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[H1322]How To Learn The Guitar

by Dave Barnett, Dav

Being a guitar player of the past 20 years I have come across countless methods on learning to play have seen less than accurate information regarding the instrument.

If you are thinking about buying a course ask yourself these questions.
-what kind of guitar music do I eventually want to play?
-what kind of learning methods do I respond to the best?
-where can I find information that will teach me the right way?

When you ask yourself these questions, you are really asking yourself, "what am I looking for and what will teach me the best way"

Finding the right course is vital to the development of a guitar student, not only will you progress faster, but you will not have to backtrack and re learn any bad habits you may have developed from learning the wrong way.

Luckily now thanks to the internet, there is now a wealth of information, some of it good and some of it great... and some of it blatantly wrong.

Back in the days before the internet if you wanted to play the guitar you could go one of two ways. Either you could learn by having an experienced player teach you, of if that wasn't possible, you could buy a book and learn on your own.

These two methods are still great options, but they do have there drawbacks. Learning from a book is a great idea, however if you don't actually have someone with you to show you exactly how the music is to be played, progress will be slow, reading information and using diagrams is great but it can never truly replace a real live instructor, which leads me on to the second point.

Finding a guitar teacher is far more ideal, but can be expensive, but what's more concerning is the fact that many guitar "teachers" cannot actually teach. I have seen many great guitarists who call themselves guitar teachers, when all they can really do is confuse a poor student and show off.

Of course the other side of the coin is that there are many great guitar teachers out there, you just have to be careful at which one you decide to go with, if you have a guitar teacher already and are not making any progress, it may be time to find a new teacher.

The third option now are online guitar instruction courses. These in my opinion are ideal. Not only are they very inexpensive but using video,audio,interaction and knowledge forums is the best way to advance quickly.

If you are thinking about buying a guitar course then me advice to you, is to read up as much as you can about any particular guitar course you are thinking of purchasing, and not just recommendations on a sales page, but from actual people who have used the course and have benefited from it, that is a great indication that a guitar course works.

Many people find that it's harder to learn guitar than they thought, especially if they are trying to teach themselves. There are a number of reasons for this.

My Guitar keeps going out of tune!

Failure to prepare yourself before buying your first guitar is the first on the list. If you don't spend some time researching different guitars and what to look for, you will probably end up with a guitar that either doesn't fit you well and is not comfortable to play, or is of poor quality. Getting the wrong guitar can have a big effect on your ability to progress. A cheap poor build guitar will not only have a poor quality sound, but may well lose tune quickly. This will be a cause of discouragement while you try to learn.

Make sure that you take time over buying your first guitar. There are many guides on the internet that explain how to go about buying a guitar, so make good use of these.

Ouch - That hurt!

The second on the list occurs when you start playing. The new guitar player will, after a while, experience some pain. The pain may occur in the arm or wrist, and if you are learning on an acoustic, you will also suffer from painful finger tips on your fret hand. Finger pain is not usually a problem on electric guitars as less pressure is needed to hold down the string.

This is just something you have to work through. You should limit your practice sessions while you go through this stage until the tips of your fingers have firmed up and become less painful. Pay attention to posture and the way you hold the guitar to help with any arm or wrist pain, and make sure that you always carry out some warm up exercises before you practice.

Faster faster!

The third problem is trying to play too fast. As a beginner learning guitar you will be in a hurry for a result. This tends to make you rush your practice, and then you get frustrated that you can't change chords quickly enough, or the chords don't play cleanly. If you practice like this, all you are doing is practicing to make mistakes. These mistakes will then become fixed, and you will have to spend time trying to unlearn these mistakes.

Make sure that you practice at a slow pace. Speed at this stage is not important, accuracy is. Once you have practiced enough to play accurately, then is the time to try playing it a bit faster. A metronome,which beats time for you at whatever speed you set it to,will help you keep your practice at a nice slow pace.

I'm too busy, I'll practice tomorrow.

The fourth problem is irregular or insufficient practice. When you start learning guitar, you must be able to allow a reasonable amount time for regular practice sessions. You may find when you start that there are difficulties finding the time due to other commitments, work, family etc.. You may be in a job with irregular hours or have to travel a lot. You may also not have anywhere to practice that doesn't annoy other members of the household. Learning guitar is a commitment, and you will have to deal with any issues that prevent you practicing regularly.

What the hell does that mean!

Finally there is the quality of your instruction. If you can afford a professional teacher this is the best way to go. Alternatively if you know someone who can play they may be able to help you. Many opt for self instruction, and there is a wealth of material, courses, books DVDs etc. to choose from. This is the final vital link. Choosing the right course that is able to communicate well with you is essential. If you are working with materials that you find difficult to follow your learning will be a lot harder than it needs to be. Find out as much as you can about possible courses before opting for one. This point alone could be the make or break decision.
Learning guitar is a challenge and one that is immensely rewarding. By taking some care in your approach, you will give yourself a better chance of success.

Article Source : Pg. 4

About Author

Both Dave Barnett & Ken Radwell are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.

Dave Barnett has sinced written about articles on various topics from Internet Fraud, six pack and Guide Guitar. Dave is a guitar player and singer who has been teaching music the last 10 years. If your looking for proven guitar methods that work click the link below