At some point everybody needs beginner guitar lessons. You have to learn to crawl before you can walk, even though some people seem to start running pretty quickly. Few things are as exciting as actually knowing how to play the songs and tunes you love; read on…
Beginner guitar lessons Tip One
1. Never start out with a cheap guitar. You are only short-circuiting yourself and practically ensuring failure and giving up. Think about it: your fingers will hurt like crazy and it will never sound right.
You might try to get that blues, lead or bluegrass guitar sound, but it just won’t happen. Learn how to play the acoustic guitar on a decent instrument! There are plenty of good ones available, but you have to be willing to spend just a little more.
A cheap guitar is difficult to impossible to tune, the notes are out of tune as you play up the neck, and you will never get a good sound or tone out of it. It also will be difficult to play because the strings will be so far off the fretboard that your fingers will hurt. The fingertips will be so sore that you will become discouraged, and the strength required to press the strings is just too much.
You can buy a used quality guitar, or a less expensive new one to have the best chances of success. For about $300 you will find many suitable instruments that sound good and are easy to play. To learn how to play the acoustic or electric guitar, you don’t need the best instrument, but you do need a decent one.
Beginner Guitar Lessons Tip Two
2. Take it easy! No matter what anybody says, you are not going to sound like your guitar hero in one month. There is no way around the fact that you have to practice, a lot. Learning how to play acoustic guitar takes time and effort.
When you see a player like Tony Rice play his clean, melodic and very fast runs, he makes it look so easy. Well, it is easy for him, but it once was difficult: he just practiced enough so that it has become second nature. How do you think Eric Clapton got to the level he attained?
Check out Paul Gilbert’s Rock Guitar lessons at ArtistWorks.com.
Do not try to go so fast that you have no foundation. Learn what you learn well, do it right and you will never forget it. You are building a foundation for life-long learning, make sure that you develop good habits from the get-go and you will avoid some very frustrating re-learning later on!
Recommended Guitar Brands
Ibanez | Ovation |
Taylor | Fender |
Epiphone | Martin |
Takamine | Guild |
Gibson | Washburn |
Beginner Guitar Lessons Tip Three
3. Never try to learn too many songs at the same time. This bad habit will result in a lot of half-baked goods that just don’t satisfy. It is much better to work on a few songs at a time, nailing them down so that you really have them. Flitting from flower to flower like a bee is good if you are making honey, but we are trying to make music here!
If you have ever played with somebody who does not actually know any song completely, you will understand what I mean. You just cannot play together and have the good times you are looking for. Once you learn how to play the acoustic guitar, you will have so much fun!
Beginner Guitar Lessons Tip Four
4. Accept the fact that you are only as good as you really are. When I finally got serious about mastering my music, I assumed I was an intermediate player. Big mistake! As it turned out, I knew a little about a lot, but not much about any of it!
When I began playing at jams, where the musicianship was quite high, I had to step back quite a bit and re-learn just about everything. It was a bit daunting, but every journey begins with the first step, right?
The secret of learning how to play the acoustic or electric guitar is to follow the steps mentioned above, then find the best learning program that fits you. ArtistWorks, Inc is the one of the best programs out there, and the price is unbelievable, considering how much you get.
For the price of a couple of lessons, you get the best materials anywhere. It’s a powerful way to make your playing and learning much, much more enjoyable and productive. It takes time and effort to know how to play the acoustic guitar, but it is well worth it!