You're a beginner, and you want basic guitar lessons to start you off. But you're confused by all the choices: which would be the best guitar learning technique?

Guitar lessons are like anything else: there are two ways of learning, and they're not the hard way or the easy way, nor are they my way or the highway. No, they're teach yourself, or get a teacher.

Let's look at teachers first. They come in four guises, and some are more effective than others. The more effective, the more expensive--usually.

The cheapest and probably least effective guitar lessons you can get are from a friend. I don't say that to be disrespectful to anyone's playing abilities, but simply to point out that unless that friend plays by the book and is a qualified teacher, you'll probably pick up any bad habits they have. They're also not likely to be available to give guitar lessons on a regular basis, and may either become impatient when you don't pick things up fast enough, or may just let things slide, allowing you to form bad habits of your own. So your basic guitar lessons will remain just that--basic. The cost is good, though--usually nothing.

You may be fortunate enough to be still at school with guitar lessons available there. If so, take them. You'll get a qualified teacher, weekly classes, and fellow pupils to swap notes with (and maybe even get together to play with!) after your guitar lessons.

Night school is the next most effective and cheap source. It differs from school because you have to make the effort to go after a day's work. That usually means you've other things going on in your life--things that may intrude. Not only that, class size will probably be large, so you'll have less input about what you want to learn. And there's usually only two levels--basic guitar lessons, then improvers. The cost as an hourly rate will be very reasonable, though.

A professional teacher is the most expensive option. A good one will bring out the best in you, may encourage you to take grades, but will get frustrated if you don't practice. If you have money, time, and are prepared to put the work in, this is one of the most effective routes to take, because they'll correct any bad habits, and your guitar lessons are one-to-one. Obviously, you can save a little if you get your basic guitar lessons at, say, night school first.

If you can't afford a professional teacher, and you don't have evening/school classes or a friend handy, the second guitar learning technique is to teach yourself. You've three possible options.

You can buy guitar tutors fairly cheaply at most guitar shops, or online. They used to come in book form, but increasingly incorporate CDs and DVDs. There's a one-off cost, non-refundable, and you progress at your own pace.

Once you've got past the basic guitar lessons in these tutors, you might decide the best way to teach yourself is to play your favourite songs by ear. So you listen to them over and over, work out the chords, then play. The advantage of this technique is that it'll give you confidence, and if you mess up, no one will know. It's also cheap--presumably you've already paid for the music.

Also, there are fan sites online where you can download lyrics and sheet music to your favourite songs, thus saving you the time of doing it yourself.

Finally, there's the online course. For the cost of a few guitar lessons with a professional teacher you can get a course aimed at your level of proficiency. There are anything from basic guitar lessons online to advanced jazz. The courses usually come with a money-back guarantee, too, which is not true of the other methods. Another advantage is that you learn whenever it's convenient--teachers are available only at certain times of the day.

So there you have it--the seven basic guitar lessons sources: a friend, school lessons, night school, a professional teacher, a book or course, learning by ear, or an online course.

Which is best?

Depends on how serious you are, how much time you can devote to practice, and what you want to achieve.

If you're just starting, it might be best to go for the cheapest, most basic guitar lessons you can. That way, if you don't persevere, you haven't lost much.

If you do persevere, and you want to get really good, you'll eventually want to consider a professional teacher.

Wherever you want your journey to take you, I hope you get there and have fun travelling!