Why Would Anyone Pay For Music Lessons Online?
Written By Ben Dorning
Banjo Teacher and Creator Of
www.banjoadventures.com
If you're new to the banjo, you might enjoy my Complete Beginner’s Guide to Learning Banjo, where I walk through everything you need to know to start your banjo adventure.
Why Would Anyone Pay for Online Music Lessons In This Day And Age?
When I started learning banjo back in 2006, I was 19 years old, living at my mam’s house, and had absolutely nothing but time.
My daily responsibilities looked something like this:
• go to work
• play Call of Duty
• eat whatever food mysteriously appeared in the kitchen
• repeat
That was life.
So learning the banjo was actually pretty easy. I just cut my Call of Duty time in half and dove headfirst into the world of free banjo lessons.
YouTube videos.
Dodgy tab files.
Forum posts from 2003 written by someone called “BanjoDude87”.
Some of it made sense. Some of it absolutely didn’t.
But I had time. Endless time.
So I chipped away at it, figured things out the hard way, and somehow — years later — came out the other side as a banjo teacher.
Total cost of my musical education?
Exactly £0.
Which brings us to an interesting question.
Why on earth would anyone pay for online music lessons today?
Life Looks Very Different Now
Fast forward nearly twenty years.
These days my life looks a little different.
I’ve got two daughters.
A family business.
School runs.
Choir rehearsals.
Dentist appointments.
And about 47 browser tabs open in my brain at any given moment.
Back in 2006 I had the luxury of time.
Now?
Time is the rarest currency I’ve got.
So if I wanted to learn something new today — banjo or anything else — I wouldn’t even consider doing it the way I did back then.
Because now I don’t just want information.
I want transformation.
And preferably before Lilly’s choir practice and Alice’s dentist appointment at 4:30.
Free Information Is Everywhere
The internet today is overflowing with free content.
YouTube alone has thousands of banjo tutorials.
You could spend weeks watching lessons, reading forums, downloading tabs, and hopping between different teachers — all without spending a penny.
And to be fair, some people do learn this way.
But for most people, free content creates a new problem.
Too many choices.
It’s like walking into an all-you-can-eat buffet when you were only hungry for a sandwich.
Suddenly you’ve got:
• clawhammer techniques
• bluegrass rolls
• advanced music theory
• someone explaining jazz banjo in 7/8 time
…when all you wanted to learn was your first simple chord.
The result?
Confusion.
Frustration.
And a banjo that slowly gathers dust in the corner.
The Real Value of Paid Lessons
Paid lessons don’t just give you information.
They give you direction.
Instead of spending hours figuring out what to learn next, someone who’s already walked the path simply says:
“Start here.”
Then:
“Here’s the next step.”
Then:
“Try this.”
That structure is incredibly powerful.
Because learning an instrument isn’t about collecting random pieces of information.
It’s about following a path.
Structure, Coaching, and Community
There’s another problem with learning alone.
It’s lonely.
Trying to learn banjo entirely by yourself is a bit like trying to ride a unicycle through a cornfield.
Technically possible.
But unnecessarily difficult.
YouTube can’t answer your questions.
Random PDF tabs won’t celebrate when you finally nail that rhythm.
And your cat?
Utterly useless when it comes to chord changes.
That’s where structure, coaching, and community make a massive difference.
Inside Banjo Adventures, members aren’t just watching lessons.
They’re part of a group of players all moving forward together.
Some are playing from their kitchen tables in Kansas.
Others are strumming under gum trees in Australia.
But they’re all sharing progress, helping each other, and discovering that learning banjo is far more fun when you’re not doing it alone.
You Pay, You Pay Attention
There’s another funny psychological effect that happens when people pay for something.
They take it more seriously.
Think about the gym membership you swore you’d use every day.
Or the language course you finally completed because you’d paid for it.
When you invest even a small amount of money into something, your brain flips a switch.
It stops being “something I might do”.
And becomes:
something I’m committed to doing.
That tiny shift can make all the difference.
So… Should You Pay for Online Music Lessons?
Honestly?
No.
Don’t do it.
Unless you want:
• a clear roadmap
• support when you get stuck
• a friendly community of fellow players
• motivation that actually lasts
• and a lot more fun along the way
The best way to learn banjo online
You might enjoy joining us at Banjo Adventures.
Because we’re not just teaching banjo techniques.
We’re helping people discover the joy of playing music — one small step at a time.
And if that sounds like something you’d like to be part of…
Well, the door’s always open.
Ben Dorning
Creator of Banjo Adventures 🪕
