Have you decided that you are determined to learn to play the guitar, but you don't know where to start? I have been there and done that. As a matter of fact, I actually owned a guitar for about 6 months before I even decided to do anything about it. It can be frustrating because the first avenue that you try to take is to seek out a guitar teacher, and lessons can be very expensive. After seeing the price of lessons, I was almost ready to give up, I was NOT about to spend such a large amount of money on something that I wanted to do as a hobby. I had no intention of making a career out of music. I unfortunately tried to learn using tabs and by doing that, I developed a lot of bad habits which really made it difficult for me to play correctly. I was able to play songs in a way that if you knew what I was playing, you could kind of guess what the song was, but it sounded terrible. I tested it out by playing random songs that I learned from tabs for my friends and telling them to guess what it was without me singing (not that I would be able to sing and play at the same time anyway). They never guessed any of them! If you are ready to get started, here are a few tips to help you on your journey to learn to play the guitar (these are all based on my personal experience, I was truly terrible at first and did all the wrong things).
1. Technique is key! When most people decide to learn to play the guitar, they are in such a hurry to start playing their favorite songs that they look up the tabs and start playing. This is a BAD idea. Like I said earlier, that worked out horribly for me. I didn't realize that their was so much to proper technique until I did online lessons. From the way you sit, to the way your hand wraps around the neck of the guitar, they way you hold the pick and strum, timing, etc. All these elements are important in the execution of proper playing. If you do not learn these elements, you will struggle mightily, I promise you.
2. Don't be in such a hurry! We all feel the need to play are favorite songs right away, that is the reason we decided to learn to play the guitar in the first place! Those songs are going to sound terrible unless we learn the basics of guitar playing first. Doing exercises to learn to switch quickly from different chords will make your life a lot easier when it is time to learn to play those songs. Like the old saying goes, practice makes perfect, and with learning to play the guitar, the saying definitely applies. If you are expecting to play the songs right away, you will get frustrated and are more likely to give up playing altogether. Once again, a life experience of mine. After only about 2 weeks of trying to play using tabs, I put my guitar into my closet and never saw it again until a few months later when I became motivated again.
3. Don't kill yourself! As much as practice is important, you do not want to overdo it. In the beginning stages of playing, the tips of your fingers which are holding the strings are going to hurt, that is a fact. The reasoning behind this is that if you've never played before, the fingertips are relatively soft and flimsy. Once you start playing regularly (or trying to play) you will develop calluses on your finger tips which will make it more manageable to hold down the strings. This is why it is important to pace yourself, start with short practice times and work your way up. If you are practicing too much and your fingers really start, this may discourage you and cause you to quit.I suggest starting with 15 minutes a day and increasing by 5 minutes every few days.
4. Save the singing for last! Yes, we all want to be rock stars and sing along to the songs we are playing, but you will never learn to play the songs properly if you try to sing while learning to play them. Focus on holding the chords or notes and strumming properly with the right strum pattern and timing. Practice the songs this way for a while. Once you are playing the song with ease, then it is time to incorporate the singing. Singing along with the playing is tough, but don't get discouraged and quit. I've noticed when I was learning to play that once I had the song down on the guitar perfectly, I would still struggle to sing along, then all of a sudden, it would just click, it would go from horrible to perfect. Hopefully this will happen with you too, you just catch on. In my opinion, when you learn to play the guitar, singing along is one of the hardest parts so don't let it get you down if you can't do it right away.
5. Experience is priceless! While most of us may have trouble affording one on one lessons with an instructor, it can be a great tool if you don't mind spending that kind of money on lessons. If you are like me and don't want to spend a ton of money on one on one lessons, you can utilize online lessons which are extremely inexpensive and because it is not in person, some of the online instructors are legendary teachers who have worked with professional musicians. I find it better to learn from someone who knows rather than trying to be your own teacher. Another good thing to do is after you've taken the online lessons since there might not be feedback on your playing, ask a family member or friend who has been playing for a while to watch you and tell you what you might be doing wrong. Listen to the instructors and don't try to speed ahead of them. This is the method I took, I have many friends and family members who have been playing for years, and after i did the online lessons, I told them to be brutally honest with me and they were! This feedback helped me tremendously!
Good luck on your journey to learn to play the guitar! Just remember to take your time and learn the correct way to play and have fun! After all, isn't that what a hobby is all about? Stick to it and you'll officially be a good musician and have the ability to impress the people around you (or just yourself)!
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