarists licks.
All that stuff plus I listen to probably all genres besides country and rap,carved what my music is today.
I think classes are cool for basic stuff,those music theory which is the same to everybody but once you have the basics you have to move outside from it and create your own vocabulary,if not,people will always say you're a clone of this or that guitarist. ;)

So you know Kiko Loureiro mate? Very cool, he's a great guitarist, been listening to his stuff for a while now. :D

Yep in the 90's I knew him,we used to see each others playing on some brazilian musical instruments fairs,he used to live about 5 minutes from my house.
But I lost contact so long ago.
He has amazing technique but I don't like his music.
I prefer Rafael solos(angra),they're more melodic,kiko solos to me sound like a bunch of glued exercises.

Have you heard his solo albums? They're awesome, especially Universo Inverso, which ain't even shred, moreso jazz.

I said I don't like his music so obviously I heard them. ;)

Sure, I was just distracted by your comments on Angra.

I never got into Angra myself, but I enjoy Loureiro's solo material quite a lot. No way is his solo stuff just raiding through scales (in my opinion), and his jazz orientated stuff is even more amazing.

Like you said YOUR OPINION,mine is different.