11 Damaging Mistakes Guitar Players Make And How To Avoid Them

Do you know how some guitar players practice most days of the week, work hard, and are passionate about their playing, but they always struggle to be able to play the way they want? They are frustrated because they don’t improve fast enough, begin doubting their potential, or even feel discouraged or angry with themselves when thinking about how long it is taking them to become a better guitar player.

Can you relate to that? I sure can, I just described myself 15 years ago.

There are specific reasons why guitar players go through such frustration and disappointment. Here are 11 key mistakes players make and repeat over and over again that you should definitely avoid.

01.Teaching Yourself. Many people attempt to teach themselves. Yes, it’s true that some well known players were ‘somewhat’ self taught, but I do not suggest following that strategy even if your favorite player was self taught. If you are 100% sure that you can build powerfully effective learning and training systems on your own, that's great. However, if you are like most of us, doing it alone is the hardest, most time-consuming, stressful, and frustrating way to learn anything. This is a mistake that you should avoid. Some guitar players think it will impress others if they say, "I am a self taught player". That statement might impress a few inexperienced people, but being self taught is not a 'badge of honor'. Would you rather impress others with your playing or with an unimportant statement about your playing? I'm not criticizing self taught guitar players, I'm only saying that there is no advantage to being self taught… and no, it is not true that being 'self taught' makes us more 'original'. In fact, the opposite is usually true.

02.Taking Lessons From Ineffective Guitar Teachers. Unfortunately, most electric guitar teachers receive ZERO training on how to teach guitar. What is worse is that the vast majority of teachers do little or nothing to improve their guitar teaching skills. Want some proof? Use google’s keyword tool. Type in this keyword phrase: ‘improve guitar teaching skills’, ‘guitar teaching skills’, or ‘guitar teaching training’ and you will find that less than 10 searches per month are done for these topics at google! Of course there are some highly effective teachers around, but there are a whole lot more ineffective teachers. Here is a free resource on how to tell the difference between the good teachers and the mediocre ones, Free Guide: How To Choose A Guitar Teacher.

03.Seeking New Guitar Information (tricks, tips, tab) Without A Proven Strategy To Reach Your Specific Musical Goals. We need information, advice, help and music to play, but without a proven strategic learning and training process that is specific to you, your skill level, your musical style and what you want to be able to do as a guitar player, information won’t get you where you want to go. It is better to first seek help in developing a customized strategy for you to become a better guitar player. After that strategy is in place, then it is time to deal with learning the right information.

04.Not Knowing Specifically What You Want To Be Able To Play. Most guitar players are not specific enough when they think about (or tell others about) what they want to be able to do with their guitar. To say, "I want to play whatever I wish to play” is too vague. How can you (or your guitar teacher) develop a specific and effective guitar training strategy unless the goals you have are specific? It's like saying you want to be a great athlete, how can you effectively train with such a vague goal? Sure there are things you can do to become faster, stronger, more flexible or whatever, but it's much easier if you first get specific such as, I want to train to be a gymnast, or a long distance runner, or a body builder. Yes you can still improve without a strategy, but it will take a lot longer and be much more frustrating. You can always change your goal later if you discover you want to do something else instead.

05.Not Enough Focus On Things That Matter Most To Making You A Better Guitar Player. Have you fallen into the trap of practicing guitar without focusing on the specific things that can quickly begin to improve your guitar playing? Many people really do not understand and apply this concept in enough detail…. for example, I have a student named Mark who used to take lessons from another teacher in the past. Mark was studying sweep picking arpeggios with his previous teacher, and was making some progress. However Mark did not understand what ‘specific’ things he needed to focus on first before attempting to master the sweep picking arpeggios he was practicing. This was holding him back and making him feel very frustrated. Mark’s previous teacher only knew how to ‘teach’ arpeggios and general sweep picking concepts. He did not really know how to “train” Mark with the specific things to focus on and how to overcome the challenges Mark was having. If you would like to see a small sample of this check out this short sweep picking video guitar lesson.

06.Too Much Focus On Things That Are Not Core To Your Goals. In addition to not focusing on specific things, many guitar players focus on the ‘wrong things’. Some enthusiastic guitar players become temporarily obsessed with things which are distractions from other things that could be helping their playing much more. Here is an example: I used to get so frustrated and angry when I could not play something perfectly, I’d lock myself in my practice room and say, “I’m not coming out of this room until I master this damn lick if it takes me the next 19 hours! No breaks! No food! No human contact! I’m gonna nail this!” And I did master it. On the surface, it might seem like I was on the right track and practicing in a good way…. But in reality, I was spending my time only to stop being angry and frustrated. I was not investing my practice time wisely by focusing on the things that mattered most to making a better guitar player. In other words, my perseverance was commendable, but my strategy to master important long-term goals was weak. I allowed myself to be distracted. I don’t make this same mistake anymore, and I urge you to also avoid it! Focus on the things that really matter for your guitar playing right now. If you are not sure how to do this, seek out a proven guitar teacher today.

07.Focusing On The Right Things, But in The Wrong Order. This is a common mistake that even many advanced guitar players make which causes a lot of wasted time and frustration. Imagine you want to improve your ability to create your own cool guitar solos. Let’s assume that you are advanced enough to truly understand all the primary and secondary elements of composing guitar solos (or you have a guitar teacher to help you). Each of the many elements need to be learned and/or practiced in order to easily create awesome solos that you like. Where should you begin? What should you focus on first, second, third? Which of these things should you practice simultaneously? There is always a specific order in which musical skills should be learned and mastered in order to EXPLODE your musical skills. Unfortunately, that order is totally different for every person, style of music, musical goal, skill set and knowledge, so giving an example here would be pointless. My advice, find the best teacher you can and study with him/her in order to be able to do what you want to do with your guitar much faster and easier.

08.Not Isolating Problem Areas. Few guitar players are aware of the small things that hold them back in big ways. Because these little imperfections seem insignificant to us, we often ignore them. The truth is, small hinges open big doors. In the video mentioned above I explained how allowing your pick to lose its momentum when you are ‘not picking’ a note on the guitar makes your playing slow and sloppy…. which will make you feel very frustrated. This is why I was sure to make a special point to help you avoid that mistake. Check out the small sample sweep picking video guitar lesson for more details.

09.Learning And Practicing Guitar In A Step By Step Linear Process. Does following a linear step by step approach to learning, practicing and mastering guitar seem like common sense good to you? Yes it does… And that is why guitar players who follow such a path are NOT great guitar players. I’m going to let you in an insider’s secret… The truth is, following a linear approach to learning, practicing, and mastering is the number one reason why “good guitar players” struggle to become “great guitar players”… I originally thought I would write an article on this one point alone, but I think you will learn this concept better in another short video I recorded while I was doing a recent guitar instructional clinic tour a few months ago. Check out this free sample from my “How to Master The Guitar” clinic.

10.Practicing Guitar In The Same Way Your Favorite Guitar Players Practice. Have you ever read about how your favorite guitar players practice and then tried to repeat the same practice routine? Yes, I’ve made this mistake too! It seems natural to use a similar guitar practice schedule that our favorite players are using. This is a mistake, because your current guitar skill level and knowledge of music is probably very different from your favorite player. His/her challenges and needs are likely not the same as yours.

Professional guitar players practice for different reasons than most amateur players do. For example, before recording a new album I will practice very differently compared to the period before going on tour. Once I’m actually on tour my practice routine changes drastically again. The rest of the year my practicing schedule changes yet again. This happens because in each case my challenges and goals are totally different. When my guitar students ask me, “Tom, how do you practice guitar?” I’m careful not to let my students assume that they should practice the same way that I do. Your practice schedule and strategy needs to be built around YOU and you only! If you need help building your own practice schedule, email me directly.

11.Learning From Too Many Different Sources Of Information. There will always be many learning opportunities and various paths to take, but it is critical that you do not get distracted into following a piece of advice from one person, then another piece of advice from another person and then follow more resources from somewhere else and so on and so on... while different people may have some good ideas to offer, the fact is, distraction is a big reason why many guitar players who are actively learning, don't really move forward quickly... these people are always busy following totally different resources, teachers, philosophies, instructional videos, free online guitar lessons, but all of this leads them to take one step forward, then 2 steps to the right, then one step forward, then 3 steps to the left, then one step backward, then two to the right, then 1 step forward and then another step to the left...

An illustration of this is shown below. The first path is obviously the most direct way to arrive to your goals. The second path is the inefficient approach filled with many distractions that come from various pieces of advice from many sources:

Once you have an effective strategy to become the guitar player you want to be, ALWAYS stay focused on it (unless your goals radically change)!! The very best way to do this is to have one primary guitar teacher who helps you to become the musician you really want to be.

This doesn't mean that you shouldn't take advice from other people too, but you should have one 'primary' source of information, training and coaching, and see the other advice as an additional resource, but do not become distracted by it.

Download this free guide How To Choose A Guitar Teacher to find a guitar teacher with proven teaching strategies, proven training strategies and proven results so that you become the awesome guitar player you want to be and play the guitar the way you’ve always wanted to play.

About the author: Tom Hess is a professional touring guitarist and recording artist. He teaches, trains and mentors musicians from around the world. Visit www.tomhess.net to discover highly effective music learning resources, online guitar lessons and tools including free online assessments, surveys, mini courses and more.

©2009 Tom Hess Music Corporation. All Rights Reserved

Comments

[GuitarFreak1387]

thanks tom good stuff to know

[Pvz]

awesome

[Casp666]

thanks that was quite helpful.

[BrianApocalypse]

That was kinda obvious, but then I suppose that these things always are.

[KoRnOnA6String]

Even though I read through all of it, it seemed like a VERY long post to mask that all he's saying is.. "Get a teacher" .. Annoyed me throughout the whole piece, even if it was helpful -.-

[colohue]

I must say that while most of the information is the article is definately intelligent and useful information, it's not very well put across. Like the user above me said, you're basically telling people to get a teacher. I disagree. I had a very well thought out and structured plan which has made me at least somewhat decent. I am more balanced than most guitarists I know. Some might be better guitarists but overall it seems I'm the best musician I know of thus far. I disagree completely with the first point.

However, the rest of it, in it's entirety, is spot on and useful information. Good work.

[playinbass1432]

I'm self taught and I'm progressing just fine, thank you very much.

[Sean Duffy]

Well this is highlighting the problems very well, but it isn't really providing any solutions, other than get a teacher or a better one if you already have one. Alot of people don't have the time or money for that, it isn't that easy.

[wesselbindt]

This is only more of the same crap this guy's been teaching. You can completely ignore 'mistake' 11, wich is simply ridiculous. Zeguitarists articles, they rule.

[teknotard]

MAny good points, but the first one is a big mistake. Its true you cant do it on your own, I know I didnt. BUt I never had a guitat teacher. You dont need one. I did however have froums like this, friends, and a music theory teacher. But never one formal guitar lesson, and i think of my self as very good

[MetalGS3SE]

I never had a teacher, and I am doing great. Don't assume that just because you failed without a teacher that other people will as well.

[manwithplan]

yeh ther formal guitar teacher thing is a load of shit- all u learn from them is the techniques u need- becoming a good player is all about practise. It depends what kinda guitarest u wanna be- if u wanna be a tecnical player like steve vai then get a teacher and learn it like a science. If u want to play with other people and entertain people and make good music- get a teacher by all means- but dont depend on them. Just develop your own style- a teacher can do that for u

[pooflinger069]

it is better to have a good teacher for music in general...but guitar is another story...I taught myself guitar just fine after learning music theory from the trumpet

[Retro Rocker]

Alot of hate towards Tom here, why?
In todays world you should be grateful for the free (and useful) advice.

[jeremy182]

Retro Rocker wrote:

Alot of hate towards Tom here, why?
In todays world you should be grateful for the free (and useful) advice.

It's not useful at all, it's rubbish.

[atthedrive-thru]

playinbass1432 wrote:

I'm self taught and I'm progressing just fine, thank you very much.

me too

[Gabysguitar]

Thats not right, im self taught and im better that some players that i know that had been taking lessons with greats teaches. And the other point were only "BLA,BLA,.....!!!!!

[jigy-i-joe]

This article if full of buzzwords and complete garbage. Its like you wrote this article purely to make yourself look good. Tom Hess can go **** himself.

[Gabysguitar]

wesselbindt wrote:

This is only more of the same crap this guy's been teaching. You can completely ignore 'mistake' 11, wich is simply ridiculous. Zeguitarists articles, they rule.

YEAH BABY, you are right!!!
Cheers for ZEGUITARRIST!!

[HarvesterofPain]

Okay, I'll say what I thought was good first. The article pointed out real problems that guitar players have when practicing and learning.

But the bad... Well, as it's been said before, every single solution offered for each problem is "get a teacher."

While a teacher is a HUGE benefit to have, a lot of the problems on here can be realized and fixed without the help of one. Hell, I think there might be a FULL article on UG for every problem listed(with an actual solution!).

[Blas3]

I don't agree with this, unless you want to be another shredder from the thousands out there without any specific style, just playing over the same things again.

[lestat1836]

cool lesson, thanks for this one!

[colohue]

A Valid point. Most teachers train you to be clones of themselves. The direction you want to take barely enters their interests. This is especially true of the more expensive ones. If you've ever met teachers like I have who's philosophy is:

'My way will make you an awesome guitar teacher exactly like me!'

[Jeroenofzo]

Basically some bullshit imo.Few good points, but alot of redirection for some 'free' video's you nee to register for.
But i got a teacher, and he says the oppisite of your 11th point : Learn and try as many things as you can, to widen up your interest and techniques.
Tend to belive him more...

[The Judist]

All this article seemed to do was tell you to get a teacher and that if you thought you could teach yourself guitar, you're wrong and you probably suck!

Even though that may be true in my case, ha, I'm sure with the right books or DVDs you can do a pretty good job, plus playing live and checking out other guitarists will always help.

[redsN64]

so basically what this says is I am never going to progress with my guitar playing if I keep going like I am... even though I am getting better every time I play?
gotcha.

[vortexpassion]

Jeroenofzo wrote:

Basically some bullshit imo.Few good points, but alot of redirection for some 'free' video's you nee to register for.
But i got a teacher, and he says the oppisite of your 11th point : Learn and try as many things as you can, to widen up your interest and techniques.
Tend to belive him more...

is your teacher the pro player and teacher that Hess is? kinda doubt it dude

[James Scott]

Don't knock formal guitar lessons until you've tried them. I was self-taught for years and thought (and was told by many people) that I was a pretty decent player. But then I sought out a teacher because I was struggling with one or two specific things, he took one look at my playing and said "if you do this, this and this, you'll be way better" and damn he was right! I look back at the recordings and stuff I made back then and it grates my ears how sloppy and restricted my playing was, even if it was fast.

So I'm not saying don't self-teach, and that's not what Tom's saying either. But a small number of lessons from a good teacher can help you solve problems you didn't even think you had. I've not lost my style by having a teacher, I still sound like me, but less rubbish. A *good* teacher will help you sound like you, but better. A *bad* teacher will make you sound like them. There's a difference, and that's what Tom is on about.

[MangeuDePoutine]

I learn guitar by myself, of course this could take more time to be able to play a few thing but this is still a good way to learn guitar. No need of a teacher. Useless lesson.

[Gh.]

To be honest, almost all these things can be avoided with either playing with others(gaining from their experiance) or internet(vids, forums). The most important thing is to state your goals(the small ones and big ones).
Page, Clapton and dozens of others started as young guys practicing to bunch of old vinyls. If they were able to achieve their dreams, why we couldn't? Just dare to take a chance... and plan your chance.

[Mike_Philippov]

Thanks for the great article Tom. Your sweeping video was cool too!

[hippie_guy]

well, i think self-teaching is good until one point. until now i've been able to learn a lot of things from the Internet (guitar pro) but i don't think this will work forever. i'll get a teacher in about 2 months.

[pjotrfijas]

I think your strategy is well suited for people with little or no musical talent, but who still want to learn how to play (for some reason or other). Of course.... I don't recomend that people with little or no talent pursue a career as a guitarist..... but if they absolutely must, then I think maybe your advice could be sound advice.

For people with talent, I don't recommend it....

If you have talent, then you also have the ability to teach yourself how to play, and to become good at it. I'm not saying that you need to invent the wheel all over again, but I'm saying that you should let your ear guide you, and not your eyes or your brain. Focus on getting a good ear for music, tones and chords. It does not matter how MANY chords you know, how fast you can play them, or how complex they are. What matters is that you know the stuff that you know really well. It's better to know 5 chords really well than to know 200 chord combinations and not know how any of them fits together.

Also, if you line up all the greatest guitarists of all time, Clapton, Hendrix, Page, Reinhardt, Prince, Kirk Hammett, Steve Lukather etc, they're all 95% self thaught. Teaching can help you on the way.... But, self exploration and playing around is the key to becoming great.

Teaching is not the key (except, as I say, for people who are short on talent to begin with....).

[swyg2]

i make about 11/11 of those mistakes

[monkey_dancer]

These are mistakes?? I do all of these except no. 2 (because I'm self taught. OH NOES!!!) quite happily. That's right. I'm HAPPY not "progressing". Disciplined practice isn't for me, I just play whatever I fancy.

Thing is, I have a great time, write songs and I'm happy with my playing...

This method isn't necessarily right for everyone. Then again, the people for whom it won't work are probably sensible enough to work that out anyway.

[turtlewax]

it's just a sales pitch for his website these things shouldn't be allowed to be posted up here

[Destihado]

KoRnOnA6String wrote:

Even though I read through all of it, it seemed like a VERY long post to mask that all he's saying is.. "Get a teacher" .. Annoyed me throughout the whole piece, even if it was helpful -.-

You are damn right!

[greg1775]

the biggest mistake you can make is the number 1 on the list- I have been guilty of that one for ages
That point is spot on.
With regards to comments such as "I am doing fine without a teacher" is that enough? Why not to be a great or the best guitarist around?

[Shustermeister]

Theres a certain kind of people that Guitar Teachers arent for...And those are broke bastards such as myself

[wilco5000]

Looks like another complete pile of selling-point bullshit from Tom Hess

[Jondy]

I'm self taught due to impossible scheduling, lack of funding, and deep down inside i think i just want to play whatever the hell i want to play and i don't want any teacher telling me what i should learn to play. i'd agree though that self taught isn't best for most people, though I find it hard to agree with because it has worked for me. I did make a lot of horrible mistakes that made me backtrack but ultimately it was the same end result in relatively the same amount of time.

the biggest factor is motivation. you've got to stick with it. you've got to not only like playing guitar, you have to be a masochist and even like the horribly annoying scales and exercises by metronome activities. you can't just really want to be a guitar player, you've got to be obsessed. (in order to teach yourself that is) otherwise most people just give up really fast.

[Sharp_as_steel]

[quote= pjotrfijas]I think your strategy is well suited for people with little or no musical talent, but who still want to learn how to play (for some reason or other). Of course.... I don't recomend that people with little or no talent pursue a career as a guitarist..... but if they absolutely must, then I think maybe your advice could be sound advice.

For people with talent, I don't recommend it....

If you have talent, then you also have the ability to teach yourself how to play, and to become good at it. I'm not saying that you need to invent the wheel all over again, but I'm saying that you should let your ear guide you, and not your eyes or your brain. Focus on getting a good ear for music, tones and chords. It does not matter how MANY chords you know, how fast you can play them, or how complex they are. What matters is that you know the stuff that you know really well. It's better to know 5 chords really well than to know 200 chord combinations and not know how any of them fits together.

Also, if you line up all the greatest guitarists of all time, Clapton, Hendrix, Page, Reinhardt, Prince, Kirk Hammett, Steve Lukather etc, they're all 95% self thaught. Teaching can help you on the way.... But, self exploration and playing around is the key to becoming great.

Teaching is not the key (except, as I say, for people who are short on talent to begin with....). [/quote]

Hammet had Joe Satriani as a teacher, he didn't teach himself.

[mashedpotatoes]

It's one of those things that are so obvious that people ignore them... I could assume that these tactics are usually used, although they were wrong.

[KORG101]

ima self thaught too cuz my guitar teacher didnt come to my house after 6 months, so i decided to drop him and learn myself, but i need a teacher to understand theories

[J.J.G.]

greg1775 wrote:

the biggest mistake you can make is the number 1 on the list- I have been guilty of that one for ages
That point is spot on.
With regards to comments such as "I am doing fine without a teacher" is that enough? Why not to be a great or the best guitarist around?

~

well i dont belive in that, i've been self taught since i started playing about 7 years ago. If you are mature or persistent enough you will be able to learn guitar by yourself. you have lots of information on the internet and if you start be learning the theory and then make it happen there is no way you cant learn how to do it.
well if you are an 11 boy kid then yeah maybe you need some support atthe starting line but getting a teacher its not worth it, waste of money I say.

[juan Andrés]

vERY TRUE

[J.J.G.]

[quote= pjotrfijas]Hammet had Joe Satriani as a teacher, he didn't teach himself.[/quote]

dude he didn't theach him How TO PLAY guitar he teached him advanced guitar.

[monkey_dancer]

J.J.G. wrote:

[quote= pjotrfijas]Hammet had Joe Satriani as a teacher, he didn't teach himself.

dude he didn't theach him How TO PLAY guitar he teached him advanced guitar.[/quote]

Obviously isn't much of a teacher then...

[J.J.G.]

monkey_dancer wrote:

J.J.G. wrote:

[quote= pjotrfijas]Hammet had Joe Satriani as a teacher, he didn't teach himself.

dude he didn't theach him How TO PLAY guitar he teached him advanced guitar.

Obviously isn't much of a teacher then... [/quote]

yeah its like "hey kirk check this out" and he says "damn satch you gotta teach me how to make 6 string sweep picking with my feet"XD

[tigerking615]

Pretty good

[Ashizzle90]

i think this is helpful, but pretty patronisin lol sorry dude i found it that way.

[BoogieManMKD]

umm.... yeah right dude, I'm self-taught and I'm just happy with how I am progressing. Compared to friends that go to teachers for 4 or more years, with my 2 years of learning I fu*king own them. And this whole article is like a god damn copy paste, you say the same thing over and over again. If you decide to be self-taught you should be determined to succeed. I'm practicing sweeping now, and guess what I'm actually practicing it, sitting down every day for 2 hours at least going through various shapes and stuff.

/rant

[Buffilax]

It might be nice to have an actual Bass teacher but for now all can I afford is lesson books by guys that sound like that they'd be good teachers. Maybe once I get some income rolling in again, but chemo put a halt on that untill like april

[Switchmunky7]

I've been playing guitar for 12 years and was majority self taught but i hit a ceiling in my playing wasn't progressing, I started taking lessons 4 months ago and found that i have been making steady progress again and really enjoying what i'm learning and discovering, teachers are a great help if you want to progress if you feel stuck and their is nothing wrong in being self taught but the important part of guitar is to have fun and enjoy discovering the limits you have and pushing beyond them.

[coquet]

Terrible article.

Of course, I usually find Tom Hess' articles to be full of crap.

[hd7373]

mekanyx wrote:

what this article means:
U must give alll ur money to the best guitar teacher or else ull NEVER be good at guitar playing MWHAHAHAAHA
n btw i am the best guitar teacher!!!

lol right..... this article is almost spam.

I
The direct approach figure reminds of something a brochure for a pyramid scheme might use. Who bothers to make a figure so obvious unless there trying to run some scam.

Checked

[CHOCOmoney]

Sure he explained the problems, but there was nothing about fixing them.

[torque352]

i dont agree with most of them, because it sounds like he is encouraging people to better themselves for the sake of i, which is stupid cos you should just play for the craic

[AJRAD]

summary:
HI IM TOM HESS
I KNOW EVERYTHING
YOU KNOW NOTHING
THEREFORE GIVE ME MONEY
kthxbye
p.s. get a teacher
p.p.s. get a teacher

[EdawMail]

Didn't really see the point about the diagram (YEAH, We get it!) but it wasn't a bad article. Lots of it was basically pointing to the same point though - get a teacher.

[misfitsramones]

he contradicts himself...
"09.Learning And Practicing Guitar In A Step By Step Linear Process." he says you shouldnt do this.

then look at the picture he posts. one staright line to my goal.
i thought it was funny how he makes no sense.

[qotsa1998]

This article isnt too bad when it comes to the problems. They do seem pretty common, and Ive run into some of em myself. But it would be nice if you had offered real solutions to the problems, instead of always suggesting a teacher or giing no solution at all. I definately cant afford a teacher right now, nor do i have the time for it. UG has helped me out alot with some things, especially the lessons. If everyone could afford teachers, UG wouldnt have lessons. This article is pretty big waste of time, telling you that unless you have an exact idea of what you want to do, get the best teacher you can find as soon as possible. I dont agree with that.

[Atlantis2112]

Good article, thanks Tom.

[guitarsonist]

I'm doing fine without a teacher thank you very much! I'm improving quite well as a guitarist. Setting goals and all this BS is just pointless, Play guitar and have fun!

[SauerPilsner]

Mistake number 12.

Spending your time reading nonimportent articles, instead of practicing guiar

[Chris Martins]

Thanks Tom. And not just for the article... I am proud to call you my friend.

[courtkid1012]

It's good, but in the end it's an ad.

[Fenderhippie69]

i couldnt disagree more with what you wrote in this. im not saying that what you say is not the right way to go about playing guitar but it seems to squeez all the fun out of playing and to me the only reason i play is for the fun of it.

[bigMaor]

well I'm playing to enjoy... and not really trying to be efficient progressing.
I enjoy playing and composing and nothing more then that.
so basically this "mistakes" do not apply to me.

[dinosaur sr]

why do you need to train and have goals and effective paths to them and all that stuff?

this looks more like a business plan or something

I like playing guitar, I dont care about "isolating problem areas"

[justinb904]

CHOCOmoney wrote:

Sure he explained the problems, but there was nothing about fixing them.

thats tom hess for ya

I'm self taught(except for some theory) and i'm doing great
and for 11 my primary source/teacher is UG

im starting to question his teaching abilities based on his articles

[strat0blaster]

Sounds like someone thinks they've found the cure-all for every guitarist's problems - which is wrong.

This may have worked for Tom; it may work for hundreds of people daily. That doesn't mean it'll work for me or you. Personally, I loved learning and discovering theory and how to piece scales and compositions together on my own - without the guidance of a teacher. I'm still learning, and still have a lot to learn and improve, but I'm loving the journey as a discovery rather than someone telling me what to do and why it works.

That's MY Preference. Just like relying on a good teacher is Tom's preference. Just like reading books might be YOUR preference, and your friends might learn to shred and play virtuosic stuff by watching a hero's DVD that gives you drills and technique applications to run.

The point here is that, contrary to what this article states (while it states it well enough), there is NO panacea for every guitarist. There's no ultimate cure or universal path. Tom likes to have it dictated. I like to discover it on my own over time. A friend of mine likes tabs and books while some other people prefer to learn by ear. Preference is just that.

Technique is a good thing to have, but how you get it should be up to you.

[strat0blaster]

courtkid1012 wrote:

in the end it's an ad.

And this is 100% correct.

[theshroomman]

That diagram was very useful.

[JohnnyChimpo241]

ive been playing 3 years, and had a teacher for the first year of that. of course i learned alot, but it took a long time for my teacher to get around to teaching me what i wanted to learn. but in the 1 and a half ive been teaching myself (i stopped playing for awhile when my teacher died), ive learned alot more of what i wanted to learn; sweeping and stuff like that. so i think being taught by a teacher can make you a good player in the simplest sense, you wont be good at what you want to be good at unless you study it for yourself.

f*ck you tom hess

[nevin021s]

I believe if i would have started without a teacher i would be fine, but luckily for me, my teacher is great: qualified (music major + experience), and he definitely learns how to teach: he gets lessons from college professors on new things to teach his student.

[gorkyporky]

Damn Tom Hess, isnt he the guy who is advertising all over UG? Anyway, I think as long as ou have fun playing it doesnt matter how "good" you are. I play for myself and if anybody happens to like what im playing, you are welcome to listen, otherwise go away.

[maisey ferret]

nice advert...

[link no1]

It does have some good points, but im not sure wether or nt your insulting self taught players, im self taught and have recently gone to collage to studie music after just under 2 years of learning from books, internet and dvds focusing on playing and theory. i have to do guitar lessons as part of collage and so far my longest lesson was 10 minuets because i know what the teacher has to teach me.

im sorry if you wernt having a dig at self taught players, but being one myself (and actually learning to play, not just learning from tab witch gets you nowhere), but i do admit most of the self taught players dont even know how to tune a guitar without guidence

[southpaw_tdg]

article summery -without hess as teacher you will fail!-

[XWildxChildX]

What maisey said. I saw the diagram, looked down to see the Tom Hess name and face palmed. Stop advertising. I'm not going to pay you for teaching. I'm self taught and progressing fine.

Also, I'm a guitar instructor who has taken classes, as well as ALL of my co-teachers.

Tom Hess; you can suck it.

[gopper]

Well, this article would be usefull for someone, who wants to be a professional guitar player or whatever...
If your goal is playing for fun, then forget all the teachers and stuff, just do it, play!

[SsPunk]

Thiis is just an advertisement.

Disgraceful.

[CrowLord]

my main problem with these articles is that it is basically subtley trying to tell you to use Tom Hess's website with hints like "Get A Guitar Teacher", "Don't get a Real, Bad Guitar Teacher", "Look at my website".

Another main thing, is that Tom has seem to have lost sight of the fact that most of us play guitar for FUN. I don't want to sit down and plan a strategy of how I'm going to play only the things that will make me better. Fuck that. i will play what I damn well like becuase I love to play guitar, I learn to love how to play my favourite songs, and I love writing my own songs. It may not make me a better player, but i damn well enjoy it. And I very much doubt it hurts my ability to play these tough songs without a clear thought out strategy

I know damn well if I posted a column saying "You need to get better at guitar, visit my website for such helpful tips" I would banned in an instant. I for one would like to know why Tom Hess gets preferential treatment.

[pjotrfijas]

Sharp_as_steel wrote:
Hammet had Joe Satriani as a teacher, he didn't teach himself.

Ok. I stand corrected.... Hammett studied under Satriani for 2 years from he was 19 till he was 21, it seems.

As for Satriani himself, he is completely self taught..... so, go figure.

[raymo39]

CrowLord wrote:

my main problem with these articles is that it is basically subtley trying to tell you to use Tom Hess's website with hints like "Get A Guitar Teacher", "Don't get a Real, Bad Guitar Teacher", "Look at my website".

Another main thing, is that Tom has seem to have lost sight of the fact that most of us play guitar for FUN. I don't want to sit down and plan a strategy of how I'm going to play only the things that will make me better. Fuck that. i will play what I damn well like becuase I love to play guitar, I learn to love how to play my favourite songs, and I love writing my own songs. It may not make me a better player, but i damn well enjoy it. And I very much doubt it hurts my ability to play these tough songs without a clear thought out strategy

I know damn well if I posted a column saying "You need to get better at guitar, visit my website for such helpful tips" I would banned in an instant. I for one would like to know why Tom Hess gets preferential treatment.

Here HERE!!!!

pjotrfijas wrote

As for Satriani himself, he is completely self taught..... so, go figure.

To say that you cant get good as a self taught player is complete shite... as backed up above!

[job153]

lol does anyone else think its kind of Ironic that this is an advice article, and yet # 11 basically tells you not to take everyones advice. I dunno, it might just be me but that sounds a little contradicting

[FretboardToAsh]

NOOOOO, HE'S BACK! NOOOOO

[tommaso.zillio]

That's actually a nice article. I know that for all you self-taught here this is a soft spot, but a good teacher can really help you. I've been completely self-taught for years, but when I started studying with a teacher my skills improved much faster. Sure, playing guitar is mostly about having fun, but I'd like to have MORE fun : that's why I want to improve.

Mind you, I could have done the same alone, but having a teacher considerably shortened the time I had to put in (i.e. I can practice less and have more results --> I can play more!).

[tommaso.zillio]

pjotrfijas wrote:
As for Satriani himself, he is completely self taught..... so, go figure.

From Wikipedia:

In 1974, Satriani studied music with jazz guitarist Billy Bauer and with reclusive jazz pianist Lennie Tristano. The technically demanding Tristano greatly influenced Satriani's playing.

Moral of the story:
No great guitarist became such by playing alone is his bedroom. If some had not a formal teacher, they had at the very least a constant mentoring by an old cat, and a LOT of practice, and a LOT of trial and error. Especially error. Being self-taught is the hard way to learn - it gives good result but with a lot of time and effort. A good teacher will give you the same or better result with less time and effort.

[michaelbot9000]

i think teachers are great. i hate it when "self taught" becomes a reason for greatness. With out the teacher i had, i wouldnt be open to as many styles of music as well as different techniques assiosiated with the different styles. i also got to know many of my favourite bands from my teacher!

[GaijinFoot]

yeah I didn't really like the article either. it's ok to say 11 things we do wrong but where are the 11 things to do to fix it? get a teacher or a website with videos because instructional dvd's are exactly the same as a real teacher /sarcasm

[AlskiOverload]

tommaso.zillio wrote:

pjotrfijas wrote:
As for Satriani himself, he is completely self taught..... so, go figure.

From Wikipedia:

In 1974, Satriani studied music with jazz guitarist Billy Bauer and with reclusive jazz pianist Lennie Tristano. The technically demanding Tristano greatly influenced Satriani's playing.

Moral of the story:
No great guitarist became such by playing alone is his bedroom. If some had not a formal teacher, they had at the very least a constant mentoring by an old cat, and a LOT of practice, and a LOT of trial and error. Especially error. Being self-taught is the hard way to learn - it gives good result but with a lot of time and effort. A good teacher will give you the same or better result with less time and effort.

Wow, well said. I agree. I am self taught, being one of those people who play in their room. I feel like I have made much progress, but not as much as I could. That would be why I am getting a teacher as soon as I get a job (even though i have prided myself as self taught in the past) It is hard to get a teacher when you dont have money, but if you do have money, and you say "Im not gonna take lessons because I WANT to do it the hard way" You are missing out on something that could make you great one day.

[munkymanmatt]

tommaso.zillio wrote:

Moral of the story:
No great guitarist became such by playing alone is his bedroom. If some had not a formal teacher, they had at the very least a constant mentoring by an old cat, and a LOT of practice, and a LOT of trial and error. Especially error. Being self-taught is the hard way to learn - it gives good result but with a lot of time and effort. A good teacher will give you the same or better result with less time and effort.

dude, when i started learning guitar i knew i was signing up for shitloads of time and effort by teaching myself, and i've come to accept that it will take years, just like everyone else has.
i'm not going to get lazy and go get someone else to teach me just cos some douchebag who just "happens" to make money from teaching guitar says i'm saving effort by getting a teacher. this article is just a big ad. i want to work my ass off for guitar, cos it's all part of the experience.

[munkymanmatt]

AlskiOverload wrote:
It is hard to get a teacher when you dont have money, but if you do have money, and you say "Im not gonna take lessons because I WANT to do it the hard way" You are missing out on something that could make you great one day.

you are also missing out on something that could turn you into a copy of your teacher, because that's what most teachers do they say "i'm going to make you great, just like me"

[<SpaceTime>]

This is such BS...I think we all know from past experience that Tom Hess is just trying to sell his overpriced crap.

[gotmywings]

Tom you just pretty much contredicted yourself, by saying people shouldnt learn the same as others, but saying everyone should have a teacher is just foolishness, i know plently of great guitar players that are self taught guitar. your article was very well wrote and pretty intelligent but i must disigree with some of your points

[Rockstar729]

And the other thing is, teaching yourself isn't all bad... Better than getting some crappy teacher who teaches everyone the same way, and they all come out as cardboard soundalikes...

[vortexpassion]

there are many awesome guitarists around who have taken lessons with Tom Hess. Many of them are writers at UG.

look at his site, you will recognize many of the names

http://tomhess.net/Students.aspx

[WyldeMan666]

I personally Dont like This I taught myself and I started with music theory and then how to apply it to the guitar then technic I mean of course I had help But with the internet nowadays It CHanges What "Self Taught" means

[diabloinferno]

yea i think that this is useless

[WyldeMan666]

Plus Like others of you mentioned Earlyer I Found my Sound not A copy of the teacher or artist im learning

[WyldeMan666]

Like I love Zakk Wylde But Id feel like a Douchebag If Got a lesson from him and decided to play just like him

[Echoplex]

I disagree with a lot of this. I am self-taught (though i do take piano lessons), and I use many sources of information to learn, but I have progresse more in my 21 months of playing guitar than most people have in 4 years

[firefox385]

this is both helpful and not helpful. saying "get a teacher, being self taught sucks" isnt exactly true but it would help you. my teacher taught me chord structures and major scales that i wouldnt take the time out to search myself. I would consider myself self taught but i have a music teacher to help me with the little things to make melodys, etc.

[x_thurston_x]

This was just shameless self-promotion if anything.

Trying to teach yourself isn't a "damaging mistake".
And most of this is pretty obvious anyway.

[tommaso.zillio]

munkymanmatt wrote:
dude, when i started learning guitar i knew i was signing up for shitloads of time and effort by teaching myself, and i've come to accept that it will take years, just like everyone else has.
i'm not going to get lazy and go get someone else to teach me just cos some douchebag who just "happens" to make money from teaching guitar says i'm saving effort by getting a teacher. this article is just a big ad. i want to work my ass off for guitar, cos it's all part of the experience.

'Dude', you are free to do what you want, it's your time, not mine If you want to do it the hard way and take 20 years, I won't stop you, nor anyone else will. The only thing I said is that with a teacher you can achieve the same results in less time and effort. If you think that's lazy, well, then I guess I'm lazy, like all the other schooled musicians in the world. Classical musicians all have a teacher, but I would not call them 'lazy'.

Peace

[Slash181]

You say originality comes most when u get taught but tbh that isnt entierly true, ur learning what a teachin is choosing to teach you but in his own style. each teacher has his/her own style of playin and you will pick up on that, like laungauages. im self tought and yeh sometimes i do hit brick walls, yeh i do feel frustrated but if you where honest with yourself this is the better way as only people who have worked the hardest comes out best! own style, own originilaty and yo worked hardest all on your own without sum **** wit comfirming if you play grade 8 or not. this article isnt helpful in anyway

[rocker20]

diffrent sorces even if u are going of the written path, the things that u learn are the things u can use in creating ur own material so even if i hit a dead end i still benifetted alot from it

[GuitaPlaya]

You forgot to mention that a lot of guitarists make the mistake of listening to Tom Hess.

[IamAwesomeness]

jimi hendrix was self taught basicly soooo...yea..its not the skills its ur abiltity to express urself through ur instrument tht rly matters...such an obvious advertisement. or attempt for u to go get his teachings

[Tengatu Man]

Well supporting your "fact" with Google in number 2 brings this down to a 2 but the diagram in number 11 brings it up to a 7. All your references to sweep picking brings it down to a 4. The intelligence of the comments brings my IQ down to a 3. It's 75 degrees in this room. There are 12 songs on Yngwie's "Perpetual Flame" album. Trying to make me download all these things brings it to -42. There are 315 calories in a 6inch Turkey sandwhich from Subway. I have one pick in pocket. There are 11 "mistakes" in this article. I have 37 names. A regular human has 46 chromosomes. Take every number I have just rambled and throw them away.
The number of people who will see the meaning of this comment after they have read it = 5.

[bobdarocker34]

The article was pretty redundant, but it's a good reminder to use ur practice time on important things, but that's about all I got from it. Idk if he deserves to be straight up raped about the quality of this article haha, but it really is just saying, "get a teacher."

[bobdarocker34]

being self taught is like being a virgin because once you get a teacher, you can never say u were self taught. I think a lot of people dont want to say they had help. Stubbornness. Even tho im teaching myself right now too

[James Scott]

I think a few people here are getting a bit mixed up about a couple of things:

Firstly, there's a difference between taking lessons from the very beginning as a guitarist, and taking lessons when you already know more or less what you're doing. I think Tom is talking about the latter - there's no danger of you becoming a clone of your teacher, but you will learn quickly and effectively if you can relate what you are taught to what you already know - put it into context. That way, if you get taught a new technique, you will have a better idea of how/where to apply it, rather than doing that and nothing else because you don't know any better. Imo, the best formula is lessons right at the beginning, followed by a period of being self-taught, followed by quality lessons to plug your gaps. That way you learn fast, learn what you want to learn, and develop your own style.

The other distinction is between guitarists who want to jam out or have fun and those who want to be the best and/or go professional. This article (like most of Tom's) are aimed at the second group. Yes, rigorous practice regimes aren't for everyone, but going pro isn't for everyone either. If you're having fun, rocking out and getting satisfaction from what you do, that that's great, playing guitar is an awesome way to have a great time. But don't harbour ambitions of becoming a megastar if that's the limit of your horizons. Tom's talking to people who want to take it further than that, be it through the services he sells or in general.

And no, Tom's not my guitar teacher!

[greatwhiteone]

great article, i just hope you tell us in detail how to do some of the things you told us to do, instead of just handing money to a teacher and saying "teach me". cos that doesnt sound too fun.

[Hell_Metalist]

wilco5000 wrote:

Looks like another complete pile of selling-point bullshit from Tom Hess

Seriously... this should be classified as advertising and thus removed.

[vortexpassion]

bobdarocker34 wrote:

being self taught is like being a virgin because once you get a teacher, you can never say u were self taught. I think a lot of people dont want to say they had help. Stubbornness. Even tho im teaching myself right now too

that is the most ignorant comment on here, and there have been a lot of ignorant things said here today.

The only thing which should be removed is the ignorant venom some UG users write here.

If you hate this guy so much, then why do you waste your time reading ALL of his columns here? Get a life.

[aewrstdryfguhkn]

THis guy has lost the whole point of playing guitar. pfft "final goal" HAHAH. what the hell does that even mean. If u like what ur playing and your passionate about it, then u have reached ur "final goal" in an instant. ppl are becoming sidetracked by the technical side of guitar playing. play like hendrix. play from the heart. play whatever you want. dont be confined by pointless dull excersises. everything comes within time. and pick up tips from a variety of sources. everyones guitar learning experience is different and being self taught is in no way a hindrance. and being self tought has its bragging rights as you played with your own passion and werent forced into routine lessons. thats how ppl should learn these days.

[Gouged]

If you really care about learning crazy picking, the 7 major modes, the three minor scales, play amazing shredding licks, blah blah.... listen to Tom Hess.

I learned guitar theory on my own. From the internet. FOR FREE. I know all the modes, minor/major scales, etc. I taught myself pinch harmonics, sweep picking, arpeggios, etc.

Some people can't learn unless someone shows them, that's just how it is.

Tom Hess isn't completely wrong - some people need to push on setting goals and learning from a teacher. But the other guitar players AREN'T WRONG for not seeking a guitar teacher - they can learn it on their own.

In my eyes, Tom Hess's articles offer some info (some of those mistakes do happen), but it boils down to a self-righteous advertisement of his teaching.

[poor_blue_crabs]

Dude, this article ain't cool. It totally puts down self-taught guitar players.

We should stone whoever made this article and all that agree with him. lol

[AlskiOverload]

munkymanmatt wrote:

AlskiOverload wrote:
It is hard to get a teacher when you dont have money, but if you do have money, and you say "Im not gonna take lessons because I WANT to do it the hard way" You are missing out on something that could make you great one day.

you are also missing out on something that could turn you into a copy of your teacher, because that's what most teachers do they say "i'm going to make you great, just like me"

lol yeah. That could definitely happen. Finding a good teacher, thats a different story. Im still self taught so, right now im the best teacher for myself.

[The.new.guy]

I have my mind set on one goal: Being as fast as my idols Yngwie, Gilbert, MAB, Becker, etc. I'm doing nicely. I like progressing slowly, thanks. It gives me time to appriciate the speed I'm at when I get to it.

I've got my whole life to get up to 180+BPM. I would definately prefer to get to that point at 20, but if I don't ohh well. Like I said, I've got my whole life.

[huevos]

Tom Hess, excellent.
I got the feeling that this was a vague infomericial after the 2nd step.
Shoulda known it was him.

Tengatu Man wrote:

Well supporting your "fact" with Google in number 2 brings this down to a 2 but the diagram in number 11 brings it up to a 7. All your references to sweep picking brings it down to a 4. The intelligence of the comments brings my IQ down to a 3. It's 75 degrees in this room. There are 12 songs on Yngwie's "Perpetual Flame" album. Trying to make me download all these things brings it to -42. There are 315 calories in a 6inch Turkey sandwhich from Subway. I have one pick in pocket. There are 11 "mistakes" in this article. I have 37 names. A regular human has 46 chromosomes. Take every number I have just rambled and throw them away.
The number of people who will see the meaning of this comment after they have read it = 5.

Don't you mean 23?
WHO are you?

[ChadCrawford]

I was self taught for years before finding a good teacher and then my knowledge and skills began to improve at a faster rate, despite my very limited practice time. I agree with the article.

[suppashredda]

load of crap.

[Paul Tauterouff]

A good teacher will help you to gain the tools to more easily find your own voice and in most cases will help you to do so much more quickly than you would have on your own.

[shiggedyshwa]

well this guide is alright i guess.
it just basically pointed me out.
but im not seeking to be an amazing guitar player i just play with it for fun
and this statement? :

Want some proof? Use google’s keyword tool. Type in this keyword phrase: ‘improve guitar teaching skills’, ‘guitar teaching skills’, or ‘guitar teaching training’ and you will find that less than 10 searches per month are done for these topics at google!

wow i mean cmon... that just sounds stupid. sorry for being mean but that statement just sounds really funny

yes i agree with soem people that the diagram was good haha

but i mean do you consider learning from online sources really learning alone? Think about it. You are still learning from others. but it is online.
so it's not considered self-taught.
im That guy.
but im never going to be an amazing guitarist

[akhimakhi93]

very useful in pointing out the problems

AND YES I HAVE TO AGREE GETTING THE RIGHT GUITAR TEACHER IS THE BEST SOLUTION, I TRIED TEACHING MYSELF IN THE BEGINNING AND SO MYSELF GOING NOWHERE BUT I HAVE A GREAT GUITAR TEACHER NOW AND IVE IMPROVED FAST AS HELL BECAUSE THEY PAVE THE PATH TO SUCCESS FASTER IN MASTERING THE GUITAR

[vortexpassion]

suppashredda wrote:

load of crap.

lets hear you play

[ZeGuitarist]

I will have to agree with lots of readers here that this article is a disguised self-advertisement. An informative one, but definitely an advertisement... Sorry Tom.

Cheers

[nick_b]

#11: be narrow minded, and only take ideas from one source
if you did that in a history class, you'd fail
you only put one piece of evidence forward in court, you lose
so why should it be different for guitar players?
this is the most ridiculous piece of "advice" ive ever seen

[Ead]

that 'proof' about guitar teachers not caring about how they teach made me laugh. a teacher learning how to teach on google??? any teacher willing to look up such a thing on the net is, far as im concerned, lazy and not self aware enough to realize that he needs to examine it himself, or discuss with an actual teacher. which applies to learning guitar as well. the best peice of advice i ever took was from myself, to stop frequenting UG.. theres good information here and stuff, but things like this and stupid redundant arguments over modes and whatnot are distractions. the internet is so full of apparently useful information that i think it slows people down. i learned most of my theory from UG but when i stopped reading more of it everyday i had time to actually think about it and let it sink in.
not that it would be worth anything to most people compared to Mr. Hess's advice, but mine is to learn guitar away from the computer chair.

[tona_107]

vortexpassion wrote:

Jeroenofzo wrote:

Basically some bullshit imo.Few good points, but alot of redirection for some 'free' video's you nee to register for.
But i got a teacher, and he says the oppisite of your 11th point : Learn and try as many things as you can, to widen up your interest and techniques.
Tend to belive him more...

is your teacher the pro player and teacher that Hess is? kinda doubt it dude

uhh are you kidding? tom hess is a joke.

[pjotrfijas]

About setting goals for yourself...

I wonder if Tom Hess set as a goal for himself to become a mediocre guitarist and musician, and a brilliant music theoretican. I'm guessing not...

[Cheesepuff]

I disagree, I learned completely from the internet and I can play fine. You make it sound like you NEED a guitar teacher, I've had none except for my dad who taught me 3 chords.

[Regression]

Gabysguitar wrote:

Thats not right, im self taught and im better that some players that i know that had been taking lessons with greats teaches. And the other point were only "BLA,BLA,.....!!!!!

I don't like most of the articles from Tom Hess, and I don't agree with some of the points in this article, but lessons do help alot if you have a good teacher.

Okay, so you may be better than some people who get lessons, but that is because you probably practice more. If you have ever looked up lessons on the internet then you should be in favour of having a teacher, because essentially that is what a teacher does, but they can help point out mistakes which you might be making and help you correct them.

[duzit89]

Gouged wrote:

If you really care about learning crazy picking, the 7 major modes, the three minor scales, play amazing shredding licks, blah blah.... listen to Tom Hess.

I learned guitar theory on my own. From the internet. FOR FREE. I know all the modes, minor/major scales, etc. I taught myself pinch harmonics, sweep picking, arpeggios, etc.

Some people can't learn unless someone shows them, that's just how it is.

Tom Hess isn't completely wrong - some people need to push on setting goals and learning from a teacher. But the other guitar players AREN'T WRONG for not seeking a guitar teacher - they can learn it on their own.

In my eyes, Tom Hess's articles offer some info (some of those mistakes do happen), but it boils down to a self-righteous advertisement of his teaching.

good stuff

[Auals]

colohue wrote:

I must say that while most of the information is the article is definately intelligent and useful information, it's not very well put across. Like the user above me said, you're basically telling people to get a teacher. I disagree. I had a very well thought out and structured plan which has made me at least somewhat decent. I am more balanced than most guitarists I know. Some might be better guitarists but overall it seems I'm the best musician I know of thus far. I disagree completely with the first point.

However, the rest of it, in it's entirety, is spot on and useful information. Good work.

That's true, but you have to keep in mind that you are one of the anomalies. I know MANY self taught guitarists, most of them are useless. You said that you worked towards your goals, not many people can do that. I had a teacher and I am a very self-motivated guitarist though. I may randomly decided one day that I want to learn tapping, I practiced it until I got it. And I mean every day, as many ways as I could. I'm sure you do the same thing, the teacher is there to help those people who can't help themselves.

If Tom wrote an article saying, "Get a teacher if you don't think you can keep yourself on track, otherwise , go your heart out", it'd be more to the point. But the point is still there.

Not everyone is as self motivated as you or I. I taught myself drums and piano, i'm currently learning flute, and even though i'm a decent drummer and pianist, whenever I run into a drummer or pianist that was taught properly, there's always something you can learn. Because no matter what you're doing, you can't be completely critical of the way you do it. I can play classical guitar, but when I cut back to the punk stuff I play with one of my bands, my technique goes to hell in a handbasket.

Anyway, i'm rambling, hope you get my point, Just because you can do it, and that's great, doesn't mean everyone can.

[XXXguitarman]

When I finally got a teacher my skills more than doubled. Having a teacher will help anyone to improve faster with less time spent on trial and error. I would suggest to have at least one guitar lesson per month. I currently do twice per week.

Great article.

[Dan Weiler]

Wow. Twice per week is nuts!

I thought this article was good for finding a teacher:
http://www.tomhess.net/Articles/ChoosingATeacher.a spx

[The Judist]

I've thought about this some more. Even if you got a teacher and you became the best guitarist ever, it still doesn't mean you'll be rich or even popular. Writing great songs will guarantee both e.g. I'd rather have Paul Simon's career than Steve Vai's. Can you be taught songwriting? It's not quite as tangible.

[Froboarder]

For those who don't wanna register to view the 'Choosing a Teacher' document, here's the link: http://tomhess.net/files/docs/GUIDE-Choosing-Teacher1.pdf

[juanraull]

i think youre jealous of self-taught musicians because you could not teach yourself...didnt like the column, it only says "you are a bunch of idiots, hire me as a teacher because nobody teaches correctly"

[earplay]

I was self thought until a year ago when I located the best teacher I could find in my area and my skills have increased at an incredible pace. I can't believe I spend years doing it on my own.

[pjotrfijas]

Here's a run through of the Rolling Stones Magazine list of 100 greatest guitar players of all time:

1 Jimi Hendrix - Self taught
2 Duane Allman - ?
3 B.B. King - Self taught

4 Eric Clapton - Self taught

5 Robert Johnson - ?
6 Chuck Berry - ?
7 Stevie Ray Vaughan - Self taught
8 Ry Cooder - Largely self taught
9 Jimmy Page - Self taught
10 Keith Richards - Self taught

In addition, you have artists like Prince, Van Halen and Mark Knopfler, who also were entirely self taught.

I think the morale is, that in order to become really great, you need to trust in yourself and only yourself. If you trust in a teacher, and if you trust him MORE than your own guitar instincts..... then you will become mediocre at best.

I don't think it's any coincidence that the Rolling Stones top 100 list is dominated by players who largely were self taught.

[Mastabazin]

"11 Damaging Mistakes"

Way to bait beginners into thinking that if they aren't doing these things they are screwing up.

Then there's the subliminal "geeeeettt aaaa teeeeaaaaccccchhhheeeeerrrrr...." followed promptly by links to Tom's site. A site that contains "free" info, but if you want the "best" info, you have to pay Tom to teach you from a remote location.

Stop advertising in guest columns. We read these columns to be informed and entertained. If you want business, take your adds to one of the millions of adult sites where you can convince chubby basement dwellers that using your method will get them laid.

[tommaso.zillio]

pjotrfijas wrote:
If you trust in a teacher, and if you trust him MORE than your own guitar instincts..... then you will become mediocre at best.

I don't see it.
If you want to play football, are you following your "football instincts" or ask the help of a coach.
If you want to learn a marital art, are you following your "Bruce Lee instincts" or search the help of a teacher?
If you want to work out, are you following your "weight lifting instincts"or pay a trainer?
If you want to learn to play piano or violin, are you following your "classical instincts" or enrolling in the local conservatory?

Only because the teachers that many of you have known were not professional (and try to make clone copies of themselves without listening to what YOU wanted to play) it does not mean that EVERY guitar teacher behaves that way.

[strat0blaster]

southpaw_tdg wrote:

article summery -without hess as teacher you will fail!-

HARDCORE!!! CRASH AND BURN!!

Yeah - ego is a sad thing. Apparently his way is the only right way.

[oreke1406]

this is a waste of UG server memory.

[pjotrfijas]

tommaso.zillio wrote:

I don't see it.
If you want to play football, are you following your "football instincts" or ask the help of a coach.

I don't know. I only know that it's true when it comes to playing rock guitar. If it's true for football, weight lifting, martial arts etc, I don't know. Probably less so.

As for classical music... I think there is a difference, and the difference lies in the fact that the form of classical music has stiffened: You can learn EAXCTLY the same stuff as people before you learned, and you'll be alright.

Within rock music, that's not true. You cannot set out to learn exactly the same techniques and styles as artists before you used and expect to become a rock hero. In Rock, you have to evolve. You need to pick the best pieces of past and current styles, and you need to create an new blend on your own. If you don't... you fail.

I think that's the main reason why there is a difference between the feasibility of being self taught as a rock guitarist and a classical guitarist. Classical guitar is a stiffened art form. That's why it lends itself more to traditional teaching than rock guitar.

[stompbox]

to me it sounds like every thing that every guitar player has done to hit it big ,he is saying dont .i was always told open your ears open your mind and take it all in .like you lern some thing here now take it down the road and when you get there pass it on .to me that was they way you lern .to me it almost sounds like a money add you need me to lern sorry but i do have ears and i do know what the rewind button is i dont thing that cd mp3 is gong to lie to me .o by the that way is free .

[Whiskey Tango]

Jesus talk about a bunch of ****ing whiners! Read the article and accept or reject it, but shut the **** up if you don't have any of substance to offer.

[evertonianBG]

Offtopic @
Nice illustration

[fastlanestoner]

pretty good stuff man! Although I have to say, I've never taken a lesson in my life (going to start soon) and I don't think it's held me back at all.

[heminder]

this guy is blatantly after your credit card.
his links don't work without needing a login, and it's obvious that the whole article is about him convincing you to buy his "method".

[Jmoarguitar]

mixed opinions about this article, its good to have a teacher but i only have a teacher to teach me about music theories and all that confusing bullshit, i myself have been playing self taught for a year before i even got this guy but he really helped me advance in how to using scales and stuff.

[vortexpassion]

Whiskey Tango wrote:

Jesus talk about a bunch of ****ing whiners! Read the article and accept or reject it, but shut the **** up if you don't have any of substance to offer.

+1

[The Silence]

The part about having a teacher may not be completely true. I am self-taught and i've been tackling some really difficult songs. I'm even able to do the really fast tapping part from Gunthrie Govan's song called "Fives" and that is mega difficult.

But anyways, if you have the passion, the "drive" to learn every single thing about guitar(that includes music theory at least. Believe me, it helps.), and a good practice regimen, you'll be fine!

[jakeb1430]

ok guys dont be hatin but im like 13 n imma take lessons in like the next 2 weeks

[liam1107]

how many people play guitar for fun but still want to get better, exactly
tom hess makes guitar a chore, what a tube

[chiliwillifreak]

that's a pretty hardcore flow chart.

[thedarkrocker]

Can someone give me one good reason on why you are bashing this article? Like seriously is there any sense it? People will either read it or not before they even see your comments...dumbasses

[Metal-X]

This article might be helpful as far as learning the "techniques" of playing the guitar. Which I would then see the point of having a good teacher, or at least a good plan to follow, when you are learning "how" to play the guitar.
But as far as being a better guitar player all around and developing a unique style that you are comfortable with, then that is something that each guitar player, themselves, must tackle in order to become a truely efficient guitar player in their own aspects.

Playing guitar isn't just about learning techniques and becoming the next Eddie Van Halen, it's about being able to express you feelings, your soul if you will, freely and fluidly through the guitar.

[Final !mpact]

thedarkrocker wrote:

Can someone give me one good reason on why you are bashing this article? Like seriously is there any sense it? People will either read it or not before they even see your comments...dumbasses

Because he's just advertising his website, talks crap and is bassicly saying in every point: "Get a guitar teacher"

[bazman13]

ahh mr hess... frankly i think a good teacher is an important thing, but not a pre-requisit to being amazing at guitar. and i dont know if hess has realised (im fairly sure he has tho, and just doesnt want you to know) that the internet is a wonderfull thing, and there is alot of realy good info out there

[manmanster]

“I’m not coming out of this room until I master this damn lick if it takes me the next 19 hours! No breaks! No food! No human contact! I’m gonna nail this!”

Thats pretty funny

[-Saxon-]

I have been playing for a year now and I don't even care that I'm not getting much better.

[tom1thomas1]

nice diagram, really helped to explain the bit about one step two step left right forward backward etc.

[Rocker_geek]

this article sucks.. period
tom hess can go F*** himself
a load of shit

[Scorcher26]

This is BS. I'm completely self taught and I attended Juilliard.

[vortexpassion]

yeah right

[Thrash_fire666]

I am a self taught guitarist and i have been playing for 6 years and i kick other guitarist ass's evin the one's who took lessons so this shit of article can suck sasquach balls.

[kingwarlock]

i think i like to eat pussy

[kingwarlock]

[Paul Tauterouff]

Metal-X wrote:

This article might be helpful as far as learning the "techniques" of playing the guitar. Which I would then see the point of having a good teacher, or at least a good plan to follow, when you are learning "how" to play the guitar.
But as far as being a better guitar player all around and developing a unique style that you are comfortable with, then that is something that each guitar player, themselves, must tackle in order to become a truely efficient guitar player in their own aspects.

Playing guitar isn't just about learning techniques and becoming the next Eddie Van Halen, it's about being able to express you feelings, your soul if you will, freely and fluidly through the guitar.

I agree with you MX. Learning good technique early on will help you to progress more quickly. I am a teacher and I have had self-taught people come in who have been playing for 15 years whose form is terrible. Their playing doesn't sound very good either. The guitar is a physical instrument and learning proper technique makes it easier to play.

Becoming an expressive musician is definitely important too, and knowledge of what your musical options are (through education) is one of the keys to expressing yourself. The physical ability to execute those ideas is another.

[calger14]

thats pretty goof facts

[andrewAnimosity]

your gay theres nothing wrong with teachig yourself

[kevinm4435]

0. NOT PLAYING EVERY DAY

[Antonio182]

you seem very mature calling gay to the dude just because he's giving an advice.

claps

[Guitara_96]

Antonio182 wrote:

you seem very mature calling gay to the dude just because he's giving an advice.

claps

lol. Was that sarcasim?

[Muppet]

I hate it when people, like Tom hess, wants every single guitar player to make a practice rutine.

[Kill_em_all8]

This is so sad, who ever reads this crap and thinks its good,i feel sorry for you. Playing any instrument shouldnt be so serious, you should play and learn however you want PERIOD. By following someone elses advice it just sucks the fun right out of it. Rock is a homemade job, theres no rules or techniques.... its not some text book thing ffs. You simply play what you play, is Do It Yourself. If you suck so bad and cant learn simple things yourself, you should just give up and play bass.

[Kill_em_all8]

by the way that diagram is so ****ed up. what a douche! whats the bet he works in a guitar shop, all bitter that he didnt make it.

[MarkCourt]

its ****in hilarious listening to everyone talk about their "OPINION" as if its the only one in this world.

Here think about this:

If RUSTY COOLEY see's the value in studying with Tom Hess (at this point in his career especially)

WHO THE FUCK DO YOU GUYS THINK YOU ARE?!?!!? WAKE UP

[Jazzcore23]

Wow lame, this guy sounds like he wants guitarists to approach guitar like work. Most of us play because we love music and love the sound of music. Self taught is the best if you don't want to be professional but want to play what they enjoy hearing. So you should ask yourself what you want to do and then decide on what type of commitment that takes. Say for example if you love blues its pretty stupid to dish out tons of money to an instructor when you can teach yourself the basics and then work hard at the things you need to learn, such as phrasing and vibrato, without a teacher. If you want to play dragonforce fast, or stanley jordan touch then yeah you need a teacher. But a teacher is not for everyone

[Skilface]

ALL GLORY TO THE HYPNOTOAD

SORRY

ALL GLORY TO THE TOM HESS

I'd like to thank you for that chart. It has shown me that the right-right-down-right-up-right-diagonaldownright-diagonaldo wnleft-diagonaldownright-right approach will get me NOWHERE.

[Jobac]

I don't usually get worked up about stuff I read on the internet but yeah. In fact, I never do. I am self-taught and I am already not very proud of that and this guy just made me feel 10 times worse about it. I can't afford a good teacher anyways, and I don't have time during the week to be taught. And yes, he was very much criticizing us self-taught people. UGH. Anyways. Thank you for the other advice Tom. I'm sure your direction will show me the way. It does make sense.
-Jake

[HellrzngPinhead]

Muppet wrote:

I hate it when people, like Tom hess, wants every single guitar player to make a practice rutine.

He doesn't want YOU to make a practice routine...he wants you to give him thousands of dollars so HE can make your practice routine. Ever see his rates?

[tlammie32]

I am self taught.I've found it best to learn from experience.

[Rocker_geek]

tommaso.zillio :
pjotrfijas wrote:
If you trust in a teacher, and if you trust him MORE than your own guitar instincts..... then you will become mediocre at best.

I don't see it.
If you want to play football, are you following your "football instincts" or ask the help of a coach.
If you want to learn a marital art, are you following your "Bruce Lee instincts" or search the help of a teacher?
If you want to work out, are you following your "weight lifting instincts"or pay a trainer?
If you want to learn to play piano or violin, are you following your "classical instincts" or enrolling in the local conservatory?

Only because the teachers that many of you have known were not professional (and try to make clone copies of themselves without listening to what YOU wanted to play) it does not mean that EVERY guitar teacher behaves that way.

Football is not a art form idiot.
and even in classical guitar, One of the greatest classical guitarists, Andrés Segovia was self-taught
seriously this article is shit.

[pjotrfijas]

As I said... I think stiffened art forms lend themselves more to teaching than other and more evolving art forms, like rock music.

I think Tom Hess kind of WANTS rock to become a stiffened art form, so that he can continue to teach it as if it were some form of settled truth.

[PedophilePriest]

This guy wants you to write a 1000 word essay explaining your strengths,
weaknesses and goals before he accepts you as a student... for $250.00
an hour. How many students do you think he's refused? My moneys on
"not one".

[Tye1989]

Tom Hess is a guitar teacher?
Well that explains the article then -.-"
What about the people who can't afford to dish out cash every week for a teacher?
I've been playing a year and half teaching myself, I'm not great but I don't think I'm terrible either.
Problem 11 is just stupid...plain and simple.

[.:Blackened:.]

I couldn't disagree with this article more.

There is no winning formula on how to play guitar, thats just narrow mindedness.

I think one mistake people make is thinking that a teachers way of playing is the EXACT way every student/pupil should play.

[irontremelo]

1,000 thumbs up

[LessThanLuke]

I play music for fun and I don't ever want to be told how to do it properly or to hold my hand a certain way or play a certain type of chord. I don't care if I'm a legend or a rockstar, and I don't care if I hold my pick funny.

[strawforest007]

There will always be many learning opportunities and various paths to take, but it is critical that you do not get distracted into following a piece of advice from one person

Riiiight. Is that 'one person' you TomHess? Are you trying to sell us something?

[ghostofhendrix]

---="Get a teacher *cough me cough*"=---

Another brilliant sales pitch by the almighty, preachy ******* known as Tom Hess.

[JesterShred]

yeah, this guy sucks, and pisses me off, he IS an unoriginal guitar player, and he sounds like he's full of shit, because everything he say is vague, unspecific, and cyclic, making this dude a dumbass

[Guitar}Zero]

largely enjoyable (the comments anyway)

[Antonio23]

Jondy wrote:

I'm self taught due to impossible scheduling, lack of funding, and deep down inside i think i just want to play whatever the hell i want to play and i don't want any teacher telling me what i should learn to play. i'd agree though that self taught isn't best for most people, though I find it hard to agree with because it has worked for me. I did make a lot of horrible mistakes that made me backtrack but ultimately it was the same end result in relatively the same amount of time.

the biggest factor is motivation. you've got to stick with it. you've got to not only like playing guitar, you have to be a masochist and even like the horribly annoying scales and exercises by metronome activities. you can't just really want to be a guitar player, you've got to be obsessed. (in order to teach yourself that is) otherwise most people just give up really fast.

totaly agreed

[Hexodrome]

This article is awful its pretty much the same point repeated just do whatever works for you not everyone is the same. I honestly thought it was a joke

[Stormx]

I'm self-taught. I don't have goals, I just play for fun. Guitar's a recreation. Is that such a problem?

[fretboardfreak]

im not goin to waste my money on a teacher when i could come here and learn everything i need too no and im selftaught help from dad and uncles but not goin to waste my money

[Rockinguitar]

Okay, maybe I could ruled out because I played piano before guitar, but I only had a great teacher after playing for a year, and only had him for a couple of months and basically just learned double picking. It's been basically three years of being self-taught, so to sum up: This whole thing about getting a teacher is crap. The rest...somewhat useful.

[st017]

Sorry but this sounds like you're whining about someone that's self taught being better than you are instead of actually trying to help someone.

I am self taught as well, and I have no problems. I have been compared to the likes of Kirk Hammet and Zakk Wylde by people I have played with.

[matt_guitar150]

Dude.....I know you have the best intentions in writing this this. but saying not to teach yourself is way to bold of a statement. I have been playing since March of '06 and I know how to do all of the following:trill, tap, sweep arpeggios, hammer on pull off, vibrato, play by ear,pinch hramonics, regular harmonics, use a wah pedal, bend, play through a sorts of pentatonic related scales, I know my major/minor scales. My point is, way to bold of a statement. judging by the other comments, the would agree with me. The rest was okay.

[kaboom.]

great article. and those 2 videos are great too. keep it up!

[musiclover_92]

teachers saying self taught is bad is wrong, done right, self teaching allows you to go by your own speed and I use it...I don't just look up tabs, I study theory. apply it to the guitar, learn techniques that I can use the theory with, find things to do with it, and play!

[Baasoromyuu]

Yeah I'm self taught and want to be technically great so I can play the songs I like that are hard to play as well as create my own music. I don't care if I don't become famous or just as good as my guitar heroes. Playing guitar is a fun and enjoyable hobby for me, that's really it. My biggest problems are that I don't play everyday and that it's hard for me to focus on learning one or two songs at a time (I'm getting better at this...). I would get a teacher if I had the money and ease of transportation, but since that's not the case I'll continue using the internet, tab books and my ear to learn.

The article wasn't bad. The inclusion of that graph is lame though.

[jonathanonfire]

so basically without a teacher we are screwed?
HIGHLY UNLIKELY.

failed post fails.

[XXXguitarman]

kingwarlock wrote:

i think i like to eat pussy

WTF?

What does that have to do with anything here? And why do you only think you like to? You either do or you don't.

[OCDeity]

I think it's a damaging mistake to take anything Tom Hess says seriously.

[austhrax]

a good read but i think if everyone studies the same way how are we being original,also depends on level each player wants to get to,i am quite happy playing not practicing!

[Dregen]

Terrible article...

I'm self-taught, been only playing for just about half a year, and I can play Protest the Hero songs (or a song, acutally). So you cannot assume that if you are self-taught you are going to be on a road to epic fail.

Like someone said before, I've found it best to learn from experience. When I want to do something and I figure out how to do it right, it's like a motivator for me. It's like doing math without a calculator, when I don't have the answer put right in front of me and I actually have to work for it, there this satisfaction I get, and it's actually fun (I know, weird right?).

If you get everything put on a gold platter in front of you, where's the fun in that?

[SlashWannabe1]

I'm self taught and saying "You need a teacher" and you need to follow what somebody else thinks you should be learning is just bs and would have resulted in me throwing my guitar at the fkr tryin to teach me.

I don't mind guidence but if your going to make playing guitar a job then I wont have none of it.

When Guitar playing doesn't become fun anymore and often times teachers aren't any fun then its time to quit.

[SlashWannabe1]

You ever notice how people who have extraordinary techical skills are usually gay or ugly and incapable of getting chicks.

All my hero's were mostly self taught made great epic music that spoke to the soul and they were usually the ones you hear about getting laid the most... Slash Angus Young... ect..

Who's ever heard a story about groupies being lined up for blocks outside of Joe Satriani or Steve Vai's hotel?

[Bilawal]

I agree completely...

[DimebagRob]

Retro Rocker wrote:

Alot of hate towards Tom here, why?
In todays world you should be grateful for the free (and useful) advice.

Free maybe, but useful certainly not, this lesson may as well be the words "GET A TEACHER NOOB!!!!" in big, bold red letters.

[gbgg9409]

This guy obviously hasn't even taken the time to try and teach himself. Getting a teacher is the last thing I want or need. I have been self-taught for only 2 years, and I make 6-year professionally taught players jealous. I didn't mean to brag or anything, but my point was that being self-taught isn't all that "mediocre." Believe me, I know a lot of people who quit guitar after being taught for about 2 months, and never touch the thing again. Oh well. At least I get to use their Fenders.

[chris0186]

Tom Hess seems incredibly thin skinned, as shown here:

http://www.tomhess.net/FAQ/Other.aspx#Other6

[Thrash_fire666]

I think you can learn however you want and that each path will take you to a different place, you can take lessons and become some teachers little bitch (FUCK U TOM) or, you can be self taught,struggle, smash your guitar and become great by leaning from your mistakes.

[XxDethmetalxX]

Tom Hess is a guitar teacher...with an online site...which costs a lot of money. I am self taught and I am doing just fine-don't let this self-advertising tell you otherwise. Oh, yeah, the thing about taking it from one source really means go to his site, learn from him, and forget about all the other options you have. Actually, this whole article really just means "go to my site, pay me hundreds of dollars, and don't bother with other teachers, much less attempt teaching yourself."

[The Judist]

pjotrfijas wrote:

Here's a run through of the Rolling Stones Magazine list of 100 greatest guitar players of all time:

1 Jimi Hendrix - Self taught
2 Duane Allman - ?
3 B.B. King - Self taught

4 Eric Clapton - Self taught

5 Robert Johnson - ?
6 Chuck Berry - ?
7 Stevie Ray Vaughan - Self taught
8 Ry Cooder - Largely self taught
9 Jimmy Page - Self taught
10 Keith Richards - Self taught

In addition, you have artists like Prince, Van Halen and Mark Knopfler, who also were entirely self taught.

I think the morale is, that in order to become really great, you need to trust in yourself and only yourself. If you trust in a teacher, and if you trust him MORE than your own guitar instincts..... then you will become mediocre at best.

I don't think it's any coincidence that the Rolling Stones top 100 list is dominated by players who largely were self taught.

Didn't Robert Johnson make a pact with the devil, so that he'd be damn good on guitar if he gave up his soul? Why didn't the article mention this route? The diagram would be easy to draw!

[the red chadd]

Aka: Hire me as your teacher. We're always told what we're doing wrong, but what we should be doing is always tip-toed around. Tom is a great writer, he has very diplomatic approach in how he words things. It's like we're learning something, but essentially the underlying message in all his articles is "pay me to teach you."

[Vte]

most of this article is good, but the self taught is bad part was the worst. most people do not want to learnn from somebody else that probabl learned on their own, its like telling yourself you cant do it cuz ultimate guitar sais so, yet only like 1 in 10 tabs are correct in this site.....irony?hypocrisy? only god knowz

[Minion2580]

im self taught. i took lessons for about 2 months but i didnt learn shit except a little tapping riff and an a minor scale so i just stopped going. i never made any goals, i just read tabs, learned songs and chords, started picking back and fourth, and kept trying harder and harder songs, and i am way better than i thought i would have been a year ago

[zorlacwareZ]

if your planning to become a great guitar player and maybe someday your way of living, then get a good teacher because it will be a "good investment" for your dreams, but if you play guitar just for the fun of it, getting a teacher just a waste of duff..just use your creativity,passion,perseverance and you'll get the hang of it, actually this article is making those guys that cant afford "teachers" to become more frustrated to their endeavor.

[Rocker_geek]

Skilface wrote:

ALL GLORY TO THE HYPNOTOAD

SORRY

ALL GLORY TO THE TOM HESS

I'd like to thank you for that chart. It has shown me that the right-right-down-right-up-right-diagonaldownright-diagonaldo wnleft-diagonaldownright-right approach will get me NOWHERE.

ha ha lmao
+1

[M.P.A.Guitarist]

ehhh ive never had lessons but im pretty dam good, some of my friends take lessons and they kinda suck..and we've been playing the same amountof time... i think its b/c im more passionate about it

[M.P.A.Guitarist]

Minion2580 wrote:

im self taught. i took lessons for about 2 months but i didnt learn shit except a little tapping riff and an a minor scale so i just stopped going. i never made any goals, i just read tabs, learned songs and chords, started picking back and fourth, and kept trying harder and harder songs, and i am way better than i thought i would have been a year ago

same here

[SAINTJIMMY9999]

Alright article, but not really specific on how to change the mistakes.

[slayerfrk]

to me this is all first class bullshit

[Buster69]

thats ****in bullshit

[Hsupernova]

Buster69 you took the words from my mouth, as did MPA guitarist. This is the biggest load of bullshit i've ever heard. He talks about learning to play the guitar like it's a ****ing pyramid scheme. Don't try and teach yourself? this guy is a moron. The key is to persevere, be paaionate about what you play, don't get stuck in a rut, and check yourself to see if you are making simple mistakes. Play in front of a mirror, you will notice simple things, e.g you are only playing using the forefinger and the ring finger. Take Joe Bonamassa, technically speaking, possibly the best guitarist alive today (who this website should really pay more attention to). He taught himself from the age of 5, practicing up to five hours a day, 360 days a year. The key to being a good guitar player isn't reading shitty advice pages, it playing! alot! So everyone get off this stupid post and stop wasting your time looking for tips and tricks, they make little difference. Think about it, SRV wasn't reading internet posts, he was playing and getting inspired. Just pick up your guitar and play.

[foodfight]

Obviously a marketing ploy to get us to sign up with some online bullshit lessons... Teachers are just there to guide your playing from another perspective which is a waste of money in my opinion... 30 bucks an hour or whatever is a joke...

Just grab Audacity and record yourself playing side by side with whatever song you're playing and judge your progress yourself.

[MalGanisWL]

sucked

[ongbakkneedrop]

i think guitar is about expression and fun. there should be no linear path or unlinear path. you should be playing for yourself and yourself only. if ur playing just to be the next steve vai, then music is not gunna be fun to you.

[Robbertto]

this guy is a just another jerk who is full of himself due to his playing ability, he acts as if guitar is only about mastering the instrument and being the best around (through teaching, notices he pitches his 'affordable' website at you). It's an instrument, not a competition. I am a self-taught guitarist and I play just fine, thank you very much. I don't play to impress anyone. I play TO play. Aside from that, here's one thing that really pissed me off...

"and no, it is not true that being 'self taught' makes us more 'original'. In fact, the opposite is usually true."

how does being self taught make you less original? This makes no sense. I can sort of understand being self taught "not" making you more original, but LESS original? hmmm..

thanks for the advice "master" Tom Hess. pfffft

[Antony Reynaert]

Great article in my opinion,
it points out some very important things most guitarplayers ignore.

[dudemanwhoathe1]

vortexpassion wrote:

Jeroenofzo wrote:

Basically some bullshit imo.Few good points, but alot of redirection for some 'free' video's you nee to register for.
But i got a teacher, and he says the oppisite of your 11th point : Learn and try as many things as you can, to widen up your interest and techniques.
Tend to belive him more...

is your teacher the pro player and teacher that Hess is? kinda doubt it dude

Hahahahahaha! Classic comeback.

[yus_yus_13]

Robbertto wrote:

this guy is a just another jerk who is full of himself due to his playing ability, he acts as if guitar is only about mastering the instrument and being the best around (through teaching, notices he pitches his 'affordable' website at you). It's an instrument, not a competition. I am a self-taught guitarist and I play just fine, thank you very much. I don't play to impress anyone. I play TO play.

+1000

[goskayourself]

everybody is different and learns differently its completely up to the person on how they learn or want to learn..play for the love of the music!

[Skuzzmo]

Just read that and yeah good advice but why do I feel like I've just read the patter of a salesman?

[HavokStrife]

playinbass1432 wrote:

I'm self taught and I'm progressing just fine, thank you very much.

Seriously, usually I don't find his articles so much of a pitch as others do, but this one, is definitely one of those "You're doing it the wrong way, and you're never gunna do the right way by listening to anyone else, including yourself, except ME!! So buy my books/seminars/lessons/etc. or you'll suck forever!"

You know, hate to break it to you, but I learn a LOT off this site, for FREE from awesome players like Kris Dahl and such that take the time to make good lessons instead of just trying to make money off n00bs.

[KevVin]

He's a great business man, i'll give him that. He confuses you into thinking he's really smart and believing everything he says, thats how most people make money these days.

But it just depends on what you're after out of guitar playing doesn't it? I just find music lessons stress me out too much to bother palying.

[ShadesOfNight]

im self taught almost completely. i just played whatever came into my head for 7 years, then went to a tutor and acheived grade 7 within 2 years.
and that entire article wasnt really helpful. those 11 points could really be condensed into about 3.
tom hess just rants on about some random crap for much longer than he should be allowed

[SlayerOfTheGods]

Regardless of what this says, I am very proud of what I have acheived in one year of self teaching, so I guess maybe this doesn't apply to everyone.

[HughF]

Well...he managed to piss off half the guitar playing community with the self taught comment...patronizing bastard. UG should also try and look out for articles that are selling things...like Tom Hess's website.

[notaclevername]

this is kinda crappy. some ppl can learn just fine by thereselves, and others learn better with teachers. i personally learned better by myself because my teacher always pissed my off cause all we did was tab out and learn songs which is easy to do. so crappy teacher is good advice not to do. i've learned alot of this site and online lessons.

[Mike134]

This is an advertisement. It will get a 0 from me.

[happypilot100]

Everyone has their own style, so why can't self-taught be counted as a way of developing your own style? The people who get lessons and such get taught THE SAME thing. Who is this "Tom Hess"? Some unknown author that tells people what to do like a For Dummies book that doesn't even play guitar? People need to get a life, seriously.

[roksta101]

Good article
i agree with most things...though i disagree somewhat your first point about self teaching...
i got taught how to play classical guitar.
when i got my electric i went on a bit of a break from formal teaching and taught myself most things about the electric..i think when one teaches oneself, one finds alternative ways of doing things..you explore other methods and you messup alot-which helps you know what not to do...i think you learn alot more about really what you actually doing..from the bottom up..instead of other people telling you how to do things and you just following them..you dont really always get whats behind all of it.
formal training does help but dong it yourself gives one hands-on experience with what you are playing.

[highwaysalmon]

I am very happy I decided to teach myself guitar.

I think if I had of learned by studying with a teacher, I would not the same appreciation that I have for the instrument.

[axe_man]

like roksta101 above is started on classical and got an electric which i got some fundemental begginer teaching on but felt my guitar teacher was lazy and restricting me not taking into account that i had allready been playing classical for number of years and am now self taught it has worked better for me.

I also found all teachers i've had are reluctant to help me towards my goals. I love metal and i would present my guitar teacher with a tab or song that i could challenge myself by learning it and because he didnt like it he would just ignore it. self taught isnt bad.

[si_13]

I started off guitar playing with a teacher, I had about half a year with him. I already had the basics, and we built on that, but by playing music and styles that didn't interest me at all, I never practised my guitar. Since quitting tuition, I got a new guitar and have progressed much further, as I can play my own style and songs, and I have a really interest in learning new material, and with mastering each songs comes new skills.

[DroptheBomb]

"Its better to just pick up a guitar and muddle your own way through...Develop your own style"

-Jade Pudget

and im not even an Afi Fan but he makes a good point

dont be shamed of your imperfections if you can pull it off cleanly then its yours.

"If you hit a wrong not once...shame on you, hit it again your playing jazz"

[twat]

Seemed just like an excuse to plug his new 'How To Choose A Guitar Teacher Guide'.

[OLEROCKER]

well yeah I dont agree with a lot of Toms comments but we are all entitled to our own opinions.Im self taught a lot of credit to ultimate-guitar thanks for such a great web site!

[OneGirl [1.1]]

i dunno about this article. i am self-taught and i think i do really well.

[CarpUK]

Article would have been far better had it been composed as follows :

"Get a good teacher, follow their course to the letter, and it'll probably help."

Genius. Absolute genuis.

[Ikonoklast]

OneGirl [1.1] wrote:

i dunno about this article. i am self-taught and i think i do really well.

He's trying to get hits on his website.

[Life Is Brutal]

He's just trying to promote his business XD.

But seriously, I do believe that teacher's would help people alot, although I do not have one.

[gizmodious]

pjotrfijas wrote:

Here's a run through of the Rolling Stones Magazine list of 100 greatest guitar players of all time:

1 Jimi Hendrix - Self taught
2 Duane Allman - ?
3 B.B. King - Self taught

4 Eric Clapton - Self taught

5 Robert Johnson - ?
6 Chuck Berry - ?
7 Stevie Ray Vaughan - Self taught
8 Ry Cooder - Largely self taught
9 Jimmy Page - Self taught
10 Keith Richards - Self taught

In addition, you have artists like Prince, Van Halen and Mark Knopfler, who also were entirely self taught.

I think the morale is, that in order to become really great, you need to trust in yourself and only yourself. If you trust in a teacher, and if you trust him MORE than your own guitar instincts..... then you will become mediocre at best.

I don't think it's any coincidence that the Rolling Stones top 100 list is dominated by players who largely were self taught.

Every last one of those people you listed had an incredible fire for music burning inside. That list is short becuase its the exception, not the rule.

Having said that, I believe having a good teacher helps A LOT. Here my philosophy:

You can learn more jamming with an experienced player in a month than you can in an entire year of playing alone.

[sbinlb]

pooflinger069 wrote:

it is better to have a good teacher for music in general...but guitar is another story...I taught myself guitar just fine after learning music theory from the trumpet

me too but i play sax

[sbinlb]

start a club slef taught guitar players against tom hess

[lucas_22]

GuitaPlaya wrote:

You forgot to mention that a lot of guitarists make the mistake of listening to Tom Hess.

ohhhhh... burn!!!

[Bonorly]

dinosaur sr wrote:

why do you need to train and have goals and effective paths to them and all that stuff?

this looks more like a business plan or something

I like playing guitar, I dont care about "isolating problem areas"

Idiot, let me guess. You've played for 3 months and you know the intro to Enter Sandman. Isolating problems is probably the ONLY way to ever advance, because how can you get better if you are flawed in an area? And "why train"? Are you serious? Training = practising, and that truly is the most important thing a guitarist can do.

[Bonorly]

And now to the article and comments. Teachers help you with the basics, the intermidiates and help you when you go wrong. They give you specific things to practise that strengthen areas such as dexterity, muting, picking styles. It is then up to you to practise these and then take them further yourself. Having a teacher makes life easier. Self-teaching helps you achieve what you want to achieve, but isn't as effective as a good teacher. I self taught myself, and it has taken me years and years to master it. A good friend of mine was a similar level to me after jsut a few years with an expensive but very efficient and experienced teacher.
I'm rambling so to sum it up, teachers = easier learning, self-teaching = specific and more intermate playing, but at the expense of time and stress.

[mgags7]

tom, this is all great, but I'd like to argue one point of it.

In using all sorts of different sources of information and not concentrating on a single influence, you can learn a very wide range of guitar styles and techniques. If I had set a goal right when I started playing guitar and stuck strictly to it, I'd be nothing like the player I am today. I found out I was much much more interested in things other than just heavy rock style guitar, obviously there is a lot more to guitar than that, and I feel like too many of the "guitar hero kids" that are taking up guitar these days to just to learn metallica songs are killing the art.

[mgags7]

If you're not an idiot, you can develop a good practice plan on your own. There is more than enough information out on the web to do so. Only the dull and unmotivated need someone else to tell them what to do. Of course a teacher would say that taking lessons is necessary.

[Guitar Z-neous]

so i guess this is always kind of an obvious but necessary things for people to see....but that diagram thing at the end kinda made me laugh, lol.
i myself is self taught and looking back i agree with some of the stuff, but i think a lot of stuff in the article were repeated... i think one thing everyone should remember is that watever ur goal in playing guitar, u should b motivated and focused. without passion u will stuck going nowhere no matter how many years u SAY u played. ive seen so many people like that.

[TheEighthPlague]

Well dude, I didn't even read all of that, I skimmed through it though. But yeah, I don't agree with needing to get a teacher. Some people are naturally better guitarists than others, and I've progressed well on my own, and by just jamming with friends. A good way to progress is to play with all the people you can. You never know what kind of styles or techniques you can pick up.

[fireblade]

Great article if you want to sound exactly like everyone else. Or if your five years old and can't learn on your own. Other than that, complete BS.

[decayingdave]

I disagree with your first statement, but bearing the first statement in mind you're obviously going to say that, because you're a teacher, and if you went around saying ''You don't need a teacher'' then you'd be shooting yourself in the foot.

You do make a good point about lacking direction, this can happen - But if you jam alongside your friends then it's unlikely that any given group of people can run out of ideas soon.

[fast-lagardo]

I believe in the long run self taught guitarist are better. and if your self taught alot of the problems you mentioned will be fixed. you'll develop your own playing style and your own practice schedule. just saying.

[EriePAsucks]

It's good to have a mentor but self-expression is very important and that can be lost.

[jackmarrin]

MetalGS3SE wrote:

I never had a teacher, and I am doing great. Don't assume that just because you failed without a teacher that other people will as well.

Same here... I have been playing for shorter than most of my friends and am probably one of the best i know and i never took lessons. i do not believe a teacher is necessary. i practice every day and jam with everyone i know, and i believe expressing yourself makes you a better guitarist.

[Sch1sM]

of course there's going to be flaming going on here because the 12-year-olds don't like being told that they're doing things wrong. they prefer to take out their hormonal frustration in text form on the internets rather than be open-minded.

HINT: whining here will not prove to anyone that you are a better player and that you don't need a teacher or whatever it is that has you bleeding all over my monitor

[gander93]

“I’m not coming out of this room until I master this damn lick if it takes me the next 19 hours! No breaks! No food! No human contact! I’m gonna nail this!”

That's probably the best piece of information in the article, I'm going to try it.

[thoriswar]

the guys first point about getting a teacher he is only saying that cos he is one him self and for a start me and my m8 jay started playing guitar at the same age and this guy can shred and play pretty much anything he wants to play by ear and he is self taught as for me i can still play pretty well but did not put as much work in as he did because i wanted a life but now i wish i did play as much as him lol

[RoaryB.]

atthedrive-thru wrote:

playinbass1432 wrote:

I'm self taught and I'm progressing just fine, thank you very much.

me too

Me three. As great as it would be to have a teacher, I simply cant afford one, and there arent many good ones round here anyway. So I made sure I knew what to practice, how to practice it and set about it. In all honesty it's taken me like a year alone just finding out all this stuff, but now I have a solid practice structure, and some good instruction books. I think I am very capable now, and I get better daily. Teachers arent vital.

[pjotrfijas]

gizmodious wrote:

Every last one of those people you listed had an incredible fire for music burning inside. That list is short becuase its the exception, not the rule.

Haha.

It's short because I didn't bother continuing with the 90 next people on the Rolling Stone Magazine's list.

Point is: All GREAT rock guitar players are self taught? Because they have an incredible fire for music inside them? No.... because they did it the hard way.

Look at Tom Hess: He has an INCREDIBLE fire inside him to become a rock hero. So he takes loads of lessons, and copies all the tricks of his childhood heros.

Yet he's the lead guitarist in HolyHell, a warm up band with zero future, and twelve fans world wide...

He has passion. But he's not a great guitar player. Why? Because he thought he could skip doing it the hard way... He thought he could fast lane to guitar legend status. Sorry. That's not possible...

[broken fusion!]

He forgot the 12th most damaging mistake:

12. Listening to, reading about, and following any of Tom Hess' advice.

[Silky Smooth]

I don't think anyone is truly self taught anyone.

I doubt theres anyone here or any player who hasnt gotten a chance toi play around with someone else. The mere exhange of ideas is a form of teaching. watching someone play things you arent familar with and learning from them ect ect.

[ginger ninja102]

broken fusion! wrote:

He forgot the 12th most damaging mistake:

12. Listening to, reading about, and following any of Tom Hess' advice.

lol true tho i think this whole thing was a way for himto make money advertising himself to make him look good and saying not having a goal is stupid i mean if you like a song you hear from time to time play it and you might find a part in that song which could help you in other things you like to play or could help you with what ever style you play eg you play metal but like this slow song put the metal and the slow bit together might make a song so much better

[NiCk_FuRy]

too much philosofy, too little solutions, too bad drawings..

[singxmex2xsleep]

Silky Smooth wrote:

I don't think anyone is truly self taught anyone.

I doubt theres anyone here or any player who hasnt gotten a chance toi play around with someone else. The mere exhange of ideas is a form of teaching. watching someone play things you arent familar with and learning from them ect ect.

pretty much figured out what sounded okay. and went from there. but you're right-there aren't much people who can say that any more. :P

[Zappabootlicker]

i can say that i am truly self taught and i have to say that it is hell, i'm thinking of finding a teach but am kinda embarrssed, i get soo annoyed by my lack of ability to my knowledge i seem to be able to assemble things in my mind but they don't seem to manifest on my guitar, and this post annoys me, the way he seems to slander self teaching it's really not a bad thing but you need to be totally commited to your instrument for it to be effective

[slashjr192]

hey man, thanks alot ill deff keep all this in mind. Im just not too sure why everythings gotta be THIS or THAT. LIke i was watching the sweep picking video, and you say if you dont pick this way then your doomed you have no hope pretty much. I just think if you think of it differently then you can accomplish what you want. But still great info!

[antipop333]

wow what a pathetic article
you generalize way too much here
especially about the self-taught part

[Cobra990]

everyone is saying either "i was self taught so suck it" or "look at all these awesome people who were self taught"...well im not very good i took lessons for a little while and they definitely made me better, and now since i went to college i cant keep taking lessons from him or anyone else (only free time is at night when no one would teach), so i am pretty much having to teach myself and it is damn hard, and i feel im not getting better necessarily but am just staying where i was in skill level...so don't bash people who need help or don't plan on being the next jimmy page

also if anyone would like to throw out some suggestions for kind of easy rock songs (same skill level as like "wish you were here-pink floyd" etc) i would be very appreciative

[jakeduraine]

thank you i found myself making many of these mistakes and now am working on correcting them.

[WillzKORN]

In this 'guide' he pretty much spends the whole time saying how great he is, its pretty sick, though there are a couple of decent points, like having a teacher that will let you command the lesson by doing whatever you want is definitely not the way forward. one thing i dont agree with though is that he keeps saying that its better to have a teacher who will teach everything really fast rather than one who may spend more time on one area, some people progress differently to others so need more time on that area rather than rushing off to the next part straight away.

[savory_softy]

See, I love it. You people concede his point by stating 'I'm self-taught and I do just fine' which only proves him correct. The idea is to have someone make you do better then 'just fine'! F*** he's on your side!!! Essentially what he's saying is you need someone to analyze your technique so that they can improve upon it, teach you to be more efficient and also have someone give you some useful perspective on your instrument. Also, having a guitar teacher that can kick your arse is a great inspiration and will push you to want to kick there's (been there, done that, sweet sweet revenge). He's not insulting you, he's trying to help.

[savory_softy]

Ps: Good article. If even the greats take some schooling why not us rookies?

[lespaul#1]

I cannot stand lessons. I ask older, more experienced guitarists I know when I have problems, and I am progressing fine.

[urrynater86]

I'm sitting on the fence with this argument and it is really starting to hurt my *******!

[Aubin]

Great another piece of advice from another note-counting rationalist... I wouldn't even trust him if he actually WAS a good guitar player, you all need to get out of the forums and discover life, you'll see soon enough it's not about being the best at all...

[FireHawk]

A guy trying to sell guitar lessons is telling us teaching our self is bad....no shit...

[Conformist]

12th Damaging mistake:
Listening to Tom Hess.

(Insert Disclaimer Here)

[the red chadd]

Tommy boy is getting a bit of a bad reputation, and rightfully so.

[Wulf5577]

manwithplan wrote:

yeh ther formal guitar teacher thing is a load of shit- all u learn from them is the techniques u need- becoming a good player is all about practise. It depends what kinda guitarest u wanna be- if u wanna be a tecnical player like steve vai then get a teacher and learn it like a science. If u want to play with other people and entertain people and make good music- get a teacher by all means- but dont depend on them. Just develop your own style- a teacher can do that for u

...

[danrawkz]

Hahah, the flow chart is classic! Oh yes it certainly reinforced your points!1

[kdcisgod]

i liked it

[Monte Cristo]

I think learning is a lot like marriage. You can get marriage counseling, budgeting help, read books, and get all the advice you want, but you have to be in love with your wife to make it work. Ultimately, it's love that is going to motivate you.

[Smiter]

I'm sure taking lessons is great advice for those whose goal is to be mindless herman li clones and live to play fast and get there quickly. I personally have enjoyed the process of becoming a better guitar player by myself. It is a fact that most education is just used to indoctrinate the students, inhibiting their creativity. I take classes in music theory but I apply those lessons to guitar on my own. I cant play as fast as the "amazing" players on youtube, but I take pride in my musicality and the feeling I put into my solos.

[linked_reality]

This whole article is noting more than an ad for his website and company. I guess its a good idea to use free publicity in a website like this, but we're here to learn some tips, pick up some riffs... not be told "oh, you should get a teacher. Don't try learning yourself. Here's my website."

[Jack_HammeR]

linked_reality wrote:

This whole article is noting more than an ad for his website and company. I guess its a good idea to use free publicity in a website like this, but we're here to learn some tips, pick up some riffs... not be told "oh, you should get a teacher. Don't try learning yourself. Here's my website."

I just think the guy that wrote it is an egotistical pleb to be honest. How you can make so many sweeping generalisations and have the audacity to offer "advice" to people in that context is beyond me.

[PurplezArctic]

SauerPilsner wrote:

Mistake number 12.

Spending your time reading nonimportent articles, instead of practicing guiar

[ray832]

Wow, why are there so many ignorant people on these boards? Obviously the guy knows what he's talking about, he is a professional touring artist and all. If you can't say that about yourself stop bashing the guy. He wrote this article for people who don't believe that they are that good yet, and if you are all the guitar gods you pretend to be, you wouldn't have felt the need to read this post.

[Notoriousdoc]

11 ways to not have fun playing guitar.

[lsw444]

As an experienced guitarist, I would actually agree with this article. I am self-taught and was vehement that I should not take lessons because I wanted to sound like me and be original and my heroes were self taught and I could hear peers who took lessons off a local teacher and they sounded like clones. But I also think I would have spent my time more efficiently if I just stumped up for some guitar lessons off a really good teacher, and probably there I would say it would have been a guitarist from a band that I liked going to see locally, in other words he was out there doing what I wanted to be doing. Also I would have done it after I reached a certain level so it just refined me, rounded me, got me over certain plateaus and added to me defining my own sound rather than a cloned sound.

[Mondo Generator]

Notoriousdoc wrote:

11 ways to not have fun playing guitar.

Exactly. I play my guitar for about two hours every day. it is a way for me to let go of stress and enjoy myself. I am self taught, pretty much. whenever I feel like I'm in a rut, I just learn a new Queens of the Stone Age song to blow my mind. another thing that helps me is to take a break for a couple of days. when you come back, you will feel twice as good. a great refresher!
Tom Hess is a dick and is trying to push his retarded products. "How to Find a guitar teacher?" are you kidding?

[punkman_123]

The way I see it, there's talent and skill. Teachers can help you develop skills used to play guitar well but in the end, you're stuffed if you're not musically inclined. It's the reason nobody outside the guitar-playing community gives a damn about Vai, Malmsteen, etc. They are skilled, sure, but they've missed what music is about.

The reason a lot of the world's "best" guitarists are self-taught is because it doesn't matter if you can't shred, it's the feeling you play the instrument with, and the emotions you convey through the music. Nobody can teach you that.

I strongly recommend teaching yourself, and if that doesn't go well, you're probably not made for music.

[Ikonoklast]

The most damaging mistake i could make would be to empty out my wallet for your poor teaching methods. Noone can teach effectively over the 'net.

[Ikonoklast]

Ps, if you read through the comments i think you'll fine a good proportion of the people sticking up for this are dodgy accounts created recently with like 1 post each. Duplicate accounts anyone?

[Jack_HammeR]

I'll play guitar how i want to and i'll have fun doing it, and i don't need some nob with "touring experience" to tell me how to play or practise. Like the guy said: 11 ways to not have fun playing guitar.

[edgeyyz]

atthedrive-thru wrote:

playinbass1432 wrote:

I'm self taught and I'm progressing just fine, thank you very much.

me too

me three

[BarkTooth]

Boy, your article is well and interestingly written, but somehow I want to post sth. like "Thanks to captian obvious!"

Anyway, I like the way you lament the lack of professional guitar teachers, and prove this by checking Google searches. I wonder why you didn't write something like "guitar teachers don't want to improve, but free porn download, I checked this on google!".

Your nice illustration in #11 is nice and colorful, but what's you want to say? That it is always better to go straight to a goal instead of f*cking around with little arrows and then fall into a black hole called "dead end"? What would be advice #12? It's good to learn guitar?

And as regards that "inefficiant goals" in #6: I don't know if you ever just sat around at home, desperately trying to play a song. I experienced that with "Master of Puppets": I played every damn riff about a hundred times, until I was able to play the right notes at the right time, in the right speed. And let me be honest: I don't have a problem with it now. But maybe I'm just looking at my "surface", and deep inside I'm the worst guitar player in the world.

[Slasher_Sloth]

Or maybe try not treating your guitar learning as a ****in "You have to do this! You can't do that!" thing like a science project or something. Try having fun with it.

[Duality Ninja]

Im self taught, and I see no problems at all. Im learning just fine so to me this article didn't really tell me much. At all.

[devilmaycry1979]

Self taught is a bitch. Plain an simple. And, yes, its an ad. So what? The main Idea is clear. Either spend alot of time learning, and pay nothing. Or.. Cough up some cash for an actual professional to help you along your way. I cannot count count how many twenties Ive thrown at local yokals,; just for them to learn my progress; only to forget it before the next lesson.

[Tasdvl9]

Tom Hess is a teacher himself who specializes in online lessons as well as one on one teacher student sessions. I'd say he's just a tad bit bias. However, I do agree. Finding a competent teacher will help one's growth immensely.

[lestat1836]

Haha, with so many negative and ignorant people commenting here, it's no wonder why there are so many people who suck at guitar.

[IvanGroznij]

lestat1836 wrote:

Haha, with so many negative and ignorant people commenting here, it's no wonder why there are so many people who suck at guitar.

+1 I thought the articcle was very true.

[miguel_arriola]

[miguel_arriola]

http://www.nextlevelguitar.com/cmd.php?af=905804

[Philly080]

This is a pretty good article for the most part, I completely disagree with some "mistakes" and I completely agree with others...I just don't think playing the guitar is as 'frustrating' or tedious as the author of this says it is..

[pooterfly]

i'd disagree with this for the most part.
you put 11 damaging mistakes "guitar players" make
no pal
11 damging mistakes YOU made that you're so pissed about your just going to assume everyone makes these mistakes
i'm self taught
and i'd say i'm doing very well

[xXxThE_cHaDxXx]

I'm learning fine by myself studying tabs and song structures through tabs...

To really make guitar songs, you need to know chords well and how/where they fit... Basically, music theory.

I've been playing for about 7 months and I'm writing songs. I know my songs suck, but at least I'm trying and getting better and I've been teacherless the entire time

[sinister2491]

edgeyyz wrote:

atthedrive-thru wrote:

playinbass1432 wrote:

I'm self taught and I'm progressing just fine, thank you very much.

me too
me three

same here...

[UHATEIT]

Great article. I am an absolute beginner and seeing people talk abotu learning chords, theory, and tabs, I can't tell where to start and I am getting confused.

I think this article makes me realize I really need to find a teacher in person to work with one on one to learn how to start out on the right path and stop straying. I need to know what to start on correctly so I wont keep wasing time going to the internet to find something else to try and get me off track when I should be playing.

[PcaKes]

sinister2491 wrote:

edgeyyz wrote:

atthedrive-thru wrote:

playinbass1432 wrote:

I'm self taught and I'm progressing just fine, thank you very much.

me too
me three

same here...

You know I'm sure that you really are doing fine on your own but are you sure that there's nothing that you couldn't use some help on? I'm teaching myself as well but when I read this it just hit me right where it was supposed to. I don't know about you guys, but I'm going to find myself a teacher so that I can learn somethings and get some different input.

[dark templar]

I know great guitar players that don't even know what a scale is, but they can play from their heart, the tunes from their heads come out from their natural talent to express by playing with what they feel...I think the greatest mistake a guitar player can make is to be stuck in a rut on technical things, with or without a teacher, with sweep or no sweep, self taught or not...don't just find a teacher, find the music in your heads...not just because you can do a scale or a box pattern riff or a sweep or whatever then you'd say you're good? is that tune in your head telling you to sweep it? come on...

[ebnation]

I have been playin guitar for about 7-8 months now, for all that time I had a teacher but all he taught me was a few scales and some songs, but yet im much better than all the other guitar players in my school, who have been playing for 2-4 years with teachers. I think it is because unlike my friends, I didnt get lazy with my guitar skills, i would practice for about 6 or 7 hours a day learning a few thing in the begining of the day and trying to hear them in the songs on my ipod, then Id get the tabs learn the song practice is for about half an hour, and then try applying it to my playing. what I am trying to say is that teachers arent necessary, aslong as you realy want to learn and you put effort into progressing you will become really good really fast.

[T-Wex]

every bit helps man. and im building up more an more stradegy. Dx I've dropped the electric and picked up an accoustic

[Psykopaten123]

I stopped reading at "get a guitar teacher"... since i'm better than the most guys around me who has played for equal amount of time. Same thing goes for my other friends who are "self-taught", they're actually better than those who take lessons...

[HCherrySG]

colohue I am more balanced than most guitarists I know. Some might be better guitarists but overall it seems I'm the best musician I know of thus far.

Don't get hurt patting yourself on the back .

[Firering56]

im self taught, and im much more knowlegable with what im doing than most guitar teachers.
i can universally play music (except for jazz, it bores me. oh and the blues)
i can play most chords that many can't, and switch between them and other chords.
i can read music sheets,(well, not as well as i wish i could. but im still working on it)
and not only that, i teach guitar at my schools "afterschool program".

[JChrist521]

this is a very condescending article... I don't think it should be called mistakes guitar players make, but rather "why being self-taught doesn't work," or "how to become good as fast as possible." i don't seem to view playing guitar in the same way as this "professional guitar teacher" because i am mostly self taught (i took a very basic class my sophomore year of highschool and that's about it), but if that means i'm not solely playing to become as good as possible as quickly as possible, i'm fine with it. I play guitar for fun and your main argument against these mistakes is that they cause frustration when one wishes to become as good as you. I'm sorry about the sarcasm of this comment but i usually like your articles and this one really rubbed me the wrong way.

There's more than one way to learn an instrument and here you're advising everyone to only focus on one way of learning a la your little illustration. I like the winding road because i usually end up learning a little bit more than i'd hoped to.