It’s really easy to waste a lot of time and money learning guitar.
In fact, you can learn for years only to realize you have missed out a lot of important information you have to go back and learn.
“If only I had learned this properly in the first place.”
And it’s easy to be “persuaded” to buy the latest fad guitar course because they make it sound so good and easy. You can buy one after the other looking for that magic bullet shortcut. If you find yourself doing this, my suggestion is that you find another hobby.
But if you’re serious about becoming a good player, here’s some tips to consider…
1. Plan on taking about 3 years to become a competent player
It takes about 3 years to become a fairly competent guitar player. Depending on how much practice you do, of course. You can do it in 18 months if you’re really dedicated and practice for hours every day. But in general, it really does take about 3 years to become truly comfortable and confident with your playing.
Because it takes so long, it pays to ensure you use your practice and learning time wisely. That’s so you get where you want to go faster, without too much fuss.
It really depends on what you learn and how you learn it.
Just realize there’s a ‘smart’ way and a ‘dumb’ way to go about it.
2. The ‘smart’ way to learn guitar…
Is to FOLLOW a tried-and-true step-by-step plan or method… and stick with it.
It really is as simple as that!
There’s no need to try and figure it out yourself via trial-and-error. No need to reinvent the wheel. Learn from others who have already achieved what you want to achieve. And don’t sell yourself short either. (E.g., Playing in a band is a lot easier than you think.)
KNOW that learning guitar can be tough… and it WON’T all be a bed of roses and sunshine. You’ll have your ups and downs, hurdles and plateaus – and plenty of them. But stick with the plan and you’ll come out the other side a winner.
Don’t try to rush it. Don’t try to cheat by trying to learn whatever takes your fancy on YouTube at the moment.You’ll be out of your depth and only end up frustrated and confused as anything. You’ll be wasting good, productive practice time. DON’T get sidetracked with all those shiny false promises, crappy tab, and dead-ends. Stick to the path. Stay with the plan.
It’s really all about attitude, determination and focus.
3. Why some people learn faster than others
I’ve taught hundreds of people to play guitar. Some people learn 20 times faster than others. It’s not because they’re brighter, geniuses, or naturals – it’s because they stick with the plan and do the work. And because they do the work they see FAST RESULTS! And it’s those results that excite them and inspire them on.
They always come to each lesson brimming with excitement and questions and keen to show me what they have learnt.
The others don’t ask questions. They don’t really have the interest or desire to crack it. They appear to be more in love with the IDEA of being a guitar player rather than actually doing the necessaries to become one. Most of them only practice two or three times a week in a half-hearted way. And when they do practice, they have forgotten what they were meant to be doing. So their practice time is wasted catching up again.
If you want to succeed, you have to do what most people won’t ever do…. you have to consistently (6 days a week at least) work on what counts – on what sets you up for long-term success. Focus on ‘simple’ but very specific goals you want to achieve and achieve them, one by one.
Work smarter, not harder…
So if you really do want know how to learn guitar, and you’re gutsy enough to make a long-term commitment, here’s what you can do…
4. How to learn guitar
1: Don’t just jump in and buy just any learn guitar course on the internet. Most of them are crap. They promise the earth and are totally unrealistic about how long it takes.
Those people just make fancy looking websites to scam you out of your cash.
The only true shortcut is to REALIZE there is NO shortcut! If you wake up to that fact, and focus on paying your dues, doing the real work, then you’ll get there faster than 95% of everyone else.
2: Whatever course of tuition you decide on, make sure you stick with it and follow through to its conclusion. That’s really, really important. Once you have the basic understanding and skills down, that’s the time to look for other courses to expand your knowledge.
3: If possible, go to a good guitar teacher. They will help set you up with the correct playing techniques (picking, strumming etc) and guide you and correct you when necessary. They’ll teach you the basic playing skills and show you how to use them to play songs.
4: If you want to teach yourself, you still need a method or a plan to follow. Something that will give you mastery of the basic skills. Those basic skills lay the foundation for your future guitar playing life. It helps a lot if you get them right. If you don’t, you’ll find yourself struggling later on when things heat up and tempos rise.
The basic picking, strumming, rhythmic, timing and technique skills should be learned accurately and slowly. To give your body and mind time to internalize them. Rushing the process will cause you to develop bad habits, mistake-ridden playing, sloppy technique and an amateurish sound. Those faults are almost impossible to fix at a later date. So what you do right from the start is extremely important.
5. Watch and Learn…
The best way to learn is to follow a plan. But it’s also important to be able to watch someone else do what you want to learn.
Learning by observing and copying is the most basic way we learn to do most things. It works great!
So you probably need a method that has video demonstrations you can play along with.
After tons of research on the internet I have found this excellent video-based how to learn guitar course. It’s basic and covers the strumming side of guitar. They have an advanced version that does include lead playing as well, if you’d prefer that. But at $49.95 it’s a good way to test the waters, to see if playing guitar is really for you without wasting too much money.
If you’re a bit more serious, and know you want to learn and you’re prepared to stick at it until you succeed, then perhaps you should consider this…
JB’s weekly beginner guitar lessons right here on Guitar Toolbox. A bit more pricey, but check it out and see what you think.
Whatever you decide, I wish you all the best in your guitar playing journey. You’re in for a fun, and at times frustrating, ride. But stick with it, it will be well worth it.
JB
- How To Learn Guitar -
