I got a starter guitar for Christmas and want to learn how to play. What’s the best way to learn? I have very basic music ability and knowledge so I’ll need to start slow.

Should I take lessons or are there enough free resources online that will work just as well?

I'd use a combination of both. A real life teacher will keep you honest and more apt to practice, which you should do a little every day. Leave your guitar out of its case to make it more available to just pick up for a few minutes every day.

If you can add to that someplace to find group classes which might end up performing after a while, that'll really up your game.

quote:

Originally posted by cooger:

I got a starter guitar for Christmas and want to learn how to play. What’s the best way to learn? I have very basic music ability and knowledge so I’ll need to start slow.

Should I take lessons or are there enough free resources online that will work just as well?

When I lived in Chicago in the 1970s, there was a great resource: The Old Town School of Folk Music.

They offered classes in just about every discipline imaginable. Things like banjo (at least three styles of playing), mountain dulcimer, autoharp (guest instructor was Brian Bowers, who had an unbelievable mastery of this instrument), and of course, many styles of guitar playing.

In addition to the classes, you could arrange for private lessons / tutoring with many of the instructors.

I decided to learn to play guitar. I listened to many of the instructors and picked the one who played in the style that I wanted to learn, sort of a cross between bluegrass flat picking and Doc Watson style.

We struck a deal. The instructor would teach me to play guitar, and I would teach him to fly.

Turns out that I was a MUCH better teacher than he was. I turned him into a decent pilot, but he was unable to teach me how to play guitar. I sucked, and still do.

quote:

Originally posted by 6guns:
I'd use a combination of both. A real life teacher will keep you honest and more apt to practice, which you should do a little every day. Leave your guitar out of its case to make it more available to just pick up for a few minutes every day.

If you can add to that someplace to find group classes which might end up performing after a while, that'll really up your game.

Yeah, I think at least some live in-person lessons are really helpful.

Learning on your own, even with excellent online video lessons, it is easy to develop bad habits because you don't have the knowledge yet to recognize the stuff you're doing wrong. You really need a good teacher watching you play and telling you what to work on, at least every now and then.

Try to get together with a friend that plays.You'll get the basics and learn some chords. Learn G, C and D and you can play all the country songs lol. Being with a friend can lessen the nervousness and allow you to have fun learning. Depending on your desire you can then get paid lessons. Personally I'd save the internet for later.

I don't remember who the musician was but in an interview he said people always come up to me and say I wish I could play like you. He said, "Well, it takes 8 hours a day, and in twenty years you'll play like me."

One note at a time. My picking style is developed from decades of going my own way, and I'd say work on picking for a few months. Put on sn old Beatles recording and pick around until you find notes that fit with the music.

quote:

Originally posted by goose5:
I don't remember who the musician was but in an interview he said people always come up to me and say I wish I could play like you. He said, "Well, it takes 8 hours a day, and in twenty years you'll play like me."

Sounds like Tommy Emmanuel.

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When I lived in Chicago in the 1970s, there was a great resource: The Old Town School of Folk Music.

This is exactly what I was thinking when I referred to group classes. I've taken many classes at Old Town School and at the end of an eight week session, you play as a class in front of the whole school. THAT will motivate you and get you to practice. It got me so involved with playing and singing, that now I do open mics a few times a month. And I've only been playing for a little less than 8 years.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: 6guns,

cooger,

When I started to learn in 1992, I took lessons at a local small shop. If I had started learning today, I don't think I would take lessons. Just too many online tutorials out there to teach. Fender has a program, there are tab sites such as ultimate-guitar.com and YouTube. I ended up quitting lessons a year or so later because the instructor was more concerned about music theory and playing "properly" when I just wanted to play songs. Final straw was when I wanted to play a particular song and he said to wait, that it was difficult. I quit lessons the next week and have been playing since.

Did you get an electric or acoustic?

V-Tail,

It's still there, but it's been a while since I last visited. Pretty cool music store. Chicago has some really nice guitar shops. Did you try your hand at electric or acoustic?

I’ve been ‘playing’ since I was about 8 but gave it up until about 8 years ago.

There is no real best way, everyone learns at a different rate. I would suggest that you start out with some lessons from an instructor. I took music in school for six years and had several instructors that made sure I didn’t develop bad habits or lazy habits.

Once you get some fundamentals down you can certainly learn on your own and the internet is a great resource but lacks one critical aspect of learning music. You get no feedback. It’s a one-way street which is ok if you want to learn something like a Travis pick or a Nashville tuning.

But for the fundamentals get yourself a good instructor and start right to end right.

I was never taught the fundamentals early on. Just chords. And perhaps that’s enough for most people. But I now take 2 lessons a week and doing a crash course in learning the fretboard, modes and scales, music theory and concepts that create the basis. To me it’s worth it to be able to carry on a conversation with other musicians.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: nhtagmember,

quote:

Originally posted by Edmond:

V-Tail, It's still there, but it's been a while since I last visited. Pretty cool music store. Chicago has some really nice guitar shops. Did you try your hand at electric or acoustic?

Acoustic. I wanted to learn sort of a cross between bluegrass flat picking and Doc Watson style.

Talk about aiming high!

I'm self taught. At least at first - my first steps were to simply get a chord book and learn where my fingers go for a handful of open major and minor chord shapes.

I don't believe you need to pay for this knowledge, unless you are struggling through the process.

Once you know, then take some lessons to learn some songs and strumming techniques.

I'd avoid a teacher that wants you read music - I assume you just want to strum and sing some songs to start.

As previously said, leave the guitar out on a stand. Pick it up regularly, and practice in small increments. 3 minutes 10 times per day is better than 1 30 minute practice session.

The very first thing you should do - learn how to properly tune it. Download an app for this.

Disclosure - I was a guitar teacher in Denver for 15 years.

Someone in person can really help with basic mechanics to avoid bad habits.

Once you can form basic chords and play them somewhat cleanly, you can get a lot of mileage with online sources.

Free:

Justin Guitar - great for beginners
Marty Music on YouTube has more advanced beginner stuff

Paid:

GuitarTricks
JamPlay
Fender Play is said to be very beginner oriented but I have not tried

Advanced paid:
Truefire

All paid option have sales for dramatically less and often have free trial periods

Song tabs on Ultimate Guitar, Youtube, etc. can be very hit or miss, with a lot of misses. I do recommend them though - mostly the basic chord tabs for songs, as I have found playing things that sounds like songs you know will motivate you to play, even if you are only strumming.

If possible, keeping a guitar out and available at all times will encourage you playing more.

The best way to learn is to play every day, even if it is 15 minutes of noodling random stuff that doesn't sound like music.

Personally, I like to sit with an unplugged electric every evening playing scale patterns while watching TV. You don't even need to know anything about pentatonic scales to use the patterns as exercises.

Here is my secret guitar teacher:

It's never been easier to learn. Youtube and various TAB sites makes it exponentially easier than when I was learning by ear, using "play, pause, rewind, pause, play," rinse and repeat.

While there are no short cuts around learning yuor rudiments and chords, you should always work on songs you like, so as to keep you interested. I started taking lessons because of the first Van Halen album. Guess how long I stayed interested at 8 yrs. old, having to play Mary Had a Little Lamb and Proud Mary.

I took up guitar, after a 50 year absence, this past Summer.

I'm utilizing a private instructor, YouTube and some instruction booklets.

I went into my LGS (local guitar store) and asked some questions.

Which of your instructors are considered the most creative? Which of your instructors are the most patient? Do any of your instructors perform?

I interviewed the two provided, selected a very talented/patient/creative young lady. I've been having a blast ever since. One of the first things she asked me to do was choose some songs I would like to learn to play. That was a key element.

It's opened up an entirely new universe for me. I now own an acoustic guitar, bass guitar, mandolin, tremolo harmonica, audio mixer and Reaper Audio mixing software...

I started to play guitar for the first time when I was 63. Our local vocational school has an adult class that runs for 12 weeks 2 hours a week, twice a year. It helps a lot to have a structured teacher that gives you feedback. Sure, you can teach yourself but having that teacher to show you what you are doing helps a lot. The course cost $135. Private lessons from the instructor are $40 per hour.

As mentioned above. Make sure you tune your guitar properly, using an electric tuner of some sort (Snark or similar). And tune to standard, so you can play along with the radio or a CD. It will encourage you to practice more. Just keep at it a little every day, and don’t be afraid to use youtube lessons for beginners. Have fun.

If you can get a class at a local college like qt says, it will help immensely.

I have been playing since 1966. I’ve played large and small venues, and with lots of big name players, and opened for lots of big groups. I think it will be lots more fun to learn the fundamentals and play a few tunes sooner than later.

The gent below mentions tuning by ear which is good, but I quit doing that since it’s hard to do in a noisey environment. Songs you want to play are sometimes done in odd tunings and keys, but are the exception rather than the rule, and are easy to transpose into a key you can more easily play. The more you practice the better you get. It also depends if you are going to play folk music, country, rock etc. If you get too serious it takes the fun away.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: greco,

Actually, I would strongly recommend learning how to tune your guitar by ear, learning how to ID perfect 4ths and 5ths and how to tune perfectly from a single reference note. You will need to learn this stuff anyway, might as well start off with it the right way. I play in a band with another guitar play who can play ok, but can only tune with his tuner, which I think is inaccurate. I can hear a difference of one hertz and it sounds like a chain in a garbage can to my ears.

Furthermore, many of your favorite songs will not be in perfect 440. Even those that were recorded that way will be +/- a few hertz when they are converted to CD or other formats. Plenty of stuff will be in Eb, as in most old VH and GnR. Stones tunes have all kinds of open tunings and plenty Led Zep tunes do too.

Anyway, you will be a better player if you learn to develop your ear early on. You will be able to pick out things you had never heard before. And let's face it - TAB is very rarely 100% correct. It can usually point you in the right direction, but you need a good ear to really nail it. Youtube makes this a little easier, but even a lot of those are not tuned well or don't show TAB.

quote:

Originally posted by Rick Lee:
I play in a band with another guitar play who can play ok, but can only tune with his tuner, which I think is inaccurate. I can hear a difference of one hertz and it sounds like a chain in a garbage can to my ears.

Possibly your friend has a crappy tuner, doesn't know how to use it, or just doesn't know how to tune a guitar. A good tuner (Sonic Research Turbo Tuner or one of the many Peterson strobe units) will tune better than 0.1 cents, meaning within 1/1000th of a half step/semitone which is WAY less than 1 Hz at guitar frequencies. The low E on a guitar is 82.4 Hz and E# is 87.3 so one of the aforementioned tuners will tune the low E string within 5/1000 = 1/200th of a Hz. At the high E string the interval is 4 times larger so better than 1/50th of a Hz.