Most parents assume private lessons are better than group lessons.
One-on-one attention. Customized pace. No distractions from other kids.
Then I tell them about the kid who was running his own lessons.
The Student Who Was Running
His Own Lessons
This 11-year-old’s private teacher would start each lesson with “What do you want to work on today?”
The kid would answer honestly. One week he’d want to learn a song that sounded cool on the radio. Next week something his friend was learning. The week after that, a riff he heard in a video game.
He had no way of knowing if any of this was appropriate for his level. How could he? He’d only been playing for about a year.
So sometimes he’d pick something way too hard. The teacher would try to teach it anyway – didn’t want to disappoint him, wanted to keep him “happy.” The kid would struggle, get frustrated, start to believe he wasn’t good at guitar.
Sometimes he’d pick something way too easy. The teacher would go with it because at least the lesson went smoothly.
And when things got difficult and the kid didn’t like it? He’d learned he could cry or pout his way out of it. The teacher would back off, make things easier, let him move on to something else.
The kid wasn’t being malicious. He was honestly answering the question he was being asked and using the tools that worked to avoid discomfort.
But the teacher? The teacher was failing him completely.
I know this because when I first started teaching, this is exactly what I did too.
“What do you want to work on today?” seemed like good customer service. Let the student drive. Keep them engaged.
Then I got incredibly frustrated with my students’ lack of progress. And I realized: It wasn’t them. It was me.
I was asking someone who doesn’t know guitar to make decisions about how to learn guitar. That’s like asking a patient to design their own treatment plan. They have no frame of reference. They can’t possibly know what they need.
This kid’s mom finally saw the problem. “He’s been taking lessons for a year and can’t actually play anything well. He knows bits and pieces of random songs but nothing comes together.”
She switched him to my group classes.
Within a month, he was a different student.
Not because I was tougher on him. But because in a group environment, students don’t get asked what they want to work on. I know what skills need to be developed and in what order. The students don’t run the lesson – I do.
And he couldn’t manipulate his way out of challenging material because everyone else was working on it. He realized fast: You’re part of a team. You follow the plan.
The group environment taught him what private lessons never could: Real skill development isn’t about doing whatever feels comfortable. It’s about systematic progression created by someone who actually knows what they’re doing.
He became one of my best students—not because he suddenly had more talent, but because for the first time, he was actually being taught instead of being allowed to wander randomly while his teacher tried to keep him happy.
The Transformation You Don't See
In Private Lessons
Here’s what happens in group lessons that can’t happen anywhere else:
Shy kids become leaders.
I’ve watched it dozens of times. A kid comes to their first lesson barely able to make eye contact. Sits in the back. Plays so quietly you can barely hear them.
Six months later, they’re demonstrating techniques for other students. Helping newer kids figure out chord transitions. Playing confidently in front of the group.
That doesn’t happen in private lessons. Not because private teachers aren’t good—some are. But private lessons don’t create the social dynamic where kids have to step up, contribute, and discover they’re capable of more than they thought.
Kids learn to listen and adjust.
When you’re playing with other people, you can’t just focus on your own part. You have to hear what everyone else is doing and adjust your timing, your volume, your approach.
That’s a cognitive skill that transfers everywhere. School group projects. Sports teams. Eventually, workplace collaboration.
Private lessons develop technical skills. Group lessons develop musical AND social intelligence.
They experience belonging through actual contribution.
A kid practicing alone in their room can sound pretty good. But when they play with the group and hear their part fitting into the larger sound? That’s when they understand what it means to be a musician.
Think of it like basketball. Shooting baskets in your driveway is fun, sure. But those aren’t the skills you need to play on a team. You need to learn to pass, to set screens, to adjust your game based on what your teammates are doing.
Same thing in music. Music is a team sport.
Playing alone teaches you to execute your part—like shooting free throws. Important, yes. But only a small part of the game.
Playing with others teaches you to BE a musician – to listen, adjust, contribute, and create something bigger than what any one person could do alone.
They’re not just playing notes. They’re part of something bigger. And that sense of belonging—of being needed, of contributing to a collective result—builds confidence that extends far beyond music.
Why Online Learning Misses All of This
Online lessons can’t create any of this.
A kid learning from YouTube or an app never experiences the accountability of peers. Never learns to adjust their playing to match others. Never discovers leadership. Never feels the rush of contributing to a group performance.
They’re alone with a screen. No social pressure. No collaborative success. No sense of being part of a musical community.
That’s not just missing the social benefits—it’s missing half of what makes music meaningful.
The Cognitive Development Advantage
Here’s what most parents don’t realize: The group environment doesn’t just teach social skills. It accelerates cognitive development.
When kids learn in my classes, they’re constantly problem-solving in real time:
- “Why does my part sound off when everyone else sounds right?”
- “How do I adjust my timing to match the group?”
- “What do I need to practice so I sound better next week?”
That’s higher-level thinking than “did I play this chord correctly?”
And because they’re playing real songs from day one—simplified to their level but still real music that sounds like part of the band—they experience immediate success. Not isolated exercises. Not boring drills. Real music that creates real confidence.
My layering approach means every student can play at their actual level while still contributing to the group sound. The beginner plays a simpler version. The intermediate student adds complexity. Everyone sounds like part of the band.
That’s impossible in private lessons. And it’s definitely impossible online.
Building Skills That Last a Lifetime
The kids who succeed long-term aren’t the ones who learned flashy techniques from YouTube. They’re the ones who built a proper foundation and learned that music is a social experience.
When a student learns to play WITH others—not just BY themselves—they’re more likely to keep playing as they get older. Because music stays fun. They can jam with friends. Join bands. Play at gatherings.
The kid who only knows how to practice alone in their room? They usually quit within a few years. Because music without community gets boring.
Here’s something I’ve noticed: Every one of my former students who had a band in school still gets together with those people. Years later. Still playing together.
And the best part? They’re not just reminiscing about the good old days like their friends who played sports together. They can still actually DO it.
Sports is for the young. Eventually things hurt and break. The teammates become people you tell stories about—”remember when we won States?”
But the friends you make music with? You can keep making music with them your whole life. No torn ACLs. No age limit. No expiration date.
That team mentality doesn’t have to live in the past. It stays active. They’re not looking back at what they used to do together—they’re still doing it.
That’s what you’re building when your child learns guitar in a group environment. Not just a skill. A lifetime of shared experiences with people who matter.
What You're Really Choosing
When you’re deciding between private lessons, online learning, or group classes, you’re not just choosing how your child learns guitar.
You’re choosing what KIND of guitarist they become.
Private lessons develop technical skill in isolation—and often let students dictate what they work on instead of following a systematic plan.
Online learning develops the ability to copy what you see on a screen, with no accountability and no community.
Group lessons develop musicians who can play with others, lead when needed, adjust to the group, and experience music as a collaborative art form—while following a proven progression that actually builds skills systematically.
Your child might learn to play guitar with any of these approaches (assuming they start at the right age with proper instruction).
But only one approach teaches them to be the kind of musician other people actually want to play with.
About The Author
Brian Fish is a professional guitarist who has been dedicated to helping other guitar players in Northeast Ohio pursue their musical dreams since 1994. He’s passionate about guiding others on their musical journey! He is the Guitar Playing Transformation Specialist, instructor, mentor, trainer, and coach at Guitar Lessons Geauga.
Brian has also assisted people from around the globe in developing a solid sense of timing and enhancing their creativity through the fantastic rhythm course, “Ultimate Rhythm Mastery,” available at MusicTheoryForGuitar.com.
If you live in Geauga County / North East Ohio, Guitar Lessons Geauga can help your child become the player they’ve always wanted to be.
