Do any of you take in-person lessons in addition to using Justin’s program?
I ask because I think I could benefit from a live person’s feedback about things like technique and posture. I’m currently in Justin’s beginner grade 2 and use Justin’s app daily for practice. I’ve also started his Music Theory course.
I’m enjoying the structured approach Justin provides, but if there’s a good benefit to supplementing Justin’s lessons with an in-person teacher, any advice would be appreciated about how to get the most out of it? What do you work on?
If you can find a teacher with Justin’s style you would benefit.
That being said it’s hard to find good guitar teachers. Music
teachers focus way to much on theory and guitar players focus
way to much on just teaching songs.
Justin is one of only a hand full I’ve seen who teach how to play
the guitar. So you can learn how to make music.
Hope that makes sense.
Troy, if a suitable teacher is not available then I think the way to fill that gap is through posting video recordings in #all-about-your-music.
And if you highlight that you really really do want all the constructive feedback that points out shortcomings in posture and technique then there are folk in the Community who are able to provide that feedback.
I emphasised the “really” since here Replies in AVOYP do tend to amplify positives, and not highlight shortcomings as we tend to err on the side of sensitivity, being encouraging and supportive, given the degree of vulnerability present when people getting started post recordings.
Hi Troy, welcome to the community.
For a few years in the pre-pandemic era of the 21st century I taught in-person beginner guitar. When lockdowns came along I tried to move to online lessons and I personally found it frustrating and I opted not to continue, feeling I was not offering value for money due to the constraints of camera view and that fact that sound was not in sync.
My teaching style involved me watching, listening, noting the physical aspect of a student’s play and offering advice on posture, finger, hand, arm placement etc. And those face-to-face aspects helped my students a lot. If you think you absolutely need someone to watch and listen then scout out a teacher. Note though, look for a teacher, not a player.
Good luck with it.
I had acoustic lessons with a guitar teacher for around 5 years. I only ever meant to have them for about 6 months so i could learn proper technique but i loved it so i just kept going. She was ACE and so inspirational! She got me to grade 8 with distinction. Say no more. Having a really good teacher with you, by your side, is unbeatable in my opinion. She was on hand to correct every tiny little thing that needed correcting and she gave me the confidence to do the exams. I had a lesson every fortnight and because I always had a lesson coming up and i was paying for them i always did all my homework - it was very motivating. She got to know me and the type of music i liked to play but she also took me out of my comfort zone and expanded my musical repertoire a lot. You need to find the right teacher though. I stopped having lessons only because I moved away. Since then i have used on line sites like Justin. Justin is fab and i’m learning a lot. He’s defo one of the best. (Got myself a Fender strat in July so am using him to get to grips with that )
You could contact the head of music at your local secondary school for suggestions of guitar teachers. That’s how i found mine.
I’d say have a few lessons and see how you get on. If you don’t like it find another teacher or stick with online.
I am actually starting lessons this week specifically to get some feedback on my playing and correct any errors that I may be unaware of. I just finished the old version of the intermediate course so I just want a professional’s opinion on my playing before moving on and starting on some of Justin’s style modules.
