Michelle Bery asked:


For most of us, learning an instrument requires an enormous amount of dedication %u2013 understanding fundamental principles and techniques before embarking upon long practices. Practicing long hours will finally reward the student with a working knowledge of the instrument. And, if they are lucky, after many years of hard work they may even become quite a masterful player. The guitar, especially, is held up as one of the more popular instruments to which people dedicate themselves. With images of musical grandeur in their heads they apply themselves night and day to the practice of guitar in the hopes of someday becoming proficient. But there are a rare few of us who can actually learn guitar by ear %u2013 an inherent skill that graces only the lucky among us.

Ultimately, you never know until you try if you can learn guitar by ear. If you are interested in taking up guitar and have a few chosen songs that you would really like to learn to play %u2013 try it out. If you play the song on a CD, those who can play guitar by ear can mimic the notes they hear on their own instruments. For those who have a working knowledge of the guitar %u2013 the ways in which to hold it and the tone that each vibrating chord makes %u2013 the possibility to learn guitar by ear is far more probable. Until you really understand the sounds that each chord is capable of making, it will be difficult to replicate the sounds you hear in your music on the strings of your guitar.

In some cases it is possible to train yourself to learn guitar by ear. Begin by learning the sounds the strings make on your guitar; really process this and hear it in your head as well as your ears. Listen to how the sounds change as you change chords and begin to listen to the music on your CDs with an ear towards those chord changes. You will soon begin to hear chord changes in the songs that you have listened to over and over without ever previously recognizing those chords. It%u2019s amazing how your ear changes once you begin to learn guitar; suddenly you are able to make those necessary correlations between the sound that your guitar makes and the sound that the guitar makes in some of your favorite songs. Pick one part of the song and begin to try it out on your own guitar; keep trying until you are able to replicate the sound. Soon enough you%u2019ll be able to piece the song together; often sounds are just repetition of the same chords.

While playing music adeptly by ear is in inherent skill, you can still learn guitar by ear if you are dedicated and single-minded in your task.



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Rajinderpal Singh asked:


Every newbie guitar player faces the following question: “What’s the absolute best way for me to learn guitar?” Should you should learn it yourself or hire a professional? Which guitar courses are recommended most often? What about those Internet based guitar training sites?

These are all valid questions because how you learn to play the guitar is just as important as what you learn to play. Teaching yourself how to play might work just fine if you’ve got a good ear and some previous exposure to music theory or proficiency on another instrument.

If you are a “newbie” to playing any instrument,it would be a good idea to get a teacher — or — join an online program where you can interact with several teachers as well as fellow students. In fact, I would recommend finding at least one ‘mentor’ or a ‘study buddy’ to learn with even if you lean towards teaching yourself.

Why?

In short, you learn more and make more progress faster than you would in isolation because you’ll be exposed to alternative ways of thinking about your approach to the guitar. Other players can share tips and techniques you have never seen before, as well as help you overcome a problem area that they’ve already mastered.

Ultimately, though, the question of how to learn guitar is up to you and your choice should be guided by consideration of your own unique situation. The following list of questions should help you make a solid decision:

1. How much can I afford to spend on lessons, books, etc, and how much am I willing to invest to get started?

2. How do I learn best? For example, can you pick up concepts easily just by reading about them, or do you prefer to have audio and video demonstrations you can follow along with?

3. Am I looking to learn a specific style of guitar such as Classical, Blues or Jazz? You’ll still need to learn basic music theory for any style of music, but you might want to look for instruction that focuses on teaching the theory in one of these contexts.

4. How much time can I allocate to practice? This is very important if you’re considering on hiring a guitar teacher. Most teachers will require you to master a lesson before moving on to the next one.

You’ll still be paying for those lessons even when you aren’t making much progress. So, if you’re strapped for time, I recommend investing in a home-study or online couse. This will give you a 24/7 access to the information you need away from your regular guitar lessons.

5. How ‘good’ of a player do I want to be? If guitar is just a hobby for you, then you’ll likely do well with just about any method of instruction. If you want to go pro or start a band, though, you should learn from as many different sources as possible.



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Fame Ahmed asked:


When you first start learning to play the guitar you really want easy to learn guitar tunes to start with. Otherwise it is the equivelant of trying to understand French when you have only learnt the basic words.

By starting with easy to learn guitar tunes you are setting yourself up for a much quicker learning curve and you will find that you will pick up learning the guitar much quicker and easier then without using tunes or songs to base your guitar skills on.

Where can I find easy to learn guitar tunes?

There have been many books written on easy to learn guitar tunes, usually the book is written from a guitar teachers point of view so you know you are getting great advice on how to pick and learn guitar tunes/songs.

Amazon is a great place to find easy to learn guitar tune books. In fact I would recommend purchasing through amazon as they are a trusted source and have the widest selection of books on guitars and easy to learn guitar tunes that I have seen.

Can I Just Learn Any Guitar Tune?

Yes you could start at any guitar tune and try to learn it, but why would throw yourself in the deep end? You are much better trying to learn an easy guitar tune then starting off on a more advanced tune.

The entire purpose behind easy to learn guitar tunes is that they focus on the basics of learning guitar which ensures that not only are you having fun learning your guitar tunes but you are also building your core guitar skills at the same time.

This will eventually lead to you playing much better guitar and having a better learning experience.

Also when trying to pick an easy to learn guitar tune it is usually best if you can listen to that tune as well as reading the sheet music. This lets you attack the songs from both angles.

1. You are learning the tune through sheet music so you are getting a feel for how to read guitar sheet music. 2. You are developing your play by ear skills which will be extremely helpful for you later when you are tryin got learn the more advanced tunes.

So just remember, when you are looking for easy to learn guitar tunes don’t go for just any old tune, pick a nice simple basic tune or riff to start with and build yourself up from there.

If you practice learning tunes each day you will be surprised at how quickly you pick it up.



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Claude Johnson asked:


Every town throughout the world has one or two fully dedicated aspiring guitarists and bassists. These disciplined folks spend countless hours improving their craft. Their local musician community is made up of a small group of less-dedicated folks and people with divergent tastes in music. To the truly passionate musician, sometimes this can be frustrating. The dedicated guitarists and bassists of these communities have often surpassed the ability of local teachers, and are thus on their own following their musical heroes. Although guitar tab books and guitar lesson DVDs help, trial and error becomes the primary method.

Learning with on line guitar lessons can be just as good as or better than learning off line. Instead of having just one person to learn from, you get a much wider variety of influences contributing to who you are as a musician. Enjoy the Internet boom and use it to your advantage!

Before you can begin learning the guitar, you have to decide what type of guitar you want to play. The most common are electric and acoustic, but there are other types like the banjo that you can also play. In most cases, if you learn one, the others are easy to master; it’s just a matter of learning the guitar for its shape and knowing the difference in string pressure. When you know what you want to play, you can then begin learning the guitar.

You may feel hopeless, but remember, even the most prolific and impressive players had to start somewhere. Learning the guitar should start with an appreciation for the instrument. Learn what each part of the instrument does, what each part is called, and how they all work together to make notes and chords.

There are guitar lesson websites that have the lessons set out in the correct sequence for a beginner guitar player’s progress. The formulators of these guitar courses are experienced guitar players who have extensive experience teaching the guitar and playing in bands. These online lessons are great for people who need a basic understanding of the guitar, how to hold it and play chords for easy songs. Free online guitar lessons get these people playing the guitar fast.

Many people find that learning chords and playing rhythm guitar is a great way to start but soon find that they want more from the instrument. This invariably leads people wanting to take up lead guitar and understand the styles involved with the instrument. After learning how to play guitar chords the next step is to move on the picking and playing styles of lead guitar and there is a lot to learn. Depending on which style you want to play or what guitarist you wish to sound like, there are many different ways to go about playing this style of music.

Taking steps in how to play lead guitar is a great place to start for any budding musician. It may seem frustrating at first but the skills involved can be picked up over time and hopefully it will not take too long before your true skills develop. As long as you don’t get too frustrated at first, you can become a great lead guitarist over time.



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connachtspawn asked:


I’d really like to know if anyone has any type of scientific theory about why many guitar players contort their faces while they play.

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supershop6921 asked:


I have been playing guitar since I was 8, I am now 26. I play pretty well but have always had trouble playing really good lead guitar. How can I improve, any method suggestions or tips. I want to be able to play cliffs of dover, that is my goal.

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oobumblebeeoo asked:

EZ to learn guitar playing in one easy lesson.

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Ricky Sharples asked:


Learning the acoustic guitar is not difficult but what can be a little tedious is wading through the swamp of advice from friends, family and the internet. Come to think of it, a lot of advice is better than no advice so maybe it’s just a question of organizing what you want to do with your music. What’s your plan with learning the acoustic guitar?

If you don’t know the first thing abour the guitar, there are books available that will give you the basics. There’s a couple of books you should at least take a look at. Guitar For Dummies is a great tutor for the acoustic guitar student who doesn’t want to embarrass himself by asking silly questions. If you want all the knowledge of any kind of guitar playing before you even need it, take a look at the guitar books published by Mel Bay. Many guitar players swear by them.

If you see yourself as a casual acoustic guitar strummer who just wants to be able to play his favorite songs and impress girls at parties, then you will probably get all the info about technique and repertoire from the internet. If you feel you want to be seriously interested in playing the acoustic guitar, think about getting at least a few lessons from a guitar teacher.

Yes, you can learn a lot from just reading tab and watching clips on YouTube but a teacher can show you scales, holding the plectrum properly, fingering positions and how to get a good sound. It is a much faster and more effective way to get your basic questions about the learning the acoustic guitar out of the way.

The fact is, many amateur guitar players have spent years teaching themselves and been amazed at how musch more they have learnt when they finally spent some money on lessons. While we are on the subject, there are two kinds of teachers, one kind gives you knowledge about the guitar, the other kind teaches in a way that prepares you to go back to your room and teach yourself. Try and find the second kind. If you are going to apend money on learning acoustic guitar, you may as well do some research.

The question of whether to learn to read music always comes up for people learning guitar but if you want to learn songs quickly without becoming a soloist, tab and chord charts are the way to go. Also once you have some familiarity with the guitar, you will be surprised to find that you will develop the knack of inserting solo breaks into your playing.

One thing that all people learning acoustic guitar encounter is discomfort. Your left hand finger tips need to develop callouses, you whole body needs to learn a new range of sitting, standing and arm moving positions to accommodate your guitar playing. Basic advice on this subject is most of the physucal obstacles you go up against will disappear within a short time, but if you are getting any kind of real regularly repetitive pain, stop playing for a day or two. If the pain starts up again, get some advice from a doctor. Playing through the pain is not a good idea.



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Ben G. Dressen asked:


If you’re just starting out, or if you have been doing this for a while and you’re looking at your favorite guitarist and thinking to yourself “how in heaven’s name does he do that?” then you’re reading the right article. Fact is most of players are often at a loss when it comes to understanding how to get to the higher level of playing that they often see their guitar heroes display. There are many routes you can take, but they all have a couple of things in common. Grab a cup of coffee, or a beer, and sit down for this article because it might change the way you look at guitar playing. No matter what you’re into, from classical guitar to metal guitar, you will benefit from this. Some things may seem very simple but don’t be fooled into thinking they are less important. Other things may require you to start churning that gray matter a little bit to get the hang of them.

First in line is work!

This is a no-brainer but it still has to be said. No amount of articles and knowledge will be able to compensate for the willingness to work… Do the words “hard work” make your hair stand on end? As a guitarist you must be willing to work at your craft. You must have the self-discipline needed in order to practice on a regular basis. Having said that though, it is important to note that working smart will always beat working hard. So it is very important for you to break down your learning process and to have a clear idea where you’re going and the steps that you need to take order to get there. Imagine for a second being in a jungle as you’re trying to find your way out. Now, you might put in a lot of effort and walk daily for many miles through the hard jungle environment in order to find your path out, but if you don’t use your head and figure out a clear way towards your goal you might find that you’re just walking around in circles. It’s the same way when studying guitar. You must set your compass so you know the direction of your goal and you must also figure out what steps to take in order to reach that goal. How do you do that? Simple: just sit down and plan it out, write it down and create a sort of map towards your endpoint.

Let’s say you’re just starting out and, as a singer-songwriter, your goal is to get your guitar playing up and running so that you’re able to use your guitar to write songs and play them live. You would then figure out the steps you must take in order to achieve this. If you’re a singer songwriter then you must learn chords, which are the basis of creation for most singer songwriters. But you’d have to break the “learning chords chapter” in two. This is because you need to learn what the chords are from a musical standpoint, meaning that you must learn their names, the notes they contain and the relationship between those notes so that you know how they relate to each other in a song. This is the theoretical aspect of chords (not to mention that you should take a look at scales first). Of course you must also learn the actual chords on the guitar, the frets and the fingers used to play them and exercise these movements on the guitar fretboard until you get to the point where you feel comfortable changing quickly from one chord to the other. Having complete control of the mechanical movements of your fingers on the fretboard is also important because as you will start to write your song you’ll probably want to sing on top of your cords, so the ability to change chords fast and to do two things in parallel, play guitar and sing, is something that will need a little bit of work. Obviously if your goal is to become a shredding monster, to play killer leads that peel the paint off the walls, then not only is the goal changed but also the steps that must be taken in order to achieve this goal.

The more you can break down things so you can work them individually the faster your learning process will go, you will assimilate more and you’ll have more fun because it will become clear to you that you are on the right path and progress will be visible. Look at a player that you admire, within the genre that you like, and analyze the steps that you must take in order to get there. Having said that, I would like to add that there are some common points which make sense no matter which path you choose. Music theory for example will help no matter what route you take, and so will ear training etc…

The Captain of the ship!



One obvious quality of great guitar players is their incredible playing reflexes. But what is at the root core of incredible reflexes? You see a great player do something on guitar and you are amazed at the ease with which they can execute complex material, and master their instruments. But how do you get these incredible reflexes? An important key is understanding what are reflexes and how they are created.

Reflexes dwell in our subconscious mind. The subconscious is quite a beast, able to compute and execute literally thousands of operations per second. By comparison our conscious mind is a relative weakling able only to handle a couple of things at a time, and even then it struggles to do that. For example: it takes dozens of independent muscles to walk and use our hands, and yet we do all these things with great ease because our subconscious mind takes care of everything while our conscious mind only gives the commands… such as “walk”. When you catch a baseball, play tennis, play a video game or any other activity that involves complicated procedures it is the subconscious mind that actually does the work while the conscious mind only gives the major commands. You can think of it like this: your conscious mind is like the captain of a ship who gives the orders, while your subconscious mind is like a ship and its crew that execute perfectly the orders. So, now that we understand this we must figure out a way to get our subconscious to do most of the “heavy lifting” while we consciously think about the big details.

The big problem here is that the subconscious is not directly accessible. As it turns out the only way to access it is through our conscious mind and repetition. Here is how the process works: the conscious mind repeats the action very very slowly (remember, it’s a weakling after all) and as repetition continues the action is delegated to the subconscious mind and forms a reflex. Now, here comes the big point that I want to make: it is extremely important is that the information passed along from our conscious mind to our subconscious be crystal clear. If we don’t take the time to consciously clarify the actions that we like our subconscious to perform later on we will probably end up not being able to perform those actions correctly. It’s like the captain of our ship turning to the crew and saying that if they should start the engines and just go without providing a destination or a clear path for getting there. You can imagine that in such a situation the crew would probably run around in circles and so would the ship. In much the same way we must clarify what we would like our subconscious to perform in order for it to understand what it has to do. This is done through repetition, but also through the “breakdown process” in which we take things apart and we see how they function. This leads to great reflexes… the kind of stuff that makes you stand back and say “wow, he’s incredible”. Now that you know the formula, put it to work so you can have someone else say that about you.



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Advice Online asked:


Do you wish that you could play the guitar? Even just a few easy songs? Would you like to start your own band, or maybe just have a few songs in your arsenal to entertain your friends at parties?

The good news is that learning how to play the guitar is a lot easier than you might think. The better news is that the quickest way to learn the basics is to begin with a few easy songs rather than the traditional way of learning the different notes and chords.

There are some great, well-known songs out there that are easy to play because they consist of only a few basic chords. Even though these songs are easy, they are incredibly entertaining, and no-one will know how easy they actually are.

Some examples of these easy songs are:

Green Day – most Green Day songs are simple and uncomplicated but also sound great. “Good Riddance – Time of Your Life” is one of the easiest Green Day songs and is recommended for beginners

The Beatles – this is another good example of a band whose songs are generally easy to learn. However, some of their songs may be more suited to an intermediate guitar player. “Help” is a relatively simple Beatles song which would be a good starting point for any beginner.

Oasis – “Wonderwall” – This is an iconic song that everyone enjoys. It is also very uncomplicated – perfect for a beginner!

America – “Horse with No Name” is well-known and very easy to play as it consists of only two chords – E minor and D.

I would also recommend the following songs for any aspiring guitar player:

Bob Dylan – “Mr. Tambourine Man”

Pink Floyd – “Wish You Were Here”

Coldplay – “Viva La Vida”

Using some easy songs such as these will make learning how to play the guitar easier and a lot more fun!



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