Guitar and Bass Lessons: One Part Teaching, Three Parts Coaching

If you're thinking about learning to play guitar or bass by watching video lessons on YouTube or someplace similar, or if that's in fact what you are already doing, you should know that you're only getting a fraction of what you could be getting with live one-on-one lessons. While the quality of information you can get from a live teacher is likely to be far better than anything you can get in a video, most of the difference lies in the 'coaching' you should get from a teacher (sadly, not all 'teachers' do an adequate job in this area). There are four broad categories for which a teacher is responsible:

3 Reasons Why Tabs & YouTube Videos Don't Work

Tabs take you down the tougher road

For all but your five highest and lowest notes, every note on your guitar or bass can be played anywhere from two to six different places. What does this mean for you? It means there are different ways to play virtually any given riff, some of them better than others. 

For guitar, consider this popular tab for 'Black Dog':