this post was submitted on 03 Sep 2023
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I don't play anymore, but did for about 10 years.
I started with 1-1 lesson, but I think I only kept that up for a year or so.
I think the biggest things you'll benefit from through 1-1 lessons are:
1 - getting some solid musical theory behind you (a bit of a bore, but useful when you're trying to self-teach later on, and ultimately foundational to pretty much everything else).
2 - Having someone there who can see, hear, and correct your actual playing technique. Poor technique absolutely ruins you as a musician when it comes to progression and trying to play anything a bit more advanced, because it becomes part of your muscle memory. That's why it's so important to slow things right down and play them correctly, with the right technique, and then gradually speed up, rather than jump into playing things at the correct speed, but doing it sloppily. Having an instructor who can observe and correct you in real time will do wonders.
Practice doesn't make perfect. Perfect practice makes perfect. If you practice like crap, you'll continue to play like crap.
The best technique I've learned is to just slow down. Reduce the tempo until you can play it perfectly, then play it perfectly, over and over. Gradually you can increase the tempo, so long as you maintain that perfect composure, then before long you'll be playing at normal tempo just right.
However, like you say, getting an outside perspective is always important, even if only from time to time.