Learning To Play Guitar

[BrewCrewForever]

I used to play some bass and traded it in for an acoustic guitar 7 years ago. Never really made a good effort to learn to play it and would really like to now. Anyone have any suggestions on a good self learn book, audio or video? Otherwise anyone take lessons from a music place? How much does that run roughly? Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks.

[nate82]

I have used the DVD's from this site http://www.martyschwartzguitar.com/

 

He also has a youtube page where he gives out some free lessons.

[jerichoholicninja]

I used the book that came with my guitar which only had a few open position and some barre chords and then just found tabs of the songs I liked.

[milwaukeesportsfan]

Lessons usually run around $30 a session. If you don't want to shell out the money, my suggestion is to pick a song you really like and find the tabs. Then practice that song over and over and over and over. Then pick another song you like and practice that song over and over. And when you practice, make sure there are no distractions (TV, radio, cell phone, etc.). It will get frustrating and you will think you suck, but you just have to keep practicing. Once your fingers get used to it, it will get easier. Good luck, and have fun!

[chadomac]

I used an internet site to teach myself... but am having trouble finding what it was. I will re-post later if I can find it.

 

...and if anyone reads this thread and wants to buy a good but not often used Washburn red acoustic guitar for $100, get in touch with me. I regret buying a red acoustic guitar and want to get a plain wood one. Oops.

[CheezWizHed]

I struggled for years to try to teach myself. There are a few things that if you learn wrong make it much harder to play. I ended up taking 2 years of lessons and really enjoyed it. I paid $15 per 30 minute lesson.

 

I'd at least take a year of lessons to get the basics down then it will make it easier to go on your own.

[owbc]

I used to play some bass and traded it in for an acoustic guitar 7 years ago. Never really made a good effort to learn to play it and would really like to now. Anyone have any suggestions on a good self learn book, audio or video? Otherwise anyone take lessons from a music place? How much does that run roughly? Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks.

 

I just started learning acoustic guitar in October with no previous experience so I am still very much a beginner. I have been using justinguitar.com which has very good video lessons to learn the basic chords. He also has some videos to learn basic songs that are organized by skill level. I only have time to practice a few hours per week so progress is very slow, but steady. After 3 months I can play the basic major/minor chords (A-E-D-G-C) and change fast enough between them to play songs--and there are a large number of songs that just use those 5 chords or similar easy ones. The most effective exercise is trying to switch between 2 chords as many times as possible in one minute. That forced me to figure out which finger was slowing me down and concentrate on putting it in the right spot. There's no substitute for putting in the hours since you have to build strength and flexibility.

 

One mistake was that I spent lots of time attempting songs that were far beyond my skill level, I think the time would have been better spent doing more reps with the easier stuff. As for lessons--if you have the money, I would say go for it. It will keep you motivated. Good luck!