How To Learn To Play Guitar -A Complete Guide
How To Learn To Play Guitar -A Complete GuideÂ
The guitar is a fantastically versatile instrument that many wish to learn, but few take the plunge into. You have probably seen someone play a beautiful tune on their guitar and thought, “I’d love to learn how to do that”. Well, the good news is that there is no magical talent needed to become a guitar player. All you need is the correct guitar, plenty of patience and a whole lot of practice. So, if you are wondering how to learn to play guitar then we suggest starting small and taking it slow. Don’t try to learn all at once, take it step by step and you will progress quicker than you think.
1. Get Yourself a GuitarÂ
Before you start learning how to play guitar you are going to need a guitar to practice on. An acoustic guitar is perfect for beginners since you don’t need any special equipment to plug in and start playing. When purchasing a beginners guitar it is important to make sure that it is comfortable to hold and play. It might seem trivial, but a guitar that is uncomfortable to hold or has high action will just frustrate you more.
Make sure you test out a few guitars before purchasing it. Feel the neck and action, and make sure that it doesn’t hurt to hold.
Beginners guitars come in all shapes and sizes and price ranges. You don’t need to spend a fortune on your first guitar, but make sure to choose a reputable brand that will stand behind their product.
2.Learn the Parts of the Guitar-
Now that you have a guitar it’s time to learn the different parts. Understanding all the parts of a guitar will help to make learning much easier. The main parts of a guitar are listed below: Headstock, Tuning pegs, Nut, Â Neck, Frets, Fretboard, Soundhole, Body, Bridge, Saddle, Strings.
You want to familiarize yourself with all the parts of a guitar since learning chords and songs will be much easier.
3. Learning to Tune a Guitar-
Another important part of learning how to play guitar is learning how to tune it. Tuning a guitar is not too difficult and only takes a little time and practice.
First thing you want to do is make sure that your guitar is in standard tuning. A standard six string guitar is tuned to:
E – A – D – G – B – E
From thickest to thinnest strings (6th to 1st). You can use a digital tuner or a tuning app to help you.
It might be difficult to understand at first but you will get the hang of it after doing it a few times. It’s a good idea to practice and get used to the sound of each of the strings.
Learning to play a guitar on a properly tuned guitar will help you to build a good ear for music and make learning chords and songs easier.
4. Learning to Hold a Guitar-
As important as it is to learn to tune and play songs on the guitar it is also important that you hold the guitar correctly.
Sitting comfortably with the guitar held against your body is important. The fretting hand should be able to move freely up and down the neck while the other hand can rest comfortably near the sound hole.
Avoid gripping too hard on the neck of the guitar as many beginners have poor grip strength and squeeze the neck of the guitar. This causes the guitar to be uncomfortable to hold and can also cause fatigue.
As you are holding the guitar make sure you relax your shoulders, wrists and fingers as much as possible.
5. Learning about the Strings and Frets-
As mentioned earlier, the guitar has six strings that make different notes when plucked. From thickest to thinnest the guitar strings are tuned to the following notes:
Low E – A – D – G – B – High E
The metal strips running along the neck of the guitar are called frets. By placing your finger behind a fret you change the vibrating length of the string which changes the pitch.
Take some time to practice plucking individual notes before moving on to chords.
6. Learning Basic Chords-
Assuming that you are comfortable holding the guitar now it’s time to learn some basic chords.
A few basic open chords to start you off are:
C Major
G Major
D Major
E Minor
A Major
E Major
A Minor
You don’t need to learn all of the above chords straight away. It’s a good idea to pick a couple of chords and practice switching from one to the other. For example, you could practice switching between G Major and C Major chords. Your fingers will probably feel pretty cramped at first but that’s perfectly normal.
The idea is not to switch between chords as fast as you can, but to place your fingers in the right position and make a clean sound.
7. Learning How to Strum the Guitar-
Learning to strum the guitar is just as important as learning chords so let’s move on to that now.
Start with downstrokes before moving onto down-up patterns. A simple pattern such as:
Down – Down – Up – Up – Down – Up can be used in many beginner songs.
Don’t worry about how fast you can strum. Focus on keeping a consistent rhythm. If your strumming pattern is not consistent then try slowing it down and practising a little more.
8. Learning an Easy Guitar Song –
One of the most fun ways to start playing songs is by learning a simple song that you can relate to. There are literally thousands of easy songs for beginners to learn.
Rather than trying to learn the whole song at once, break it up into smaller sections.
Start by learning the individual chords before you learn the changes between the chords. Then learn the pattern of your strumming. Once you can comfortably play a small section of the song you will quickly find that you can progress to playing the whole song.
9. Practicing Chord Changes-
Learning how to change chords smoothly takes some time and practice. A good way to practice chord changes is by choosing two chords and switching between them as many times as you can.
For example, you could practice switching between C Major and G Major chords. Start off slow and try to get a clean sound each time.
After a few days of regular practice you will notice that your fingers have a better muscle memory and will remember where to position your fingers. In time you will not even have to consciously think about the position of your fingers.
10. Practicing a Simple Guitar Routine-Â
You don’t have to spend 3 or 4 hours a day practicing the guitar to be good at it. As a beginner 20-30 minutes of focused practice each day will yield some good results.
You could split up your practice routine like this:
5 minutes – Tuning up and warming up your fingers
10 minutes – Chords and chord changes
5 minutes – Strumming patterns
10 minutes – Learning a song
The most important thing is to practice consistently. 20 minutes a day is much better than 2 hours a week.
11. Learning to Play Guitar at Home-Â
You can learn a lot of the basic skills at home through online tutorials and practice routines. There is a huge amount of learning resources available to those who want to learn how to play guitar at their own pace.
If you are learning through online video lessons then it can be tempting to switch between different teachers and different courses. However, it is better to stick with one course and follow it for a while before switching.
Make sure you are actually practicing what you have learned rather than just watching videos over and over again. If you are finding that it hurts to hold the guitar or that your fingers are cramping up then you need to be more mindful of how you hold and play the guitar.
If you find that it is difficult to fix these bad habits by yourself then it is a good idea to seek out a guitar tutor.
12. Using a Metronome-Â
A metronome is a great tool for helping you to keep time and rhythm. At first you can set the metronome to a slow rhythm and practice switching between chords or strumming along with the rhythm.
For example, you could practice switching between G Major and C Major chords in time with a metronome set to 60 BPM.
You can always increase the tempo as you get more comfortable with switching between chords.
Having a good sense of rhythm is vital to being able to play songs with others.
13. Don’t Worry About Sore Fingers-
New guitar players often complain about sore fingers after playing the guitar for a while. It is quite common to get sore fingers when you are first starting out.
This is because your fingertips are not used to the repeated pressure of the strings. You should get used to it after a while, but if you feel that the pain is too much you should give your fingers a rest.
14. Don’t Try to Learn Everything at Once
When you first start learning the guitar it can be overwhelming to see how much there is to learn. You might start thinking about scales, barre chords, finger picks, music theory, solos, alternate picking and so much more.
While all of these things are great skills to have when you are more experienced, it is best to leave them for later. First you want to learn:
Basic chords
Chord changes
Strumming
Rhythm
Simple songs
Basic guitar care
Regular practice
Once you are comfortable with the above skills then you can start to learn more advanced skills.
15. How long does it take to learn to play a guitar?-
It is difficult to put a time limit on how long it will take to learn to play a guitar. Some things you might pick up on pretty quickly while other things might take a while.
Generally speaking, you can expect to be able to play a few simple songs after a few weeks of regular practice. To become comfortable with more complex chords, rhythms, scales and techniques will take a lot longer.
The amount of time it takes to learn all depends on how much you practice and what you decide to practice. Instead of worrying about how long it will take to become good at guitar it is better to focus on improving a small skill each day.
 Common Mistakes to Avoid as a Beginner
There are a few common mistakes that beginner guitar players make that can hinder their progress.
The first common mistake is to not practice because you don’t think you have enough time. It can be frustrating to not have enough time but remember that any amount of practice is better than none at all.
Another common mistake is to practice everything too fast. Practicing everything too fast will not help you to improve. Instead it is better to take it slow and focus on accuracy rather than speed.
Another common mistake beginner guitar players make is to not bother tuning their guitar. Tuning your guitar is important to help you to build an ear for music. It will also help you to identify individual notes and chords.
Finally, a common mistake that beginner guitar players make is to compare themselves to other more experienced players. Everyone has to start somewhere and every guitar player was once a beginner. So instead of worrying about how other people are more skilled than you, focus on improving your own game.
Final Thoughts
Learning to play the guitar can be challenging at first, especially when your fingers are not used to playing the guitar and moving them the way that they need to. But as long as you take it slow and start small then you will be playing simple songs in no time.
We went over how to choose a suitable guitar for beginners, how to tune a guitar, learn some basic chords and strumming patterns and practiced playing some simple songs. As long as you practice consistently and are patient with yourself then you will quickly find that things that once seemed challenging are now becoming easier.
So if you have been considering learning how to play a guitar but have not yet taken the plunge then do it today. Pick a comfortable guitar for beginners, learn how to tune it, learn some basic chords and strumming patterns and start playing some simple songs. Every great guitar player started out as a beginner so why not take the first step today?