Classical Guitar Online Lessons Academy

I first picked up guitar about nine years ago. But even though I’ve been at it for years, I’ve been stuck at a beginner’s level. I can read chord charts and tablature. I know commonly used chords/fingerings. I can figure out the chords to a lot of songs by ear if I sat down with a recording, pausing for each chord as I look for its match on the fretboard. But all I can do so far is just simple chord strumming. I don’t know how to read music and I haven’t really even gotten the names of the notes on the fretboard memorized (except for the fifth and sixth strings, because that’s usually where the bass notes of chords are located, right?)

I play songs mostly from the alternative rock genre (partly because I like the genre, and partly because there are a lot of songs from the genre that are easy enough for me to play). And sometimes, I like to try writing my own songs. Which is why I would like to learn how to play lead and improvise – so I could embellish my own songs and come up with more interesting sounds. I think I could use some music theory too. Without music theory or even knowing the notes on the fretboard, one could still come up with musical ideas, but to me, doing it that way feels like groping around in the dark.

Also, I was thinking that if I knew some music theory, it would be a lot easier for me to figure out how to play other people’s songs by ear. Of course, I could just look for tablature and play by numbers, but I want to understand what I’m doing… not just mindlessly hit these notes without knowing what they are and why…..

So recently, I decided to sign up for lessons with a teacher. (I think one of the reasons my progress has been so slow is that I have been playing and learning mostly by myself. I was thinking I could learn more, faster, with the guidance of someone who knows what he’s doing.)

When we first met, my teacher asked me what exactly I wanted him to teach me. But I wasn’t really sure how to put it in words. There are so many things I want to learn, and I probably don’t even know what some of them techniques are called. He also mentioned that he didn’t want to teach me by reading off sheet music, because, he said, it just might make me dizzy.

Part of me agrees with my teacher. The thought of learning to read music, how it relates to the guitar, and playing the music as I read it just scares me. It seems so complicated. Also, if he does teach me to read music, he’s going to be giving me classical lessons. Now, I LOVE listening to classical music. It’s beautiful! It’s just that I never really imagined myself playing it, because, well, it looks so difficult!

However, there’s also a part of me that thinks maybe it would be good for me. It’ll motivate me to learn the notes on the fretboard, I’ll learn proper fingering positions… and I’m not sure, but I have a feeling that I’ll need to know how to read music if I want to learn some music theory – is that right?

So now, I’m not so sure what I should do. Should I go ahead and learn classical guitar? Or should I just ask my teacher to teach me rock/blues songs and scales and solos, etc, by "shape" instead? Because I really want to understand what I’m doing… and I’m up for learning new and challenging things. But then again, I’m not sure if my brain can handle it (I’m already 27 years old)… or if it would really help me with my goals (songwriting, improvisation). I mean, it’s probably not very realistic of me to aim for really becoming a classical guitarist, when I’m starting out this late in life. But I’m willing to learn what it has to offer, so hopefully I could apply it to other genres and perhaps even my own music. Yet, I’m also afraid that like my teacher said, it would just make me dizzy.. What do you think?

By the way, I already decided to give the classical lessons a try. Last week was our first classical lesson. We haven’t gotten to the part with note reading yet – just p-i-m-a exercises and tablature. It takes me forever to get it right there and then, on-the-spot, and we haven’t even gotten to the good stuff yet! hahaha! Not to mention that these hourly lessons don’t come very cheap. (we went over a Study in E Minor, "Andantino in C" and "Romanza") So now, I’m wondering if I could ask my teacher if he could give me the classical lessons more as homework/supplementary material, and just use more of our session time on rock/blues techniques..? I don’t know. Would that be a better idea?

Thanks…
haha, yeah Matt B… I tend to write too long… haha… I’ll try to write shorter next time. :)) Thanks.

Whether you choose classical or electric guitar is completely up to what kind of music you want to play. You don´t have to play the classical guitar to read sheet music or learn theory. Of course, If you like classical music, I´d urge you to go for it.

Reading sheet music is not essential to understanding theory. You can understand the difference between a major scale and the superlocrian bb7 mode without resorting to reading for example. But if you want to share an idea with another musician, a pianist for example, you would have to write the notes down instead of using a tab. Reading is a very useful skill, and very important if you are going for classical guitar. But not as much if you´re going for electric. Once you get a hang of the fundamentals of reading, it gets quite easy. It´s much simpler than it looks.

Regardless of whether you choose classical or electric, you should learn theory. Shapes are useful at first, but if you don´t understand the theory behind them they get quite limiting.
And if you are planing on composing and improvising, I would say that theory is almost mandatory.
You can think of composing without theory, like looking for your car keys in a windowless room with the lights off.
You are also definitely not too old to learn, hehe. I have a student who is 47 years old, almost twice my age. He is a complete beginner and is progressing very nicely. You are never too old to learn.

As for the homework thing. You can check out http://www.ultimate-guitar.com (I have posted this so often, I feel like I´m advertising for them). It has lots of lessons on both theory and technique. If you find some of the stuff there mind-boggling, you can ask your teacher about it or go to the forum on that site.
Your teacher should also be able to provide you with scores or write down questions that you would solve over the week.

Wow, that was a long answer.

Good luck.