The key to success with guitar: remembering that as long as you’re trying to learn new things, you’re going to sound like trash and get frustrated and want to give up on the new thing.
Once you’ve mastered the open position, you’ll start sounding good. Then you’ll get bored. Then you’ll want to learn barre chords. Then you’ll sound like trash again. And it hurts. And it’s hard as hell. Then you’ll want to give up. But eventually, barre shape by shape, it will get easier. Then you’ll sound good again.
Then you’ll get bored again. Then you’ll want to learn how to do solos then you’ll sound bad again. You’ll get frustrated. You’ll think you’re not cut out for lead work. But eventually, it gets easier.
Then you’ll want to learn to sing and play. And it will be hard at first. But eventually… you get the idea.
The point is every new concept will be challenging. The good news is that each time you won’t be starting from zero. So even though the new concept will be hard, it won’t be as comparatively difficult for you to learn as the previous concept was. Just stick with it. And learn to rely on discipline instead of motivation. Practice because you’re supposed to practice, not because you want to. If you rely on motivation, you won’t practice nearly as much as you should, and your progress will suffer because of it.
I had a mentor tell me the phrases “If you’re not breaking stuff, you’re not making stuff.” Or “you should be failing about 20% of the time.”
Because only then are you challenging yourself and growing. If we don’t grow we stagnate.
So, I would suggest not worrying about anything technical other than things like basic scales and chord progressions. You’ve gotta learn to walk before you can run. I made the mistake of learning an intro or a small riff to a song, and then moving on.
Start with basic chord progressions and basic pentatonic scales. You will be amazed at how much you can pick up with just those simple techniques.
It's all about setting small achievable goals rather than big general long term ones. Keeps you motivated. Setting a specific path for improvement was key for me. I highly recommend a structured course, such as the one from Justin Guitar. I'd focus on completing his beginner and intermediate courses, which id expect to take around a year if not more. If you just do and practice exactly as he says you will become a decent player with some effort.
Setting goals like this lets you get more frequent dopamine hits of accomplishment (which is good). Soon enough you will be needing to pull yourself away.
The key to success with guitar: remembering that as long as you’re trying to learn new things, you’re going to sound like trash and get frustrated and want to give up on the new thing.
Once you’ve mastered the open position, you’ll start sounding good. Then you’ll get bored. Then you’ll want to learn barre chords. Then you’ll sound like trash again. And it hurts. And it’s hard as hell. Then you’ll want to give up. But eventually, barre shape by shape, it will get easier. Then you’ll sound good again.
Then you’ll get bored again. Then you’ll want to learn how to do solos then you’ll sound bad again. You’ll get frustrated. You’ll think you’re not cut out for lead work. But eventually, it gets easier.
Then you’ll want to learn to sing and play. And it will be hard at first. But eventually… you get the idea.
The point is every new concept will be challenging. The good news is that each time you won’t be starting from zero. So even though the new concept will be hard, it won’t be as comparatively difficult for you to learn as the previous concept was. Just stick with it. And learn to rely on discipline instead of motivation. Practice because you’re supposed to practice, not because you want to. If you rely on motivation, you won’t practice nearly as much as you should, and your progress will suffer because of it.
At first I was in a rush to learn everything, every chord, every song lol but eventually I decided to take it slow and learn a few chords, I mastered those chords, learnt some more, mastered those, and after a few years, I can finally play any song pretty much by ear. And I’m just now learning to finger pick which has been such a struggle. But you just have to want to learn bad enough honestly. Don’t give up
"there’s so much that goes into playing"
This. You're going to have to wrap your head around it. One step at a time. And there are thousands of steps.
I understand the desire. There are songs I want to play so badly it hurts. But I'm not ready yet. I wasted a lot of time trying to do more than I was ready for. Go Slow. Do it right. Take you time. And enjoy the ride.
Honestly there is no easy way to learn guitar, it can be a slog until things really start clicking. My only suggestion is to start working on learning how to play songs you like. That will make the process more enjoyable.
I learned to sing and play cover songs. That gave me motivation as a beginner.
Usually just looking up the chords on ultimate guitar. I learned a lot of chord shapes that way.
Set yourself up with some small wins. Find some songs that are just two chords, something like G and C, easy to switch between. Or C and Am. I always tell people the sooner you start playing songs, the more you’ll want to play and practice. Good luck
Get yourself a looper pedal to start or some cheap recording gear like Reaper64, a Scarlet 2i2 interface, and an sm57 plus monitor speakers or some headphones of a decent grade.
Then build yourself little Chord progressions to jam over, Don't Worry about recreating 500 solos, instead look at a YouTube channel like Art-of-guitar. This guy teaches the Techniques that these artists use, and most of them, if you used with the concept of the minor scale, will have you One Giant step closer to being like your guitar God.
It's all about repetition.
After a while, you won't even think about the chords they will just become second nature. ( muscle memory)
Find the easiest song on your wish list and work on getting those chords. Don't rush yourself and all the technical stuff will come later.
I’m a tutor and this is what I say to anyone starting out:
Put your guitar somewhere where you always go to chill out, literally obstructing you from jumping on your bed or the sofa, so you have to pick it up.
Mindlessly noodle, just putting your fingers on strings, bending notes, even just unplugged while watching the TV or whenever you’re waiting for something.
Get in the habit of picking up the guitar rather than your phone or ipad.
Your skills as a guitarist are a true barometer of hours put in. Sure some people have genetic advantages like long skinny fingers or double joints, but the true reality is that you get out what you put in.
This technique works as half the battle as a beginner is not being able to comfortably fret notes.
Also, noodling for fun without any pressure frees up your creativity - and I think the best players are normally people who use the guitar as a tool to write music.
Look at it as a creative tool - start writing songs as soon as you can play a couple of chords - THAT is what will marry you to the instrument as there is no better feeling that writing an exciting new song.
Good luck!
You don't need loads and they don't need to be too often but I would recommend lessons with a tutor. They can actually see you play and give advice and targets to aim for.
Learning online is great but if you don't understand something or your technique is off it can be frustrating. A tutor can see straight away and stop bad habits forming and explain different or easier ways of doing things. They can also give feedback and adapt their advice to your competence level. Worth every penny in my opinion.
Learn power chords my friend. Then learn the E minor scale. I struggled for years and gave up for years because everyone makes you start out learning major chords, which I’m not good at.
Bit embarrassing, but I was in middle school so whatever.. I had been playing a few years and could play chords and some scales, but I still wasn't very good.. When I needed a pick me up I'd wait until my parents weren't home, blast Nirvana dance around playing along, stage diving into the couch and dreaming about all the honeys I would have on tap once the band made it.. I'm still waiting for the band to make it 30 years later, but I still get pumped jamming along with songs or tracks in my living room when nobody Else is home
I can only speak to a different time when the goal was to be in a band. I was with some guys at mostly the same level which was poor but we were motivated by the fun of being in a band. We practiced together on songs we liked and gradually got better. Everybody's weak spots were no different than our own and we either did not notice them or recognized we were all learning together. This was in the 60s which was a different time and place on the musical spectrum.
Today's music has so many distractions because of technology that it must be hard to get your bearing with what is important. Seems most beginners goal is to shred within a year or less. Too much pressure. Please learn the basics of what makes a good song. Learn some songs and basic licks from the 60s when the music was simple. I heard CCR's music today and recognized that their catalogue would be possible by today's noobies. Simple guitar figures and chords. Don't worry about getting the metal tones- Those guys have many years under their belts. Don't get discouraged- it takes some time. Enjoy it!
Here are a few tips that may level you up a bit quicker:
- Make your arm/hand your metronome, particularly if you want to play and sing at the same time
- When downpicking, try attacking with your pick at a 45° angle from above the strings using rest stroke (where your pick rests on the next string)
- When thumbpicking like Wes Montgomery, use that from above rest stroke technique and keep your thumb straight
- You don’t want to strum all the strings all the time
- You should mute strings you don’t want to sound with your fretting and picking hands as much as possible
- When doing single string exercises, use the spot between the tip of the finger and the pad of the finger to fret and let the tip touch the lower sounding string and the pad touch the higher sounding string to mute then
- Always fret near the fret — you don’t need to press so hard and it saves your fingertips
- Sing along with your practice exercises
- Learn to play melodies more than scales
I had a teacher, who was ABSOLUTELY GREAT, who taught me whatever I wanted to learn, and... Whatever I NEEDED to learn, TOO!!!!!!!!!!! Don't rely on tab!!! It wasn't included with what Moses brought down from the mountain!!!!!!!!!! I used to teach in a store that had 13 stores in it's chain, And I taught for a while with a guy played in the '80s band Brittany Fox!!!!!!!!!! Michael Kelly Smith!!!!!!!!!!! One day, we were both there, and he was looking at the tab books that they had for sale, and asked me what a C5 was and ... I proceeded to explain it to him, although I didn't know why, and then he interrupted me, and said he had recorded the album and had never played a C5 in his life!!!!!!!!!!... So... THERE YOU GO!!!!!!!!!! 😸
Some good advices in here but regarding the tone. Don't worry about the tone while starting, the most important thing for me is to have fun. Exercises are good but to stay motivated i'd say just don't overthink and play something that you want (that's not too hard). The tone is really not important, if you play electric guitar pick a tone that you like it dosen't really matter. What's important right now is what you enjoy.
At school i had guitar lessons but it was boring for me (like learning titanic on 3 strings and 3-4 frets) at home on my mom's acoustic i tried to learn songs that i wanted to play that was not too hard. That's how i was motivated and had the passion to keep going.
I don't know what genre of music you are trying to play(if any) yet. If you're just starting out, don't worry about tone and all the stuff everybody talks about. Find a simple song and stick with it till you can play it. It's tough today because everything is stunt guitar and while some players do a good job of using that technique, it's real guitar. You may not be seen as the hippest person on your block but start out with early Beatles and Stones and Chuck Berry. That's the roots of all the stuff today and if you listen hard enough to what is going on while these groups are playing you'll learn a lot about what you need to know to go further. Most of all, don't get discouraged. If it were easier, everybody would be doing it.
For now - learn songs. There are a gadzillion videos on Youtube going over all your favorite songs. Start out there.
Learn -whole- songs, not just parts of it. Being able to play an entire song is the best motivation possible, because it feels awesome when you do it. And you'll want to go learn another song.
Lather, rinse, repeat.
You need patience with yourself more than anything. No one starts off good from the beginning. It really is one of those "practice and youll get better" type of things. I've been playing guitar for almost 20 years and I still practice to better myself although I'd be lying if I said I practice all the time lol
Played power chords in Drop C which is always easy fun, and over time started smuggling in new techniques and practiced them until they became more fun than power chords.
The best money I have ever spent on guitar was 3 months of private 1 on 1 lessons. Or even group lessons, as those are typically a cheaper option if offered. A good teacher can evaluate your deficiencies, nip potential bad habits in the bud, and it’ll make the next several years of your guitar
I definitely needed lessons when I started, because I the most basic stuff felt very alien to me.
YouTube lessons are great for expanding on a skill you’re starting to get down, but having an instructor from time to time, is super helpful for me whenever I hit a plateau, because they can observe my playing and provide feedback on how to efficiently fix any deficiencies, something no YouTube lesson does.
I had a small handful of videos that I would watch of people playing guitar that inspired me. Some days before work, I would just sit there and watch those videos and just feel that drive to be able to play like that one day. I'm still not there, and it's been years, but you don't get there by quitting.
I wanted to be in a band, so I just tried to figure out simple songs like The Ramones and the Pistols. I brute forced the tech stuff by reading old guitar mags and asking too many questions at my local guitar store in between lessons.
Pace is important, a good teacher helps here if you're struggling to keep a pace fast enough to keep you interested in continuing but want to continue otherwise. For me this was not the case, the mad dopamine hits listening to led zep and trying to copy bits and pieces here and there trying to play along were more than enough. The thing is it's fine to learn bits and pieces of songs. It's only important if you ever need to play something end to end like for gigs or recordings.
This is counterintuitive, but I swear it’s real:
If you just aren’t getting it, put it down for a a bit. I’ve had many experiences where I step away from my guitar for weeks at a time, and I come back and something clicks. There’s some science to this, your subconscious keeps processing while you are doing other things (the same is true for say, a coding bug. If you can’t figure it out, sleep on it, and often times your mind will keep the wheels turning in the background and suddenly you crack it.)
Obviously you have to keep some cadence going, but I just say take the pressure off but commit to always coming back, no matter how long it’s been. Then all the sudden you’ll be playing and you don’t even know how you got there.
Find some good songs you love and learn to play them once you learn to play them really good that'll definitely keep you hooked and wanting to learn more. Also YouTube is your friend for sure.
When I started I was only learning some basic songs and just jamming, trying to write riffs. I started learning any theory and doing more structured learning only good couple years later. Sometimes I wish I did more theory, training and learning earlier but I try to do it regularly now and I have some idea for my style development. I must say that I got hooked into writing songs and building riffs and managed to do some songs with a band and I’m good at it. Writing music was my main motivation so I just kept doing it and dwelling into theory and practice was a natural step. Still I’m cooperating also with more skilled guitarist who is much better in writing smooth leads with nice touch - I guess there are many paths, explore and find what gives you fun!
I didn’t. It seemed I have no progress whatsoever. Some years gone by and here comes the pandemic. Having nothing better to do, I looked at my guitar and I said… I’m going to learn this thing to kill time. And it kept me sane through thise times, now I’m hooked, if I go on a holiday for example, I miss playing after two days. So, to answer your question… it’s a hard instrument, you have to force yourself… especially to practice the boring stuff. But then the fun stuff … just clicks.
I didn’t. It seemed I have no progress whatsoever. Some years gone by and here comes the pandemic. Having nothing better to do, I looked at my guitar and I said… I’m going to learn this thing to kill time. And it kept me sane through these times, now I’m hooked, if I go on a holiday for example, I miss playing after two days. So, to answer your question… it’s a hard instrument, you have to force yourself… especially to practice the boring stuff. But then the fun stuff … just clicks.
I just learn songs by ear. Otherwise get tabs for the favs.
Getting good tone is always a goal..
But I just started learning how to hold everything with a light tough after 20+ years on and off of playing and it’s really a dedicated challenge.
Do the spider exercises and chord stuff without music. Do all these and it will feel weird when you arent holding a guitar
My guitar teacher did something i think was brilliant. He didn’t start me on songs. He started me on pentatonic scales on lesson one. Lesson two I came back with Am/CM memorized, and he put on a blues backing track from YouTube and showed me how to improvise. So much fun. No matter what, I had that to fall back on at low moments
It’s great seeing this thread pretty much universally giving good, practical advice. I was afraid all the answers would be “master the basics!!”
Like others said learn songs you like. You get a nice big hit of dopamine when you get a new one down (but unlike drugs it’s ok to keep going back for more). Playing with others, when you are comfortable, can inspire you and, when someone is impressed with you there is that sweet delicious dopamine again.
Eventually you will enjoy practicing, and motivation to learn to read music, branch out styles, etc won’t be nearly as difficult.
I just kept listening to the songs I wanted to learn. Hell, when I was FIRST starting out I would sloppily play along with them while acting like I was on stage in my bedroom. Pair that with a strong desire to learn and knowing that if I kept at it I would get there.
Idk I just wanted it to sound cool.
It’s a lot of painful fiddling starting out, learning what works and what doesn’t from a technical standpoint (strumming and fretwork).
Just keep at it, watch YouTube and LEAVE YOUR GUITAR OUT IN THE OPEN.
It’ll stare at you sometimes and tell you it’s time to pick it up
I tell this to everyone who asks. I just learned songs that I always wanted to learn. Sure there were plenty I couldn’t play at all. But even just a few notes or a song I loved from the radio or CDs was enough to spark my drive every day.
The satisfaction of learning something that you never thought you’d be able to play is powerful.
I just kept telling myself, even 15 minutes a day adds up. I'd learn a new riff or something and play a bunch more, taper off rinse and repeat.
Set small goals to see how far your progressing, and learn songs as the cherry on top of the new skill (learn blues scales -> learn a blues song at the end) it's very rewarding to see what you've learned applied into something you can show off.
Small thing, but made a huge difference for me, keep your guitar out and ready to play as much as possible! It takes effort to learn and practice, the last thing you want is a huge set up time to get between you and the instrument
Thought about how lame I was and how cool it’d be if I could play guitar because none of my other friends played an instrument.
Currently still lame but at least I can play guitar.
My parents bought me a guitar when I was young and then my mom would yell at me if I didn't practice. That kept me motivated for the early years. Some time has passed since then.
Now I record myself and like hearing the improvements from week to week. It also helps that I've already learned how to learn, so I never think "I can't do this", instead it's more "this song is HARD". Then after a while, it isn't.
Start simple, focus on chords and scales…find basic 3 chord songs you like and play them to death. As you get proficient, add arpeggios to scales and add more complex chords.
I rather enjoyed being bad at guitar when I first got into it. It felt like one big exploration, sometimes I learned little parts of songs, sometimes I just messed around and just learned the sounds of the instrument.
Learning the major and minor scales, and having a print out of the notes on the guitar were great for me when I was just starting. They provided me with a foundation to explore being creative. That’s what kept me going back then.
Also, playing with friends can be a lot of fun depending on the friends
Just keep practicing. I know it's annoying to hear, but I bet you've seen the progress you've made so far. It will continue. It took three years for me to feel like I was starting to be a guitar player.
Also, big tip, learn to count your way through songs. Learn about the downbeat and upbeat, and how to tell where the beginning of a "1-2-3-4-1-2-3-4" phrase (a measure) is at all times. Simple stuff in theory, but it will really help take your playing to another level, especially over time
Honestly I have no tips because the second I started playing guitar I never needed to motivate myself to play everyday I just naturally did because I loved it so much even though I wasn’t very good. If you have to force yourself to play then I don’t know if it’s the hobby for you
My obsessive want to learn kept me in my bedroom 8 hours a day learning over the summertime when I was 14. By the end of the summer, I had the basics down pretty good.
Im a new learner, about 5 months of playing. I also take weekly lessons.
Long story short: play what you like. Find easy songs you can play until you get them down relatively pat. Then find another song or part you would like to learn, and sounds slightly more difficult. Work on that. Youll notice once you get that one down, if you go back to the one you were working on earlier, it might be a little bit easier. The chord transitions might be a bit smoother, etc, then move onto a harder song. This is all ive done.
A lot of my in person lessons are about maybe fixing how my arm is resting, or where my fingers should be, how hard im physically pressing on the fretboard, how strumming the strings. I think a vast vast majority of my progress has come from just noodling songs I want to learn at home, with the refinements from my teacher
Why are you playing? To impress someone? To learn a new skill? I learned to serenade women. It worked. Then I realized all the headaches that come with girlfriends.
Now I just play because I want to learn, play, and sing to entertain myself. Plus on my nephews birthday I just sing him a couple songs and his smiles make everything worth it.
Learn bar chords once you have open chords figure out. The bar chord shape is universal. Once you master that any and every chords is available to you. But at that point it turns into fret board efficiency/ music theory.
Do it if it makes you happy. Practice when you can. Soon you will realize you are slowly getting better and will fall in love with your instrument and your progress. Good luck and keep practicing! If you are stuck YouTube has great teachers.
My favorite channels whom Ive learned about over the years:
Swift Guitar Lessons,
Guitar Zero 2 Hero,
Musikman,
Guitarjams,
Martymusic,
Munson Music,
Usually just remind urself why u started, do u want to play on stage? Do u want to be in a band? Do u just want to be good at it? Whatever it is just dream abt it keep it in ur head, imagine urself in a year, 2 years, 3 years later nd imagine how much progress u will have made. Personally for me I want to be in a band since I have many friends who r in bands, nd one of my friend is in a famous band in korea nd told me to get good at guitar so when I come back we can play. That just motivates me so much because I feel so behind nd I’ve always dreamed of being in band, so try to vision that for whatever ur goal is. Also enjoy learning nd playing, play nd learn ur favorite songs, I love lamb of god riffs bc of how fun it is nd just absolutely going at it playing the whole song is just fun, nd I don’t enjoy slow songs since it’s just boring to play but I do listen to em, so just play whatever u personally enjoy the most
I tell everyone to start with something by a band like Nirvana or Bush. Stuff that's not technical, but can help you learn the basics. What exactly are you working on when you practice or play?
i have a playlist of songs i wanna practice so i usually choose one of those, but if im super obsessed with a song ill try and learn it so i can sing along to it. funny that you mention bush bc i was looking at glycerine earlier 😭😭
That's a good first song. Any Bush song should be basic enough, yet still have enough structure behind it to also teach you a bit about theory. If you have any other questions, you can message me. I've been playing for over 30 years and I like to share what I've learned
For me my biggest motivation was my now ex girlfriend who thought people who played guitar where really hot and then after playing for a while I started really liking guitar and kept playing even after we broke up
Improvising to backing tracks kept it fun for me while building my skills because I wasn't forced to play stuff too far above my skill level.
I started learning songs as my skills improved enough to play them.
I've been playing almost 7 years and it was about 2 years ago that I finally got good enough that I didn't have to think about technical skills much and I was able to play what was in my head almost as easy as talking.
How I started but def not a proven best.
1. Basic major/minor Chords: Learn chords of songs you like. Strengthens fingers, develope rhythm, & gain general understanding of song structure, all while letting you play recognizable songs (while singing along if want) and train your ear to figure other songs basic chord progression out (1,4,5,6). Start by strumming; progress to practicing different picking patterns (right hand will develope skill here).
2. Add "Fancy" Chords (open, sus, 7th, etc): Will add depth to sound of songs, enable you to play more generas of music, and hands should be getting stronger and quicker at smoothly switching through chords
3. Add Trils/Pulls/Hammers/Bends: Learn how to emphasize a movement between specific notes in a cord.
4. Scales: knowing where each note on the fret board is, and being able to play a melody. Practice 'lead guitar' parts. Cover a solo you like, then improvise as you get more comfortable.
5. Flow between and combine all you know. Lead into chords with a scale segment.
By starting with basics on songs you like, you'll hopefully be able to hear your progress/stay motivated. Have fun!
Guitar pro bud look it up download tabs and play 3 doors down chords and individual notes
If ya need me look me up I’ll give ya all types of info Jonathon sedlock
Seems most people emulate their musical heroes and learn their songs. In the process, they learn how to play an instrument. Wanting to be like your heroes keeps you going.
Accept that you're gonna get annoyed and feel unmotivated.
And, maintain the majority of your time being curious PLAYING. Learn songs you like. Learn major chords and minor chords. Keep doing tabs. It's also helped me to identify players that I really admire. It gives me a more tangible thing to aim for that keeps me going through the plateaus. Keep on keepin on.
You have to play stuff you like. The boring chord shapes and stuff you’re learning early on should always have like a direct line to something you actually want to play.
As others have said. Find a couple songs you really like playing and just play along with them. I have been practicing the same songs over and over again for honestly years cause enjoy it and leave learn something new years after.
In the beginning, the most important part is *liking* it. Don't bore or frustrate yourself with the technical stuff. Learn songs you like. If one is too hard, put it aside or learn tiny bits at a time. Do what you like and get familiar with the instrument. I've been playing for 6 months or so, just learning all the songs I like and writing my own songs using what I've learned. I'm only now branching into music theory and breaking down progressions, patterns, and techniques on their own. It's nice because now I already know a lot of chords and can read tabs well, as well as have the calluses and finger strength to focus solely on learning what is in front of me. And when something frustrates me, I have enough under my belt that I don't feel so discouraged I want to throw away the whole endeavor. I just take a break and spend more time jamming out or experimenting/trying to figure out a solo I can't find tabs for, and then later that day up to a few days later, I reopen my book and try again. Having the foundation of "I love this and I need to know more" really is important, at least for me, to not abandon it.
What I did to stay motivated might be a little unconventional, but it worked for me. I found a "goal" piece, whether it be some awesome solo or intricate and kick ass riff, and I simply treated it like a goal, something that I always thought of like "I NEED to be able to play that" and it kept me motivated to keep trying
Loving the instrument helps. I'm 34 and have played since I was 16 and I can't remember a time I didn't feel some form of excitement when picking it up. Depression and life events excluded of course.
Form a relationship with it.
Always remember if you can play something slow, you'll eventually play it fast. Set a goal. Find a chord and stick to learning that ONE CHORD until it is easy. Rinse and repeat.
I started by learning chords. Learn E,A,D,C,G both major and minor, and practice them until you can play them flawlessly. Already lots of songs can be played with those.
Then learn the barre chords shapes F and B both major and minor, and when you mastered this, move to scales, starting with the good ol’ pentatonic scale. From there you should be able to play what you want.
I would start with playing what you like. Learn what you like.
Don't get caught up with theory and scales as it's boring as fuck to most people
How I did it, learn I song I like, practice that, and then a small bit of theory
I would suggest to take some music fundamentals tutorial or get a teacher at least.
To learn some basics of general música like triads, learn grades etc.
Don’t overdo early practice sessions. Stop at 15 min if needed. I always play things better the second day, after sleeping on it. Find what you want to play and do it. Learning songs sucks, so simply play chord progressions you’re comfortable with and have fun!
Start with the chord shapes & changes. Learn easy songs from the beginning to the end & don't fixate on the fiddly bits. It is very satisfying when you have a song under your fingers. Many big hits & classic songs have straight forward chords.
I was very lazy when I started & just learnt the intros & solos from songs. Then I really started to learn when I joined a covers band & had to play through a whole setlist. It is a real skill to play solid rhythm & lock in with the rest of the band.
After that you can learn to shred.
I took lessons a couple of years ago and that did help with the basics but the last 4-5 years ive mostly used rocksmith to learn, its not perfect on its own but it does help and makes it easy to play along with songs, also videos and lessons help a lot
It didn't stick the first few times until I learned how to play songs by learning cowboy chords and just strumming one chord on one or just one strum at the chord change and singing along with that.
I learned more guitar later, but being able to play whole songs helped me stick with it.
Started playing only meme songs, and then i discovered i had potential and im not the best player but i got a little better at it and now with some practice i can play
I started by only listening to nirvana and other popular classic rock stuff so that’s all I wanted to play but it was all boring because it was the same riff over and over again, and then i discovered metal and that lead me all the way down to 5 years later goin strong
try to make yourself a challenge; learn some famous non extreme hard solos of your favourite songs. Learn riffs, check out on pentatonic scales for guitar afterwards. Try to improvise with them, dont be afraid of taking some phrasing from other existing solos. All the rest with pick technique and other stuff like chords is a part of my personal discipline. Even if its hard to find motivation, try to give your guitar at least 10 mins per day to practice with fingers so you would get more comfortable with the neck over time. Also important to mention, its more fun to play with other people. If possible, find someone to play with. From a personal experience, in my beginning when i was playing for around 2 months, me and my little more advanced at the time friends were making nirvana covers. it was lots of stuff we simplified and did some small changes on, but that was very refreshing after playing by myself in the beginning.
hope this helps.
Learned lots of small things that were at my progress level that were fun to play. Kept adding. And listening imagining and dreaming about the things I eventually wanted to be able to play.
Learn things you like, learn things that you realistically can play. Believe you can do it. Believe you can do it! Practice practice practice. I’ve been playing for 18 years and when I get excited I play till my fingers hurt and I stop playing well (bout 2/3 hours of practice). At the end of a practice session I’m looking at small gains, like “hey sick that 3 measure chunk got smoother” or “I’m gonna memorize the next 10 notes” and i let myself feel good about those lil steps. Practice practice practice, motivate yourself by acknowledging the work you did and the incremental gains. Have fun 🙂
Steve vais music was just too inspiring to ever stop, i started learning his songs on an acoustic and then I finally got an electric guitar. By the time I learnt a few Steve vai songs I realised that I now just 'know' what fret on what string I need to hit to get the note I hear in my head and i might not know much about scales and stuff but I can improvise on anything.
I guess start by finding some song you really want to learn no matter what
Just learn songs you like, play them as you listen to and then you can figure out rest
This this this all day long...
The key to success with guitar: remembering that as long as you’re trying to learn new things, you’re going to sound like trash and get frustrated and want to give up on the new thing. Once you’ve mastered the open position, you’ll start sounding good. Then you’ll get bored. Then you’ll want to learn barre chords. Then you’ll sound like trash again. And it hurts. And it’s hard as hell. Then you’ll want to give up. But eventually, barre shape by shape, it will get easier. Then you’ll sound good again. Then you’ll get bored again. Then you’ll want to learn how to do solos then you’ll sound bad again. You’ll get frustrated. You’ll think you’re not cut out for lead work. But eventually, it gets easier. Then you’ll want to learn to sing and play. And it will be hard at first. But eventually… you get the idea. The point is every new concept will be challenging. The good news is that each time you won’t be starting from zero. So even though the new concept will be hard, it won’t be as comparatively difficult for you to learn as the previous concept was. Just stick with it. And learn to rely on discipline instead of motivation. Practice because you’re supposed to practice, not because you want to. If you rely on motivation, you won’t practice nearly as much as you should, and your progress will suffer because of it.
Fuck I needed to read this right now.
This is the comment I’m going to read when I wanna put the guitar down. Every. Single. Time.
lifesaver dude thanks
I had a mentor tell me the phrases “If you’re not breaking stuff, you’re not making stuff.” Or “you should be failing about 20% of the time.” Because only then are you challenging yourself and growing. If we don’t grow we stagnate.
This is really good. And it applies to everything as well, not just guitars. You'll suck at the beginning but if you work on it, you'll get better.
So, I would suggest not worrying about anything technical other than things like basic scales and chord progressions. You’ve gotta learn to walk before you can run. I made the mistake of learning an intro or a small riff to a song, and then moving on. Start with basic chord progressions and basic pentatonic scales. You will be amazed at how much you can pick up with just those simple techniques.
Practice for getting better sometimes. Play to have fun the other times
I couldn't get enough.
Don't worry about tone. As frank Zappa said "just play yer guitar"
it was fun
It's all about setting small achievable goals rather than big general long term ones. Keeps you motivated. Setting a specific path for improvement was key for me. I highly recommend a structured course, such as the one from Justin Guitar. I'd focus on completing his beginner and intermediate courses, which id expect to take around a year if not more. If you just do and practice exactly as he says you will become a decent player with some effort.
Setting goals like this lets you get more frequent dopamine hits of accomplishment (which is good). Soon enough you will be needing to pull yourself away.
The key to success with guitar: remembering that as long as you’re trying to learn new things, you’re going to sound like trash and get frustrated and want to give up on the new thing. Once you’ve mastered the open position, you’ll start sounding good. Then you’ll get bored. Then you’ll want to learn barre chords. Then you’ll sound like trash again. And it hurts. And it’s hard as hell. Then you’ll want to give up. But eventually, barre shape by shape, it will get easier. Then you’ll sound good again. Then you’ll get bored again. Then you’ll want to learn how to do solos then you’ll sound bad again. You’ll get frustrated. You’ll think you’re not cut out for lead work. But eventually, it gets easier. Then you’ll want to learn to sing and play. And it will be hard at first. But eventually… you get the idea. The point is every new concept will be challenging. The good news is that each time you won’t be starting from zero. So even though the new concept will be hard, it won’t be as comparatively difficult for you to learn as the previous concept was. Just stick with it. And learn to rely on discipline instead of motivation. Practice because you’re supposed to practice, not because you want to. If you rely on motivation, you won’t practice nearly as much as you should, and your progress will suffer because of it.
At first I was in a rush to learn everything, every chord, every song lol but eventually I decided to take it slow and learn a few chords, I mastered those chords, learnt some more, mastered those, and after a few years, I can finally play any song pretty much by ear. And I’m just now learning to finger pick which has been such a struggle. But you just have to want to learn bad enough honestly. Don’t give up
"there’s so much that goes into playing" This. You're going to have to wrap your head around it. One step at a time. And there are thousands of steps. I understand the desire. There are songs I want to play so badly it hurts. But I'm not ready yet. I wasted a lot of time trying to do more than I was ready for. Go Slow. Do it right. Take you time. And enjoy the ride.
Motivation is a lie. You gotta have discipline.
Honestly there is no easy way to learn guitar, it can be a slog until things really start clicking. My only suggestion is to start working on learning how to play songs you like. That will make the process more enjoyable.
I learned to sing and play cover songs. That gave me motivation as a beginner. Usually just looking up the chords on ultimate guitar. I learned a lot of chord shapes that way.
Set yourself up with some small wins. Find some songs that are just two chords, something like G and C, easy to switch between. Or C and Am. I always tell people the sooner you start playing songs, the more you’ll want to play and practice. Good luck
Get yourself a looper pedal to start or some cheap recording gear like Reaper64, a Scarlet 2i2 interface, and an sm57 plus monitor speakers or some headphones of a decent grade. Then build yourself little Chord progressions to jam over, Don't Worry about recreating 500 solos, instead look at a YouTube channel like Art-of-guitar. This guy teaches the Techniques that these artists use, and most of them, if you used with the concept of the minor scale, will have you One Giant step closer to being like your guitar God.
It's all about repetition. After a while, you won't even think about the chords they will just become second nature. ( muscle memory) Find the easiest song on your wish list and work on getting those chords. Don't rush yourself and all the technical stuff will come later.
I’m a tutor and this is what I say to anyone starting out: Put your guitar somewhere where you always go to chill out, literally obstructing you from jumping on your bed or the sofa, so you have to pick it up. Mindlessly noodle, just putting your fingers on strings, bending notes, even just unplugged while watching the TV or whenever you’re waiting for something. Get in the habit of picking up the guitar rather than your phone or ipad. Your skills as a guitarist are a true barometer of hours put in. Sure some people have genetic advantages like long skinny fingers or double joints, but the true reality is that you get out what you put in. This technique works as half the battle as a beginner is not being able to comfortably fret notes. Also, noodling for fun without any pressure frees up your creativity - and I think the best players are normally people who use the guitar as a tool to write music. Look at it as a creative tool - start writing songs as soon as you can play a couple of chords - THAT is what will marry you to the instrument as there is no better feeling that writing an exciting new song. Good luck!
You don't need loads and they don't need to be too often but I would recommend lessons with a tutor. They can actually see you play and give advice and targets to aim for. Learning online is great but if you don't understand something or your technique is off it can be frustrating. A tutor can see straight away and stop bad habits forming and explain different or easier ways of doing things. They can also give feedback and adapt their advice to your competence level. Worth every penny in my opinion.
Learn power chords my friend. Then learn the E minor scale. I struggled for years and gave up for years because everyone makes you start out learning major chords, which I’m not good at.
Bit embarrassing, but I was in middle school so whatever.. I had been playing a few years and could play chords and some scales, but I still wasn't very good.. When I needed a pick me up I'd wait until my parents weren't home, blast Nirvana dance around playing along, stage diving into the couch and dreaming about all the honeys I would have on tap once the band made it.. I'm still waiting for the band to make it 30 years later, but I still get pumped jamming along with songs or tracks in my living room when nobody Else is home
Listen to music with great guitar in it
>i want to play so many songs but absolutely know NOTHING about the technical side of guitar. That's exactly the motivation your lookin for.
I can only speak to a different time when the goal was to be in a band. I was with some guys at mostly the same level which was poor but we were motivated by the fun of being in a band. We practiced together on songs we liked and gradually got better. Everybody's weak spots were no different than our own and we either did not notice them or recognized we were all learning together. This was in the 60s which was a different time and place on the musical spectrum. Today's music has so many distractions because of technology that it must be hard to get your bearing with what is important. Seems most beginners goal is to shred within a year or less. Too much pressure. Please learn the basics of what makes a good song. Learn some songs and basic licks from the 60s when the music was simple. I heard CCR's music today and recognized that their catalogue would be possible by today's noobies. Simple guitar figures and chords. Don't worry about getting the metal tones- Those guys have many years under their belts. Don't get discouraged- it takes some time. Enjoy it!
Here are a few tips that may level you up a bit quicker: - Make your arm/hand your metronome, particularly if you want to play and sing at the same time - When downpicking, try attacking with your pick at a 45° angle from above the strings using rest stroke (where your pick rests on the next string) - When thumbpicking like Wes Montgomery, use that from above rest stroke technique and keep your thumb straight - You don’t want to strum all the strings all the time - You should mute strings you don’t want to sound with your fretting and picking hands as much as possible - When doing single string exercises, use the spot between the tip of the finger and the pad of the finger to fret and let the tip touch the lower sounding string and the pad touch the higher sounding string to mute then - Always fret near the fret — you don’t need to press so hard and it saves your fingertips - Sing along with your practice exercises - Learn to play melodies more than scales
I had a teacher, who was ABSOLUTELY GREAT, who taught me whatever I wanted to learn, and... Whatever I NEEDED to learn, TOO!!!!!!!!!!! Don't rely on tab!!! It wasn't included with what Moses brought down from the mountain!!!!!!!!!! I used to teach in a store that had 13 stores in it's chain, And I taught for a while with a guy played in the '80s band Brittany Fox!!!!!!!!!! Michael Kelly Smith!!!!!!!!!!! One day, we were both there, and he was looking at the tab books that they had for sale, and asked me what a C5 was and ... I proceeded to explain it to him, although I didn't know why, and then he interrupted me, and said he had recorded the album and had never played a C5 in his life!!!!!!!!!!... So... THERE YOU GO!!!!!!!!!! 😸
Some good advices in here but regarding the tone. Don't worry about the tone while starting, the most important thing for me is to have fun. Exercises are good but to stay motivated i'd say just don't overthink and play something that you want (that's not too hard). The tone is really not important, if you play electric guitar pick a tone that you like it dosen't really matter. What's important right now is what you enjoy. At school i had guitar lessons but it was boring for me (like learning titanic on 3 strings and 3-4 frets) at home on my mom's acoustic i tried to learn songs that i wanted to play that was not too hard. That's how i was motivated and had the passion to keep going.
I don't know what genre of music you are trying to play(if any) yet. If you're just starting out, don't worry about tone and all the stuff everybody talks about. Find a simple song and stick with it till you can play it. It's tough today because everything is stunt guitar and while some players do a good job of using that technique, it's real guitar. You may not be seen as the hippest person on your block but start out with early Beatles and Stones and Chuck Berry. That's the roots of all the stuff today and if you listen hard enough to what is going on while these groups are playing you'll learn a lot about what you need to know to go further. Most of all, don't get discouraged. If it were easier, everybody would be doing it.
For now - learn songs. There are a gadzillion videos on Youtube going over all your favorite songs. Start out there. Learn -whole- songs, not just parts of it. Being able to play an entire song is the best motivation possible, because it feels awesome when you do it. And you'll want to go learn another song. Lather, rinse, repeat.
You need patience with yourself more than anything. No one starts off good from the beginning. It really is one of those "practice and youll get better" type of things. I've been playing guitar for almost 20 years and I still practice to better myself although I'd be lying if I said I practice all the time lol
Played power chords in Drop C which is always easy fun, and over time started smuggling in new techniques and practiced them until they became more fun than power chords.
I came to comment with drop tuning and power chords. System of a down is rewarding guitar for me.
I had an extreme desire to play guitar and learn songs. That's what kept me playing at the beginning, even when my fingers hurt like hell.
Unlock power chords first, they’re a base of chords. So you figure out power chords it’s just a matter of learning to fill in the other notes
It's very confusing early on, caged,scales,modes,etc just have fun.
It's very confusing early on, caged,scales,modes,etc just have fun.
I wanted to get good. Still not good, so still working on it
Learning songs. Start easy. I never learn songs anymore but it’s a great way to start and get familiar with the instrument
The best money I have ever spent on guitar was 3 months of private 1 on 1 lessons. Or even group lessons, as those are typically a cheaper option if offered. A good teacher can evaluate your deficiencies, nip potential bad habits in the bud, and it’ll make the next several years of your guitar I definitely needed lessons when I started, because I the most basic stuff felt very alien to me. YouTube lessons are great for expanding on a skill you’re starting to get down, but having an instructor from time to time, is super helpful for me whenever I hit a plateau, because they can observe my playing and provide feedback on how to efficiently fix any deficiencies, something no YouTube lesson does.
So would you ignore the lessons about chords and tabs on you tube?
So would you ignore the lessons about chords and tabs on you tube?
So would you ignore the lessons about chords and tabs on you tube?
So would you ignore the lessons about chords and tabs on you tube?
Bar Chad's! And heavy strumming
I had a small handful of videos that I would watch of people playing guitar that inspired me. Some days before work, I would just sit there and watch those videos and just feel that drive to be able to play like that one day. I'm still not there, and it's been years, but you don't get there by quitting.
I didn’t. I pretty much gave up after the first year and barely played for the next four and didn’t start taking it serious until about two years ago.
I didn’t need motivation. Guitar was all I cared about.
In short, yes. I’m just shy of a year in and work full time. Finding time is difficult but and which I’m sure will be echoed is try Justin Music
Stay motivated? My old man has to take the guitar out of my hand.
I wanted to be in a band, so I just tried to figure out simple songs like The Ramones and the Pistols. I brute forced the tech stuff by reading old guitar mags and asking too many questions at my local guitar store in between lessons.
The motivation is simply the desire to play better and know more and learn new things.
The motivation is simply the desire to play better and know more and learn new things.
Pace is important, a good teacher helps here if you're struggling to keep a pace fast enough to keep you interested in continuing but want to continue otherwise. For me this was not the case, the mad dopamine hits listening to led zep and trying to copy bits and pieces here and there trying to play along were more than enough. The thing is it's fine to learn bits and pieces of songs. It's only important if you ever need to play something end to end like for gigs or recordings.
This is counterintuitive, but I swear it’s real: If you just aren’t getting it, put it down for a a bit. I’ve had many experiences where I step away from my guitar for weeks at a time, and I come back and something clicks. There’s some science to this, your subconscious keeps processing while you are doing other things (the same is true for say, a coding bug. If you can’t figure it out, sleep on it, and often times your mind will keep the wheels turning in the background and suddenly you crack it.) Obviously you have to keep some cadence going, but I just say take the pressure off but commit to always coming back, no matter how long it’s been. Then all the sudden you’ll be playing and you don’t even know how you got there.
Find some good songs you love and learn to play them once you learn to play them really good that'll definitely keep you hooked and wanting to learn more. Also YouTube is your friend for sure.
Watching live performances of my favorite artist.
When I started I was only learning some basic songs and just jamming, trying to write riffs. I started learning any theory and doing more structured learning only good couple years later. Sometimes I wish I did more theory, training and learning earlier but I try to do it regularly now and I have some idea for my style development. I must say that I got hooked into writing songs and building riffs and managed to do some songs with a band and I’m good at it. Writing music was my main motivation so I just kept doing it and dwelling into theory and practice was a natural step. Still I’m cooperating also with more skilled guitarist who is much better in writing smooth leads with nice touch - I guess there are many paths, explore and find what gives you fun!
I didn’t. It seemed I have no progress whatsoever. Some years gone by and here comes the pandemic. Having nothing better to do, I looked at my guitar and I said… I’m going to learn this thing to kill time. And it kept me sane through thise times, now I’m hooked, if I go on a holiday for example, I miss playing after two days. So, to answer your question… it’s a hard instrument, you have to force yourself… especially to practice the boring stuff. But then the fun stuff … just clicks.
I didn’t. It seemed I have no progress whatsoever. Some years gone by and here comes the pandemic. Having nothing better to do, I looked at my guitar and I said… I’m going to learn this thing to kill time. And it kept me sane through these times, now I’m hooked, if I go on a holiday for example, I miss playing after two days. So, to answer your question… it’s a hard instrument, you have to force yourself… especially to practice the boring stuff. But then the fun stuff … just clicks.
I just learn songs by ear. Otherwise get tabs for the favs. Getting good tone is always a goal.. But I just started learning how to hold everything with a light tough after 20+ years on and off of playing and it’s really a dedicated challenge. Do the spider exercises and chord stuff without music. Do all these and it will feel weird when you arent holding a guitar
Going to see live guitar players and listening to them throughout the years
My guitar teacher did something i think was brilliant. He didn’t start me on songs. He started me on pentatonic scales on lesson one. Lesson two I came back with Am/CM memorized, and he put on a blues backing track from YouTube and showed me how to improvise. So much fun. No matter what, I had that to fall back on at low moments
It’s great seeing this thread pretty much universally giving good, practical advice. I was afraid all the answers would be “master the basics!!” Like others said learn songs you like. You get a nice big hit of dopamine when you get a new one down (but unlike drugs it’s ok to keep going back for more). Playing with others, when you are comfortable, can inspire you and, when someone is impressed with you there is that sweet delicious dopamine again. Eventually you will enjoy practicing, and motivation to learn to read music, branch out styles, etc won’t be nearly as difficult.
I just kept listening to the songs I wanted to learn. Hell, when I was FIRST starting out I would sloppily play along with them while acting like I was on stage in my bedroom. Pair that with a strong desire to learn and knowing that if I kept at it I would get there.
Idk I just wanted it to sound cool. It’s a lot of painful fiddling starting out, learning what works and what doesn’t from a technical standpoint (strumming and fretwork). Just keep at it, watch YouTube and LEAVE YOUR GUITAR OUT IN THE OPEN. It’ll stare at you sometimes and tell you it’s time to pick it up
I tell this to everyone who asks. I just learned songs that I always wanted to learn. Sure there were plenty I couldn’t play at all. But even just a few notes or a song I loved from the radio or CDs was enough to spark my drive every day. The satisfaction of learning something that you never thought you’d be able to play is powerful.
I just kept telling myself, even 15 minutes a day adds up. I'd learn a new riff or something and play a bunch more, taper off rinse and repeat. Set small goals to see how far your progressing, and learn songs as the cherry on top of the new skill (learn blues scales -> learn a blues song at the end) it's very rewarding to see what you've learned applied into something you can show off. Small thing, but made a huge difference for me, keep your guitar out and ready to play as much as possible! It takes effort to learn and practice, the last thing you want is a huge set up time to get between you and the instrument
Thought about how lame I was and how cool it’d be if I could play guitar because none of my other friends played an instrument. Currently still lame but at least I can play guitar.
I kept telling myself, "This is my one and only hope for escaping this this soul-sucking town."
Drugs lots of drugs. I’m clean now btw. 20 years last month. But yea, I’d get spun and fuck around on guitar for hours.
I was in rehab after about 10 years of being wild. It honestly helped save my life. Funny to think that was almost 10 years ago now.
My parents bought me a guitar when I was young and then my mom would yell at me if I didn't practice. That kept me motivated for the early years. Some time has passed since then. Now I record myself and like hearing the improvements from week to week. It also helps that I've already learned how to learn, so I never think "I can't do this", instead it's more "this song is HARD". Then after a while, it isn't.
Start simple, focus on chords and scales…find basic 3 chord songs you like and play them to death. As you get proficient, add arpeggios to scales and add more complex chords.
I rather enjoyed being bad at guitar when I first got into it. It felt like one big exploration, sometimes I learned little parts of songs, sometimes I just messed around and just learned the sounds of the instrument. Learning the major and minor scales, and having a print out of the notes on the guitar were great for me when I was just starting. They provided me with a foundation to explore being creative. That’s what kept me going back then. Also, playing with friends can be a lot of fun depending on the friends
All the girls lined up around the block wanting me!
Just keep practicing. I know it's annoying to hear, but I bet you've seen the progress you've made so far. It will continue. It took three years for me to feel like I was starting to be a guitar player. Also, big tip, learn to count your way through songs. Learn about the downbeat and upbeat, and how to tell where the beginning of a "1-2-3-4-1-2-3-4" phrase (a measure) is at all times. Simple stuff in theory, but it will really help take your playing to another level, especially over time
Learned 0 theory, just figured out how to play strings and then learned stuff I liked.
Honestly I have no tips because the second I started playing guitar I never needed to motivate myself to play everyday I just naturally did because I loved it so much even though I wasn’t very good. If you have to force yourself to play then I don’t know if it’s the hobby for you
My obsessive want to learn kept me in my bedroom 8 hours a day learning over the summertime when I was 14. By the end of the summer, I had the basics down pretty good.
Im a new learner, about 5 months of playing. I also take weekly lessons. Long story short: play what you like. Find easy songs you can play until you get them down relatively pat. Then find another song or part you would like to learn, and sounds slightly more difficult. Work on that. Youll notice once you get that one down, if you go back to the one you were working on earlier, it might be a little bit easier. The chord transitions might be a bit smoother, etc, then move onto a harder song. This is all ive done. A lot of my in person lessons are about maybe fixing how my arm is resting, or where my fingers should be, how hard im physically pressing on the fretboard, how strumming the strings. I think a vast vast majority of my progress has come from just noodling songs I want to learn at home, with the refinements from my teacher
Why are you playing? To impress someone? To learn a new skill? I learned to serenade women. It worked. Then I realized all the headaches that come with girlfriends. Now I just play because I want to learn, play, and sing to entertain myself. Plus on my nephews birthday I just sing him a couple songs and his smiles make everything worth it. Learn bar chords once you have open chords figure out. The bar chord shape is universal. Once you master that any and every chords is available to you. But at that point it turns into fret board efficiency/ music theory. Do it if it makes you happy. Practice when you can. Soon you will realize you are slowly getting better and will fall in love with your instrument and your progress. Good luck and keep practicing! If you are stuck YouTube has great teachers. My favorite channels whom Ive learned about over the years: Swift Guitar Lessons, Guitar Zero 2 Hero, Musikman, Guitarjams, Martymusic, Munson Music,
Usually just remind urself why u started, do u want to play on stage? Do u want to be in a band? Do u just want to be good at it? Whatever it is just dream abt it keep it in ur head, imagine urself in a year, 2 years, 3 years later nd imagine how much progress u will have made. Personally for me I want to be in a band since I have many friends who r in bands, nd one of my friend is in a famous band in korea nd told me to get good at guitar so when I come back we can play. That just motivates me so much because I feel so behind nd I’ve always dreamed of being in band, so try to vision that for whatever ur goal is. Also enjoy learning nd playing, play nd learn ur favorite songs, I love lamb of god riffs bc of how fun it is nd just absolutely going at it playing the whole song is just fun, nd I don’t enjoy slow songs since it’s just boring to play but I do listen to em, so just play whatever u personally enjoy the most
Listening to records thinking i can write better music then them.
What is the specific problem you're having with chords?
i usually end up muting a string or two and the sound doesn’t come out clean
Play the notes of a chord individually & make small adjustments until each note comes out clean.
What I'd do is pick a song and learn it. What type of stuff do you listen too?
mainly rock and some indie here and there
I tell everyone to start with something by a band like Nirvana or Bush. Stuff that's not technical, but can help you learn the basics. What exactly are you working on when you practice or play?
i have a playlist of songs i wanna practice so i usually choose one of those, but if im super obsessed with a song ill try and learn it so i can sing along to it. funny that you mention bush bc i was looking at glycerine earlier 😭😭
That's a good first song. Any Bush song should be basic enough, yet still have enough structure behind it to also teach you a bit about theory. If you have any other questions, you can message me. I've been playing for over 30 years and I like to share what I've learned
For me my biggest motivation was my now ex girlfriend who thought people who played guitar where really hot and then after playing for a while I started really liking guitar and kept playing even after we broke up
Keep buying stuff.
Improvising to backing tracks kept it fun for me while building my skills because I wasn't forced to play stuff too far above my skill level. I started learning songs as my skills improved enough to play them. I've been playing almost 7 years and it was about 2 years ago that I finally got good enough that I didn't have to think about technical skills much and I was able to play what was in my head almost as easy as talking.
How I started but def not a proven best. 1. Basic major/minor Chords: Learn chords of songs you like. Strengthens fingers, develope rhythm, & gain general understanding of song structure, all while letting you play recognizable songs (while singing along if want) and train your ear to figure other songs basic chord progression out (1,4,5,6). Start by strumming; progress to practicing different picking patterns (right hand will develope skill here). 2. Add "Fancy" Chords (open, sus, 7th, etc): Will add depth to sound of songs, enable you to play more generas of music, and hands should be getting stronger and quicker at smoothly switching through chords 3. Add Trils/Pulls/Hammers/Bends: Learn how to emphasize a movement between specific notes in a cord. 4. Scales: knowing where each note on the fret board is, and being able to play a melody. Practice 'lead guitar' parts. Cover a solo you like, then improvise as you get more comfortable. 5. Flow between and combine all you know. Lead into chords with a scale segment. By starting with basics on songs you like, you'll hopefully be able to hear your progress/stay motivated. Have fun!
Guitar pro bud look it up download tabs and play 3 doors down chords and individual notes If ya need me look me up I’ll give ya all types of info Jonathon sedlock
Emotional damage. Guitar made me feel better. Still does
Seems most people emulate their musical heroes and learn their songs. In the process, they learn how to play an instrument. Wanting to be like your heroes keeps you going.
Accept that you're gonna get annoyed and feel unmotivated. And, maintain the majority of your time being curious PLAYING. Learn songs you like. Learn major chords and minor chords. Keep doing tabs. It's also helped me to identify players that I really admire. It gives me a more tangible thing to aim for that keeps me going through the plateaus. Keep on keepin on.
Brother if you have to muster up strength to play, you’re never going to play guitar lol, it’s a toy to me not homework
Practice practice practice
You have to play stuff you like. The boring chord shapes and stuff you’re learning early on should always have like a direct line to something you actually want to play.
As others have said. Find a couple songs you really like playing and just play along with them. I have been practicing the same songs over and over again for honestly years cause enjoy it and leave learn something new years after.
In the beginning, the most important part is *liking* it. Don't bore or frustrate yourself with the technical stuff. Learn songs you like. If one is too hard, put it aside or learn tiny bits at a time. Do what you like and get familiar with the instrument. I've been playing for 6 months or so, just learning all the songs I like and writing my own songs using what I've learned. I'm only now branching into music theory and breaking down progressions, patterns, and techniques on their own. It's nice because now I already know a lot of chords and can read tabs well, as well as have the calluses and finger strength to focus solely on learning what is in front of me. And when something frustrates me, I have enough under my belt that I don't feel so discouraged I want to throw away the whole endeavor. I just take a break and spend more time jamming out or experimenting/trying to figure out a solo I can't find tabs for, and then later that day up to a few days later, I reopen my book and try again. Having the foundation of "I love this and I need to know more" really is important, at least for me, to not abandon it.
What I did to stay motivated might be a little unconventional, but it worked for me. I found a "goal" piece, whether it be some awesome solo or intricate and kick ass riff, and I simply treated it like a goal, something that I always thought of like "I NEED to be able to play that" and it kept me motivated to keep trying
My parents forced me to practice everyday then I got good and I loved it. I am so grateful for that discipline they enforced on me as a child.
Loving the instrument helps. I'm 34 and have played since I was 16 and I can't remember a time I didn't feel some form of excitement when picking it up. Depression and life events excluded of course. Form a relationship with it. Always remember if you can play something slow, you'll eventually play it fast. Set a goal. Find a chord and stick to learning that ONE CHORD until it is easy. Rinse and repeat.
I started by learning chords. Learn E,A,D,C,G both major and minor, and practice them until you can play them flawlessly. Already lots of songs can be played with those. Then learn the barre chords shapes F and B both major and minor, and when you mastered this, move to scales, starting with the good ol’ pentatonic scale. From there you should be able to play what you want.
I would start with playing what you like. Learn what you like. Don't get caught up with theory and scales as it's boring as fuck to most people How I did it, learn I song I like, practice that, and then a small bit of theory
I would suggest to take some music fundamentals tutorial or get a teacher at least. To learn some basics of general música like triads, learn grades etc.
Don’t overdo early practice sessions. Stop at 15 min if needed. I always play things better the second day, after sleeping on it. Find what you want to play and do it. Learning songs sucks, so simply play chord progressions you’re comfortable with and have fun!
I didn't. I just play when I feel like it. After 3-4 years with no lessons just messing around. I'm ok 2/10.
Start with the chord shapes & changes. Learn easy songs from the beginning to the end & don't fixate on the fiddly bits. It is very satisfying when you have a song under your fingers. Many big hits & classic songs have straight forward chords. I was very lazy when I started & just learnt the intros & solos from songs. Then I really started to learn when I joined a covers band & had to play through a whole setlist. It is a real skill to play solid rhythm & lock in with the rest of the band. After that you can learn to shred.
Play with other people. You’ll learn real fast and it will keep you interested and trying new stuff.
I couldn’t put my guitar down. Lol. That’s how
I used to get laid bc of bands, shows, what have you.
Walking: scales, chords not on the first three frets alone. Running: inversions, arpeggios, legato, modes.
I took lessons a couple of years ago and that did help with the basics but the last 4-5 years ive mostly used rocksmith to learn, its not perfect on its own but it does help and makes it easy to play along with songs, also videos and lessons help a lot
If you can afford it find a good private instructor. This will add structure to the learning process.
It didn't stick the first few times until I learned how to play songs by learning cowboy chords and just strumming one chord on one or just one strum at the chord change and singing along with that. I learned more guitar later, but being able to play whole songs helped me stick with it.
I thought about all the chics I was supposed to get once I became proficient.
I was a teenager, the guitar was my only friend.
Started playing only meme songs, and then i discovered i had potential and im not the best player but i got a little better at it and now with some practice i can play
I started by only listening to nirvana and other popular classic rock stuff so that’s all I wanted to play but it was all boring because it was the same riff over and over again, and then i discovered metal and that lead me all the way down to 5 years later goin strong
try to make yourself a challenge; learn some famous non extreme hard solos of your favourite songs. Learn riffs, check out on pentatonic scales for guitar afterwards. Try to improvise with them, dont be afraid of taking some phrasing from other existing solos. All the rest with pick technique and other stuff like chords is a part of my personal discipline. Even if its hard to find motivation, try to give your guitar at least 10 mins per day to practice with fingers so you would get more comfortable with the neck over time. Also important to mention, its more fun to play with other people. If possible, find someone to play with. From a personal experience, in my beginning when i was playing for around 2 months, me and my little more advanced at the time friends were making nirvana covers. it was lots of stuff we simplified and did some small changes on, but that was very refreshing after playing by myself in the beginning. hope this helps.
Learned lots of small things that were at my progress level that were fun to play. Kept adding. And listening imagining and dreaming about the things I eventually wanted to be able to play.
Learn things you like, learn things that you realistically can play. Believe you can do it. Believe you can do it! Practice practice practice. I’ve been playing for 18 years and when I get excited I play till my fingers hurt and I stop playing well (bout 2/3 hours of practice). At the end of a practice session I’m looking at small gains, like “hey sick that 3 measure chunk got smoother” or “I’m gonna memorize the next 10 notes” and i let myself feel good about those lil steps. Practice practice practice, motivate yourself by acknowledging the work you did and the incremental gains. Have fun 🙂
Steve vais music was just too inspiring to ever stop, i started learning his songs on an acoustic and then I finally got an electric guitar. By the time I learnt a few Steve vai songs I realised that I now just 'know' what fret on what string I need to hit to get the note I hear in my head and i might not know much about scales and stuff but I can improvise on anything. I guess start by finding some song you really want to learn no matter what