Learn how to play guitar in our Beginners Academy lessons in East and Central London
To book onto one of our beginners academy courses, head here
No – we like it when you come to us as inexperienced and clueless as the day you were born. The only requirement we ask is that you consider yourself a beginner when it comes to guitar. And preferably that you like at least some of the music that’s ever been written.
If you’ve never held a guitar in your own two hands, then you’re a beginner. If you’ve held a guitar and perhaps tried to play one or two chords, then you’re also a beginner. If you played one or two songs on guitar, but that was eighty years ago, and you can no longer remember which way up the instrument goes, then you can also join the Beginners Academy. However, if you have forgotten three of the notes in ‘Stairway to Heaven’ but can otherwise play it flawlessly, then go on get out – go back to the non-beginners area of The Guitar Social’s virtual world and book yourself onto a different course.
The Guitar Social’s Beginners Academy is only the best guitar course in East London. We’ve taught thousands of beginners across the city and taken them from quivering wrecks to knowledgeable and confident players and performers in the space of eight weeks. The core component of our Academy is that it is a group course. That means you get to learn alongside other beginners, make friends, compare your newly developing callouses, and maybe even run off through Soho square together at the end of the course and form a band.
Member’s workshops are geared towards improver level + and aren’t suitable for most beginners. We love ambition though, so working towards becoming an improver + level member and feeling comfortable alongside improver level players is our goal. You do however have access to all the member perks such as free drinks at our events, discounts on our bar and member only events.
Well, it’s fun, obviously! There are eight weekly hour-and-a-quarter sessions focussed on learning to play the music you want to play and maybe discovering some things you’d never thought of before. Our beginners make boundless improvements in their playing, in terms of theory knowledge, physical dexterity, and the confidence to play their favourite music.
Not if we sneak it into you without you even realising. We usually integrate theory into real-life songs so that you learn it without wincing in the slightest and perhaps even find it interesting. It’s a little like the old parenting technique of hiding a stalk of broccoli inside a chocolate cake so that the child eats it and gets all the good nutrients from it, but barely realises they’ve had their horrible greens at all.
No thank you; we’re here to talk about The Guitar Social’s Beginners Academy course.
Loads of resources to learn from at home, access to other specific interest workshops such as songwriting, access to exclusive learners-only events at our venue (such as Punk night) where you can meet other musicians at different stages of their playing journey, and the course culminates in a chance to perform in front of a crowd of about seventy people. Only if you want to, though.
Not alone – you get the chance to perform with your course-mates and your tutor. As a group, you choose four of your favourite songs that you’ve learnt over the course and perform them at the end of term showcase at our venue.
Yes, it’s about time we heard from them.
“I had noticed Guitar Social’s for a while on Meet-Up and finally made the jump . And what a blast! As a beginner, Thomas and Fiona make playing guitar very easy and straightforward. We played a few songs by the end of the first class, and 8 weeks forward some student are already on stage at the evening events thrown by TGS! Having the best time learning new skills and meeting new friends. I highly recommend!”
Caroline
“Loads of energy and spirit and fun – great value and sense of community. Plus I’m really improving on the guitar finally! Thank you!”
Jess
“A very inclusive diverse community that made me feel a part of it instantly. The learning pace is tailored to your level of guitar playing, and you get tons of resources and learning materials to ensure you stick to practice. There is also a great opportunity to develop confidence and skills playing to the guitar social community.”
Ravi
