How to learn to play electric guitar
There are an a couple of questions that people ask when they are considering learning to play the guitar.
The first, and most obvious question is:
How do I learn to play the guitar?
There are a number of means to learn how to play the guitar.
1) Get a friend or relative to instruct you.
This is a great idea just to get somebody to show you at least how to hold the guitar and how to play the strings and press down the strings at the frets. This is a good way to get started if you’re just beginning and have never picked up a guitar before and won’t cost you anything. Don’t rely on this method alone though. Just get the very basics and then start to learn yourself from the other methods. You can let your friend show you some tips and tricks later on when they have time.
2) Buy a book.
This is ok to show you how to hold and play the guitar, but not as good as having someone in front of you showing you. It’s not free unless you can acquire a good book from the library. The cost of guitar books varies from cheap to costly, although you might be able to find them at charity shops. I find that books are good for learning theory. Depending on what style of guitar you want to learn, you might not need to learn too much theory. The more theory you can learn the better, but you can always do that as you are advancing.
3) Purchase a video or DVD.
I’ve never been too keen on applying this method exclusively. Sitting in front of the television screen or computer monitor watching somebody tell you to put this finger here and that finger there. It’s good for showing you the basics of playing the guitar and some techniques such as bends, slides, and hammer-ons, etc.
4) Pay a guitar instructor to show you.
This could be the most expensive way to learn the guitar. I’ve seen friends and relatives kids play songs better than me and I’ve felt pretty stupid. But, that’s all they’ve been taught, merely songs. I console myself by saying yes, you can play that song, but how much has it cost your parents.
5) Learn off the internet.
Once you can hold and play your guitar, or even before, search the net for free or cheap online courses. There’s so much info on learning to play the guitar on the internet, this must be a good source. This can be free, cheap, or dear but don’t be fooled into purchasing expensive courses that you can’t afford or don’t need though. When you’re ready, there’s a lot of good low cost or free stuff that will improve your playing. Learning to play the guitar off the net has all of the the advantages of the other methods. You can learn as much or as little theory as you want . You can have someone on the computer monitor in front of you showing what to do and how to do it. You can download the information on to your computer and do it in your own time and at your own pace. You can download the guitar tabs to songs you want to learn.
How hard is it to learn to play guitar?
It’s not hard at all. It all depends on how much you want to learn it.
How long does it take to learn how to play guitar?
As much time as you put into it. It’s a process and you will never perfect it, so the time is forever. But to get just enough to know how to play many songs, not that long, just a total of several hours. But if you want to become an artist, write songs, etc. That takes the time and passion. And when you have the passion the time gets away from you.
If you’re thinking about learning to play the guitar, or need to improve your guitar playing, have a look at Learn Guitar to see reviews on online guitar courses.
