With So many choices, which choice is best for me?

The process of learning music has evolved over hundreds of years to become what it is today. Access to learning music was much more restricted because it would require an educated instructor at a time when survival was much more difficult. Today, music is accessible to everyone who wants to take the time to learn it. In fact, it has become so accessible that the options for learning can be overwhelming. You can learn online for free via YouTube and other streaming platforms; you can pay for a course, or you can hire an instructor one-on-one or in a group. We will break down these options in the way that will help you the most! We do have to mention that we offer one-on-one lessons, but we will try to be as unbiased as possible because we want to give you the best experience.

YouTube

YouTube is a great learning resource. It has almost any music topic that you could want to learn about. You can learn it at any time, and you can pause to accommodate the rest of your life. And, it's free!

However, it does have flaws for learning that come inherently with the program.

1. The first flaw is that the information on YouTube is hard to validate. How do you know that what you are learning is useful?
2. The second flaw is that YouTube lessons have zero accountability for how to play them. You don't have anyone holding your feet to the fire while you are learning. And you aren't able to ask questions that you know you will get a response to. It also won't give you feedback on what you've been working on because no one is watching you play. There is also so much on YouTube that it is really hard to know what you should focus on.

Courses

The next option for learning is courses. These come in many different forms, whether video-style courses from the 80's or more modern examples of online courses that you can purchase.

There are many benefits to courses.

1. The first is that they provide the students with a great structure for learning what they are teaching.
2. The 2nd is also the availability of schedule for most of these courses. They work on your time and you can work at your pace on the lesson content.
3. These courses are also often cheaper than traditional in-person lessons because they are premade and sent one to many.
4. Another big accomplishment of many courses is that you can learn directly from your favorite musicians. Metallica has a course through Fender Play. All of the 80s guitar players made VHS courses. These give you direct insight into the creators of the most popular music ever. 

Courses have great features, but most of them lack in a few key areas.

1. Courses like YouTube often have no great way to keep you accountable for your learning progress.
2. They are also difficult to ask questions to the teacher a lot of the time. (This point has several exceptions to some of the better courses out there). And it is really hard to get feedback on your playing.

Private Instructors

The third option you have for learning is to hire an instructor to teach you. This format can take multiple approaches and is the oldest version of teaching music.

1. This method provides great options for giving you feedback and accountability.
2. It also allows you to move at your pace and provides flexibility with the material you are learning, which is really hard to achieve with courses.
3. It also allows you to talk with an instructor and have them explain the topic to you in multiple different ways until you understand. 

This method has some drawbacks as well.

1. The first is that your scheduled lesson time is much less flexible. The time is usually very rigid unless the instructor has a different opening.
2. You also don't have a great way to know if your teacher will be good or bad until you've had a few lessons with them.
3. Lessons are also typically unstructured which makes it difficult to learn the important things you need to learn for them. 

So now the question is, What should I do?

And that really depends on where you are and how motivated you are. If you can set your mind to something and just do it, an online course is a great option, but if you need help staying focused and accountable, a lesson program is super helpful. There is also no reason you can't bring your course to your professor and ask to learn that. Using your instructor to stay accountable to a guided path is a great option. 

Lessons are great for those who don't know how to learn or what to learn. We can provide guided experience and try out several different styles of playing so that you can really understand how to play better. 

If you know a decent amount of information and you know how to vet it, YouTube is a fantastic learning tool. It can help you learn specific things that you aren't quite grasping, and it has a video for everything. We often use YouTube videos to teach students concepts that they can ponder and ask about later. 

All of these learning tools have great purposes and drawbacks.

Our goal at Roxy Music is to equip musicians to learn in a way that suits them best. Our one-on-one lesson program is growing, and we strive to provide the best options we can for students.

We offer the best student concert options around. Students can choose from typical lesson recitals or play in a band with other students and professional musicians, which really makes the concerts feel like concerts, allowing everyone to have a great time for the entire event.

If you would like to learn more check out our lesson page below at Roxymusic.com