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Just what kind of impact the advent of modern communications technologies had on our species is something we won't be able to fully grasp in the foreseeable future. The fact is that we have moved to a more connected society that shares information quicker than ever before. This new order of things has found its way into every pore of our society, which also includes music and guitar lessons. Taking guitar lessons online has become a standard practice in these past several years.
Before computers, the internet, and other technologies, you had to hire a tutor to sit down with you and show you the ropes. Nowadays things are far simpler and much more affordable. Online guitar lessons come in all shapes and forms, depending on what the company you chose considers to be the best course of action.
Some are going to offer a better learning experience, while others will deliver a course that simply isn't working for you. However, this is the same problem you can run into when you take private lessons with a tutor.
No matter how many different approaches and schools of thought exist when it comes to online guitar lessons, you can divide into two major categories. There are one on one tutor sessions using Skype or a similar piece of software, and there are complete guitar lesson courses which you can download and use however you see fit. Today we're going to talk about the pros and cons of each and try to help you choose the one which you think will work the best in your specific case.
Tutoring is considered to be the most efficient way of learning to play guitar. The person sitting next to you, or across from you will usually have a long resume filled with countless hours of teaching guitar. These people may not be the best guitar players in the world, but that is not what matters the most. What matters the most is their ability to transfer that knowledge to you in an easy to understand, and efficient way.
So how limiting are online tutoring sessions compared to the traditional ones? Well, that mostly depends on your computer's ability to render sound and capture the image of you playing. If the tutor has no reasonable way to observe your playing or listen to what you're doing on a guitar, these sessions won't bring you many benefits. However, if you own a decent setup, the difference compared to traditional tutoring sessions become exponentially smaller.
Opting for one on one sessions is always the optimal way of learning guitar. The general agreement is that live tutoring sessions are the best way to go, followed by online tutoring sessions, and finally online guitar courses taking the last place.
Although they are cheaper, online tutoring sessions still cost a considerable amount of money. No matter what anyone says, this way of learning to play guitar is not cheap at all.
However, for some, the benefits outweigh the shortcomings in more than one way. Nothing can really replace a real person explaining things to you which you will probably find confusing at first.
Going with online guitar courses is both the least expensive option and one that involves the highest risk. Instead of having a tutor at your side, you are presented with a variety of material which comes in different formats. Some companies who are in this specific business will try to rip you off, while others will give you a great learning experience that actually enhances your technique no matter at which level you currently are.
In order to avoid shady situations, it's recommended that you only purchase online guitar courses from companies which have a great reputation. Not many fall into this group, but you definitely have a decent range of choices you can make.
Aside from being cheap, one of the best benefits of online guitar courses is the versatility of use. When you're working wit ha tutor, you need to consider how busy that person is, and whether or not your schedule permits a class. Everything needs to be planned ahead if you want to see improvement in your guitar playing skills.
With online guitar courses, you don't have that issue. You can sit down and practice guitar just about anywhere you want, at your own pace. The stuff that is delivered with a decent online guitar course is easy to follow no matter what your skill level is. From a complete newbie to a mid level guitar player, everyone can benefit from online guitar courses.
The only trick is to find the one that is actually good, and additionally a teacher who is capable of transferring their knowledge onto you in a healthy and easy to follow manner. Chances are that if you go and purchase an online guitar course from a reputable company, you will have enough new material to last you a long time.
Whether an online tutoring session is better or worse than an online course largely depends on how you are used to learning new skills. For some, tutoring simply doesn’t work, while others need an actual experienced guitar player to tell them if they are doing something wrong. Price also plays a major role in this issue. Online tutoring lessons definitely cost a bit more than your regular online guitar course.
If your budget allows for it, you should definitely take a tutor if you feel like your skills are just not good enough. But for those who can’t spend that kind of money on this, yet still need guidance, online guitar courses are a great option.
At the end of the day, both of these different methods will require a great deal of research if you want to find the best possible one. We personally think that online guitar courses have a slight edge over online tutoring sessions simply because the information you have bought access to is yours forever. Ultimately, it’s up to you.
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