In nearly any instrument it's very important to get the technique right from the start. It's incredibly easy to catch bad habits which then are much more diffic

In nearly any instrument it's very important to get the technique right from the start. It's incredibly easy to catch bad habits which then are much more difficult to unlearn, and will make your progress much slower and frustrating. So actually it's the other way around: pay a teacher to help him start, correct his posture/technique/etc, then later on you can wean off and continue on your own :)