As a student and a teacher of the instrument, I find the above mentioned question utterly ludicrous.
There is a terrible misconception that self-study is sufficient when approaching the classical guitar. Nothing could be further from the truth. This fallacy probably stems from another popular misconception; that playing the classical guitar is easy.
What about Segovia?
Andres Segovia’s claim of being self-taught has been challenged by several guitarists.
In his biography, Segovia admitted to having turned to Miguel Llobert. Llobert was a former student of Francisco Tarrega and was a classical guitar maestro. However, Segovia claims that Llobert did not have any real influence on his playing.
This is a claim that has been challenged. Some guitarists claim that Llobert’s influence on Segovia is quite noticeable.
Furthermore, it is important to keep in mind that Segovia was a classical guitar prodigy who grew up in Spain, the geographical birthplace of the classical guitar. He also had Llobert to advise him.
Before using Segovia as an excuse to shun lessons, ask yourself this: are you a prodigy like Segovia? Do you have the equivalent of a Llobert to turn to? Do you live in a country with a highly sophisticated classical guitar ecosystem?
Segovia believed in the power of teaching. That’s why he wielded his tremendous influence to increase the pedagogue of the classical guitar. He also gave Master Classes to young guitarists.
But I don’t want to be as good as Segovia!
But do you want to be any good?
Passionate guitarists can easily invest hundreds of hours of practice within their first year of study. It’s a terrible shame to invest so much time only to discover you haven’t been doing the correct things. It is imperative for beginners to take lessons.
When you are instructed by a qualified teacher, what you learn stays with you for life. Your fingers learn to move in a sophisticated and intelligent manner. Your tone will also invariably improve, because you have a strong reference point in the form of your teacher.
This is a crucial aspect that almost every student takes for granted. When a good teacher is employed, the students’ ears become accustomed to good tone. Good tone can only be created with superior technique and good musicality. By passively listening to the teacher, the students’ ears develop. Soon the student gains the ability to detect nuances in tone. This acts as a highly refined ‘6th sense’. Now that the student has the ability to detect nuance, the student forces himself/herself to improve technically and musically.
This is not a skill you can develop from listening to audio recordings. I have a Diploma in Mass Communications. I know how different recorded sound is from ‘live’ sound. I’ve also met self-taught students who claim to listen to many classical guitar recordings. Their tone usually leaves much to be desired.
I have met several students, privately and at Ngee Ann Polytechnic Strings, who were either self-taught, or taught by an inferior teacher. All of these students were lacking technical polish and good tone production.
It is extremely arrogant to think that you can develop such skills unaided. John Williams, David Russell and Pepe Romero are all regarded as virtuosos in the realm of classical guitar. They are regarded as some of the best classical guitarists in the world. They all have been taught by their respective masters.
Yeah but I don’t want to be as good as any of them either!
But once again I have to ask: do you want to be any good?
If you receive proper training, you have the opportunity to develop your skills further. If you don’t, you will always wallow in a trepid pool of ignorance.
Furthermore, beginners who teach themselves have a tendency of forming poor playing habits that could plague them for years. By the time they approach a qualified teacher, the damage has been done. It becomes difficult to unlearn their mistakes, and the self-taught student has effectively crippled his/her own hands.
