Learning to play a musical instrument can be one of the most rewarding pastimes a person can pursue. Among the myriad of instruments to choose from, none is more popular and accessible in Western culture than the guitar. The best method to learning to play the guitar is to secure formal lessons from a qualified and experienced instructor. The following points can be used along with such lessons or in place of them until such lessons can be obtained.
Acquire a Quality Instrument
The most vital aspect to learning to play any instrument is to have regular access to it. Fortunately guitars are very accessible and can be obtained at affordable prices from retail stores, pawn shops, and private sellers. Due to the nature of being a stringed and fretted instrument it is important to pick up a quality guitar. Learning the guitar is an experience that causes a certain amount of discomfort in the hands and fingertips for beginners. A poorly manufactured or damaged guitar can make the learning process even more discomforting and discouraging; making it more likely that beginners will give up the process before they experience any improvement. For this reason it is vital to have a quality guitar. These can be acquired brand new for as little as $100 at retail.
Acquire Educational Material
Educational material can be acquired at nearly any music store that deals in guitars, or from the internet. Many of these come in the form of books, some also contain audio disks, or DVDs. What a beginner is looking for is material that explains all the basics: the names of the different parts of the guitar, names and numbering of strings, fingers, tuning, and general care. It should naturally also contain examples of several open chords, barre chords, and at least a few progressions, and scales. If the material also contains examples of well known classic tunes, consider it a bonus.
Learn Chords
The foundation of guitar playing is rhythm, and chords are essential to playing rhythm guitar. The easiest chords to learn for a beginner are A, E, and then D. Any quality beginner material should contain these chords as well as many others. The internet is also full of many helpful sites that give this information away for free.
Learn Progressions
Progressions are a series of chords in a specific key that form the basis of songs. Many popular tunes are built upon progressions with as few as three chords. One such progression consists of the above mentioned chords, A, D, and E. This progression can then be built upon with other chords to create even more complex tunes. Understanding progressions is invaluable to learning to play or write songs.
Learn Scales and Theory
Music theory is vitally important to the process of actually understanding how and why music works. This includes how chords are formed, how progressions are made, and how melodies function. At the outset of learning music theory, one needs to learn scales.
Practice, Practice, Practice
“Practice” seems like an obvious bit of advice for anyone looking to increase their abilities, but one might be surprised just how many people expect to become the next Jimi Hendrix or Eric Clapton overnight. It’s just not going to happen like that. Practice at least one hour every day. Begin each practice session by warming up with something familiar. Once you are warmed up and in the musical state of mind, move into something new, or something you are still learning. You will certainly see improvement.
Jam with Other Players
Fortunately for new guitarists, their chosen instrument is so popular that other guitarists are typically abundant in any town. When looking to learn or improve your skills as a player, nothing can replace the experience gained by jamming with other players. It doesn’t necessarily matter if these players are more experienced than you, although that certainly helps. Even a guitarist with twenty years experience can learn something from a newbie with less than a year of playing. This is because playing music is such a personal experience that we all bring ourselves into the process, find our own licks, tricks, and techniques. We all have our own style, and even with limited experience we can actually wind up teaching our instructors, or learning from our students.
Once you’ve been playing regularly for six to twelve months with consistent practice you’ll start to become fairly proficient in the fundamentals. You should be able to play through a handful of songs, and should have some strong riffs and leads down. From here forward you’ll be progressing toward a level of proficiency that or maybe even join or start one of your own. Many great guitarists began working professionally without much more time behind them.
Happy playing!