by Helium01

Created on: April 13, 2011

Learning to play the guitar is a worthwhile endeavor. Not only can you impress your friends and family with your prowess as a guitar player, but you may even find that you are good at writing your own songs. Below are the basic steps involved in learning to play the guitar.

Acquire a Guitar

The first step in learning to play the guitar is to acquire one. If you can’t obtain a guitar from a friend, you will need to buy one. Guitars are fairly expensive, so you may want to consider the option of buying one secondhand. At the same time that you buy a guitar, consider picking up a capo. It will be invaluable as you progress with your guitar lessons.

Learn the String Names

Once you have your guitar, the first thing that you should do is learn the names of the strings. The strings are named, in sequence, EBGDAE. How can you remember this? Try the mnemonic “Every Body Gets Dinner At Eight”.

Learn Some Chords

Once you know the names of the strings, it is time to learn some chords. The internet is an excellent way to find all you need to know about chords. There you will also find the best way to play them.

Playing chords may seem hard at first (especially the F chord), but it will get easier with time and practice. Learn two new chords a day and practice changing from one to another until you can do it quite rapidly. Soon it will become second nature to you and you will be playing chords along with your favorite songs.

How to Use a Capo

If you bought a capo, it is a useful tool for playing all the chords you just learned without having to learn more difficult ones. The capo sits across the strings on a certain fret and changes the pitch of the guitar. The frets are the horizontal lines across the neck of the guitar. Most instruction books will include diagrams with dots showing which fingers should be played on what strings, and on which frets.

Learn Some Songs

Always start out slow when you are learning new songs, so that you won’t get discouraged. Learning to play takes time and patience and lots of practice. If you can put in about 15 or 20 minutes a day of practicing, you will see yourself improve week by week.

Practice Scales

Another very good thing to learn are scales. Scales are where you play notes up and down the fretboard. Scales help develop your fingers and get them used to playing independently of one another. Scales strengthen your fingers and help make the transition from one chord to another a lot simpler.

Dealing with Discomfort

You will probably develop calluses on your fingertips when you first start playing the guitar. This is because you have to press the guitar strings down really hard for the sound to ring clear. With time your fingers will become accustomed to the instrument and you will feel less discomfort.
When you are at work or school and cannot practice, it is still good to periodically stretch your fingers out and spread them apart for exercise and to keep them limber.

The key to learning the guitar is to keep it fun! Start learning songs right from the start to keep you interested. Invest the time to become better, but never push yourself when you aren’t feeling in the mood. In the end, it is most important to have fun and see where the music takes you.

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