Strength in Numbers

Taking up the guitar is a big investment. You are going to spend time, money and energy and if you’re like most people you probably want a little assurance that none of your efforts are going to be wasted. Believe it or not, there’s a good chance that group guitar classes may be a good way for you to get started on your personal musical adventures of a lifetime.

Deciding to play guitar is as big a step as learning to play it. There’s a lot to consider and worry about, from getting a guitar to play to figuring out how you intend to learn to make music with it. Then what happens if you buy a guitar and spend a lot of money on lessons only to find that guitar is not the instrument for you?

Well, despite all the Internet’s and digital game world’s best efforts to the contrary, there is fortunately no option out of needing a real, physical guitar in order to learn to play. That doesn’t always mean that you have to buy one, though. You probably have a friend or family member who can loan you an instrument for a little while, at least long enough for you to decide if you’re interested in pursuing your goal of playing.

One thing to keep in mind, though, is that all guitars are not created equal. They come in different sizes and shapes and some of the initial difficulties you may face in your early stages of learning may possibly be easily fixed by having a guitar that is more suited to you, physically, as a person. You can find out more about that in our Guitar Noise article on different shapes of acoustic guitars.

Having a teacher or some experienced player help you out at the start may help you avoid or at least not get frustrated with problems that every beginning guitarist goes through. But, for whatever reasons, you may be hesitant to take on a teacher right off the bat. And if you’re being honest with yourself, the usual reason is either that you’re worried about the cost or you’re worried about making a fool of yourself. Or it may be that you just don’t feel comfortable dealing with a guitar instructor on a one-to-one basis at this stage of your learning.

In all honesty, none of these are truly good reasons, but they can all be dealt with by looking into taking group lessons. First, group lessons typically cost less than one-on-one lessons. Depending on where you live, not to mention who your teacher is, a thirty-minute lesson might range anywhere from $15 to $30 or possibly more. Group lessons, though (and again depending on where you live and who the teacher is), usually work out to be between $10 and $15 per hour. True, you usually have to pay the entire cost of the lessons upfront (and most beginners’ guitar group classes run anywhere from four to fourteen weeks), but if you go the private teacher route you typically pay each month in advance, so you’re essentially shelling out close to the same amount of money either way. And $145 for fourteen hour-long lessons is, by any way you look at the numbers, clearly a better deal and $120 for four thirty-minute lessons.

Put the issue of money aside, though, and examine some of the more important aspects of learning as taken through a group class. One of the first things you’ll learn in a group class is that you are far from alone! Virtually every beginning guitarist ends up going through the same learning process that you are. You can’t possibly make any mistake or have any difficulty that at least one other person who has taken up the guitar hasn’t dealt with as well. And, more often than not, that someone else in your class! Likewise, any question that you might have about playing is undoubtedly in the mind of at least one of your classmates.

Besides sharing in the “growing pains” of learning, you’ll also share in your class’s successes. Everyone learns at a different pace and some people will pick up on different aspects of playing faster than others, but usually everyone in class is constantly both learning from each other as well as being inspired by each other, not to mention being an inspiration to others as well.

Depending on your personality, you may at first look at group classes as competition, but ultimately they serve as the best example that treating learning how to play guitar (or any creative enterprise) as a competition will result in a lot of unnecessary frustration. The sooner you get less competitive and more cooperative in your learning and playing, the better musician (and person) you will eventually become.

When you find yourself both learning and encouraging others with whatever they happen to be stumbling with, you’ll find yourself looking forward to lessons as well as looking forward to playing and practicing on your own in order to keep up and help the group (and yourself) progress as players. You may not even notice that you’re actually playing and improving! Fortunately, others in your class will point it out to you and also give you a lot of encouragement and support. They’ll also ask for pointers!

If you’ve been a reader of our lessons here at Guitar Noise for any length of time, you probably know this mantra verbatim: Never turn down the chance to play. Playing with others is, as all the writers and contributing Forum members of Guitar Noise will attest to, probably the most fun way to get better quickly. The trouble for many is finding people with whom to play music. In this day and age where most of the relationships we have are online, it’s hard for many people to make contact with other musicians.

Well, how about the people you’ve met at your group guitar class? Getting together outside of class for practicing or simply to jam and play some songs you all like is simply a matter of talking with one or more of your classmates before or after class one day. It really couldn’t be simpler!

Playing together is indeed one of the best ways to improve your fledgling guitar skills in a hurry. You can go over material from class or get some sheet music or tablature or chord sheets of songs you’re all interested in and work on those. Best yet is that you don’t have to worry that you’re not “good enough” yet because your new friends will be at the same level you are. And if you can turn your get-togethers into regularly scheduled events, you may have found yourself some people that you could be jamming with for the rest of your life!

Finding group classes is not always easy, but you usually have a number of options. Your local community college is one of your best bets to finding a good beginners’ guitar group. These classes are often offered as non-credit workshops or as part of a “continuing education” program. Your favorite guitar store or music shop may have some good leads for you as well. And if you have a group of people you know want to learn, you could always approach a guitar teacher with a proposal for teaching your group.

Whenever possible, try to check out any group program ahead of time, finding out things like how large a class typically is (from four to eight students is ideal), how long it runs, in terms of hours and weeks and also see if you might be able to talk with both the teacher (most community colleges will have the teacher call you) and with people who have taken the class. They should give you a good idea of what to expect. It’s a good idea, for example, to see whether or not a teacher expects you to know how to read music before taking the class. It’s rare that this happens with a group guitar class but it’s better to know ahead of time!

Given their individual timeframes, any group class can cover a wide range of material. Regardless of the length of the class, any good group beginners’ guitar program should teach you the basics of holding and tuning a guitar, how to play most open position chords (and how to work on changing from chord to chord), and the mechanics of strumming and teaching rhythm. Most teachers will use popular songs to help you learn these basics, so you’ll be playing real music before you know it! And, better yet, you’ll be making and sharing music with friends!

Peace