I want to learn to play guitar – can I teach myself?
I really want to learn to play guitar.
I know I should probably sign up for lessons or something, but I was hoping to teach myself instead.
I don’t really want to be taught because of the expense and the teachers at my school.
What is the best way to try and teach myself? Is it possible to do this and become a good guitar player?
Any help appreciated.
October 17th, 2010 at 7:57 am
yes u can teach your self
October 17th, 2010 at 8:18 am
This is a great website to start with…
http://www.teachyourselfguitar.net/
October 17th, 2010 at 8:21 am
mess around with it eventually you will hear something you like and then just go from there
October 17th, 2010 at 8:31 am
I think that you can fool around with the guitar a little bit and figure some things out, but at some point, you’ll need to have someone teach you. But for now, sure. See what you can do on your own.
October 17th, 2010 at 8:35 am
yeah its possible, i mean my uncle taught himself and hes a really good guitar player now you just need to know the basics and go from there
October 17th, 2010 at 8:52 am
You can try buying a cd-rom or a dvd they can teach you. My friend did it that way and he is very good he even has his own band.
October 17th, 2010 at 9:00 am
no.
October 17th, 2010 at 9:27 am
Purchase some beginners guitar books or CDs
October 17th, 2010 at 9:47 am
While you can teach your self how to play guitar. It will always be beneficial for you to have someone else to help you out. They have tips and hints that they can give you.
October 17th, 2010 at 10:33 am
i taught myself and ive been playing for 5 years. i would actually encourage teaching yourself becasue you appriciate it much more. and once you learn the basics just play with people you know that play the guitar and you will learn from them without having to pay any money.
you will thank me later =)
October 17th, 2010 at 10:39 am
just play around with it and learn the sounds then put them together and walla just mess around and put the diff… sounds togheter the way u want and u can make ur our song to
October 17th, 2010 at 10:50 am
you can but i advise at least some lessons to give you the foundation.
yeah my friend learnt guitar all on his own but he said he would have found it easier i he had had lesson like he does on bass guitar.
i taught myself just by learning songs i liked from tabs and then picking chord structures up from tht, there are alos tonnes of sites on the internet that teach you guitar theory and stuff if ur reeli wanna be good.
October 17th, 2010 at 11:34 am
Go to guitarcenter.
Grab a tab book.
Or go to
http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/tabs/extreme_tabs.htm
You need to learn how to read them.
Or just learn how to play by ear.
That is how I learned, and so far I am pretty fu*king killer on the guitar.
October 17th, 2010 at 12:25 pm
Sure can, look on the internet, it would be better if you had a friend teach you, but look on the internet, heaps of sites will help you and it will help if you have a good ear.
October 17th, 2010 at 1:03 pm
I couldn’t. Mine sets in the corner, out of tune and collecting dust……Although, I did pick it up on Saturday.
October 17th, 2010 at 1:21 pm
You can find free guitar lessons online. Teaching yourself is a great way to start, but some guidance would help you along.
Guitar Noise is a highly recommended website that has free guitar lessons.
Good luck!
October 17th, 2010 at 1:34 pm
yeah you can teach yourself. I’m self taught and i’ve been playing for 3 years and i would say i’m pretty good….but you might want to buy some kind of guitar book to get you started. just play what you feel 🙂
October 17th, 2010 at 2:07 pm
you can go to a store and buy a guitar book, they have books that teach you how to play at music shops or larger retail stores like kmart, walmart, or target.
October 17th, 2010 at 2:09 pm
well, my answer to you is an answer for me as well! i just decided i was going to teach myself just this weeekend! im not going to learn using notes. but something called guitar tabs. its easier, and there are tabs all over the internet for tons of songs. youtubers also post up tutorials and instructions on the parts of the guitar, different techniques, and how to play songs. in addition, there are a lot of exercises that ive seen on youtube. so, yes, you can def. teach yourself. good luck!!
October 17th, 2010 at 3:09 pm
Yes you can learn by yourself. Hans Zimmer taught himself piano. It’s possible, you could simply experiment and see what notes go together or if you have knowledge about music then it’s the 1st, the 3rd and the 5th note of the scale that makes up the chord. You could try buying a book, the aren’t that expensive.
October 17th, 2010 at 4:00 pm
Yes you can learn yourself. There is a book called guitar lessons for dummies ( no bull S) it can help you get started. Check Wal-Mart or a book store.
October 17th, 2010 at 4:55 pm
It’s possible, if you have a good ear. A disadvantage of being taught is that you will pick up the teacher’s style. The advantages are that it will give you more motivation to practice – so you have improved by the next lesson, and any mistakes you make will be picked up, rather than finding you have misunderstood something from a book.
If you have played another instrument you may find it easier to teach yourself. Learning from a DVD may be more helpful than a book, as it’s easier to get the hang. If you have Musicians TV where you are, they have free tutorials.
There’s always the option to teach yourself the basics and then go to lessons. Go on a recommendation, rather than picking one at random. If you have been playing for a while, you are likely to be more dedicated, so you won’t feel like you’re wasting money.
October 17th, 2010 at 5:35 pm
I taught myself. I’ve been playing for almost 13 years. Guitar lessons do help a lil, however, you can easily learn by yourself.
The best way to do this is think of one of your favorite songs. Lets say you want to learn “One” by Metallica: Just google “Metallica One Tab”.
Tab is very easy to read. You can learn it in less than 5 minutes. Youtube is another great source for learning.
October 17th, 2010 at 6:06 pm
You most definitely can. Some of the best well known guitarists are self taught. It just needs effort.
Learn how to read TAB and then get a whole bunch of them.
Learn some scales and improvise with them, hitting random notes in the scale so your ears can get used to hearing what scale goes well with certain chords.
Learn the names of each note on the 6th string.
There are many chords out there, learn the major, minor and 7ths first, they are used most often. Try bar versions (where your index finger covers all the notes on one fret and your remaining fingers press on different notes) and open string versions
Use TAB of your favourite bands and learn their songs slowly, until you can get faster at them.
Try out a few easy solos or play fast ones real slow until you get the hang of them.
Listen to some bands and try to pick out the chords and notes yourself, good ear training.
You may also want to learn a bit of music theory to help you out in composing, or just go all out trying anything until you have something sounding good.
Good luck with this. It is an awesome instrument to learn 🙂
October 17th, 2010 at 6:18 pm
it is possible, go to your local music shop and get a book or two. There are many series of books you can buy which start out with the basics and you slowly work your way up.
Also, instructional dvds are very helpful. Thats how i learned!
October 17th, 2010 at 6:33 pm
i began playing guitar without any teaching…by only myself… and material from book and internet…
u can do it….but u need more will power…
then if u like guitar u need some addictional instructions by experts
October 17th, 2010 at 6:35 pm
Yes, but you won’t be able to teach yourself many Sonic Youth songs. They have ridiculous tunings for every song.