Lesson 1 - Take It from the Top - A Tutorial on How to Play Guitar

The late great legendary guitar player, Jimmy Hendrix, once said, “Sometimes you want to give up guitar, you’ll hate the guitar, but if you stick with it, you’re gonna be rewarded.”

This could not be truer when it comes to making the decision to learn how to play guitar. Whether you are learning just to have some fun and relieve some stress, or you have a fantasy in your head about joining a band and being famous, learning to play the guitar, or any instrument for that matter, is not a simple task. The first thing you need to ask yourself when it comes to learning how to play is, how much time can I dedicate to learning this instrument? It is simply impossible to master the skill overnight; it takes days, months, and years of commitment to learning how to play and getting good at the guitar. The second thought that needs to cross your mind is, why do I want to learn how to play guitar? There are many reasons people pick up the guitar and start learning: perhaps it has always been a passion that you can’t just let go, or maybe music runs in the family and it’s just plain tradition to play a musical instrument. Whatever the reason is, it is imperative that you have a motivation to stoke that fire inside you. When you are passionate about learning how to play the guitar, dedication won’t be much of a problem.

When it comes to picking up your very first guitar, you will be faced with the dilemma of whether to choose an electric guitar or the acoustic kind. Many seem to think that an electric guitar would be easiest to play because with the way the strings lay on the fret, you don’t need to press your fingers on them so hard. An electric guitar is ideal when you do a lot of picking, and when you play with an amp. Like most beginners, I learned on an acoustic guitar. I let my fingers get used to doing some work, and I love the clean, soft sound that the acoustic produces.

When you’re just starting out, an overly expensive guitar would not be a practical choice. Instead, buy something that sounds good, but doesn’t empty out your wallet. It is only advisable to purchase your next, and more expensive, guitar when you get better at playing and when you’re really serious about pursuing it. Believe me, once you get hold of your next guitar, your level of pride will skyrocket. And it is normal to look at your guitar as your baby, your pride and joy.

Bear in mind, though, that guitar playing is no easy feat. Before anything else, you need to familiarize with the different parts of the guitar first, aside from the chords, the various guitar terms, strumming patterns, picking patterns, and, of course, the songs that you want to play.

In a perfect world we could all just pick up the guitar and just start playing, simple as pie. But what fun would that be? Part of the excitement in learning to play the guitar is the sense of accomplishment that comes along with it after struggling with every new thing that you learn.

The main topics that we are going to touch base on when it comes to playing guitar are tuning your guitar, reading tabs (they are easy), your finger placement on frets, your strumming patterns, practicing your basic chords, and learning simple songs. Along with these topics, I’ll also let you in on great tips to take with you as you start your journey into the guitar world.