by Jay Moody

Created on: June 17, 2011   Last Updated: June 21, 2011

Learning to play a musical instrument can be one of the most rewarding pastimes a person can pursue.  Amongst the myriad of instruments to choose from, none is more popular and accessible in Western culture than the guitar.  The best method to learning to play the guitar is to secure formal lessons from a qualified and experienced instructor.  The following points can be used along with such lessons or in place of them until such lessons can be obtained.

Acquire a Quality Instrument

The most vital aspect to learning to play any instrument is to have regular access to it.  Fortunately guitars are very accessible and can be obtained at affordable prices from retail stores, pawn shops, and private sellers.  Due to the nature of being a stringed and fretted instrument it is important to pick up a quality guitar.  Learning the guitar is an experience that causes a certain amount of discomfort in the hands and fingertips for beginners.  A poorly manufactured or damaged guitar can make the learning process even more discomforting and discouraging; making it more likely that beginners will give up the process before they experience any improvement.  For this reason it is vital to have a quality guitar.  These can be acquired brand new for as little as $100 at retail.

Acquire Educational Material

Educational material can be acquired at nearly any music store that deals in guitars, or from the internet.  Many of these come in the form of books, some also contain audio disks, or DVDs.  What a beginner is looking for is material that explains all the basics: the names of the different parts of the guitar, names and numbering of strings, fingers, tuning, and general care.  It should naturally also contain examples of several open chords, barre chords, and at least a few progressions, and scales.  If the material also contains examples of well known classic tunes, consider it a bonus.

Learn Chords

The foundation of guitar playing is rhythm, and chords are essential to playing rhythm guitar.  The easiest chords to learn for a beginner are A, E, and then D.  Any quality beginner material should contain these chords as well as many others.  The internet is also full of many helpful sites that give this information away for free.

Learn Progressions

Progressions are a series of chords in a specific key that form the basis of songs.  Many popular tunes are built upon progressions with as few as

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