Useful methods, resources, and tips to help you learn to play the guitar better and faster. It doesn’t matter if you’re a rock star in the making or just want to sing the blues; you start by learning how to play your guitar. The good thing is that Teaching yourself to play the Guitar is easier than ever before.
Various Guitar Learning Methods
Here are the various methods that you could use to learn to play the guitar:
Taking lessons from a guitar tutor (private lessons or group lessons). This is a popular, effective, and faster method as you get one-to-one lessons and direct feedback from an experienced person. It is always best to learn under the watchful eye of an experienced teacher who can ensure you pick up all the right habits, right from the beginning.
You could even enroll in a music school. Though it is possible to learn to play the guitar on your own (using method books, software), conventional music schools do exist that teach you about performance (and a bit about music production and the music business).
However, you may face these challenges with these methods:
- You may not have a good teacher or a music school nearby
- The cost of lessons can be on the higher side.
- Many music schools also offer online lessons nowadays (the only drawback is that you miss out on the networking part and the cost can be still high)
- You may not have time to spare (especially for adults)
That is where you can pursue the other methods to learn the guitar (more of a self-learning method).
Though these are not really great substitutes for one-to-one lessons from a good guitar teacher, they’re less expensive and let you learn at your own pace and at your own place.
Learn from Books, Sheets, Tabs
Learn from method books. These take you from the basics to the advanced stage in a structured manner (usually has a series of books).
You will also need several guitar books, sheets to help you improve specific skills. You will need books to learn songs based on various genres.
- Best Guitar Books
- Best Guitar Magazines
- How to Play the Piano Despite Years of Lessons, applies to all musical instruments
Guitar sheet music is also a great resource to learn various pieces, you just have to follow the notes and tablatures illustrated on the sheet music, and is a great tool to help you play your guitar. You will need chord sheets to learn your favorite songs and practice the various finger positions (chord sheets show you the right positions (frets) on the strings).
You can also refer to a lot of guitar tabs to learn songs.; these show what notes and chords to play. Many beginning guitar players find it easier to play songs from tabs.
Learn by playing Games
You can learn through Games. You can also learn the basics and improve your sense of rhythm and timing by using games (such as Guitar Hero, Rockband). This method makes use of a controller and software and is a fun way to learn.
Use Learning Software/Apps
You can learn from a guitar learning software/app/video course (learning online tends to be more affordable). Entire courses are available now on how to play guitar, with proper videos showing how to play. Besides, videos have become a powerful educational tool, mainly because it is like having a real teacher in front of you. These programs can also track and assess your progress and playing abilities, and suggests the right learning practices from the beginning. Check out the best Guitar Learning Software here.
YouTube video lessons
You will find Guitar video lessons for a variety of styles such as classical, beginner, blues, electric, and jazz. Many learners are able to play the basics by going through the numerous guitar tutorials that are available these days, making it quite easy and simple to play the guitar.
Listen to Music, Watch Great Performers
Listening to guitar music will help you to learn to play by ear (for this, you’ll need to train your ears to hear and play). You should listen to a lot of guitar music to train your ears and improve your guitar-playing skills.
Watching good guitar players perform is equally important as it helps increase awareness about how to play the instrument better.
Here’s a young whiz, who’s already quite good at the Percussive Guitar and says that he’s learned a lot just by watching his hero – Preston Reed’s performance videos on YouTube. I’m sure you’ll also enjoy their ‘spur-of-the-moment’ improvisation. There’s no doubt that the kid is good, but Preston Reed, please take a bow.
Guitar construction
You will also need to understand the construction of the guitar, as guitars require some maintenance activities such as changing the strings. It helps to know about the various guitar parts and how it impacts the overall sound of the guitar. This will also help you to select a better guitar (new or used) whenever you upgrade to an expensive instrument.
Methods like learning from books and software courses tend to be cost-effective compared to taking private lessons from a teacher.
These resources will help you take your playing to the next level. Just figure out the notes and chords, and soon you’ll be playing your favorite songs.
Right Age to Begin Learning to Play Guitar
Playing guitar is such a wonderful skill to have; something that will not only provide you happiness for several years to come but also provide you an opportunity to experience fame.
Those who know how to strum tend to be quite popular in the neighborhood, among friends, and even in high school/college.
People of all ages and various walks of life play the instrument or want to play it.
One common question that many have about the guitar is ‘what is the right age to start playing the guitar?‘.
And the answer is there is no right age; you start whenever you are ready.
However, for kids, around 7 years is perfect as the hands develop by then to press the strings. But then there are children who manage to play much earlier as well.
Things to Remember
Here are some tips that will help you master the instrument and become a good guitarist.
Have the right resources ready
Choose the right method, and have the required resources so that you can learn and practice. You will need a guitar, books, tabs, chord sheets, etc.
You need a comfortable and good quality guitar, on which you can learn and practice. Avoid buying the cheapest guitar as it’s likely to have a higher action and can be painful to play. Here’s a complete guide on buying guitars.
Practice is the Key
Don’t worry so much about whether you should play lead guitar, bass, electric, acoustic and so on. Start learning guitar theory the old-fashioned way and then you’ll know better what you like.
And as with any other instrument, only by practicing frequently and being dedicated to learning, will you be on your way to playing like an expert.
A good practice is to sing along when playing. This is a good habit to inculcate right from the beginning. It might come across as a bit difficult initially but it’s worth following. After all, most guitarists do accompany singers.
- Related: Effective Guitar practice routines
Also, it’s advisable to change your strings regularly so that it continues to produce a good sound, and encourages you to play more.
Aim for Wide Coverage
It’s important that you learn a variety of topics, and not just try to learn a few songs from guitar tabs.
And if you’re self-learning, make sure the material is supported with great music and lots of supplemental material.
As a beginner, you just shouldn’t be doing more of any one particular thing. Concentrate on mastering the basics and also learn to improve your technique.
Vary the learning process and have a wide range of exercises such as:
- Have Ear training exercises
- Have Sight-reading exercises
- Have periodic tests
- Provide venues for performance
- Teach you how to play in groups with other musicians
Use a Metronome
Most beginners usually tend to play faster, and take a lot of time to get used to maintaining the right beat. That is where a metronome really helps. So it is important to use a metronome as far as possible, learn to play at lower tempos initially.
More tips on how to make your guitar lessons more effective
- Learn to play popular songs that can be played with few notes/chords. The beginning to ‘Stairway to Heaven’ by Led Zeppelin isn’t that difficult to play, yet it’s one of the most famous songs of all time.
- Learning the basic chords on a guitar isn’t difficult. And depending on the song you’re playing, the individual notes might not be that difficult, either. Avoid going into complex songs right away.
- When learning new things, play at a lower tempo initially and then speed things up. Moving your hands up and down the frets quickly, changing chord positions, should be done slowly in the beginning. Trying to do it fast right from the beginning will lend itself to several errors.
Learn Tabs & Music Notation
You should learn to read both – standard music notation as well as tabs (it is possible to learn both styles).
Tabs are good to communicate with guitarists but the standard music notation will let you communicate with other musicians as well. Guitar tabs are easily accessible and are easier to read, but you must be able to read music as well (that is the reason most products teach you tablature as well as the standard music notation).
Learn Different Styles
If you want to be an excellent musician, years down the line, its important to learn to play in as many styles as possible. So, strive to learn various styles of music, as you get more experienced. Once you have mastered the basics, try to get familiar with other genres of music such as blues, rock, folk, country, classical, and so on.
Beginner guitar players are more interested in playing ‘lead guitar’, which is understandable if all your guitar idols play the ‘lead guitar’. However, its important to develop an overall sense of music, including a good grounding in music theory,
Play by Ear
Having a good ear always helps musicians! Besides, there are many musicians who can play songs just by listening to them, and without referring to any notes.
With time, your ears will definitely become better, and be able to recognize many things just by ear. But you could hasten the process using regular ear training exercises.
Always Strive to Improve
Always try to have fun while learning how to play guitar, and try to learn different things such as chords, scales, riffs, solos.
Record your practice sessions once in a while. While you may not notice an immediate difference (with musical instruments usually you don’t), you’ll be surprised with the progress that you’ve made in a fairly short period of time.
So, always strive to become a better guitarist than you were yesterday!
Make Use of Computer
Most music teachers still teach the usually way, using sheets and written music, and rarely touch upon the subject of music technology. One reason is that this being a fairly new area, not many are aware of how to use it.
But then, one can do a lot of things and even widen the scope of your learning using computers. A couple of things you could do using the computer:
- Make use of minus-one tracks (tracks without the melody part) so that you can practice playing the melody/lead and also learn to play on time along with the background music.
- Get introduced to compose / mixing using recording software
You can even use the computer to store all the guitar resources in one place.
Stay abreast of the latest music technology
If you play the electric guitar, over time, you should buy additional gear and accessories such as pedals and guitar effects processors so that you can produce various sounds from the electric guitar.
It’s possible to have a complete recording setup at home nowadays and it doesn’t really cost much. It just increases your avenues to find work when you go out as a full-time musician.
Learning at a Music School
If you’re learning to play the guitar as a hobby, then taking private lessons or one of the various learning methods will help you do that.
But if you already play the guitar well and wish to make a career out of it, you could consider joining a music school.
These schools focus on teaching guitar technique and performance and also teach about music production and the music business. These schools can help you network, and make some good connections in the music world, which will help you find gigs and other music assignments
The top music schools have top-class infrastructure and state-of-the-art recording studios. So, you can even choose to specialize in music production to be a producer, or in the music business.
Guitar Building Schools: Guitar building is perfect for those who want to know all about constructing and maintaining guitars, the best practices and industry standards used to produce guitars in bulk, and so on. You get to learn about guitar repair, maintenance and building. The courses can range from short courses to full-fledged programs on guitar repair and maintenance.
To sum it up, learning to play the guitar is not as difficult as it seems. It should be simple if you follow the right steps, and choose the right resources; there are a variety of courses that you could choose from, depending on what your aspirations are. Even with a small amount of discipline and dedication, it’s possible to go a long way on your own.
KeytarHQ editorial team includes musicians who write and review products for pianists, keyboardists, guitarists & other musicians. KeytarHQ is the best online resource for information on keyboards, pianos, synths, keytars, guitars and music gear for musicians of all abilities, ages and interests.
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