7/15/07

THE FIVE BEST TIPS ON LEARNING HOW TO PLAY A GUITAR

If you have ever wanted to learn to a guitar, you are not alone! Knowing guitar can make you a well liked commodity anytime friends are gathered together. Nothing is quite as much fun as a sing-along. Besides, as musical instruments go, it's very easy to learn to play a guitar. Here are the five top tips.

1. Decide on the sort of guitar instruction you prefer.

What sort of guitar do you want to play? There are basic similarities, so if you learn on an electric guitar or an acoustic guitar, you can swap a lot of what you know over to the other type. If you want to learn how to play bass guitar though, you really need guitar instructions meant for for the bass guitar.

2. Don't expect overnight sucess.

In many ways, a guitar is an easy instrument to grasp, because if you master two or three chords and easy strumming rhythm, you can accompany yourself on many tunes right from the beginning. Alternatively, you can spend your whole lifetime learning how to play guitar, because there is always another skill for you to master. So don't get discouraged in the early stages.

3. Find yourself a guitar "teacher."

Perhaps you would learn how to play the guitar best with a flesh and blood teacher in the room with you. Alternatively, your best teacher might be yourself! Many good guitarists taught themselves to play using only a book of chords or a few instructions from a friend. The computer has made it even easier though, because now you can access a teacher any time of day or night, and have those techniques demonstrated visually and audibly through video. Those of us who get worried and frustrated trying to perform in front of a live person really could do with a virtual teacher.

4. Make yourself get past the initial soreness.

If you're learning how to play electric guitar, this might not be as much of an issue. Electric guitars are easier on the chording fingers than acoustic guitars are. Either way, your first challenge will be sore fingers. If you practice your chords every day, however, you will develop hard skin that makes playing guitar completely painless. Know though that if you don't play for a while, you will lose those calluses and get sore fingers again when you pick it back up.

5. Practice often, practice often, practice often!

When you've learned a few basics, find a garage band or other musicians that you can play with regularly Jamming with others forces you to grow as a guitar player and is a good way of getting valuable guitar lessons. Alternatively, if you practice alone, you will create your own special style. Whichever is good for you, just take time and practice!

Thank you to Ian D. Major

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