How to teach yourself to play the guitar: a step-by-step guide (2023)

Contrary to the popular opinion of many, it is possible to learn the guitar independently! You may hear some people say it's not a good idea, and others may outright discourage you from even trying.

While there is no substitute for an excellent teacher and mentor who is committed to helping you and guiding you through the learning process, carving your own path is always a suitable alternative. And, I can say these things as a guitar teacheriself-taught player. Also, for some, learning at your own pace is a better option than taking guitar lessons from a teacher. Others like to have additional self-study options in addition to traditional lessons.

So yes, you can successfully teach yourself the guitar. However, it will go faster and save you a lot of trouble if you use itgood means. And some things about learning guitar will go easier with a skilled teacher. But it is quite possible to learn to play the guitar on your own!

So if you read and follow this guide, I'll help you start learning guitar on your own. And I want to introduce you to some practical tools that can help.

First, let's address some of the frequently asked questions about learning guitar on your own. We'll also address some of the pitfalls and bad advice that may be on your side.

Is learning to play the guitar on your own really that difficult?

That's the first question that comes to everyone's mind when they think about learning the guitar on their own. The first thing to understand is that learning to play the guitar is not difficult, but it is not easy either - with or without a teacher. Following the right study materialyou can make a big difference when you learn guitar yourself.

It can become painfully frustrating and difficult to learn to play guitar if you follow bad advice or study materials, many of which are often unnecessarily complicated. The trick is to make your self-study guitar journey a fun and rewarding experience.

For many, self-learning the guitar is practical.

On what way? First, guitar lessons cost money, and depending on where you take them or from whom, they can get expensive. And if you've been struggling to save up and have been waiting to buy a good starter guitar for yourself, spending money week after week on slow guitar lessons just doesn't sound appealing.

Second, most guitar teachers or tutors have their own teaching styles and methods. And while that's fine, if you have good guitar playing ability, most still won't move forward at the pace you want. You can get stuck moving forward at what seems like a snail's pace! Unfortunately, this can be frustrating and even irritating at times. And while it isworksit makes sense and sometimes it's important to go slow and steady, it can take a lot longer than necessary. Plus, it can be more expensive in the long run.

Finding a good guitar teacher can be a challenge.

It can be a challenge forfind a guitar teacherwith whom you connect well. Music is a language and if you and your teacher don't speak the same language, it might not work. For example, if you're inspired by rock, it won't help if your teacher draws his inspiration from easy listening music (and thinks you should too).

If a guitar instructor doesn't focus on matching their lessons to your tempo, musical interests, and learning abilities, over time you will find it difficult to find the lessons interesting. And this can cause you to veer off the path you originally set out on, wasting time, energy and a significant amount of enthusiasm along the way.

A talented guitar teacher can be of great help.

A legitimate concern of guitar teachers is that speeding up lessons can cause problems for the student. It's true. It is no good moving forward if you have not fully understood and mastered the previous lessons. Plus,good instructorscan identify poor technique and undesirable habits that a guitar student may develop. They can help you correct these types of problems early before they become too difficult to quit.

The point is that a guitar teacher can be very helpful, and most people can benefit from an experienced and gifted teacher. However, it is not your only option if you are serious and committed to learning the guitar. And thanks to the technology and helpful resources available today, learning to play guitar on your own is very possible while avoiding some of the pitfalls of self-study.

Some of them are well organizedlearning toolsavailable that combine self-study options with periodic online professional instruction.

Steps to learn to play the guitar on your own

In the beginning, learning to play the guitar is very simple because every player needs to go through the same basic principles. It becomes more challenging later on when you learn more complex chords, songs and musical styles.

In order to learn to play the guitar, you need to focus on the three most important things, which are:

• • A good strategy for which topics and techniques to learn, and in a sequence that helps you build on previous learning. Learning guitar is not linear, so there is no one "right" order. However, there are techniques and knowledge that are fundamental and must be understood and mastered before one can progress.
  • High quality study materials and resources for clear understanding of various topics and techniques.
  • Dedication to practice and study, as a well-developed routine will do wonders for any level of musicianship.

If you don't have these three things in place, it will be more difficult for you to learn to play the guitar.

Why? Because no matter how much or how hard you practice, if you try to learn things without the right foundation or practice the wrong techniques, you will eventually get stuck. Or worse, you can progress and then you have tounlearnthings for further progress.

A lack of learning resources or poor quality materials can do this to you. And no matter how good the online tutorials or YouTube videos you watch are, if you don't learn how to properly apply the techniques and lessons, they are less useful.

So let's study these three important elements for learning guitar and understand better.

You need a well thought out study plan.

One of the common reasons why so many self-taught guitarists fail is because they don't know or aren't sure where to start or what steps to take.

Let's say you have some songs in mind that you want to learn. But if you're not sure what steps are needed to reach your goal, you're likely to struggle.

This is where the importance of a well-structured plan comes into play. Not only will learning be easier, but the time and effort needed to learn the guitar on your own will be reduced.

Fortunately, the good news is that the basics of learning guitar are pretty much the same for everyone. Later you can branch out into your own musical styles. This makes it easier to identify the initial foundations.

There are certain basics that are universally useful when starting to learn guitar:

• • It's good to get a basic understanding of all yoursguitar partsand how to care for him.
  • Learn to read chord diagrams and guitar tabs.
  • Learn finger exercises and how to cleanly strum notes.
  • Learn some basic guitar riffs, including techniques like hammer-ons, pull-offs, bands, palm muting, etc.
  • Learn some simple open chords.
  • Learn basic strumming patterns.
  • Establish good habits.
  • Start learning and mastering simple songs!

These introductory actions learned early will set you up for lifelong success. And they can help you avoid common mistakes that self-taught people often make.

You need well-organized learning resources.

In today's connected world, even though you are teaching guitar yourself, you are not alone or helpless. There are many online resources that can help you. In fact, our primaryonline guitar lessonsthe course includes options for online advice, guidance and objective feedback to help you if you get stuck or need personal guidance.

Choosing the right resource can make a big difference in how fast you learn and how polished your skills can become. However, it is important to note that a significant portion of the online resources available today are full of mediocre or low-quality instruction. And, unfortunately, many give bad advice.

Just as finding a good teacher can be challenging, so can finding the right guitar learning resources. In fact, the reason we created and developed our own guitar learning system was the need for systematic quality instruction. This together with the desire of some students toperiodicallyonline instruction or simply speed up their learning prompted us to create our owncomprehensive guide to learning guitar (click here to learn more).

You need healthy exercise habits and a routine.

Good practice habits are key to improving your guitar skills and knowledge. Successful guitarists are committed to their practice regimen and stick to it for a long time.

You have to understand thatnobodyplays the guitar well as a beginner. So don't be too hard on yourself if you struggle to learn or notice little or no progress early on. It takes time and practice. For everyone.

You must not give up exercise. This is crucial to your development as a guitarist. You don't have to sit for long to exercise. Even 5-10 minutes of exercise each day can make a positive difference.

There is a science-based approach to guitar practice and how long you should practice for the best results. It includes the following principles:

The Ebbinghaus forgetting curve

Whether you're learning music theory, a chord progression, or a riff, your mind gradually forgets it. Cause ofThe Ebbinghaus forgetting curve, something you were able to play great last week, you may not be able to today. And once you understand how it works, it becomes easier to master with practice.

This theory of the forgetting curve applies to almost everything we learn. The only way to overcome forgetting what you've learned is to practice it over and over again, even if it's just for a few minutes.

Serial position effect

TheSerial position effectshows why long-term exercise is not as effective as it seems. The first few minutes of your workout are important.

Why? Because, during the first few minutes, your mind is ready to grab everything you practice and store it for a long time. That's calledprimary effect. And the final part of your exercise is even more important because your brain retains it longer. This is calledrecency effect.

So, don't be fooled by the idea that it's better to practice for hours on end.

Law of diminishing marginal returns

This law teaches us that the more often you exercise in a day, the less effective it is sometimes. Therefore, each training session of the day is often less effective than the previous one. If you spend two hours practicing, the first hour will be more effective than the second hour. Then, the third hour is even less effective, and so on.

If you exercise extensively, it might help you learn faster, but someone who exercises much less than you wouldn't fall behind as much as you might expect. For this very reason, taking breaks is important because it helps you reset your mind. You can then return to practice with all your faculties ready to grasp new concepts. However, we would like to add that there is still a real benefit to your muscle memory development in learning the techniques. While mental acuity may decrease during long practice sessions, you are still likely to progress more quickly with extended practice, as long as you practice the techniques correctly.

Understanding these science-backed concepts can help you develop an exercise routine that is more effective in getting you closer to your goals.

Dedicated space for exercise

It is alsoimportant to set adedicated exercise areain your home. It can make a big difference. Setting up a complete guitar kit in a private room or common area of ​​your home can help you not miss practice often. The practice area should be comfortable and must have a few essentials such as a comfortable chair, a music stand, a tuner, a metronome or a drum and other accessories.

If you have to laboriously adjust your guitar and work with cables every time you practice, you'll be putting off practicing more often than you think.

Additional tips on how to teach yourself to play guitar

If you want to learn to play the guitar yourself, here are some important tips to help you get started.

• Buy a guitar only after you have carefully researched and read everything you can about guitars.
• Practice every day without fail, even if it's just for a short time. It will still help.
• Be sure what you want to learn in terms of music style, genre, etc.
• Record yourself (video) playing, so you can watch and analyze your technique and playing style from a different angle.
• The road to learning guitar is challenging and will seem difficult at first, but don't give up. It gets easier with time and good exercise habits.
• Be sure to follow the guitar tutorial YouTube channels with a large number of followers. Make sure the instructor is also active in the comments section. This can help you get answers to some common questions that most self-taught guitar players ask.
• Most of all, stay away from online resources that claim to teach you the "secrets of learning guitar in just 30 days" and similar glowing claims. There is no secret formula for mastering the art of playing the guitar.

You'll occasionally get stuck while trying to master some guitar technique. The key is to keep going and not give up. We all get stuck sometimes. That's why we're so confident in our resource that offers the best of both worlds, learning to play guitar via videoithe ability to access online guitar lessons when you feel stuck.

INTRODUCING“GAME. METHOD OF LEARNING THE GUITAR”

Several features combine to make itGame. methodunique:

1. First, the videos are actual lessons that we could get from our personal live music lessons.
2. You can choose options to include 2 or 4 live online lessons.
3. These videos and books can help you learn to read music and understand music theory.
4. Our course is good for beginners, and it isalsogood for more advanced players who don't really understand what they are playing. We often tell musicians to look for "the head to catch up with the hands". It often seems to suit them.
5. You can buy it as a complete course or as separate modules.

Important note:This is a complete guitar learning course with instructions built upon other instructions in a specific, systematic order. You will learn to understand music on the guitar, not just play a song on the guitar. Then the sky's the limit in terms of the number of songs you'll be able to play!

Game. Methodical guitar courseisit isa "quick" lesson or even a series of "speeds". There are many such videos that teach you how to play a few chords or a song. And while you can certainly learn some things from them, you won't understand why you do what you do. To be a musician, you need more than that.

Therefore, our goal is for you to bea real musicianwho plays the guitar, not just another guitar player who only knows what is fed to them.

What does the acronym "P.L.A.Y." presents?

• Plan
• Lto earn
• Aapply
• Yyourself

Plan...The established order of things isimportant. Our plan uses a proven successful strategy used by thousands, from private personal study to university-level study.

Learn… We will teach you how to recognize and use patterns, principles and theory.

apply… You will learn music theory and how to apply it on the guitar.

Sami… You will see and understand music to the point where you can be self-sufficient.

Independent guitar lessons -FAQ

Here we will try to answer some of the most common questions that many people ask about learning to play the guitar.

What is the best and fastest way to learn to play the guitar?

Is it possible to learn to play the guitar in 3 months?

Although it is possible to learnbasicsplaying the guitar in three months, you should not expect to become a successful guitarist in just a few months. However, you should be able to learn your primary chords and barre chords, you will be able to change chords easily in 6 – 24 months. However, they exista lots ofadvanced chords that can take a long time to master. Remember, talented guitarists who have been playing for years are still learning. Enjoy your trip!

Which guitar is the easiest to learn?