| Been playing guitar for over 25 years now, never had a lesson yet but picked up things by ear and watching other guitarists. You do not really need to learn music to be a decent guitar player but it wouldnt do any harm I suppose. I know a lot of very good players who still cannot read music and it does not hinder them at all. I suppose if you wanted to a classical guitarist things would be different and you would need to be able to sight read.
Theres never been a better time to learn as there are so many instructional books out there now usually complete with CDs etc. Also plenty of guitar mags such as Total guitar that have lessons ranging from beginner to advanced. There is a form of notating guitar music know as TAB which is very simple to use. All the guitar mags (and most instruction books) use TAB these days and it very simple to follow.
If you are serious and have the time then lessons would be a good idea to get you going a little more quickly. The problem with trying to learn yourself can be its easy to lose heart at the slow progress and give up. Ask around (local guitar shop etc) for a good tutor. I keep thinking of having a few lessons myself to try and improve my playing. I would like to be able to fingerpick a lot better than I do and really need someone to push me into learning properly.
Good Luck  |