Advice on How to Start Playing Guitar

By: Michiel Van Kets

[ Posted On: 2009-04-08 ]

Learning to play an acoustic or electric guitar is the ambition of many people, young as old, but it will take a lot of practice and patience that not all of us have. Learning to play guitar should be enjoyable fun, you will find plenty of helpful tips with free chords and music to be found online that can get you started.

As a beginner, there is no need to go out and buy an expensive model straight away, wait until you have learnt enough to be able to play it with some degree of proficiency and developed your style before splashing out.

Motivation and enthusiasm is central to acquiring any new skill, you will need to learn how to hold the instrument in the correct fashion, replace strings and to learn the chords. Practice daily and you will gain improvement fast. Once you have acquired a few basic chords you can start to play some popular songs making the whole experience much more rewarding.

Finding the right method to learning the guitar will depend on your budget, time and situation. Look in the local paper for a music teacher offering private lessons, teach yourself from a book, buy a software program, or just get a friend to show you a few chords. Another alternative is to buy a book and teach you or look online for fretting chords and some simple to play songs.

First off you should learn some basic chords. These are quite easy to practice by yourself, buy a book or a chord chart from your local music shop and sooner than you think you will be able to play your favorite songs. When forming the chords it’s important to press down hard otherwise the note won’t sound as it should. The fingers used to form the chords are known as your fret fingers. This will be uncomfortable to start off with as the strings dig into your fingertips, but after a few weeks your fingertips will toughen up and you won’t notice. Practice moving from one chord to another until it becomes quite easy to do, and re-arrange the order you play them too.

A person serious about learning the guitar would need to give it an hour or so every day. Practice makes perfect as they say!

After you have mastered a few chords move onto learning some easy songs as this will make it as lot more interesting and fun than simply playing the same chords over and over again. Sheet music can be bought quite cheaply from your local music shop or go online and get it for free.

Online you can find plenty of good websites providing music and song sheets. Free guitar tabs, free guitar chords, strumming patterns and advice on a DIY pedalboard are just some of the things you will find online. If you don’t know how to string a guitar you can also look online for tips, or ask for advice at your local music shop.

Not everyone has the patience needed to learn to play guitar so if you do find yourself enjoying it then don’t give up, keep trying. You could always employ the services of a music teacher to start you off. They will often design a course of study specifically for you, or you could consider joining a local class and meet some new friends in the same time.

Article Source: http://www.afroarticles.com/article-dashboard

About The Author: Michiel Van Kets provides article services for Rob Hampton who manages Heartwood Guitar, a company offering lessons on acoustic or electric guitar to both children and adults. For information on guitar & bass lessons, free guitar tabs and music & guitar blog please visit the website.

| View Profile & All Articles By: Michiel Van Kets |

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