By Colter Lee
Live courses are a great way for aspiring musicians to learn how to play an instrument in a more traditional classroom setting. You can learn at your own pace, take courses at odd times of the day, and complete the lessons at home. The only drawback to live courses is that they tend to be expensive and time consuming.
Another advantage to taking a course in a traditional classroom setting is having access to a teacher who will actually show up in person to teach you. Sometimes that’s just not feasible or possible. For example, I live in New Jersey but my wife’s family lives in Florida, so we have to travel for hours to go to a weekly guitar class. I also have a job that requires me to travel a lot, so taking a week long course in a small rural town is out of the question. With live courses online at midigiworld, you can watch a lesson whenever you have a few minutes during the night or weekend.
Many students aren’t available during normal working hours, either. If you’re a parent with young children, are sick or at work, or even just have a job that doesn’t allow you to spend much time at home while your kids are away, you might not have the time to devote to taking live courses. You might have other commitments that are pressing or unavoidable. It might just be better to get your guitar playing through some other means. But if you have the opportunity, why not give it a shot?
Even with online courses, though, you still need to be disciplined to stick to the schedule. A week can go by quickly when you’re using a video tutorial, so if you can spare a few hours a week, you should give it a shot. Live courses can be somewhat of a novelty, and even the most veteran guitarists sometimes find it difficult to keep their momentum when they’re faced with a new lesson plan. With online instruction, it’s all about discipline.
One of the advantages of learning live courses is that they are often shorter than a traditional, in-person guitar class. If you’re trying to learn to play the second time around after having failed several times before, you can skip right ahead and move on to your next lesson. Or, if you’re hoping to catch up with someone who’s already on the right track, it might be a good idea to stick with a video tutorial until you hit the proper level. This gives you the ability to see what’s going on at each step without having to spend hours trying to understand everything.
One benefit of online learning is that you can take the class from anywhere, as long as you have an internet connection. With a conventional course, you would have to be physically present in a classroom at a certain time. Although online learning offers many benefits, it also has some downfalls. In addition, if you are attending a class at the same time that your family is, you may have to share the cost of the course. Online learning is best for students who already have a full-time job or for students who have a very hectic schedule. Students should check their local community college to see if they offer online classes.
Another advantage of live courses is that you get immediate feedback. If you’re having troubles, you can watch someone else play and get immediate feedback. This will help you focus on your techniques, as well as what might be going wrong. When you’re face to face with your mistakes, it’s too easy to gloss over them or to just keep going. You can look back and correct yourself immediately when you’re doing live lessons, which makes them a great option for beginners as well as advanced players.
