12/05/2012  
	We covered this a bit in a recent post about learning guitar on tabs, but we feel that it is important to help you fully understand why it’s essential to have a music teacher for any instrument.   
	When you try to teach yourself, you are guessing a lot. You don’t know 
if what you are doing is right, and there is nobody to show you how. So,
 you have to guess. And you spend a lot of time on the Internet or 
trying to play parts of songs over and over. You find tabs and hope that
 they are right. Then, of course, you actually have to be able to read 
the tabs.  
	So, how does a music teacher make it easier for you? First of all, like the post about harmonising the major scale,
 there are some basics that you can learn to make it a lot easier for 
you to learn songs. Teaching yourself an instrument can be like trying 
to speak a foreign language from a dictionary, with no prior knowledge. 
You might be very clever and adept, but most people are going to fail 
miserably.  
	A music teacher has already been through the process. He or she has 
already had to learn the basics, and knows exactly what you need to know
 to meet your goals and eventually be the music player you want to be. A
 music teacher knows when you are going to struggle, and why, and can 
teach you many strategies to help you get through those struggles.  
	A music teacher knows what you need to learn to get from point A to 
point B, from point B to point C, and so on. A teacher knows when you 
need a challenge and when you need to be congratulated. Having someone 
who already knows how to do what you want to do, teaching it to you is 
much easier than trying to do it yourself.   
	A music teacher can also help you get through the plateaus, where it 
seems like you aren’t getting any better. He or she can often give you 
just the right piece of knowledge you need to make a “quantum leap” and 
reach another level.  
	Doesn’t that sound easier than slogging through books and tabs, with no idea if you are actually doing it right? Trust us: it’s much easier with a music teacher.
            Monster Music's network of professional music teachers and music schools offer guitar lessons, singing, piano, violin and drum lessons, and music tuition for many other musical instruments. This is a free service to anyone looking for music lessons. Music Teachers from right across Australia can bec…
Are You a Musical Learner? Learning Paradigms for the 21st Century

                            

