Guitar shop and guitar class in London

Thanks to the replies on this thread, I've found a place in London about 7-8 minutes leisurely walk from where I need to be. I am very pleased, it's 560 all inc for a room with ample floorspace (much more than I'd expect in London) in a two storey flat.

Considering the costs involved, I shall endeavour to give my very best in the course I am doing and put a positive effort in job hunting. This does mean swearing excess leisurely time spent on the net/in gaming which can takes too much of my time.

Yet it's also a fair opportunity to try out a new hobby for the odd time where I need to put the book down. So I was thinking of learning how to play a guitar. Now I know there are lots of guitar tutorial online and there are many self-taught guitarist who plays really well, but I'd ideally like someone to show me the ropes and steer me off bad habbits. There are private tutors tutors on Gumtree, but I wonder if it might be a little hit or miss in terms of finding a good tutor there. So I was wondering if anyone know any a good place running guitar classes in London. And a good place to buy a guitar: there are lots of good deal online, but if I end up having to pay 30 quid to get it setup locally, it kind of defeats the purpose - and most online guitar stores I've seen with a shop I can walk into are located outside London.

Live Local Search

Denmark Street.

There are quite a few music shops in and around this area. They just seam to of grown there.

I'd go and take a walk around there.

I've just spent 30 mins searching through past copies of PC World (magazine, not shops) looking for a list of 100 best ever websites which included a site teaching guitar using very good chord graphics....still can't find it, dammit...

As for guitar shops, there's a whole range of good places at the bottom of Tottenham Court Road, top of Charing Cross Rd....

Edit - as Animus says, Denmark Street (WC2)....

Might not be what IBM was looking for - but this site seems quite good;

Ricci Adams' Musictheory.net

Denmark street is supposed to be the place for guitars in London, but are quite expensive (even for london). It would be a good place to have a look though - either take a guitar friend with you, or get a sales dude to talk you through the different guitars then buy one online.

There are some very good budget guitars and you'll probably find they come set up well from the factory - just make sure you do your research.

Thanks for the replies. I've pretty much decided on a Yamaha FG-730S. They can be found for about £170 delivered online, and Yamaha allegedly make excellent starter guitars that are reasonably safe to buy online (I've read that they tend not to need a setup even after been sent through post). Still, the cost of getting a guitar properly setup is probably £20-30, and I would be willing to pay an extra £10-15 for peace of mind on something I could tell if it is fine or in need of a setup.

Can I assume the guitar shops on Denmark street are generally reputable? To be perfectly honest, I do not see the small electronic stores on Tottenham Court Road with the highest regard, both in terms of service and price. I would rather go to PC World (though it has been many years since I had a walk there, I'll go have a stroll sometime).

I'll still welcome any ideas for guitar classes (thanks for the online source).

I can recommend :

eBay My World - guitarmethods

Good tutorial with friendly user feedback. Probably worth working your way through a course like this before paying out on one-to-one tuition.

Another reasonably-priced alternative is to check out the Adult Education opportunities in your area - local library should have a list. Guitar lessons are often available.

Denmark Street are generally reputable (as musicians can be :)); pro-dealers mostly. I concur about Tottenham Court road btw.

Don't know a teacher, I'm afraid, but someone in Denmark street might suggest one.

FWIW, the following is the best all-round free (and with vids) guitar teaching website I've seen:

justinguitar.com - free guitar lessons from Justin Sandercoe

I'd think most people would make good progress following this.


'I don't know, in my day we had to listen to LPs and figure it all out for ourselves...':)