Best way to learn how to play a guitar????

Guitar! Beautifulll instrument! Its the most basic string instrument, if one can master it then rest string intrument is no big deal. When it comes to how to play it well and appropiate, questions start rolling in. How should I start? Should I learn the chords by heart or should I try to play and pratice on some famous guitar music notes?

How should one pratice the stuff step by step?

 

well, i am no xpert at the guitar, just another of those many NEWBIE's round here, but what helps me is this, get urself a chord chart and ya try to know them, u dont have to sit with it and mug it all up, as you play them often u get them naturally, i suggest a good teacher if you can get one, and keep in touch with this site, very helpful place with the pros around

 

Do both!
Make a list of the things u wanna do
For Eg.
Learn Theory(Music)
Learn Chords
Learn some new songs
Learn some new techniques(picking etc. )
Learn some scales
Work on any of the above

In the time slot u have fit all the things u wanna do into it, giving each aspect some time.
For eg. If u got 1hr then maybe 15mins chords, then 15mins pay some songs, 15mins do some picking exercises etc etc.
Music Theory is very important..dont neglect it.

For material to work on, u cud check out the articles here in the tutorials section or just go to cyberfret.com.Ull get enough stuff over there to start on.

Best of Luck

 

Guys thanx for the replies.

Hey Dennis. How can I stuff on Music theory? Should I go and buy it from the store or I can get theory related articles on the internet?

 

naah,get it from the net dude.
i had just recently posted an article on music theory,u cud check that out.
cyberfret.com is excellent, ull find all u need here.

 

go get yourself a teacher (a good professioanl teacher, not some rocker) to teach you the basics, after you finish a bit of elementary stuff you can start picking on your own, and also get a lot of help from sites like these.

 

i donno bandbaaja, i never ever had a teacher, managed thorugh the web and friends. A good teacher is costly, and i wudnt wanna spend too much money on a hobby.
Obviously if u wanna go pro, then get into some music school etc.
but its ur call.

 

^^ me also did nt have teacher as its only a hobby
but try to have one for a few lessons i think...........

 

nothing can replace a teacher
and the hobby of playing music is not like collecting stamps or coins.

what i mean to say is at least get your basics on music right, then there is always NET, FRIENDS, FORUMS,

and to think of it teachers aren't expensive (at least in india)
here in mumbai, you get PROPER teachers who teach for 800 bucks a month (4 sessions) which i think is affordable for about a YEAR of basics

 

again, that depends from person to person. I have never like teachers, they take the fun out of the subject. In the words of Floyd - "We dont need no education!". I find it more fun to explore on my own.
But yes, if u manage to get a good teacher (which is hard) then its cool. If u try to learn on your own itll take u a hell lot more time than learning from a teacher.

and Btw bandbaaja...the guys from Ireland. Im pretty sure teachers are gonna be damn costlier than those in India. Newayz I think that our thread starter has himself gone asleep.

 

800 rupees is a lot of money... my first guitar cost 1200 rs and I had to wait several months for that...!

 

xactly my point, if u are earning then its cool, but if u are a student with minimal resources.

 

Hey Dennis!

I tried your way of learning guitar.. and I really like it. "Little of everything" really helps slowly increasing my capacity of how to play a guitar properly and most of all its really fun. Thats what we want whenever we start a new stuff.

Thanx a bunch.

 

sure, my pleasure

 

its not about whether you can afford it or not,
its more about whether you find its WORTH !!!
and also its about prioritizing your resources

I would rather go to a teacher and learn music,
than maybe buy some new clothes, mp3 player, sport shoes, watches and the likes.

1 good round of Domino's Pizzas for 2, can be sacrificed once a month, and that can help pay your fees

 

well said bandbaaja , but the question is that how many would like to sacrifice a pizza of 2 at dominos instead to pay for guitar lessons .... i think education in india is quite cheap but when you talk abt educating yourself somewhere abroad , can cost you a 1 yr meal to pay of for 1 month lessons ...

so depending upon place to place , lesson can be taken by some professionals...

 

Band baaja do u take classes man?
hey Marx, if u r gonna take classes with band baaja then go for it, hes really good!
(but ask for a discount )

 

@bob--xactly my point.
i dont have money pay for my petrol(have to ask my parents...yuck) how the fk am I gonna ask for classes...no matter how good i am in India the future aint too bright for a guitarist.

 

@ANANTH No man, I dont teach yaar, I dont think I have learnt it the right way.

You know seriously speaking, I am pretty annoyed with myself, that I myself did not learn the guitar the proper way, and I really get stuck at times. And there is this friend of mine who teaches professionally and he has LEARNT the proper methodical way too. When I see him, believe me, though I can play with better feel and speed in some songs (only because I have been playing LIVE much before he started learning), he is so apparently a much better guitarist than me. He can pick up stuff with ease, he can read with ease, he can explain theory with ease.
And when I see some of his dedicated students !!! MAN they have picked up much faster and more stuff in ONE YEAR, than what I picked in 5 years!!!

Which is why I stress on the fact that at least get SOME basic training from a teacher.

See if you cant afford it, the question that the thread has posed itself is wrong!!!
I suggested the BEST way, SO if you cant go for the BEST way, obviously there are various options, like dennis pointed out

 

i know the feeling bandbaaja.