Why would I want to take a skype guitar lesson?
There is nothing like having someone directly in front of you. In real life. So far no technology can replace the feeling of physical proximity. So why would anyone take a Skype lesson instead of a traveling to a guitar teacher's studio to work with him face to face?
I'm going to give you the real deal. This isn't a sales pitch for Skype lessons - because there are still a couple drawbacks. So read the whole thing before making your choice about whether you want to try it..
First some history... . One of our first ways of communicating was using smoke signals. Then once we learned to read and write we sent letters. Then we used telegrams and phone calls. Then when the internet came we got AOL and email and chatting, and then we some iffy video calling technology in the 90s. Then texting and Skype and FaceTime calls become commonplace. At first the image was shaky, the audio quality terrible. Even as little as 6 years ago FaceTime calls weren't amazing. FaceTime and Skype were ok to call your girlfriend but it wasn't great for any important work. Definitely not in the audio world. Why am I writing this? All of this history has lead to people having the impression that video communication online is not crystal clear. That's just not true. Today it's a totally different story. Wi-Fi signals are strong. Cell signals are super strong. We have 5G. Webcams are 1080. More importantly, the reliability and consistency of the connections has vastly improved. This means that calls are crystal clear and high definition. The audio sounds great as well. This also means you can keep a Skype call or FaceTime or google hangouts connected for as long as you want without interruption. For me, the improvement of cell signal has been the biggest bonus because it provides true freedom and consistency. You can be inside or outside, you can use your phone (android or apple) you can use an iPad or a tablet, and you can use a laptop or a desktop. Personally, I use a wired internet connection, so that my students getting the highest possible fidelity from my end. So in all honesty this has transformed the way people learn. Not just guitar lessons. Skype and FaceTime Tutoring is ubiquitous now in America. Math, the SAT, GRE. All kinds of tutors. It's convenient and it works. In fact, many of my clients in Los Angeles (who could easily come to my studio) prefer their guitar lessons over skype. They don't have to deal with traffic and we can get the same amount of work done with the same accuracy. It's funny because there's still a lot of skepticism - Especially from people who have never tried it. I can understand why. An in-person guitar lesson is better than a video lesson. Right now that's just a fact. For one thing, if a student is new to the instrument and is making a technical mistake, I can literally hold their hand and show them what they are doing wrong. But in reality I generally just show students the way I'm doing it - they look at me and emulate.. But this is just as easily demonstrated on the screen. You watch and learn. It's not all perfect though... The other drawback to virtual guitar lessons is that we cannot jam together simultaneously. Meaning, because of milliseconds of latency, we can't play together, like a guitar duo. In truth I wish there was more jamming in general in guitar lessons. When I was taking lessons all the way through college, that was the way I learned. Teachers didn't want to teach, they wanted to practice and shed and they'd use guitar lessons as their chance to play - using their student as a backing track or "band". This can be a good opportunity for advanced students to watch, but it puts all of the responsibility on the student to learn. The teacher isn't teaching. I used to have to record the jam and then listen to the"lesson" later to learn something. I teach my students very differently. For one thing, I do much more teaching. The responsibility is on me to show my students something. It's a combination of what they want to learn and what they should learn to get where they want to be. I'm here to listen and to help. Most beginning and intermediate students are working on isolated things like chords, patterns, strumming. We always try to apply this to playing and jamming and learning songs as soon as possible. But often times there is less "jamming" in lessons than you would think. But anyway this is easily solved over Skype using backing tracks if necessary. Initially this was my biggest worry with Skype lessons, but it has turned out not to be a big issue. But that's the full disclosure of the one drawback of Skype lessons. Having said that, there are some other benefits to Private Online Guitar Lessons that people don't realize. Sometimes you can't find a good teacher in your area. Or the right teacher. In that instance you have no choice but to hope someone good is available via Skype. What if you need to travel but don't want to interrupt your lessons? What if your teacher needs to travel? If he doesn't offer Skype lessons or any type of virtual guitar lessons, you will have to interrupt your lessons. Losing momentum at the wrong time can be detrimental to learning the guitar. I often need to travel for gigs and clinics. This means I can be out of Los Angeles from days to weeks. The ability to work with students over Skype or FaceTime is a huge benefit. I have students in the United kingdom, Italy, Scandinavia, Asia and all over America. Many of them have been my students for years. Some of them are kids that I've watched grow up, go to college and get married. They're more than just clients to me. And I've never even met them in person.