The Advantages of Online Guitar Lessons

When I was growing up, finding a good guitar teacher meant a proper trek. Every week I'd take two buses, guitar case and all, to get to my guitar lessons in High Wycombe. It was worth it, but it took a big chunk out of the day, and that was before I'd played a single note.

These days, most of my students learn with me online. So I thought I'd share how I got here, what an online lesson actually looks like, and, just as honestly, who it doesn't suit.

Learning from the other side of the world

I was an online student before I was an online teacher. Years ago I took jazz guitar lessons over Skype with Gonzalo Bergara, a fantastic gypsy jazz guitarist based in Argentina.

There was simply no way I could ever have had lessons from him in person. Online, he was just a video call away. That was when it clicked for me: online lessons don't just save you a bus journey, they open up teachers you'd never otherwise get to learn from.

I had one or two online students before COVID, but most people weren't sure. "I don't know about online…" was a phrase I heard a lot.

Then lockdown arrived, and it really was this or nothing. So people gave it a go, and many were surprised. Adults working from home found it fitted their day far better. Parents who'd been unsure soon realised they no longer had to sit in a car park for half an hour every week. Funny how quickly that won them over!

My students also did better in their exams. To be fair, some of that was probably all the extra practice time lockdown gave them, but the online exams genuinely worked well too.

What a lesson actually looks like

We use Zoom, which has a setting called "original sound". It stops Zoom trying to filter out background noise, so I hear your guitar properly rather than a muffled version of it. (If you're setting up, here's how to set up Zoom for online guitar lessons.)

From there, it's much more hands-on than people expect. I share my screen, we play along to backing tracks, and we use a shared whiteboard for music theory. I'll write something out, you'll correct it, and we go back and forth. I can also record bits as we go and send them to you afterwards, so you're never left trying to remember what we did.

Shorter and more often

Most of my lessons are 30 minutes. More advanced players, and some adults, prefer an hour, and that's fine. But in my experience, shorter lessons more often work better for most learners than one long session now and then.

Online makes that easy. With no travel, a 30 minute lesson really is 30 minutes out of your day, not two hours and two buses.

It's not for everyone

I'll be honest: online lessons aren't a cure-all. For very young children, in-person lessons usually work better. And as a teacher, you can find yourself staring at a screen for longer than is good for you!

But for most teenagers and adults, it works brilliantly. You learn from home, at a time that suits you, with a teacher who might live miles away.

Give it a go

If you've been wondering whether online lessons could work for you, the easiest way to find out is to try one. Why not book a free trial lesson and see for yourself?

Keep strumming!

Simon

Tremolo Guitar School

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