Learn Guitar your way with a TakeLessons expert

By Ben P. - Baltimore Guitar Teacher

Think back to all the things you have learned to do in your life such as riding a bike, tying your shoes or changing a tire. Now think back to the activities you participated in as a child: dance, karate, ice-skating, skiing, and swimming. Think back to the team sports you participated in and the after-school clubs you attended. Chances are you spent a lot of time learning as you were growing up, whether from your parents, instructors, coaches or teachers. Chances are you learned much of what you know in your life because you invested time in something that interested you and were guided by a knowledgeable teacher or coach. From the time we are young and throughout most of our lives, we are learning from others. It’s the rare case that we learn something completely independently and master it, succeed at it, or make money doing it. Even the simple pleasures of life are more pleasurable when we feel we have control over what we are doing, be it fishing, gardening, practicing yoga or kick-boxing. We enjoy the things that we are good at and that we understand.

Count in your head how many people you know that “play” the guitar - not that actually understand music theory, can read and write music proficiently and have some level of mastery of their instrument, but if you were to bring it up in conversation would say they can “play the guitar a little?” And what does “a little” mean? It means that they don’t actually know how to play. It means that they memorized a few chords and can strum them well enough to churn out a couple of songs. It means that they know how to play the pentatonic scale and can solo over a 12-bar blues progression. Perhaps it’s because the rock and roll image doesn’t promote students of music, but rebellions of study, the anti-student. But the key word in that statement is “image.” Many rock musicians have studied music at some level, whether privately or collegiate.

But what about the rest of us, who simply enjoy learning new things, who love music and want to learn how to make it? Did your 4th grade teacher assume you already knew how to do long division? Did your swim instructor demand you swim the breast stroke in your first lesson? Why then would you expect that you could learn to do something as complicated and beautiful as learning to play an instrument without some guidance? If you want to be more than the person who “can play a little,” then you should consider taking guitar lessons in Baltimore with a certified instructor who can help you achieve this goal. Learn the basics, the theory of music and why it works. You will not only become better at your instrument, but you’ll learn techniques for making music that you’ll treasure as much as the memory of the day you took off your training wheels and rode down the street all on your own.