How To Learn Acoustic Guitar
|
Jamorama's multimedia guitar lessons make it easy to learn guitar from the comfort of your own home.
|
If you’re a beginner who isn’t sure to start when it comes to learning to play acoustic guitar, this article provides a guide. We don’t talk about all the specific techniques you need to learn here – that will be covered in a separate series of articles – but instead we’ll look at the things you need to think about and be aware of as you get started.
Which type of guitar do you want to learn?
First of all, think about the type of acoustic guitar you want to learn to play. This basically comes down to a choice between steel string and nylon string guitars. If you want to focus on classical or flamenco styles of music, choose a nylon string that’s designed for the music you want to play (many people in this category start with a classical guitar and buy a flamenco model later if they decide that they want to become more specialised). On the other hand, if you want to play rock, pop, country, blues or folk styles, you’ll probably want to learn on a steel string acoustic guitar.
Know what’s involved
So, you like the idea of playing the guitar, but do you really know what you’re letting yourself in for? This isn’t meant to put you off, but a lot of people give up playing guitar after a few months or less, simply because they’re overwhelmed by the amount of new information to take in and skills that need to be developed. Here’s a taste of what’s involved with learning acoustic guitar:
- Learning about the guitar itself – the names of the various parts and getting a basic idea of how it works, plus basic guitar care and maintenance
- Tuning your guitar
- Correct posture and hand positions
- Basic left hand technique [assuming you’re right-handed] – how to form chords, play scales and other exercises
- Basic right hand technique – how to strum and/or pick
- How to read tabs (and preferably notation too)
- Learning chords, understanding chord progressions and other aspects of music theory
- Understanding rhythm and strum patterns
- Solo playing
- More advanced techniques such as hammer-on, pull-off, bends, slide playing etc.
- Playing with others, jamming
- Improvisation
- Ear training
- Developing the right mental attitude for long term success
There’s a lot to learn! Of course if you love the guitar you’ll probably find the prospect of learning all this stuff exciting rather than daunting, but if you’re wanting to take up the guitar for the wrong reasons (like looking ‘cool’, using it as a route to fame etc – basically any reason other than a passion for the instrument and for music generally, is a wrong one!), pause here and ask yourself if you’re really willing to do what it takes to learn to play well.
Buying a guitar
If the above list hasn’t put you off, next you need to actually buy a guitar, if you don’t already have one. As a beginner, there’s little point buying a super-expensive pro level guitar, as you don’t yet have the skills or discernment to be able to choose the best instrument for you. On the other hand, you don’t want to get a bargain basement cheapie either, since very low cost acoustic guitars are likely to be poorly made and will make the learning process much more difficult than it has to be – and as a beginner you don’t need any extra difficulties to deal with! You can normally expect to pay at least a couple of hundred dollars for a decent beginner guitar – I recommend asking more experienced guitarists for advice (in person or online), and don’t be afraid to try out several guitars in your local music stores before buying, and go with one that feels most comfortable to you.
Get some good instruction
Now you have your guitar in hand, you need to start getting to grips that that list we looked at earlier. It’s important at this stage to learn from someone who knows what they’re doing, as bad habits formed early on can take a lot of work to undo later. Private lessons with a good teacher are perhaps the ideal solution for a complete beginner, even if you just have enough to master the basics and then teach yourself later on. If private lessons aren’t an option for you – perhaps due to financial or location considerations – I recommend teaching yourself with the aid of a reputable tutor book/DVD or course of online guitar lessons. This route is more appealing to many, not least because it’s much cheaper than a teacher, and you can go at your own pace without the need to travel etc, but if you teach yourself you must be extremely diligent about checking that you’re doing things correctly, and you’ll also need to be exceptionally motivated, as there won’t be anyone to prod you along when you get discouraged.
There’s a lot of rubbish disguised as guitar instruction on the internet, but there’s some good stuff too, and I recommend checking out Jamorama if you want to find out more about how to learn acoustic guitar from a professional teacher with top quality materials. This teaches rhythm guitar and includes a special section focusing solely on acoustic techniques, and there’s also an option to get addition instruction in lead guitar skills. You can read about my Jamorama experience here, or find out more information at the official site.
Related posts:
|
|
