Almost everything is now available online with YouTube being one of the best ways to learn how to play an instrument. All the same, setting aside some amount of time isn't always easy. A combination of both seems like the easier way out.
Depending on the instrument and your own innate talent, I think you can learn the basics alone. Pitch, tempo, and things like that are better mastered with a teacher though.
I learned the piano on my piano but it was so difficult to do the same with the guitar in mind. Like musicluvr says, a lot of this has to with how far your own innate talent can take you.
TheWanderer Messages: 58 Registered: December 2018
Baron
YouTube can take you pretty far but to actually get good, I think you need a teacher. Someone to give you feedback on how you're playing. We all know someone who thinks they're amazing at doing something but the reality is quite different.
I've seen the commercials for learning guitar on your own in no time and figured it was probably a money waster. Maybe it's possible to learn that way if you already have a foundation in reading music and playing to pitch.
YouTube can take you pretty far but to actually get good, I think you need a teacher. Someone to give you feedback on how you're playing. We all know someone who thinks they're amazing at doing something but the reality is quite different.
That is a very good point because review and feedback is a good way of gauging how well we are doing. The point is that the real teacher has to be available and both willing and able to get the best out of a student.
Depending on the instrument and your own innate talent, I think you can learn the basics alone. Pitch, tempo, and things like that are better mastered with a teacher though.
I agree with this comment. We can learn how to read notes and how to play them, but there are parts of music that only a music teacher can teach us. However, there are people who are really gifted that they learn just by watching other people's performance.
I was looking for a child's birthday gift and ran across this smart device that's supposed to help you learn to play the keyboard. If it really works and the learner is dedicated, this could be much cheaper than hiring a teacher for lessons. That's especially true if you're just starting out, since you'll just be learning the basics and might not need a teacher until you face more difficult material. That would also let a person get a feel for the instrument to determine whether the player enjoyed it before investing more heavily and going all-in. Do you guys think you could learn this way?
Teacher or no teacher, the bottom line is that without dedication, no single person can master how to play an instrument. I know a lot of people who are self-taught and the common denominator is that they were willing to spare at least 30 minutes each day. They also utilized a lot of online resources, most of which didn't cost anything!
I think it depends on the person and how committed they are to learn the instrument on their own. I tried online piano classes and found that I did not have enough motivation to do that. It was only after I hired a private tutor that I started seeing some progress.
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