How to Learn to Play Guitar

Part 2: Your Five-Point Checklist (Points 1 & 2)

In Part 1, we looked at questions such as whether teaching yourself how to play guitar is realistic, if home-study courses and online guitar courses are any good, and whether or not you should consider getting a private tutor.

In this part, I'm going to look at the first two points in my 5-Point Checklist to help steer you towards the best choice for your situation. The method or approach you choose is just as important as the actual resources you choose (whether that's a particular book or set of books, DVDs, a downloadable course, a membership site, or a teacher).

So let's take a look at the following five questions. I suggest grabbing a notepad and pencil and “thinking on paper” as we go through them.

At the end of this article series, you should have a much clearer plan of attack! Which will ultimately save you time and money.

Point #1: How much can you afford to spend on resources?

This means to get started. Nothing more. Just to get started. You don't need to lash out huge amounts of money to get started and, in fact, I don't recommend you do because you might find that you don't want to learn how to play guitar! Perhaps it's not actually the instrument for you at all!

Assuming, for the time being, that it is, how much can you honestly afford to spend on study materials?

Write down this amount on your notepad.

Point #2: How do you learn best?

You may recall that I touched on this point in Part 1. We all have different styles of learning and knowing what your preferred style is will help you learn any new thing you want to learn. Why just do what everyone else is doing if that's not the way YOU learn best? That's just madness and you're unnecessarily slowing yourself down. But how do you know what your dominant learning style is?

For example, do you find that you pick up concepts and techniques easily just by reading about them? Some people do.

Or do you prefer reading through the information and being able to listen to it too? Maybe you prefer listening first and then reading it afterwards. Some people learn better this way.

Still another way is through demonstration and copying: Watching someone do it and then trying to do it yourself. Video and personal instruction works well for people like this.

Now, clearly, all of us learn things using all three of these broad approaches. It's not the case that we only learn via one of these modes. That's not true at all. But the point here is for you to identify the one that has, in the past, worked best for you.

Think of things you've learnt in your life. Write them down on your notepad. Then write down how you learnt them. All the different modes.

So, for example, if you've learnt to play golf, or to surf, or to play snooker, you might have learnt the following ways:

1. Your friend explained a certain technique or rule to you

2. You watched a video demonstration with or without close-ups and slow-mo shots

3. You read an article and were (or weren't) able to apply the information immediately

4. You took lessons and the tutor needed to physically adjust your body before you got it right

…and so on…

Do this for two or three things you've learnt in your life. Until a pattern emerges. It will. And it may not be the one you THINK! So please do the exercise now; before we move on to the next article.

In Part 3 of this series of learn how to play guitar articles, we'll look at whether you want to play a particular style (which you most likely do, right?) and the most common mistake beginners make in this area, as well as examining why it's very important to think carefully now—rather than later—about the time you have available to practice guitar. See you there!

Absolutely Essential Guitar

Republish this article
on your website!

Rate This Article!