Guitar Lessons.
Amazing Teachers.

ll fit gracefully on the fretboard, providing countless avenues for musical expression.

Guitar classes make your music learning journey as fun and efficient as it can be. With every in-person or online guitar lesson, your knowledge of the fretboard will expand, and you’ll be one step closer to achieving your musical goals.

While everyone has their reasons for wanting to take guitar lessons, there are some benefits to learning music that you may not be aware of. Let’s dive into the many reasons to pick up the guitar, which topics your guitar teacher will cover, and how to improve your skills as quickly as possible!

Many Reasons to Take Guitar Classes

There are plenty of reasons to pick up the guitar besides just looking cool. Thanks to the versatility and mobility of the instrument, it wields great social power in a variety of settings. With an acoustic guitar and a few songs up your sleeve, you can bring groups of people together in song, anywhere you go.

Playing the guitar also imparts several mental benefits. Reading musical notation, guitar tabs, and chords can improve your memory and concentration. Plus, the skills needed to play guitar improve your hand-eye coordination, listening abilities, and multitasking prowess. With time, practicing guitar will strengthen your hands, wrists, and arms, improving dexterity and flexibility.

The benefits aren’t just for adults, either. Learning guitar enriches a child's development by improving cognitive ability, motor skills, academic abilities, and confidence. Playing the guitar has also been shown to be a useful therapy for children with ADHD, as it directs a child's energy toward a creative pursuit and improves their focus and discipline.

Topics You'll Learn in Private Guitar Lessons

With a private teacher, you can learn to play the exact style of music you love. The genre of music and type of guitar that you ultimately want to play will dictate which techniques you learn and how your guitar instructor plans your lessons. In addition, guitar lessons for kids will differ greatly in terms of content and teaching style than guitar lessons for adults will.

With in-person and online guitar classes, you'll benefit from receiving prompt feedback and lesson plans that are tailored to your needs. As you learn to play guitar, you'll practice fingering, picking, and strumming techniques, learn about your instrument and its care, and you’ll develop a solid understanding of music theory. 

Sample Curriculum for Beginner Guitar Lessons

The goal of guitar lessons for beginners is to establish a strong foundation of fundamental skills, techniques, and theory. The topics learned in beginner lessons will be used during a lifetime of playing guitar. Lessons at this level may cover the following topics:

• How to tune and hold your guitar
• How to hold a pick
• Introduction to music theory
• Reading music notation, guitar tablature (tabs), and chords
• Basic chords
• Fretting, strumming, and picking
• Guitar anatomy
• Basic guitar care and re-stringing

Your guitar teacher will break these concepts down in an understandable way and set out achievable goals to help you progress. Do you have a particular song you’d like to learn? Let your teacher know.

Sample Curriculum for Intermediate Guitar Lessons

Intermediate guitar classes are designed to take your skills to the next level while you practice playing your desired genre of music. At this stage, you can start to widen your perspective of the instrument and branch out into other styles as well. With intermediate lessons, your guitar teacher may cover the following topics:

• Open chords and power chords
• Advanced strumming patterns
• Intermediate riffs and licks
• Barre chords
• Extended chords
• Major, minor, and pentatonic scales
• Position playing
• Alternate tunings
• Modes, arpeggios, and more!

Sample Curriculum for Advanced Guitar Lessons

Advanced lessons are intended for musicians who have already had plenty of practice and experience on the instrument. In advanced lessons, guitar players sharpen their techniques and practice improvisation, as well as take on challenging pieces of music. They'll also receive professional advice regarding the music business, auditions, and performances. Lessons often cover the following topics:

• Advanced rhythmic techniques
• Alternate and sweep picking
• Legato phrasing
• Right-hand tapping
• String skipping
• Solo artistry
• Improvisation
• Performance preparation
• Composition and songwriting

Wondering how long it’ll take you to master the guitar? This can vary depending on the frequency of lessons and how often you practice, but if you’re dedicated to learning, most students can play several easy songs within one to two months.

Learn with In-Person and Online Guitar Classes

When you're ready to learn guitar, you can easily find the perfect guitar teacher right here at TakeLessons. You'll find hundreds of instructors offering acoustic and electric guitar lessons both in-person and online, to students of all ages. Online guitar lessons are an excellent option for kids and parents with busy schedules, who would prefer to learn from the comfort of home!

Browsing through our teachers’ profiles, you'll see that many are experienced in the music business and have years of teaching experience. Plus, all TakeLessons teachers are required to pass a thorough background check.

In order to narrow down your options, we recommend looking for a teacher who specializes in your preferred genre and style of guitar music. You can also read through reviews left by other students and ask the teacher any questions you may have about lessons. 

Once you've selected a teacher, give one of our friendly Student Counselors a call to schedule your very first TakeLessons guitar class. With a private guitar instructor, you'll be well on your way to becoming the rock star you’ve always dreamed of being!