SOME QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
NB: If you are looking for guitar lessons and have landed on this page, take a look at
the tuition page first.
Tuition costs £20.00 hour.
- How many lessons will
I need ?
If
you just want to strum some chords reasonably competently you will probably get
there after 8 to 10 hours of lessons. There is so much more to playing than
this though. It is very hard to generalise. People are different.
The lessons
are about instruction, guidance and help and advise. The learning comes in between the lessons if you see what I
mean. As I have said before, it is not how long and intensely you practice, it how you practice, this is what I can
teach you,that is very much my approach to learning.
As well as that when we
learn something I will leave with you your own personal folder, containing what
we are working on. This is on paper, and also audio CDs. This will build into a
reference for you, so when I am not there you will be able to remind yourself
about where we have got to.
- How often should I
have lessons ?
Of
course this has got to be your personal choice. The ideal is probably an hour,
once a fortnight. You need both time to go
over what we have already learnt, and then, really take something new in. You
then need enough time to develop it before the next lesson.
- Can you teach me all
styles?
I
have played professionally for 15 years most styles of popular music. I have
learnt most things in order to fulfil jobs I was doing. I have electric
guitars, acoustic guitars, bass guitars but I do not own a classical guitar and
this is a very sophisticated style which thus far I have not mastered. Maybe I
should take some more lessons! The main thing is to feel motivation, and
satisfaction in what you are playing, or put it another way fun!
There
are certain lessons though which will apply to all the style you are likely to pursue.
You
know this is something we all have to cope with at first. After a little while
you will develop calluses on the end of your fingers. Some say putting surgical
spirit on the affected area helps. Don’t worry you can still learn a lot at
first without actually pressing down on the strings because you need to get
those little muscles and nerve endings moving in ways they are not used to. It
is useful, just like an athlete needs to limber up. Same principle. You also
have to learn some things mentally before you do them physically. If your
fingers hurt a bit at first it is all part of this new skill.
Don’t worry about it.
- What sort of guitar should I learn on?
You
know this is a bit like saying ‘what sort of style should I learn to start
with’. The fact is you probably already see yourself playing rock guitar, heavy metal or
indy pop, or acoustic music or whatever is your personal taste at the moment.
Well maybe it is best to follow your heart and buy the appropriate guitar.
Remember an electric guitar will only sound as good as the amplifier it is
played through. A good quality acoustic guitar is a good thing to learn
on, though you will probably want both in time. Up to you.
If you have not bought a guitar yet make sure it is 'set up'. Some guitars are sold without a 'set up'. This is important it is to do with the tension of the strings and the intonation on the neck.
- Do I need to learn to read music ?
No.
Are you surprised to hear me say this? well don’t be. It is a tremendous asset
to be able to read music but a lot of top class guitar players do not read. It
is certainly a good idea to learn some basics as we go along which you can use
to teach yourself things later, but you should not worry about reading music in
real time, this a sophisticated skill in its own right. There is a form music
called TAB for the guitar which is simple and useful though not a substitute
for written music as such, and we can have a look at this.
TEL: 01200 458078