Probably most guys have entertained the fantasy of playing the guitar, but they either never begin or quit because it seems so hard to learn to play guitar. It all looks so easy, I mean the guitarist just moves his hands around on the neck, pressing down here and there and the other hand picks or strums.
How hard can that be? Hmmmm…. actually it is rather difficult. Learning a few chords and riffs is not that hard, but knowing how to truly play can take a lifetime.
So, here are two tools that can speed up the process and provide a ton of fun in the process:
1. Start attending a local jam session. Even if you really suck and can’t play, just lurk in the background and play very quietly or even not at all. Gradually you will learn how to strum along and get the hang of carrying a tune while you play. I think this is the best way of all to learn how to play guitar.
2. Take some online instruction. There are so many great sources of instructional material out there, much of it free. What you don’t want to do is bounce around from one course to the next, trying to put it all together on your own. That doesn’t make much sense considering that you don’t know what you are doing in the first place! Check out some of the different courses out there.
My personal recommendation is the Personal Online Guitar Lessons with ArtistWorks! The amazing thing is that the teacher is none other than Bryan Sutton, who is one of the best flatpickers anywhere! If you like blues guitar you can get similar lessons from Keith Wyatt, which is awesome.
You can pick classical, jazz, rock, fingerstyle, or bass guitar as well. My only complaint is that I can’t take all of them!
Seriously, check this out for yourself, it is way cheaper than lessons from a local instructor and most people prefer this method anyway because it is so versatile.
Sign up to receive a free ebook: Master The Guitar in 7 days! (available for a limited period)