Monday, July 02, 2007

A Beginner's Guide To Learning Guitar

By: Peter Finlay

As an absolute beginner looking to learn the guitar, getting on
the right track can be quite confusing. More likely than not,
you will be confronted with a variety of conflicting information
about who to see and how to start learning guitar. With everyone
trying to offer you their own advice, keeping focussed on your
end goal can be difficult, although is essential if you're
looking to learn how to play the guitar proficiently. So where
do you begin when trying to learn the guitar? And how can you
ensure your guitar learning experience is as fruitful as
possible.

Before even beginning to learn the guitar the first step is to
consider whether to learn on your own basis through a book or
online, or whether to learn with a tutor through individual or
group lessons. This can be an important decision, and one that
is crucial to your ability to learn how to play the guitar. If
you find self-motivation and dedication easy, you may find
learning on your own to be a more cost-effective way of picking
up the guitar, and one that proves to be more rewarding in the
long run. Alternatively, if you find the prospect of learning
quite daunting, it may be a better idea to get in touch with an
expert guitar tutor, who will hold your hand through the
learning process, and keep you on track to build on your guitar
playing abilities. Either way, it is important to ensure you
practice everything you cover, and to play at every opportunity
to improve your skills and technique, which will provide more
stable foundations for becoming a great guitarist.

The first thing to consider when learning to play the guitar is
how often you are going to practice, and from where you will
access your guitar. As a beginner, it is desirable to pick up a
second hand or cheap first guitar. There's no point spending
hundreds, or even thousands, on a new top of the range guitar
when there is no guarantee that you will be able to play it.
When selecting a guitar, you should look for something that is
sized appropriately for you, and that sits comfortably when
playing. A Spanish or classical guitar is slightly softer on the
fingers, although the acoustic guitar is better for smaller
hands initially. Obviously each type of guitar has its own
specific advantages for more advanced performance, but as a
beginner it may be wise to put consideration into the actual
size and shape of the guitar and how it fits with you.

Learning to play the guitar can seem like a mammoth task for the
complete beginner, but with a few tips in the right direction it
doesn't need to be out of reach. With the means to learn and
some form of guidance, either through a book, online or through
a tutor, learning the guitar can be a fairly straightforward
process, and one which can prove to be very rewarding in a short
period with drive and determination.

About the author:
Peter Finlay, a proficient writer, writes for www.online-guitar-le
sson.uk.com
. The author writes articles about electric guitar lessons and guitar lessons online.
Supplementary editorials that were written by Peter Finlay about
rock guitar lessons are accessible on the internet.