How to Learn to Play Guitar

Part 1: Determining the Right Approach for You

Just about everyone who wants to learn to play guitar hits the following question early on:

What's the best way for me to learn?

Is teaching yourself to play guitar realistic? Or do you need to get a private tutor?

And what about the study-at-home courses and books? Are they any good?

Can you combine these approaches with hiring a guitar teacher?

How are those guitar membership sites and learn guitar packages? Are they a scam? Or a waste of your time? Are they too expensive? Do they work?

If all these questions haven't already occurred to you, then you should probably take a few minutes to think about whether or not they are valid questions for your situation.

If they are, you should then think about how you're going to find the answers to them!

Get it right. Right from the start!

For example, getting a learn guitar book with CD (or a book/DVD combo, or even just a DVD) from you local music store or online bookstore might do you just fine if you've got a good ear and some previous experience playing another instrument.

And even if you don't, they might work just fine for you anyway!

It's probably the cheapest and easiest way to start—but not necessarily! I say not necessarily because over the last few years some excellent (and extremely good value) teach-yourself-to-play-guitar courses have appeared online. So don't go charging off to Borders just yet.

If you have no prior experience at all with learning an instrument, then that's a good reason—but not enough reason in itself—to get a private tutor.

So let's take a quick run-through the questions above:

Is teaching yourself a realistic idea?

Yes, it is... if, like I said, you have previous experience with music and/or you tend to pick up new things quickly. If you don't, that doesn't mean you're stupid, of course! It probably just means your learning style is one where you benefit most from the support of a more experienced guide. We all learn in different ways and being aware of your preferred mode of learning will save you a lot of time, money, effort and grief in any new pursuit; not just learning to play guitar!

Should you get a private tutor?

Didn't we just cover this question? Not entirely, no. You might be the kind of person who picks things up just fine from self-study materials, but it's still a good idea to get a pro to have a look at what you're doing before bad habits start setting in.

Also, when you work with a tutor—after studying by yourself—you often find that you have a LOT more questions than you thought! It can be quite surprising what you learn from a question to your tutor that starts with something as simple as "Y'know, actually, I've been wondering about..."

So using self-study materials doesn't automatically rule out getting a tutor as well.

Self-study books/CDs/DVDs... are they any good?

It depends. There's some real garbage out there, to be sure. And just because someone is a Master player doesn't mean they can teach you. Don't be seduced by this very strongly ingrained idea. (This goes for physical books/DVDs just as much as for online courses too, of course!)

If you're thinking about buying a book or DVD from your local music store, ask if they'll let you take a look through the book so you can see if there are enough pictures. And ask if you can watch parts of the DVD in the store to see whether the tutor's explanations and demonstrations are clear to you.

How about internet-based learn to play guitar courses and membership sites?

These are typically more expensive than physical home study courses and DVDs, but (as I said before) not necessarily. For example, a single DVD study course will probably set you back about 25 or 30 bucks and run for a couple of hours. For just double that you can find some excellent downloadable learn to play guitar courses—with dozens of hours of video instruction, jam-tracks, and all sorts of other stuff in most cases!

Are they a scam? Some of them could be, I suppose. I honestly haven't found one yet that looks like a scam but I haven't visited every learn guitar website on the Net! I have, however, seen a lot of them!

Some are clearly better than others. But none I've seen look like a outright scam. Many are overpriced. Some are underpriced! Some have lots of material and lessons and support. Others don't. Some are free. Most are not. If you're unsure, see if there are sample lessons or a free trial membership. See if you can "test-drive" it before committing. You usually can.

In Part 2 of this article, we'll look at the 5-point checklist for determining the best approach for you to learn to play guitar. See you there!

Absolutely Essential Guitar

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