Whether you’re an experienced music lover or a budding musician, learning to play guitar is one of the most rewarding musical hobbies. Playing your favorite music is not only personally fulfilling, but it’s also a great way to stimulate different parts of the brain in a fun way. If you’re starting to learn or teach yourself how to play guitar, there are several things you can do that will help you begin and speed up your development.
Here are some of our best tips to help you learn to play guitar:
- Find a Good Guitar. Before you can start playing the guitar, you’ll need a guitar to learn on! While it may be tempting to choose a guitar solely on its aesthetics, there are several things you should consider before purchasing. Size, acoustic versus electric, left-hand versus right-hand dominance, and budget will help you determine which guitars you should look at. Though you don’t need the best guitar in the world, trying out different guitars and seeing which is best for you can make all the difference in your progress.
- Learn the Basics. You can’t play songs without learning the basics. Take time to thoroughly understand the fundamentals of guitar playing, including learning and memorizing the names of the strings, how to play notes on the guitar, how to hold a pick, how to play a chord, the basic guitar chords, and even how to hold the guitar. Mastering these essential skills will set you up for success later. Remember, even the pros had to start somewhere, too!
- Practice Your Scales. Songs are comprised of chords and snippets of scales, so practicing and nailing down your scales will be vital in learning the guitar. Learn how to play one note at a time and how to get from note to note, taking note of how, where, and when to switch positions or strings. It will help you when you learn more advanced chords and songs since your fingers will already know where some notes are.
- Learn By Ear. Learning to read tabs and music is essential to playing guitar, but learning to play by ear will transform your musicianship skills. Using your ear to learn different songs will help you identify notes, chords, and patterns in music, which will ultimately help you learn other new music much more easily.
- Play with Others. Connect with a community of other guitar players to play with. This will help you learn additional tips and skills in a new frame of mind while building a network of people to perform in front of and motivate you. Learning from similarly skilled and more experienced players is a great way to learn an instrument!
Ready to start playing? Begin your guitar lessons at Main Street Music! Serving the Boston area since 1993, we offer guitar lessons (electric or acoustic), bass, piano (including keyboard instruments of all kinds), harmonica, flute, trumpet, saxophone, accordion, clarinet, percussion, and voice. Our lessons are available for students of all ages and experience levels. Visit our website to learn more or call (781) 893-6644 to get started!
Sources:
