Take Lessons

Hello and Welcome to the Steel Guitar Academy Lessons Center!

You have made the first step towards accelerating your learning!

You may already know this, but learning the steel guitar is no different than learning any other instrument. It takes practice and time. But how much time is the question. Could a person teach themself an instrument? The answer is absolutely. However, how long will it take?

As someone who has learned instruments with both a teacher and with self-study, I can tell you that the time it takes to learn without a teacher is much, much longer. How much longer? Most of my students within their 1st year of lessons will be playing at a level that would take a self-learner about 8 years to learn. This is not an exaggeration. I have had students start with me after 8 years of self-study and they are nowhere near the level of my 1st year students. I see this over and over again.

Why is this the case?
The self-learner has to try ideas from scratch and they have no input from an expert. When they develop a bad habit, they continue to reaffirm the bad habit over time. Without a teacher correcting the habit, they find more advanced playing difficult to approach. These bad habits may even cause pain or stress in the hands (or the legs as well if learning the pedal steel guitar). Playing with speed and efficiency becomes a major chore and they will have to start over trying new techniques and perhaps developing a new bad habit that will have to be discarded eventually as well. They reinvent the wheel like this over and over again taking months or years to eventually find the proper way to play, when all the time a teacher could have set them on the correct course from Day 1.

So if you are serious about learning the steel guitar, getting a teacher is the best way to not only expedite your learning, but also to know that you are developing the correct techniques from the start, avoiding pain and setting yourself up to be a successful advanced player.
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Below you will find all lessons options currently available.
If you can’t find a time that works for you, please email me and I’d be happy to try to find another time that will suit your needs.

All levels are welcome.

These lessons are customized to your specific level and cover all styles of music, with a focus on Country, Blues, Jazz, Hawaiian, Folk, and Rock.

I can offer lessons for the following tunings:
Pedal Steel Guitar: E9 (Emmons or Day Setups).
Lap Steel Guitar: C6, A6, E6, E13, E7, E Major, and A Major.
You can use the “Order Notes” section on the “Checkout” page to select the tuning for this lesson.

The lessons take place online via “Skype” program. You can download the Skype program here:
SKYPE.

If you live in the Chicago-Milwaukee area you can take an in-person lesson in my studio. Just message me to set that up.

If you have any questions please email patrick@steelguitaracademy.com.