Most people are capable of learning to play the guitar on their own, although many beginners give up too quickly. Often, beginners quit playing, explaining this by lack of time or pain in their fingers. And the problem is that they just don't practice enough. This page may not give you more time to practice, but it will show you how to successfully become a reasonably good guitarist without spending expensive textbooks.
Steps
-
Enjoy your new guitar playing skills!
- If you have a friend who is an experienced guitarist, try meeting him once a week to play together. Even though he or she plays a lot better, you'll only save the time it usually takes to learn guitar by simply playing next to him, watching him play, and learning from him.
- Explore a few ways to test the slenderness of your game. It may take time to develop an ear for music.
- Pay a little more for a good guitar. If you're thinking about buying your first guitar but aren't sure if you'll enjoy playing it or have the time to practice, buy an inexpensive guitar. If you decide to keep learning, it will be possible to buy a more expensive guitar within your budget. But make sure it's not too cheap. Some guitars can cause you to lose your enjoyment of playing. It is very important to consider the distance between the strings and the fretboard. If the strings are far from the fretboard, then to get a good sound, you have to press the strings harder, which will lead to pain and frustration.
- Use nylon strings until your fingers are stiff enough to use regular steel strings as they are lighter on your fingers.
- Instead of practicing longer and less often, try to practice for a short time but often. In doing so, your brain will be able to memorize chords and melodies faster. It will also keep your fingers safe when you start playing the guitar.
- Don't be too hard on yourself if you don't understand chords. Remember, this is your first time. Just take your time and learn slowly. You will acquire skills one way or another.
- Try to change the strings regularly - once a month if you practice regularly every day. You will be amazed at the improvement in sound.
- If you're looking for an alternative to online courses or want to find more sources for learning guitar, the public library also has a great selection of guitar books.
- Collect tablature of different guitarists. You'll find free tablature online on the first page of search results with a 99 percent chance. Type the title of the song, the name of the musician, and the words "guitar tablature" in the search box. You will have a wide choice regardless of the genre. If you like them, then you can play them.
- If you have an audio editor - GarageBand or , then you can select only part of the song to study. It helps a lot.
- It's easy to learn the basics of guitar playing with the help of the above. If you encounter serious difficulties, then you will need the experience and knowledge of a professional teacher. This page is in no way suggesting that the tutors are useless. This page is just to help you get started.
- If you are left-handed, you must choose your guitar especially carefully. A left-handed guitar will be more natural to you and may be the right choice. However, if you can force yourself to learn right-handed guitar, you will have a lot more choice and be able to swap guitars with other guitarists. You don't have to mentally flip the image of the chord to fit your fretboard. After all, both hands should be doing a fairly precise job. You need to avoid choosing one type so that you don't regret your choice.
- Try using video guitar lessons on TocarGuitar websites. YouTube, Songsterr and ultimate Guitar.
- Make notes about how you feel and how well you play every time you practice. If you practice daily, you will notice a big difference every day.
- Choose songs to practice strategically. This resource will teach you how to do it Nobsguitar Newsletter. Most of the ways involve striving for some use of technique and theory from one song to another. Choose parts that you love and can play, and parts that challenge your playing skills.
- Try to keep notes of your exercises to track your development. Because you can't tell the immediate difference, you can find amazing gains that you've made in a fairly short period of time.
- Try to accompany someone singing or playing. This will help develop your technique, rhythm and ear. If you work with other guitarists, try to avoid simple copying.
Warnings
- Play the many different guitars you can find in major guitar specialty stores before buying. There are hundreds of guitars in these major stores and you can choose the one that suits you best. Don't let pushy salespeople put pressure on you to buy something when you don't have a choice. Don't get too embarrassed when playing in front of people.
- Never install steel strings on a classical guitar. Classical guitars will not match the tension of steel strings. The strings are bent or will break the neck, soundboard, or fretboard. The hulls are built differently and are not interchangeable. You can use nylon strings on an acoustic guitar, but the sound will sound softer, less shiny, and more subdued.
- Feel free to play in front of other, more experienced guitarists. They were once at your level, and most of them remember what it was like. They also love to share and showcase their playing to up-and-coming musicians.
- Watch the angle of your left wrist. Since you are self-taught, you will not have a teacher telling you that you are holding your wrist incorrectly. If you bend it too much, you can seriously injure yourself. Keep it straight! If you're unsure, show your technique to someone experienced and ask about proper wrist placement.
- To prevent your hand from getting hurt, control your calluses. Sand your fingertips several times a week. Polishing and buffing your calluses is important. Over time, the outermost layer of skin will begin to separate. Be sure to polish the calluses then, or the string may get stuck in the open recess of the callus when the chord changes.
- Buy an electric guitar tuner. You'll save a lot of string sets and be careful when tuning, especially the first string.
- Playing the guitar can hurt your fingers. You can put some ice in a bowl of water and soak your fingertips for a minute, or just pour cold water over them. This will prevent blisters and hasten the growth of calluses. Wait a while after soaking before playing.
Search the Internet and select the appropriate instructions. There are hundreds of websites on the Internet offering free lessons, many of which are very well designed and can be applied to your daily practice. There you will find comprehensive answers to your questions.
Learn to distinguish a good musician from a bad one. If you can play as well as your favorite musician after a few weeks, try emulating a more skilled musician.
Learn the tool. Learn the names and functions of guitar parts. Understand their interaction to extract sounds. Understand how sound is produced by the guitar, how string tension affects sound. The half hour spent on this basic understanding will be repaid many times over in the course of your practice and play.
Learn to play chords in different positions. There are 10 different hand positions on the fretboard in which you can play a C chord. Start with a pure C chord, but the more ways you learn how to play a chord, the more flexibility you will have in moving from one chord to the next. It may also come in handy if you decide to try composing music.
Practice daily (at least 5 days a week) for at least half an hour. If you want to learn fast, you must fill your brain with guitar. This includes ear training to understand the pitch and intonation of sounds, comfortable positioning of your body (including legs, back, shoulders and hand position), right hand technique for sound production, and left hand technique for sound control. The most important thing is to train the muscle memory of the hands on the bar.
Practice chords and hand positions without sound while watching TV or talking to a friend. Left hand muscle memory training is much more difficult than right hand muscle memory training (excluding string picking). You don't have to use your right hand at all, just play around with your left hand many different chords. TV or conversation will help you avoid looking at your hands too often. But when you're learning chords, you need to be careful about the position of your fingers and hand so that muscle memory retains the correct position. Over time, look at your fingers less often, but still check the placement of the hand. Gradually, your confidence in the correct setting will grow, and you will not have to look at your hands so often.
Build up calluses on your fingertips. It hurts. But as soon as the calluses appear, the pain you once felt will disappear. The more you practice, the faster it will happen. There are callus builders you can buy.
Learn barre chords along with open chords. Don't skip barre chords though they are harder to play. As with building up calluses, playing barre chords becomes easier as you practice. The playing of barre chords depends almost entirely on the strength of the left hand.
Exercise your left arm muscles by repeatedly squeezing a tennis ball or similar object for 5 minutes several times a day. (Be careful, this can lead to overvoltage).
Allow yourself to be upset. It's unavoidable. This is fine. A chord that you've been trying to play clean for days or weeks will eventually sound clear and beautiful. Keep working on it. Repeat until you're sure the chord sounds great.
Practice. Practice. Practice. "Practice makes perfection." And it's not just grandmother's tales. Practicing, fight for quality. If you practice carelessly, you will perpetuate bad habits forever. A better aphorism might actually be "Practice makes consistency." Just as athletes spin their kettlebells by focusing on a particular part of the body, you can play passages by focusing on various aspects - tone, fluidity, speed, accuracy. By focusing on different aspects of the music separately, you can improve your skills and improve your playing!
Play along with the CD the songs you like. A CD player is a great device for practicing music because it's easy to rewind a CD and repeat even very small parts of a song.
Start playing songs. There are two ways to record music for the guitar. One notation technique is called sheet music and the other is called tablature. Find articles online. The ability to read both ways of writing is extremely valuable.
Play different types of guitar. Start learning bass, play classical guitar, play tenor guitar, play electric guitar. You will be familiar with the sounds of various guitars.
It's famously to take guitar chords, to be the center of attention of any company - many people dream of this. How to learn to play the guitar, how difficult and long is the process, can you do it yourself?
Where to begin?
To begin with, decide for what purpose you want to learn how to play the guitar? If you intend to become a professional musician, then you cannot do without serious and long preparation. Then you have a direct road to a music school or private lessons with a good teacher.
But, most likely, you just dream of learning how to play your favorite tunes, as they say, for the soul - to please your friends at gatherings and parties.
Then you will have to master the basics of guitar science on your own. There are good old printed tutorials, there are also more modern options - video lessons, master classes on the Internet offering guitar chords for popular songs for beginners, as well as online guitar schools.
Look through the different options and choose the one that suits you better - a detailed step-by-step guide that is clear and accessible.
The course of study you choose should focus on beginners and build on the principle from simple to complex.
How to choose a guitar
You can rent an instrument from a friend, but it's better to have your own. Experienced guitarists advise: to learn how to play the guitar, start with its classical version. Although some game masters recommend acoustics.
Nylon strings are suitable for beginners - they are easier to press with untrained fingers and there will be less inevitable pain. You will switch to metal strings when you have already mastered the playing technique a little. The sound from them is brighter, louder and more expressive. You need to take the thinnest, designed for acoustic guitar.
How to learn to play the guitar - learning steps
First you need to learn the basic things:
- correct fit - on the edge of the chair, without bending your back, substituting a chair under your left leg;
- the ability to hold a musical instrument;
- the ability to relax the right hand and freely own it;
- proper possession of the left hand, which will cover the neck (the thumb is always held parallel to the frets, they should not press hard on the neck).
Strings and fret numbers
Learn the strings and fret numbers on the guitar. Start doing exercises, for example: take the first string of the third fret with the first finger of your left hand, hook the string with your right thumb to extract sound.
Do the same on the other string and the other fret. At first, the fingers will hurt, but you will have to be patient.
Learning chords
Learn the chords that are the basis of any melody, all songs are built on them. Learn basic major and minor chords.
Simple melodies
When you have learned a few chords, try to practice them on simple songs: “A grasshopper sat in the grass”, “A pack of cigarettes”, “Gypsy”, a melody from the movie “Boomer”.
Fixing chords on songs is much more interesting than just repeating them mechanically. You should feel inspired and rewarded by your first guitar skills.
Reading tablature and fingerings
Learn to read tablature and fingering. Tablature is used to record music. You should master Guitar Pro, a notation editor that is designed to create, edit and listen to guitar tablature and sheet music.
Fingerings are diagrams showing the location of the fingers on the frets and strings of the guitar. Fingering helps to understand the picture of a piece of music and learn it faster.
Busts and barre
Learn open chords, basic guitar strumming and picking, barre chords. If the training is successful, you develop the technique of playing, improve the types of accompaniment, the art of improvisation can become a further stage.
Music theory
The basics of guitar mastery have been mastered and this is quite enough for you - then musical theory, in general, is not required. But if you want to improve your skills, then knowledge of notes, intervals, tempo and rhythm does not hurt.
The ability to play the guitar will not come by itself. It will take patience, perseverance and daily practice. Some will get it faster, some will have to spend more effort. The main thing is not to despair when something does not work out, but to train your skills.
To learn how to play a popular instrument, how much time per day is it better to devote to classes?
At the beginning of training, during the first month, you can study for half an hour, but no less. Then - for an hour, one and a half - depending on how much free time you have.
After 3 months of hard work, you will be able to demonstrate simple melodies to your friends, but these will only be the first steps (using some chords, simple enumeration).
Experienced guitarists say that it takes about a year for most people to master the guitar at the most elementary level.
In addition, how soon you can learn to play the guitar depends on your musical abilities, the presence or absence of training - those who know how to play the piano will master the guitar faster than those who start from scratch.
If you are planning a more serious level of play, then you need patience and persistent training. This process will take from two years or more, depending on what heights of guitar skill you are striving for. You can hardly do without classes with professional teachers. 
It is useful, when learning to play the guitar, to train the muscle memory of the hands. You can do this while watching TV or chatting with a friend, practicing chords and hand positions, especially the left hand (it is more difficult to train).
You are lucky if you have a friend or a good acquaintance from whom you can learn the skill of playing an instrument. Meet him at least once a week, just watch his technique, try to play together.
Learned a few tunes - play to your friends, let them appreciate, criticize, if necessary, and you will have an incentive to move on.
Complex tricks of the game may not be useful to you. Don't waste time learning them, better train the basic skills that you will use when playing the guitar.
Learn to play along with the metronome to feel the tempo and rhythm of the music. The metronome will teach you how to control the movement of your hands and how to play the sound at the right time.
Do not be upset by the first failures and do not force things. Haste is absolutely useless if you seriously decide to learn how to play the guitar. Learn the game at your own pace, no need to move on to more complex things if you have not mastered simple tricks enough.
Step by step, patiently and persistently - this is your path to success. But at the same time, do not forget that learning to play the guitar should be fun.
Although the process is not easy and is accompanied by failures and disappointments (temporary, of course!), But you should like it. Otherwise, why all this work and experience?!
It is very easy for a person who plays the guitar to become the soul of the company. Would you like to express yourself? To do this, it is enough to learn how to produce melodic sounds from six strings. If there is absolutely no time for a music school or for lessons from a specialist, you should try to master the instrument at home. You will need to stock up on patience, perseverance and a little inspiration will not hurt.
To get started, you need a tool. If you go to the store for a new guitar, call a knowledgeable person with you. There are many features that you may not pay attention to, but the connoisseur will notice. It's a good idea to set up the instrument right there and try to play it. It is advisable to choose a guitar adapted to metal strings. But it's not worth starting with them. They require a lot of effort when pressed and as a result pierce the skin. Synthetic strings are pretty good to start with. Their duration is more modest, but the fingers from them are less vulnerable. Subsequently, when the skin becomes rough, replace them with metal ones. Get ready for the fact that you will need a lot of time. Classes should not be suspended even for a day. Having hearing makes the task much easier, but it is not a prerequisite. Anyone can learn how to play. The weight of the guitar during playing is transferred to the right knee, and the soundboard is held on top with the right hand. As for the left hand, it should be absolutely free. The strings are numbered from bottom to top. A neck is attached to the body, with a head at the base. On it you can find the pegs on which the strings are wound. The neck itself is divided by narrow strips into intervals - frets. Their numbering starts from the side of the head towards the body. The fret located near the head is called the first.
It is difficult to imagine a musical instrument that would be more popular than a guitar. Contrary to popular misconceptions, playing it is not as difficult as people used to think. Of course, it will take years to comprehend all the subtleties and nuances, but you can master the most basic techniques in 1-2 months, and in a couple of months you will be able to confidently play the songs of your favorite bands. So how do you learn to play electric guitar?
In general, learning to play a conventional acoustic guitar is not much different from learning to play an electric guitar, but of course there are a few differences. Acoustic and electric guitars have different sound production techniques. The electric guitar is most often played with a pick, while the acoustic guitar is played with the fingers. And if on acoustics playing with a mediator is also possible, then on an electric guitar you can’t really play with your fingers, because your fingers are not able to give such a sound as with a mediator. This is to the question of whether it is possible to learn to play the electric guitar, and not the acoustic.
Misconception #1
In order to learn how to play, it is not necessary to spend money on an expensive and good instrument. On the contrary, if you learn on a low-quality guitar, when you switch to a more intelligent instrument, it will be much easier to play.
This is a fairly common misconception among beginner guitarists looking for an instrument. It is dictated either by banal greed, or no less banal ignorance. As you know, a miser pays twice.
The professionalism of a guitarist is never measured by the degree to which he is able to play the instrument. Poor-quality guitars very often have protruding, unpolished frets, an uncomfortable neck, which can lead to incorrect hand positioning and even injuries (it’s not easy to scratch on bad frets, but very easy, especially when you play something fast).
Such guitars often sound bad, and this is fraught with injury to your hearing, and it is more difficult to restore it than scratched fingers. You also don’t need to buy name branded guitars of famous guitarists, because it’s far from a fact that you will definitely decide to realize yourself in this area further.
Now a quality tool for a beginner can be purchased at a very affordable price. For an electric guitar, it ranges from 8 to 15 thousand rubles. We will talk more about how to learn to play the electric guitar and choose your instrument in this article.
Misconception #2
I won't be able to learn to play the guitar because I have no hearing.
Everyone has a rumor. It's just that for someone it can be better and sharper, and for someone it is not sufficiently developed. Hearing can always be developed, since there are many exercises on the Web for this.
Another similar misconception: It's hard to learn how to play electric guitar without hearing. Yes, if for some reason you do not want or cannot improve your ear for music, you will not be able to pick up a melody by ear or transfer it from sound, but you can play without it - by notes or tablature.
Misconception #3
You have to sing along with the guitar, but I can't.
Is it difficult to learn how to play the electric guitar without singing? Maybe this misconception makes sense in the circle of non-professional guitarists, but at its core it is complete nonsense. If you want to sing and accompany yourself on an instrument - you are welcome, if you don’t want to - also no problem, focus on technique, on the complexity of the music itself.
Very often one can observe how the performance of complex and beautiful passages and melodies causes a very restrained reaction from people who are ignorant of music, and from three "thieves" chords that can be mastered in three days, if not less, the crowd is delighted.
Try not to pay attention to this, if you play really well, musicians will speak positively about your work, and their comments are much more important for professional growth than the reviews of mothers, grandmothers, friends, etc. Never let anyone reproach you for being unprofessional due to the fact that you play an independent part and do not sing - the opinion of the person who made such a remark to you should not have any influence on you.
Tool selection
The price is never the quality, but the chance to buy for 20 thousand is much more than for 5. Check with your familiar guitarists. For starters, you can choose an electric guitar for a small price, but a well-known and trusted brand.
- Epiphone;
- Ibanez;
- Fender squier;
- Yamaha;
- Jackson.
Take a tuner to the store, tune the instrument, check that all the strings sound and do not mow up or down in sound. Run your hand along the side of the fretboard to see how well the frets are polished, twist the pegs. Make sure that you like the guitar in terms of color and shape, this is a very important psychological point: a nice-looking instrument will provide motivation for learning.
First steps
You bought your first instrument, brought it home, unpacked it, sat on the sofa and thought about how to quickly learn how to play the electric guitar.
First, set it up, even if the store has already set it up. A tuner is used for tuning, it can be purchased at the same music store. Take the guitar in your hands in the way that is comfortable for you, the main thing is that you do not experience discomfort in the muscles of your arms and back.
Connect the guitar to the combo amplifier, if there is none, for the first time you can download a special program on your PC that replaces it and connect the guitar to it. No need to rush to find the notes of your favorite songs and solos, for now you can still play them, but scales and simple melodies can be learned to play. On an electric guitar, the principle of learning is slightly different from acoustics, but in general there is nothing complicated there.
Extraction with the right hand
The strings on the frets are clamped with the left hand in order to change the pitch of the sound, and with the right hand this same sound is extracted, this is how all guitarists play: both right-handed and left-handed. There are special left-handed guitars, where the opposite is true, but as practice shows, they play well on right-handed models, besides, left-handed guitars are a bit more expensive.
Position your right hand so that the forearm rests on the curve of the guitar, and the hand itself hangs over the strings like a twig. With your thumb, try to extract the sound from the highest sixth string. To do this, simply gently pull the string down and slightly away from you. The sixth, fifth and fourth strings are considered bass strings: the sound is extracted from them with the thumb. The index finger is responsible for the third string, the middle finger for the second, and the ring finger for the first.
The extraction of sound from the lower strings occurs as follows: with the pad of your finger, you pull the string from the bottom up and a little towards yourself. To fix the extraction with your right hand, you can play busts. The simplest is played like this: sixth string, third, second, first, second, third. Don't forget that each string is "attached" to a specific finger.
Such enumeration is used in the intro of Metallica's Nothing Else Matters. After two weeks of practice, when you feel more confident with the instrument, you can try to learn the intro of this song in full. A beginner is not advised to go further than the introduction, since in this song there is a barre technique that can cause difficulties for a beginner. Other iterations:
- bass (sixth, fifth or fourth), third, second, third, first, third, second, third;
- bass, first, second, third;
- bass, third, second + first (pull at the same time), third;
- bass, third + second + first.
Extraction with the left hand
The thumb is located behind the neck of the guitar and is pressed against it, as if leaning. It’s not worth pressing it on purpose, it will adhere to the neck itself when you start playing. Form a kind of dome from the brush, as if holding an apple. The strings should be pressed with the pads of the fingers so that when pressed, the finger retains its shape, does not blur along the fretboard, and does not turn out.
Important: do not press with the pads that we see when we look at our palm from the back, but with those that we see when we look under the nails. All fingers of the left hand should produce sound of the same quality.
Exercise for the left hand
- "Snake" - you pinch a string with your index finger, extract a sound with your right hand, then clamp the next fret on the same string with your middle finger, without releasing your index finger, and again extract the sound. As a result, all 4 fingers should be in a line on the string. Then we do the opposite: we remove the little finger, we extract the sound, we remove the nameless one, we extract it, and so on.
- "Spider" - the beginning is the same as in the "snake", but after all our fingers are on the string, we do not remove them, and transfer the index finger to the string higher, but in the same fret, while the rest of the fingers remain on the same line. So alternately rearranging the fingers "crawl" up, and then also "slide down." Make sure that in these exercises all the notes sound clear, do not rattle, press the strings tightly. Gradually increase the pace.
How to read tablature?
Every guitarist who thinks about how to learn to play the electric guitar from scratch also thinks about what he should play. You can do this either by notes or by tablature. There is nothing complicated in musical notation in itself, but few people manage to understand it on their own, the teacher’s explanation would be the most successful option: this is the question of where to learn to play the electric guitar.
Tablature is much easier to use. It has six rulers, the top one being the thinnest string. On these rulers there are numbers indicating the frets. Thus, we see from which string and at which fret we need to extract the sound. The only significant disadvantage of tablature is that it is almost impossible to follow the rhythm on them. Yes, the creators of the tablature try to compensate for this in every possible way: they make spaces between the numbers where there are longer notes, but you won’t be able to follow the rhythm the way you would by notes, by tablature.
What should a newbie play?
- Pop rock bands like Imagine Dragons, Green Day, 30 Seconds to mars, Sum 41 - their songs are very simple and suitable for getting your hands on.
- More classical stuff like Scorpions, AC/DC songs. You don't have to take complicated solos, you can just learn some riffs.
- If you want something more complicated, then you can pay attention to Metallica and Megadeth (before four months of training, it makes no sense to start these songs). Nothing else matters, Fade to black, Muster of puppets (very beautiful solo, it's easy and your listeners will appreciate it), Enter sandman, Trust, Promise (one of the few Megadeth ballads).
Many people can learn to play the guitar on their own, but it is very common for beginners to drop out due to finger pain or lack of time. The solution to the problem is to increase practice. This article will help you figure out how to become a successful guitarist without spending a lot on the services of a professional guitar teacher and expensive textbooks.
Stages
- Find the right instructions online. Most of the free lessons are well structured and easy to use. Hundreds of sites with free lessons will provide answers to a variety of questions in learning to play the guitar.
- Learn to distinguish between good and bad musicians. If you don't know how to learn to play the guitar on your own, then start by imitating your favorite musician. If within a few weeks or months you have learned to play like an idol, find a more qualified musical role model that you will aspire to next.
- Learn the guitar as a musical instrument: the names, functions of its parts and their interaction with each other. Determine how the sound is produced and how it depends on the tension of the string. Half an hour of time spent on studying the basic theoretical provisions will be reimbursed many times in the future during your independent practical training.
- Try different positions to play chords. For example, the C chord is played with 10 different hand positions on the fretboard. You should start with a clean chord, gradually gaining more flexibility as you transition between chords. This skill will benefit you if you start composing music yourself.
- Ensure a systematic study. For example, devote half an hour to learning the game 5 days a week. Mandatory aspects are ear training for intonation and pitch recognition, comfortable body positioning, sound production with the right hand, and sound control with the left hand. We should also not forget about the muscle memory of the hands on the neck.
- Practice your hand positions and silent chords as you go about your daily activities. The muscle memory of the left hand is more difficult to respond to training than the memory of the right hand. You can do without the right hand, repeatedly going over different chords with the left. While talking with a friend or watching TV, you can not be distracted by your hands. Gradually, the desire to look at the hands while playing the guitar will be reduced to zero.
- Get calluses on your fingertips. Of course, this is somewhat painful, but with the appearance of calluses, the pain associated with playing the guitar will disappear. On sale you can find special devices for building corns.
- Along with open chords, practice barre chords, which are more difficult to play than normal chords. Over time, playing barre chords will become easier, but for this it is imperative to develop the strength of the left hand as well.
- To train the muscles of the left hand, use a tennis ball. Squeeze it in your hand several times a day. Try to avoid overexertion during this exercise.
- When answering the question of how to learn to play the guitar on your own, allow yourself to sometimes get upset and criticize your guitar playing skills. Constantly work on the clarity of the sound of the chord by repeatedly playing it until it plays perfectly. Sometimes it may take from several days to several months.
- Practice, practice and nothing but practice. As an athlete hones his skill by increasing the weight of kettlebells, try to get rid of bad habits in matters of guitar playing during practice sessions and improve your skills, improve the overall quality of your playing: accuracy, fluency, speed and tone. At different times, focus your attention on one aspect in order to achieve the perfect sound and be able to constantly hone your skills.
- Play your favorite songs on the disc and play along with them. Any section of the song can be rewound and replayed again in order to achieve the correct playing of this fragment.
- Play songs. Learn both ways to record music for guitar - sheet music and tablature. The ability to read these ways is valuable.
- Try playing different guitars. Use classical guitar, bass, tenor, electric guitar to achieve this goal. So you can get acquainted with the sound of different types of guitars.
- Get real pleasure from your own guitar playing skills!
- If you know a guitarist, try to play with him at least once a week. So you can improve your skills and learn something new. Even if he plays much better than you, you can always learn something new from him by looking at his game or playing next to him.
- Learn different ways to test your guitar's harmony to help develop your musical ear.
- Stop your choice on a good guitar. In case you are not sure if you can do it or enjoy playing the guitar, choose an inexpensive guitar. If you keep learning, you will be able to buy a more expensive guitar that your budget will allow. But still, you should not stop at cheap guitars. Some models of guitars can simply deprive you of the pleasure of the process of playing. An important criterion for choosing a guitar is the distance between the neck and the strings. If the distance is long, it will take a lot of effort to get a good sound.
- Opt for nylon strings as a starting point in learning to play the guitar until your fingers are stiff enough to play regular steel strings.
- Instead of long and infrequent exercises, choose shorter, but more frequent exercises. This mode contributes to the rapid memorization of melodies and chords. In addition, the fingers will not experience severe strain.
- Learn slowly, don't rush. Don't criticize yourself for not knowing chords. Remember that there is a first time for everything in life. One way or another, you will come to obtain the necessary skills to play the guitar.
- If you play daily, try to stick to a monthly string change schedule. This will allow you to achieve clear, high-quality sound.
- When looking for additional sources of learning other than online courses, look to libraries, which have a wide selection of books and pamphlets on the subject.
- Collect tablature of various guitarists. You will most likely find free tablature on the first pages of search engines. Enter in the search the name of the musician, the name of the song and the query "tablature for guitar". The system will offer a large selection of musical works of any genre you are interested in. You can start learning your favorite song.
- Using the audio editor helps you select the desired fragment of the song to study. For example, Audacity or GarageBand are good helpers.
- With the help of the above, it is quite easy to learn how to play the guitar on your own. In case of serious difficulties, you can turn to the help of a professional teacher, whom you can ask a variety of questions about the technique of performance, chords and work on the skill of playing the guitar.
- Left-handers should be especially careful when choosing a guitar. The most optimal option is a left-handed guitar, but the choice of right-handed guitars is more diverse. Also, there is no need to display the chord in order to match the fretboard of a left-handed guitar. Each hand must do a precise and definite job. It is necessary to finally make your choice and subsequently not regret it.
- Don't forget to improve your guitar playing skills by watching video tutorials on YouTube, ultimate Guitar, TocarGuitar, Songsterr.
- After each practice session, write down how well you are doing, how you feel about the game. In the case of daily classes, the difference and positive dynamics will be visible.
- Use a strategic path in selecting songs for practice. This can be done using the Nobsguitar Newsletter resource. Many methods involve using the theory and technique from one song in the next. Pick the parts of the songs that are already playing perfect and fill them in with the parts that still need to be worked on.
- In order to view the dynamics of your development, keep records of your practical exercises. Daily progress is not very noticeable, but in a fairly short period of time you will notice a huge difference in the quality of performance.
- For the development of technique, rhythm and ear, it is good to accompany someone's game or singing. Avoid regular copying when working with other guitarists. Try to hone your individual playing technique and constantly improve your skills.
Warnings
- Before purchasing a guitar, play the instruments that are available in specialized guitar stores. Among hundreds of guitars you can choose the most suitable for you. Try to reduce the pressure of sellers in choosing a guitar if the assortment is small. Don't feel embarrassed playing in front of other people. Visit several stores, evaluate the options you like and focus on one of them.
- Never use steel strings on a classical guitar, otherwise the strings will not be properly tensioned. The bridge, soundboard, or neck may break or bend. The cases have a different structure and are not interchangeable. It is possible to use nylon strings on an acoustic guitar, but this will give the sound softness, less brilliance and more subdued sound.
- Feel free to play in front of people around you, including experienced guitarists. Once they had the same level of skill as you now, so they perfectly remember their feelings. They are very fond of demonstrating their playing skills in front of novice musicians.
- Pay special attention while playing the corner of the left wrist, since you are striving for the goal of learning to play the guitar on your own, without the help of a teacher, then there will be no one to tell you about the wrong position. You can get seriously injured if you bend your wrist too much. You need to keep it straight! If you are not sure about the correct position, it is better to consult with more experienced musicians about the correct setting of the wrist.
- Try to control your calluses. This will help protect your hand from various injuries and injuries. Spend some time sanding your fingertips several times a week. A very important point is the grinding and polishing of existing corns. Separation of the outermost layer of the skin occurs over a long period of time. Be sure to take the time to polish the calluses, otherwise when you change the chord in the open recess of the callus, the string may become stuck.
- Find an opportunity to purchase an electric guitar tuner. This will save you a lot of string sets and will increase your attention to detail when it comes to tuning. This is especially true for the first string.
- Playing the guitar can lead to finger injuries. You can pour cold water over your fingers or hold your fingertips in a bowl with pieces of ice placed there for a minute. This will prevent blisters and will help increase calluses. You should wait some time after the procedure before starting the game.
Accessories needed for independent learning to play the guitar:
- tuning block;
- guitar;
- books and pamphlets for playing the guitar.
