Kevin Sinclair asked:


In high school, did you ever dream about starting your own rock band? Want to duplicate the soothing sounds of folk tunes for family and friends? Does your favorite musician work magic with a Gibson ES 335? Is Jimi Hendrix your idol? It doesn’t matter the reason why you want to play the guitar – a seed has been planted and now it is time to nurture the desire.

Where to begin? Playing guitar (whether for fun or professionally) takes patience and determination. By following a few tips, you can harness your passion or interest for the instrument. You will also find that fueling your creativity and developing this new form of expression will take time. Great guitar players do not blossom overnight.

Purchasing a Guitar

Before you start learning the ropes of guitar playing, you’re going to need an instrument to carry out your lessons. The type of music you wish to play will determine the kind of guitar you require. For example, an acoustic guitar is used to generate the sounds of country, ragtime or folk. The body of the guitar is large and hollow, creating a sound that many deem “natural.” Rock music often utilizes an electric guitar, which offers a rather distinctive amplified sound. Additional guitars to look into include the steel, solid body, archtop, resonator, bass and twelve-string guitar.

With the purchase of a guitar, there are other necessary pieces of basic equipment. A guitar pick is required to help play the chords of your instrument. The size of guitar pick is quite small, prompting easy breakage and it can also be easily misplaced. This is why beginners should have a good number of guitar picks on hand. When purchasing picks, the medium gauge varieties are suggested because they are less apt to break. You should also invest in a comfortable chair.

Getting Lessons

While some guitar players are able to naturally experiment with chords by ear and strum along with less guidance, others require the assistance of structured lessons. There are numerous ways to learn how to play the guitar. If you are able to afford a private tutor, you can take advantage of one-on-one instruction, which may speed up the learning process. Sometimes, beginners benefit from group learning, which provides a wealth of constructive criticism. The Internet also offers a way for beginners to privately learn online. Some websites offer a computer keyboard lesson on learning scales, which some beginners find quite easy.

Whichever approach you take in learning to play guitar, you should know that setting goals for yourself makes the process more rewarding. Achieving personal milestones further motivates your desire to find a common ground with the instrument and who knows how far your lessons will take you.

Recognizing why you want to play guitar in the first place will also help you to better accomplish your goals. Some people want to learn to play for fun, peaking with a performance in front of family and friends. Others would like to share their talents with a slightly larger crowd, probably visiting a few coffee shops or open-mic nights. Then there are the masses of learners who have bigger dreams of taking to a stage in front of thousands. No matter what the goal is, you can’t get there without loads of practice.

What You Will Learn

Guitar lessons usually start with building a basic foundation, such as how to properly hold the guitar and establishing correct posture when playing. There is a wide range of techniques involved in playing the guitar and after a few lessons, you may start to find your niche.

One of the most important things to focus on when playing a guitar is understanding and mastering the chords. There are books and charts to help you along this important part of the process. There are many different chords to familiarize yourself with and taking them one at a time will lead to better results.

Additional areas of guitar instruction may include learning how to properly hold a pick, memorizing scales, tackling music theory and selecting a music style. Instrument maintenance, such as tuning and caring for your guitar is also of importance.

Sticking With It

Staying motivated is one of the best things you can do when learning to play the guitar. It is easy to become frustrated with a new project and abandon it before truly experiencing any benefits. On some days, you may have to dig deep to reclaim your passion and dedication. Other days, you could be composing the next pop hit. Give the process a chance and remember that it takes time to get the hang of this instrument. The best thing you can do is continue to practice and soon, you will reap the rewards of hard work and focus.



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We’re only gonna die asked:


I used to be very creative playing guitar, I would think up things in my head and play them. But now it seems i cannot think of anything original to play, which is odd because i remember when i was just starting i was very creative, and now almost 5 years in I cannot think of anything

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planelover73 asked:


what can i do. it hurts when i press the strings really hard. Im playing my dads acoustic guitar, im getting an electric for my birthday prob. next week. i hope the electric is better. that acoustic is killing me, BIG neck, hard to press strings and barely any sound. i played viola for 6 years. i always got blisters but im getting tired of it. and i could really jam on viola, i played rock songs on it and it had my class mates wowed.

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D Fraser asked:


If you play guitar, or are thinking about taking it up you should decide if being able to read guitar music is important to you or not. This have a big impact in how you decide to learn to play the instrument. Why? For a couple of reasons.

1.) Not learning how to read music and relying on Tablature to learn new tunes and just knowing the names of chords is a lot easier then comprehending musical theory and the notes on each string.

2.) If you decide you want to know how to read guitar music then it’s going to take a bit longer to learn the basics. There is more time that must be put in learning additional skills and knowledge needed later on.

What does it take to learn how to read guitar music

The initial part of learning to read music on guitar is learning the musical staff. This consists of the 5 lines and 4 spaces you see on any sheet music. Most guitar lesson home study programs should teach this, be sure to double check that it’s covered before you fork over any money.

The second portion of learning how to read guitar music is understanding the names of each string, and the notes on those strings up to the 5th fret. This corresponds to the notes you’ll be reading from sheet music. This is of course the beginning stages of learning to read music for guitar, and as you learn to read chords it will become more difficult.

The simplest way to Learn to Read Guitar Music

Learning to read sheet music on guitar isn’t impossible on your own, how ever it might take you sometime if you don’t have any previous musical experience. Having a quality guitar lesson book or video on hand will save you time while learning.

The popular learn guitar courses such as Learn and Master Guitar cover learning the notes on each string, how to read music, theory, and scales. These are all intertwined and will take you from just being a strumming guitar player to an intermediate and advanced player.

 



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Advice Online asked:


The ability play a musical instrument is a valuable skill not just for your own enjoyment but also for your friends and family – you can provide the entertainment at parties or you can just jam with your friends who play other instruments. The guitar is great as it does not need the backing of other instruments to make it sound impressive.

This begs the question – what is the best way to learn how to play the guitar? There are a number of options here ranging from group guitar lessons, private one-to-one tuition, to learning how to play online.

Group guitar lessons are great for people who are serious about learning to play the guitar the traditional way by learning all of the notes and chords first and then combining that knowledge to play individual songs. These classes may be available through your local school or community centre. However, the drawback of group guitar lessons is that you may not get the opportunity to learn all the songs that YOU love as the teacher may select the songs on the course, or the songs may be chosen by the class as a whole. Fees for group guitar lessons are normally charged per class, making it an expensive method of learning to play the guitar.

One-to-one tuition may be better than group guitar lessons as you get more focused classes – you can have any questions answered there and then, and the teacher is better able to correct any mistakes you may be making. You may progress more quickly as the classes are totally focused on you and not on a number of students. However, this method of learning may not suit students with busy lifestyles, who may not be available for the same time slot every week. Also, some private instructors do not offer time slots after 6pm or 7pm, making it difficult

for those in full-time employment to secure classes. Private tuition is more expensive than group guitar lessons making it the most expensive way to learn how to play the guitar.

Learning to play online is a great alternative to private lessons. With online lessons you can take classes wherever and whenever it suits you. You can repeat individual lessons as many times as you like with no extra cost. Online lessons are not timed. If you go for private tuition you are usually paying for one-hour lessons, but online you can spend as much time as you like mastering a particular technique or song. Online lessons would suit nervous musicians who want to learn how to play without someone watching over them. Online music lessons are also a lot cheaper than formal lessons. Lots of websites offer a great education for a small one-off fee as opposed to weekly fees paid to a tutor.



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Samuel Malama asked:


Play and learn the guitar is what you hear all the so called gurus of guitar telling you. They make it sound as though it is a walk in the park, wouldn’t it have been wonderful if it was. You can make it exactly that way if you like; you just have to commit to it.

If you are one of the countless numbers of people that are always wondering why they have not progressed at playing the guitar; don’t worry you are not alone and it is not your fault. So you can relax and open your mind up to the unknown.

You see, all the interviews that you have read in articles etc tell you the same thing like, “go out and practice and then after that more practice.” That is not wrong or bad in any way; it is just that the information is incomplete. Here are a few things that will help complete the circle.

Teach yourself, self-belief, use your failure as motivation and get yourself a mentor. Let us look at these in a little more detail.

Teach Yourself

Before you even start murmuring because you are wondering what this means, just wait a second it will all come clear. Fair enough you are saying to yourself that it is impossible to teach yourself; on the contrary it isn’t. What this means is that before you even go out and spend money on dvds, online courses, instructors etc familiarize yourself with your instrument.

Know all the little things about it, mess around with and do all that you can do to it. This will help you get a lot more comfortable it in readiness for the complicated stuff you will encounter. Then you can go and get an instructor or course

Self-Belief

Ask yourself this question, do you think you have what it takes to be a guitarist? If your answer to that question was no, then stop reading this, guitar playing is not for you. But if your answer was yes then you are on the right track.

The only pre-requisite to becoming a guitarist is self-belief, take that away and you have nothing. People underestimate themselves way too much. You would be surprised at what you can do when you put your mind to it.

Failure as Motivation

Please, know this, during your course of learning to play the guitar, there will be times that you will feel like throwing away your guitar. You will be trying to play a song and it won’t just sound the way you want it. At times like this, don’t quit. Instead use that as your motivation and driving force.

Getting a Mentor

Nothing much can be said here, except you need to connect yourself with a better guitarist. That person is someone you refer to in times of need. They should be someone willing enough to see you through all the way to success.

It can be your mother, aunt, uncle, brother, anyone, as long as they have your interest at heart. Playing the guitar is not difficult, it is just assumed so.



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MyEasyGuitarCom asked:

Learn guitar playing with ease. More info: www.MyEasyGuitar.com

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Rowley Wright asked:


Guitar tabs lesson can be considered as the most difficult lesson for a guitar beginner. It’s not easy to remember all the guitar tabs. However, you should learn the simple and basic guitar tabs first, then you can proceed to more advanced lesson after that.

Guitar tabs, or tablature, are the script for guitar music. These are easy to read scripts compared to actual sheet music. Actually, many people who can’t understand sheet music will use tablature to play music. Tablatures help beginning guitarists learn songs by teaching them where to put their fingers and how to strum.

Easy to learn guitar tabs are available all over the Internet and in music stores. Even monthly guitar magazines contain easy tablature for players to learn on. The bonus is that they learn popular songs, making practicing guitar more enjoyable. You can find all kind of guitar tabs online from various guitar lesson sites. Every tab that you find on the Internet will come with a difficulty rating and a star rating of how good the actual tab is. This allows you to find tabs that are in your skill level.

It is very easy for any guitarist to go out and pick up the tabs of their favorite songs, then get discouraged when the songs are too difficult. Knowing the level of your guitar playing skill is very crucial. Choose tabs that fit the skill level. Then you can grow with the tablature. That is the best thing about having easy to learn guitar tabs. You’d be amazed at the great songs available in easy tablature. There are also songs that will not work with certain equipment. It is hard to play some heavy metal if you have a basic acoustic guitar. Furthermore, as a beginner, you should not choose the hard picking songs to play. Get used to the guitar. Get some easy songs under your belt before moving on. The easy to learn guitar tabs are the best place to get your feet wet.

Easy to learn guitar tabs work so well because you learn by sound as well as by feel. Most of the times, you will choose a song that you are familiar with, so you know what it sounds like. When you play it correctly, you’ll hear it for yourself. Learning songs with easy guitar tabs will help you get confident with the instrument. This will aid in your guitar development.



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M B asked:


I have been playing guitar for about a year now and I know just about all the different chords and combinations that go With them but something I am struggling with is moving from one fret to the next with out loosing the position i was current playing . I know what most people will say practice and i do but if there are any techniques that could help improve my guitar playing skills.

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acdcfan1 asked:


i’ve been playing for exactly 2 years i have the speed but i want to learn how to make my own guitar solos. i know how to make chord progresssions and little riffs but how can i make a solo out of it. my musical style is classic rock, and classic metal. i get influenced by ac/dc and black sabbath, led zeppelin, boston, etc. please help me

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