Private lessons are a waste of time if you are not prepared for them! That statement is just as true before you start them as it is while you are taking them. While you are taking them you do your preparation between lessons. Before you start them, do everything you can to prepare for them.

One of the advantages you have as an adult student, is the ability to come up with your own plan for how you will go about learning to play. You have plenty of options from which to choose. There are plenty of things you can do yourself to gain proficiency and to learn basic theory. My feeling is that you would do well to at least acquire some knowledge of basic music theory before starting private lessons.

There is so much simple stuff to learn that it just doesn’t make sense to pay $40 or more per lesson to do it. For children, it is different. They need a teacher to lead the way. As an adult, you know there is a lot you can do on your own that will save your teacher some time and save you a few dollars.

Take a look at the lesson plan for Beginner 1. You can see that it covers the basic topics of music theory. This is material you can learn on your own, but you really will benefit from the guidance you can get from a teacher. A teacher will tell you what is important to master and what will come naturally as you continue playing, and keep you from glossing over things. Every topic in this book is required reading. Your fingering is important and a teacher will show you why and how to be consistent.

So, while you can do a lot on your own, it is good to have a big brother or sister looking over your shoulder to make sure you aren’t doing something you’ll have to “unlearn” later. Group classes can be a nice way to get you to a level at which private lessons are needed. I think of these four group classes as preparation for private lessons. Since they cover the fundamentals of theory and practice, these skills can be acquired in a group instruction environment, supplemented by personal study and practice.

Private lessons will be a new plateau for you. You will have already shown yourself that you can play. You will be able to demonstrate your knowledge of music theory to your teacher. Your teacher will use that knowledge and build on it to take you as far as you want to go