How to learn guitar without going to lessons?
Recently, I have noticed I am very interested in the guitar, to the point of wanting to learn it. My dad has an acoustic one. Is there any way to learn how to play on on the internet. Without having to go to lessons? All help is appreciated thanks in advance. =D
September 24th, 2010 at 9:40 am
get an instructional book that shows you strumming techniques and chords
and then look up tabs on the internet for songs you want to learn
September 24th, 2010 at 10:19 am
I tell you what, John, one of the biggest set backs to the budding guitarist is the type of guitar that they buy. Be wary of the ‘beginner’s guitar’- very often it is impossible to hold the strings down on the fretboard due to shoddy construction. Some of the most famous guitar makers are, periodically , guilty of that! In the past, when I’ve looked for guitars, I’ve found many expensive and reputable models were only good enough to be used as boat paddles! Nearly all guitars require personal modifications , which can be easily made, to play well. Have a chat with your dad if he’s a keen player!
September 24th, 2010 at 11:16 am
You will either hire a teacher NOW when you are starting or LATER when you realize you like playing but don’t have the knowledge of the BASICS to actually play one well and you need to not only learn the basics, but UNLEARN all the bad habits you will pick up by trying to learn on your own.
September 24th, 2010 at 11:43 am
i’m learning online. you should try that or have a relitive or friend teach you.
September 24th, 2010 at 12:10 pm
Get some instruction from a live person paid or free, but where they can see and hear your progress. That is the only way that mistakes are going to be caught early before they become serious or discouraging problems. The use of web sites is a bonus, but not the way improve your skills and definitely not the way to begin..
I am sure someone will tell you that you can learn Brain Surgery from the internet.
To learn some things you need a teacher. I know too many people who thought they could learn guitar from the internet and quit within a few months, or decided they needed a teacher to correct all the bad habits they developed.
If you read a lot of the questions ask here on Yahoo answers they are from people trying to learn guitar without a teacher.
September 24th, 2010 at 12:41 pm
you need not go for any lessons to learn guitar. There are many online communities and sites for your help. These sites provide you with the guitar lessons for all stages, only thing you need to do is a lot of practice.
http://www.guitarists.net/ is one such site.
You have many such sites online for free.
September 24th, 2010 at 1:17 pm
i found a local guitarist thru a music/guitar shop in my town. and it turned out he was doing classes at the local high school for $50 for 8 classes. better then his usual $30 an hour one on one!
call the adult ed office or a local arts league or center. sometimes even librarys offer group classes.
September 24th, 2010 at 1:26 pm
Well there’s a lot of ways. One way is just on YouTube. There’s lessons for songs and theory and just tips to play beginners stuff. You can always get some cheap books but I think books are to restricting. As a beginner you probably haven’t discovered your style yet and a book will force you to go one way. I suggest having books teach you basics and then move on to other things (like YouTube) from there.
Teachers are always good. They can first-hand show you how to do something and teach you what you want to know. After you learn the basics, it you are interested in a teacher don’t let him/her restrict your style to what they can play. Teachers who force you and expect you to practice things you aren’t interested in are simply not good and you won’t go far.
I suggest learning basic chords and simple songs (such as Ode To Joy, ect.) at the beginning and as you get better moving to things in your range that you like. This will develop your style.
Hope this helped!
September 24th, 2010 at 1:47 pm
To teach yourself guitar, you’ll want to learn using tablature, you’ll want to pick out easy simple songs and just practice. You can become a great guitar player without taking lessons but this will require so much more work, the basics however are best learnt on your own. You’ll have to train your hands differently and they’ll both have to be trained to coordinate together.
People who never took guitar lessons usually end up being “Rhythm Guitar” players. Why?… because they never took lessons and learn things such as theory, how to improvise and create their own music, where and why certain notes are on certain frets/strings.
@retiredroadie
You don’t necessarily have to learn from a teacher to avoid bad habits, the best way to learn good playing habits is to jam with other people, this way you’ll pick up good playing habits and learn the basics for free.
@Jacko
It’s good to learn on the cheap low quality beginner guitars because it forces you to play better. Do not learn guitar on a piece of crap no name guitar. Get yourself a cheap name-brand guitar. (Epiphone/Squier/BC Rich) After sometime when your better at guitar think about upgrading to a good quality guitar. I still practice with my squier strat to keep myself from getting sloppy and lazy.