Re: Self study/Teacher


On 9-Jan-2008, "Artnut" <art@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

If one has to learn by himself, ideally how long it would take him as
compared to learning through a teacher?

There is no single answer to this question because it all depends on the
individual. Different folks learn better by different means. Then there is
the "talent" factor. Presumeably, if one has some innate talent, they will
progress faster than someone who has less. But this all depends on one
thing: hours of long, hard practice. The mastery of an instrument is
directly proportional to the time spent playing it.

I have been playing guitar for going on 43 years now. I first started with a
cheap nylon string folk guitar in the mid 60s. In 1971 I decided to get
serious and bought a Yamaha acoustic. There was a fellow at the counter who
introduced himself to me as a teacher. I signed up for lessons. He asked me
what I wanted to learn and I said "rock and blues." He showed me the chords
to "The Girl form Ipanema". Not what I wanted. he showed me the chords to
"Let it Be." Not what I wanted. I wanted to play like Clapton, BB King,
Santana, T.Bone Walker...all of them... Finally, on my third lesson, I said,
"show me a blues scale." He says, "You have to learn chords first." I knew
chords. I could read charts. *** the chords. I wanted to WAIL!!! I insisted
on learning a "blues scale." He showed me a pent minor. I paid him, thanked
him, and never went back. I bought a '61 SG Special (which I still have and
may be forced to sell soon) and learned to rock!.

I played like a madman for about five hours a day for five years. I bought 3
or 4 blues records every payday. I stole every lick I could from the Eric
Clapton with Delany & Bonnie album. I jammed with anyone I could. And this
is a HUGE factor. I boug lots of instruction books with the little plastic
"sound***" records in them, some of which haved been mentioned in this
thread.

Playing with people who know more than you do is one of the best ways to
learn. It forces you to reach beyond your comfort zone just to keep up. And
other players are generally glad to show you stuff. After that five years, I
was ready to play out. I was probably ready long before that, but I had the
confidence in what I knew and what I could play at that point.

I had a jump start though, because I had played drums & percussion since the
5th grade, so rhythm was not an issue. I could also read standard music
notation. So, my self instruction had this as a foundation. In the late 70s
I took some theory and harmony courses. I cannot tell anyone enough how that
helped me grow as a musician.

I have been a musician for over a half century, having started drums in
1957. I see the process of becoming a player as having several components.
The first and most obvious is technical. One needs a technical command of
the instrument. Practice, practice, practice. Once you have the technical
command, i.e., you know what to do with your fingers to get the
sound/lick/riff/phrase/etc you want, you need to "become one" with the
instument. Here is where you hook your creative impulses directly up to your
fingers with no ego in between. You just Zen it and literally become one
with the intrument. At this point you can improvise right from the inner
recesses of your being. This is not guitarslinger
"look-at-me-I-am-so-cool-I-can-shred-like-a-mofo" ***, this is a of
meditative state. Once you get there you will know it. After that, there's
ten or so years of learning how to play everything, then the rest of your
life of learning what to leave out! It's called "maturation."

Will a teacher show the "right" way to play? What is the "right" way? My
philosophy is that, if you are getting the sound you want, you are playing
it right! There are basic things to know, hand position, & using ALL your
fingers on your fretting hand, that are important to get right form the
start as you will have fewer self-limiting bad habits to unlearn later.

I consider myself mostly self taught because I didn't take lessons on a
regular basis. I thirsted after the knowledge and stole licks and
assimilated ideas wherever I could. Basically, it's different for different
folks. Having a sincere enough desire to excel coupled with practice will
produce results. If you WANT to do it, you WILL do it. Good luck and above
all, HAVE FUN!!!!!

An Old Guitar Player

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