When to seek professional help?!

It sounds like you've hit your first plateau. ;)

This is quite normal. However, getting off that plateau and up the next incline is different for different people. What worked for me was trying something different.

It could also be a case of taking the opportunity to set a plan for yourself. Set some goals etc.

At the end of the day it's practice and perserverence that will improve your playing. BUT, you have to maintain your motivation and interest, so don't be afraid to move off one thing to another. You can always come back and you'll often find that the original thing is a lot easier. And you'll wonder why you ever found it difficult in the first place. :D

i think in the beginning when you're first learning the basics is the most important time to have lessons. that way you learn things correctly to begin with. after that you can practice the basics from now till doomsday and just get better at them...

Get lessons. They really help. Lessons will help you get through the plateau much faster.

I never liked the whole "guitar lessons" thing until I got a chance to sit down with a REAL guitarist who kindly took me under his wing for a couple hours. I learned more in those two or three hours than I did in a whole month of fooling around by myself.

Get lessons.

Yeah...I'm looking in to getting lessons to get me over my first plateau. Progress is SOOOOOO slow for me. But like Ringo said, Gotta pay yours dues if you wanna play the blows, and ya know it don't come easy.

I think Tom Serb teaches guitar in chicago ?

Well , i have been playing one year and done the learning myself.I have taken lessons from the internet and used them a lot.Mostly from this site (david's) , from guitar.about.com , cyberfret and some odd tids and bits here and there.

My progress initially was very thwarting.I couldn't play Cmajor chord initially at all.It was so tough for me.Then i thought 'If i can get down this chord , i can play guitar like anyone'

Well , i did and then came barre chords.Wow, they took me months to get them right on the guitar.Still many times , it become difficult for me to play barre chords for long , but , that is the high action of my classical guitar.

Right now , i am also feeling that i have made less progress ,so , i am going to order some highly acclaimed guitar books (William leavitt's) from amazon (thank-god they ship to my place !).I am sure , by , putting some 'quality' time into them and my own patience and willingness to learn guitar , i would get better.

If you feel that you need a teacher , then , most certainly you do need one.You don't have to be tied to a teacher for long.Just go out and meet them.Talk to them.Discuss your musical styles and goals with them.Tell them what you already know and what you would like to know.

Remember , learning yourself is not an easy task.As it is , guitar playing is not everybody's cup of tea.A good teacher can make life very easy for you.

I wish you the best of luck for learning guitar in future.

Rahul

if you are reluctant to take lessons or cant affod them
seek out another player. if they are more experienced than you all the better.
learning in a vacuum as you are is difficult.
someone to watch helps greatly.
someone to point you in the right direction takes away the fear of doing it wrong .

When I started I had a friend show me three chords G, C, and D. I practiced them for a couple of weeks and then we formed a group and started giging. It took me six months to learn maybe a dozen other chords and develop a sense of rythym. I went to every jam session I heard about and asked questions after them. I never pass up a chance to play with someone else and I learn something every time I do. Playing with others is a great way to learn and it's a lot of fun. It took me about two years to get to the point where I felt confident in my rythym playing. I've been playing three years and I can do a little lead work now. Having said all that if I had it all to do over again and if I wasn't so cheap I'd take lessons. But if you decide not to take lessons; or even if you do, find other people to play with.

Lessons will help - a good teacher will spot what you're doing wrong, explain why it's a bad technique, show you the right way, and explain why it's better. They'll then work to correct it by giving you exercises and songs targeted towards fixing that flaw.

Chicago has a lot of options: Most music stores offer lessons, but the quality of the instruction varies a lot. On the North side, there's the Old Town School of Folk Music (which isn't limited to folk, and hasn't been in Old Town for years). Many of the colleges and Jr. colleges offer guitar - schools like DePaul, Roosevelt, etc. have guitar departments; others have non-credit courses. The Bloom School of Jazz, which is downtown, has turned out some folks with great technique too.

There are also some really outstanding private instructors in the area... Jack Cecchini, Tom Hess, me (shameless plug)

Let me know what part of the city you're in, and I'll tell you what I know of teachers in your area.

This sounds like a familiar story. It sounds like its time to get yourself some lessons. I was in exactly the same boat not so long ago.

I can't recommend lessons enough. I started with a teacher around November last year and I'm miles ahead of where I could expect to be if I had tried to teach myself. In fact if I had continued down the self teach route I would probably have become disillusioned and given up by now. I have a 1 hour lesson every week made up of a balance between theory and technique and learning songs which back up the techniques.

Shop around and research teachers in your area (don't necessarily go for the cheapest either). Trust me you will never look back. I'm really enjoying myself at the moment and while progress may not be lightning fast it is at least steady and I'm heading in the right direction. Look at the money you spend on lessons as an investment. And don't worry about the books you've already been working from. I have several and still refer to them to back up what is taught during my lessons.

It's the way ahead if you are serious about learning your instrument. :wink:

As others have said, if you get a good teacher you'll learn much quicker (and more proper) than alone. Besides that, having a teacher does two other great thing for you. First, He/she gives you incentive to practice. Your teacher will show you stuff for a half or full hour and give you stuff to work on until the next session. Second, you'll want to actually practice the stuff because you don't want to waste your money.

I hope you find a good teacher. :D

When to find a teacher? As soon as you can afford to...

Oo...that reminds me...gotta call that place about lessons

try to learn everything they know

You know, when I first read this thread several weeks back, I thought to myself, I don't need a teacher when I have my books and software, and I'm good at focusing during my practice sessions.

But here I am 1 month later (been at it for almost 3 months) and while I've made good strides, I'm having questions that my software and book can't answer. And therein lies their limitation, they can't give you feedback. I can't ask it questions and they can't tell me what I'm doing wrong or how to correct it.

I've been struggling with my strumming and I figured out I was holding the pick wrong. I fixed the pick issue but the strumming, well, I'm just not happy with it.

So I'm taking the plunge and getting lessons, and I can't tell you how excited I am. I know the teacher will get me through this plateau, and I'll soon be forging ahead.

PS: The software and books have certainly been a big help and I've learned a lot with them. But they are limited to what they can teach.