Can You Teach Yourself Guitar From

Books, DVDs and YouTube?

Yes you can. Beginning guitar is not advanced rocket science, and most of you could teach yourself a bunch of chords, learn some basic songs and pick up some cool riffs to impress your friends.

In fact if that's all you want to do great, mission accomplished, and at no cost to you. All you've got to do is wade through the hundreds of thousands of free lesson, tab and video sites available and figure out which ones are good. So don't read any further, this article is aimed at the persons that not only want to become good at playing the guitar, but also really understand what they are doing.

Getting What You Paid For

The big issue is that so much information in "web land" is presented by total beginners, who in reality, are not qualified and could never actually get a job teaching in a real music studio. That's not to say that there's not some really great lessons expertly presented. However, this leads to a major problem. How do you know what to follow? The short answer is you don't.

As a professional guitar coach who started many years before the internet, I find most of the information my students download and bring to a lesson totally amateur and just wrong most of the time. I tell students is that if you like a certain artist just buy their tab book, and I will help them through it. The same goes for YouTube lessons, there are some great ones out there, but...

The argument against online guitar education applies to books and CD/DVD methods as well. The difference is that the information is more than likely presented by a knowledgeable expert. Still, read the following about self-teaching

Self-Teaching

OK, lets' assume you've actually found a few reputable sources online (or a book/dvd etc.) The four biggest obstacles with doing it yourself is that:

1 You don't always where to start,

2 Sometimes it's hard to tell if you are doing it right

3 Having the discipline on your own to keep up the follow through.

4 You can't ask questions

For many this very frustrating and a lot of potential players give up and blame themselves. Just trust me on this, most of the time it's not you.

Self Taught Famous Guys?

OK that's really easy. Quit your job, camp on various friend's sofas, starve, play guitar 16 hours a day, starve some more. Do that for a few years and you'll probably get really good. Next! Seriously most people starting out aren't able to put so much much time into so lessons are a shortcut. A good instructor can offer insights that he or she has gathered over the years.

Get an Instructor

The biggest advantage of having an instructor in front of you is that when your frustration is at a high point and everything sounds bad, it's really useful to have someone tell you "It's ok, it should sound like that at this point, and in fact you are doing everything right," or,” here are a couple of corrections so just keep practicing and it will work." The teacher also has the ability try multiple approaches that online lessons, method books, CDs and DVDs cannot.

Summary

• Online, how do you know if the information is correct?
• Online, you don't always know if you are doing things right.
• An instructor can modify their approach to your learning style.
• An Instructor can be asked questions.
• An instructor can demonstrate many ways.

So while I think it's fun and challenging to teach yourself and by all means go ahead and keep doing it, but do yourself a favor and check in with a good teacher once in a while, if not on a regular basis to keep you on track.

What We Will Do For You

Even for someone with no prior musical experience our easy to follow instruction makes learning uncomplicated and fun – pretty much effortless.

Every instructor is committed to finding the approach that works best for each person, and is patient and encouraging. Students can work at their own pace so they never have to feel stressed out.

So pick the style of music and songs you want to play. Rock, jazz, blues – you name it, we’ll teach it.

These are just some of the guitar styles our instructors teach at the Guitar School.

Modern Rock — R & B — Campfire Guitar — Country — Pop — Folk — Blues — Gospel — Swing — Rockabilly — Funk — Punk — Classic Rock — Metal — Reggae —  Ska—  Classical — Jazz — Fingerstyle Guitar

Ask yourself this question:

“How would it feel to be able to play the guitar right now?”
 

Fantastic! That’s the usual answer. Imagine that amazed look on your friends and family’s faces if you picked up your guitar (or any instrument for that matter) right this instant and started playing yours and everyone’s favorite songs with no effort whatsoever. That would feel pretty good.

South Bay has its own School of Rock, The Guitar School, where popular rock music is the primary medium used to teach standard music theory and technique.

The student picks the style of music and songs they want to play – gone are the days when “Yankee Doodle” and “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” were the songs every beginning student had to learn. Nowadays, it’s more likely than not to be the opening riff to “Smoke on the Water,” by Deep Purple, Black Sabbath’s “Iron Man,” or the latest Green Day or Coldplay song.

Instructors create the lessons around the music a student is learning. So, besides learning the song they like (which keeps them motivated), they’re also learning basic music fundamentals.

Classic rock from the 60’s & 70’s is so popular with the younger kids that it’s hard to believe that many of the bands are no longer in existence. There are more requests to learn music from the likes of Hendrix, The Beatles, and Led Zepplin, than from any of the newer groups. Older punk music like the Sex Pistols, and the Ramones, dominate the student’s greatest hits list as well.  

Then there are the student concerts throughout the year where they get to show off what they’ve learned by performing in a band on stage, in front of a live audience. Students also get to participate in performance workshops and jam sessions at different times as well.

All styles are taught. One student, Brent Canter, started with rock guitar at age 12, and gradually switched to jazz. At 18 he won a full scholarship to the UCLA jazz program.

Girls want to rock! The number of female guitar students (especially 8-15) has been growing. 25-35% of our students at any given time are female

More what we will do for you

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We are dedicated to providing our students with the best possible learning environment. At the Redondo Beach Guitar School, Palos Verdes Guitar School, and Long Beach Guitar School our instructors realize everyone learns differently.

Our highly knowledgeable teachers are committed to finding the approach that works best for each individual.

Whether a student just wants to learn enough to have fun playing a few favorite songs, or is an aspiring professional, our instructors will develop a customized music lesson plan especially tailored to fit their specific musical needs and interests.

Our instructors include university graduates, as well as working professionals with many years of performing, recording and teaching experience.

We are not an electronics/appliance store that incidentally sells some guitars teaches a couple of music lessons. That means 100% of our resources go towards providing the highest quality music programs and education experience for our students.

For The Younger Students

For parents that want their children to do more than sit around watching TV or playing video games, music lessons may be the answer.

It's not just music lessons but life skills. Parents who enroll their kids in music lessons are having their children involved in a productive, educational activity which is culturally enriching, and which develops the brain, intellect, motor skills, self-esteem and discipline.

Benefits: 

EDUCATION! Development of WORK HABITS and DISCIPLINE. Getting the child away from the TV, video games, and hanging out at the mall.

For The More Experienced

Beyond the basics, many musicians feel that they aren't progressing fast enough in their knowledge and playing abilities; or that what they've learned seems scattered and unrelated. Instructors can create a custom program designed to fill in the gaps.

For All Instrumentalists

Blues, rock and jazz improvisation; performance skills, and practical music theory are the order of the day.

Topics include improvisational techniques, scales beyond the basic major and minor, phrasing, chord progressions, progressive scale techniques, arpeggios, intervals, advanced chord construction, rhythm, scale and chord theory, definitions, transposition and musical styles.

ONE-ON-ONE INSTRUCTION

Your lessons are on a once a week basis, on the same day, same time, and with the same instructor. Usually they are 1/2 hour long, although some prefer hour lessons.

They are one-on-one, so the instruction is based on the student's progress.

We don't do group classes, but can accommodate two family members simultaneously (father & son, two siblings, mother & daughter, etc.) with one instructor and charge you a discounted student price. As well, there are workshops, jam sessions and summer camp opportunities open to all students currently enrolled.

We don't charge a registration fee but require new students to come in and register before starting lessons.

We supply the majority of guitar and bass instructional material at a very low cost to the student, so you don't have to worry about finding and buying books and materials. Click Here for information on Getting the Most Out of Music Lessons.

Several instructors have flexible hours that can accommodate homeschooled children earlier in the day.

Hours of Operation

Monday-Friday, 12 - 9 PM Sunday, 9 AM - 6 PM

Note: Alternate lesson times are sometimes available depending on individual instructor's schedules. Call us with your specific time requests especially if you homeschool.

RATES/TUITION

310-918-0439

Time slots are available on a first come, first serve basis.

The basic rates as of January 2023 are as follows:

1/2 hour lessons on all instruments,

Guitar

$30 per class, $120 per month or $150 if there are 5 weeks

1 hour lessons on all instruments,

$60 per class, $240 per month or $300 if there are 5 weeks

Some instructor's rates may be higher depending on their specialties.

Advanced Piano $80 per hour and $40 per 1/2 hour

Tuition for the month is paid in full at the beginning of each month.

All legitimate cancellations will taken as make-ups only and not credited to the following month's tuition.

Note:

SOUTH BAY SCHOOL OF MUSIC / SOUTH BAY GUITAR SCHOOL

LONG BEACH GUITAR SCHOOL / PALOS VERDES GUITAR SCHOOL

What We Teach and Where

• Guitar Lessons (Redondo Beach, Torrance Long Beach & Palos Verdes)
• Piano & Keyboard Lessons (Redondo Beach, Torrance, Long Beach & Palos Verdes)
• Bass Lessons (Redondo Beach & Long Beach & Palos Verdes)
• Mandolin Lessons (Redondo Beach)
• Ukulele Lessons (Redondo Beach & Long Beach)
• Banjo Lessons (Redondo Beach & Long Beach)
• Drum Lessons (Long Beach, Hermosa Beach, Redondo Beach) more info
• Theory Lessons (Redondo Beach & Palos Verdes & Long Beach)
• Improvisation Lessons (Redondo Beach & Palos Verdes & Long Beach)
• Harmony Lessons (Redondo Beach & Palos Verdes & Long Beach)
• Voice Lessons (Long Beach)

Location of instruction on the various instruments is subject to change. Also, we are always adding new instructors and instruments so don't hesitate to call us if you don't see the instrument you want to study.

All Styles — All Levels — All Ages