The above quote may be more appropriate for a gladiator movie, yet it’s also in a strange way fitting of the process in which you attempt to learn to play the guitar.
Think about it. The guitar is not too physically demanding but what it lacks in real, tangible stress it makes up for in mental frustration. Learning a musical instrument is not easy and by now I’m sure you have heard that a thousand different times.
That’s not the point of this post. The point of this post is to examine the many ways in which it is possible to learn to play the guitar without the aide of an instructor.
Personal instructors are time consuming, demanding, and more than anything expensive. And I’m here to tell you that you don’t need them. In fact, I’m here to tell you that you can do better (gasp) on your own. I’m here to tell you that learning the guitar has never been so easy to pick-up as it is in the 21st century.
So, where do you begin? Self-taught guitarists would tell you that it is definitely possible to self teach guitar based on their experience. These people are also highly dedicated, organized, and determined to their craft – playing the electric or acoustic guitar.
However, not everyone is as dedicated, organized, and determined as those same individuals. In fact, most struggle to remain self-motivated, especially when they are picking up the guitar at an older age when school, work, family, etc seem to always take precedence.
Consequently, in theory, it’s not that hard to learn the guitar but it is hard to stay committed. If you’re a real human like the rest of us, chances are that getting an education or making a living is going to have to take priority over being a rockstar…for now anyways.
- Dedication, Organization, Determination -
Get it, Got it? Good.
If you really think that the guitar is self-taught than you must possess all three traits. Then, you need to look into the three most important, yet overlooked tips.
1. Structure Your Lessons
The most common mistake is to pick up short tutorials from various sources such as guitar books, websites, or magazines and fail to structure everything together. The problem with studying various and seemingly unconnected tutorials is that they share no relation, so beginners are unable to make sense of the standard guitar concepts.
The result is the revelation that you’re not progressing but merely picking up a variety of otherwise useful lessons scattered in an inconceivable order. Hence, the individual losses passion for the instrument, failing to develop a strong foundation in proper techniques needed to progress.
Structured guitar lessons should progress in challenge and complexity. You should start with the sheer basics, such as posture, hand position, holding of the pick, tuning, etc. Slowly you should evolve into basic chords, scales, rhythm, and strumming patterns. The lessons are sequential.
Get it, Got It? Good.
2. Learning Plan
Now that you have structured lessons, the guitarist must institute a lesson plan. When will you play and for how long? This should be a strict time each day that is consistent. It’s not good enough to just assume you’ll practice when you “have a minute.” Daily practice is necessary, so you cannot merely think it’s a once or twice a week type of activity.
3. Self-Discipline
A wise man once asked, “I have the foundation and the tools, what else do I really need?” Exactly. The structured lessons will serve as your foundation while the lesson plans will work as your material and tools. With this solid foundation, material, and tools, the guitarist truly does not have a reasonable excuse for failing.
Remember, it all goes back to dedication, organization, and determination. Everything is outlined for you, now it’s time to put your intentions into action.
Now, laying out the three basic (but often) overlooked tips may seem easy enough, but if you are a logical person you can probably cite something that is even wrong with this plan.
Knowledge.
The bottom line is that you can be the most stubborn, organized, and driven aspiring guitarist of all-time, but if you lack the knowledge of the instrument you are destine to fail. That is where personal instructors came in for decades and where the Web is slowly replacing them. Someone or something must be your source for reference because after all, if you already had all the information, knowledge, insights, and wisdom on the guitar, you probably wouldn’t be classified as a “beginner” now would you?
Here is where online, self-taught guitar lessons come into the equation. They are one part personal instructor (often taught by expert in the industry who lives far, far from you) and another part self-driven. So you are essentially learning to play the guitar alone, but with the advice, tips, and lesson plans from one of the greatest guitarists in the world.
Not bad when you think about it.
In fact, GLC has dedicated its entire online existence into providing you with the very best online guitar courses in the world. Suddenly, $19.95 for JamPlay or even $149 for Learn & Master Guitar doesn’t sound so bad.
Click Here! For our full, detailed reviews on the top four programs.
Here is my challenge. I dare you to skip the costly needs of a personal instructor and to otherwise use that monetary investment on an online guitar course. Often you can download or order these programs via mail, go through the lessons at your pace, and learn as much if not more from these highly skilled and knowledgeable teachers.
Playing the guitar without an instructor…it’s as simple as that.
It’s true. The buyer’s market is shifting to the World Wide Web. People cannot get enough of shopping and buying products online. The availability and ease of comfort (shopping from one’s home) are clearly two of the strongest selling points for online retailers.
Which brings us to a question we often receive on Guitar Lessons Critic. “Should I buy my new guitar online?”
Purchase Guitars Online: Overview
First, let’s study the benefits of buying the guitar online:
Wide selection
Shop from the Convenience of your Home
Cheaper Prices and Terrific Sales
Shipped to Your Front Door
Based on the selection, afford-ability, and comfort of online shopping – many beginner guitarists opt to go this route. However, they may miss out on a few opportunities that one would receive if they were to buy the guitar from a local retailer. For example, shopping at an actual retailer provides the following benefits:
Chance to actually “feel” and “see” the Guitar before Purchasing
Conversing with a Store Representative who is likely an Expert with Guitars
Taking home the Guitar the same day you Bought it
DO NOT have to pay with Credit Card and hand over Personal Information
Generally offer better Return Policies and Warranties
Purchase Guitars Online: Questions to Ask
Now that you know the pros and cons of purchasing a guitar online you must make a decision. Will you buy from a local retailer or opt to go online? If you still are sold on the Internet, than you must ask yourself the following:
Is the retailer reputable?
What is the company’s history? How long have they been in business, what is their feedback rating, where are their headquarters?
Do you know anyone who has shopped there previously? Were they satisfied with the product? The service?
What type of payment options do they offer? Anyone who does not utilize PayPal is sketchy at best.
What is their return policy like? How long is the warranty good for?
Are they easy to contact? Do they offer a resolution center with 24/7 chat and a valid 1-800 line?
Always try and purchase products from trustworthy online retailers like eBay, Amazon, etc. This is even more important when you desire to buy something used, but it is still not “bulletproof” as scams occur on eBay too.
Purchase Guitars Online: Buyer Feedback
The buyer feedback is quite possibly the most valuable tool online shoppers can use. Feedback on sites like eBay allow users the opportunity to discover a little about the seller’s history. Most general feedback systems display the number of times feedback was left and then a percentage of that feedback is calculated as positive/negative. eBay takes it a step further with the “Power Seller” label.
If you plan to purchase a guitar from a site like eBay, Amazon, etc you should only do business with buyers that have a 95% or higher approval rate with a minimum of 10 reviews (20-30 on the very conservative side). “Power Sellers” do this for a living and have likely sold hundreds if not thousands of products online.
If you plan to buy a guitar from an actual retailer or distributor, do business with companies that search high on Google, Yahoo, etc and have a detailed background with high quality customer service and return policies. Keep in mind that it’s real easy to create a “professional” looking web page, so do your research prior to making any purchase.
Purchase Guitars Online: PayPal
PayPal appears to be the “go-to” escrow system for online transactions and for good reason. The site is very reliable, protecting both your identity and funds. Never just blindly send a check in the mail, hoping that this company will someday return with a new guitar. Make sure that the buyer is verified with the Veri-Sign Secured button at the bottom of the home page. Keep in mind that anyone can copy and paste, so you need to click on the button to ensure it’s accuracy.
For example, when clicking on the Veri-Sign button on the home page of a guitar retailer like GuitarCenter.com, one is transfered to this page.
Purchase Guitars Online: Recommended Retailers
Below is a list of a few music suppliers that we would recommend for your new guitar. Please keep in mind that their are several other reputable companies not listed below.
Please consider the article as a warning rather than an attempt to steer you away from online shopping. By listing everything that could go wrong or you need to look out for, we hope that this will successfully provide you with a pleasurable experience.
Your guitar is meant to be enjoyed and once you do own one, be sure to check out some of our top rated online guitar courses. These courses will truly take you to the next level and allow your dreams to become a reality.
The 12 bar blues in the most basic form aren’t difficult. Sure some of the great blues guitar players use a lot of technique, but in the basic form any beginner can understand the theory behind it. In this beginner lesson I’m going to show you how to find the chords that go into making up a 12 bar blues progression, the pattern and way to play those chords and also a couple of tips on where to find the chords on the neck.
So before you can start playing anything you need to know what chords you’re going to be putting together. Since the 12 bar blues is a simple pattern you can learn it’s easy for you to determine what chords you must play in a given key.
You need to find the first, fourth and fifth notes that are in the scale for the given key you want to play in. If you know your scales well then this won’t be a problem, if you’re a little rusty on this no problem the net has all the resources you need. The first note is just that the first note in the scale and so on each note counts up one as you go down the line.
Once you’ve figured out which notes are what number and you’ve chosen the first, fourth and fifth notes we can plug those in as chords in the following 12 bar blues pattern:
1 – 1 – 1 – 1 – 4 – 4 – 1 – 1 – 5 – 4 – 1 – 5
The 12 bar blues always follows this same pattern above. The numbers of course correspond to chords that we find in the first part of the article. Each number stands for one measure, and there are 12 in all making it the 12 bar blues. The length of a measure could vary, if we assume we’re playing 4 beats per measure then we’d give each chord 4 beats for each bar.
Let’s look at a short example of how to piece together a 12 bar blues progression in the key of A.
We need to first start with the A major scale. The scale looks like this:
A – B – C# – D – E – F# – G# – A
Picking out the first, fourth and fifth notes gives us A, D and E respectively. Next we add those to the 12 bar blues pattern we learned above, and it provides us with a progression that looks like this:
A – A – A – A – D – D – A – A – E – D – A – E
Finally take a few minutes to watch the lesson video below. I walk you through the 12 bar blues in the Key of A and show you where on the neck to play these chords and what feel you should give your playing. Once you’ve finished that I urge you to go grab your own guitar and give it a try.
Want to sharpen you guitar skills? How you ever considered self study at home using a guitar instructional dvd? DVD instruction gives you the one-on-one feel of private lessons but you’re in control of when you learn and how fast you study.
For those of you who have seen the mildly comical movieAdventures in Babysitting, you’ll probably recognize the quote, “nobody gets outta here without singin’ the blues” from the film. At the climax of a chase sequence, the babysitter and the group of kids she is watching, appear to reach safety inside a busy underground club. However, there is one drastic difference. Everyone in the club is black, except for the babysitter and kids. The group attempts to dart out the back of the building, but an attendant of the club stops the group in their tracks and utters the infamous line – “Nobody gets outta here without singin’ the blues.” Long story short, the crew gets on stage and steals the show.
You too, can steal the show with an amazing beginner blues set. The Blues are one of the musical backbones of this great nation. It’s also a very difficult style to learn on the guitar. However, difficult never means it’s impossible. In fact, the web offers a number of great videos for beginners on the very basics of rhythm blues.
Blues Lessons might possibly contain the greatest collection of Blues lessons on the web. The site also features some fantastic information in regards to the blues scales, pentatonic licks, fingerpicking lessons, as well as Blues equipment, styles, and artists.
One of the first aspects of the Blues you’ll need to learn is the special scale system the genre utilizes. The Pentatonic Scale is the key to any Blues solo playing. Below is a couple of quick exercises (along with photos), needed to learn the 1/5 Pattern on the Pentatonic Scale.
1. Notes on the fingerboard.
Notes on the E string
You’re now ready to learn the five patterns of the Minor-Pentatonic Scale. Each pattern is movable over the complete fingerboard (e.g. in the keytone G the first pattern starts on the 3rd fret, in the keytone A it starts on the 5th fret, in keytone C on the 8th fret, etc).
1st Pattern
Minor Pentatonic Pattern 1
In the keytone G (from the 3rd fret, because the keytone G is on the 3rd fret) the first pattern looks like this.
Practice: Play from the the high E-string to the low E-string and back. Use one finger for each fret. That means Index finger for the 3rd fret in the key of G, the Middle Finger for the 4th fret, the Ringfinger for the 5th fret etc.
Pattern Exercise
If you want to move the pattern into another key, just use the graphic above where you can see the keytones on the fingerboard.
Excercise: A simple Pentatonic-Lick (use bendings, hammer-ons as much as you like)
For more sensational information and lessons on the Pentatonic Scale, check out Blues Lessons catalog of Blues Scales exercises.
JamPlay is a very versatile product which touches up on some of the beginner techniques. As always, you can also reference the wide number of blues lessons on You Tube.
Taking up a new hobby is easy. Something has led you to want to try and explore something new. However, the excitement of a new-found joy, such as learning to play the guitar, can only fuel you for so long. Over time, you need something wholesome to stay par for the course.
Make no mistake about it; learning to play the guitar at an intermediate or advanced skill level takes a lot of consistency. One who desires to play the guitar well must remain disciplined to a demanding schedule. If you are not taking private lessons with an instructor, the time spent practicing is 100% dependent on you. Fortunately, there are some very minor and subtle ways to stay dedicated to learning the guitar.
1. Learn with a Friend
A lot of people will seek a friend to teach them the guitar, but very few will seek someone to help learn the guitar with. There are several benefits to learning a new musical instrument with a friend, namely the issue of accountability. When you learn to play guitar alone, the only person who will challenge or hold you accountable is yours truly. However, when you learn with a friend, you both should (and will) push each other.
2. Reference You Tube
You Tube is filled with plenty of garbage that will never advance your brain cells, however the site also offers a nice selection of informative and instructional footage. This is especially the case when in regards to learning to play the guitar. You Tube is absolutely filled with home-made videos (some better than others) which show you everything from how to play the G chord to nailing the solo in “Free Bird”, like this one for example:
Whenever you are having a frustrating day with the guitar, reference one of your favorite video lessons on the site. Something made you appreciate or enjoy this particular video and you’ll likely rekindle that desire to play again after you watch it.
3. Follow a Guitar Blog
As is the case with You Tube, the internet is riddled with blogs. And just like You Tube, some are much better than others. Regardless, you should subscribe to at least one or two informative guitar blogs. The content is often added weekly (if not daily) and is filled with plenty of useful material relevant to learning to play the guitar in today’s world.
4. Join a Forum
Guitar forums bring together individuals of similar interest from all over the world. Forums are very resourceful for a variety of reasons. Exhibit A, forums are terrific for questions and concerns you encounter during the learning phase. If you are stuck on a particular lesson in the book, it’s very difficult to ask the book for any other advice not included in the contents. However, a forum can help solve your dilemma. Please keep in mind that forums are not bulletproof, meaning that not everyone’s advice for the solution is plausible or even true. Make sure you also do your own research, as everyone can pretend to be an expert online.
5. Make a Financial Commitment
The guitar is an investment in itself, but you should take it a step further. In today’s day and age, not everyone needs a private instructor. However, you should invest in some type of course to help direct your efforts. This could range from a standard book on learning the guitar to something as detailed and complex as an actual online course. If you are interested in something like this, check out JamPlay or Learn & Master Guitar. Both of these courses are highly recommended by guitarists.
Chords are exciting and difficult for beginners. They’re exciting because it means you’re getting closer to playing a full song, they’re frustrating because you’re going to need your fingers to move in ways they have never had to before.
There’s a lesson video below that fully explains the tab and shapes for these chords. It would be good to read through this brief article and then also watch the video.
Tips Before Starting
When you first learn chords proper technique is important. Remember to use the tips of your fingers and keep your thumb flush on the back of the neck. Also below I talk about finger numbers, your fingers are numbered one to four starting with your index finger (1) to your pinky (4).
Let’s get started…
The E major Chord
E – 0 –
B – 0 –
G – 1 –
D – 2 –
A – 2 –
E – 0 –
To play the E chord you use your first three fingers. Finger two is placed on the 2nd fret of the B string, finger three is placed on the 2nd fret of the G string and your first finger is placed on the first fret of the D string. Play all six strings when you strum.
The G major Chord
E – 3 –
B – 0 –
G – 0 –
D – 0 –
A – 2 –
E – 3 –
To play the G chord you also use the first three fingers on your hand. Place your second finger on the 3rd fret of the low E string, your first finger on the 2nd fret of the A string and your 3rd finger on the 3rd fret of the high E string. All six strings should be strummed when playing the G chord.
Practice Tips
When learning chords proper technique is a must. It takes time for your fingers to feel comfortable making these shapes on the guitar neck. I suggest start by making the shape correctly then squeezing your hand and fingers and then releasing them. Next make the shape again and repeat. This will help create muscle memory in your fingers.
Also learning to play slowly and then adding speed and changing between chords is better then trying to do it right away and getting frustrated. All things worth learning take time!
Interested in learning more beginner guitar chords and techniques? Why not consider trying a beginner guitar dvd? Self study programs such as dvd and online videos are quickly becoming the new private guitar lessons of the 21st century.
Checking to ensure your guitar is in tune is something you should be doing each time you pick up your guitar. After all there are no chords or scales that sound correct when even one string is out of tune.
This brief lesson is going to cover how you can check to see if your guitar is in tune quickly each time you pick it up. We’re going to accomplish this not with an electric tuner but by choosing one particular string on the guitar neck and then tuning the rest of the strings to that string.
Of course there is a chance that none of your strings are in correct tune so even though you may get all your strings in tune with each other if you double check it against an electric tuner you may find all your strings are either higher or lower then they should be.
In order to tune correctly there are only two things you must remember.
The 5th fret is the magic fret
There is one exception on the G string for the 4th fret.
Let’s walk through a quick example. We’ll tune all of our guitar strings to the low E, or 6th string closest to you on the top.
Press the 5th fret on the low E string and play it. This note is an A, which is the same note as the 5th string below it, the A string. By playing the E string on the 5th fret you check to see if the A string below it is in tune. Go back and fourth between the E string on the 5th fret and the open A string below it. Note any pitch differences and adjust the A string either up or down using the tuning peg.
Next move to playing the 5th fret on the A string, this is a D note which matches up to the D string below the A string. As before go back and fourth between the 5th fret of the A string and the open D string. If the D string doesn’t sound like it matches the 5th fret of the A string then adjust its tuning either up or down.
Follow this same pattern for the tuning the G string to the 5th fret of the D string.
Now here is the one exception I mentioned. In order to tune the B string you must use the 4th fret on the G string. Why? Well because it’s the 4th string on the G string that makes a B note. This is the only exception you have to remember when tuning your guitar by ear.
To tune the high E, or first string again use the 5th fret technique explained above.
To get comfortable doing this I suggest each time you pick up your guitar you go through this exercise. It will become second nature pretty quick and you’ll find that in just a few seconds you can double check the tuning on your guitar without having to run for an electric tuner.
Want to progress further with your guitar skills? Why not consider taking some guitar lessons for beginners? You don’t have to sign up for private lessons or find a friend to teach you, there are lots of great online programs from online videos to dvd courses you can use to learn right from the comfort of your own home.
Many people have asked about the average price of guitar lessons, mostly because they’ve found how affordable it can be to learn guitar online.
While it’s tough to pinpoint an accurate cost of guitar lessons, it is fair to say that private guitar lessons:
- Are usually 30 minutes long
- Cost between $10-$35 each
The exact price depends on where you live, and of course, the instructor you’re paying.
Many beginners select the cheapest teacher in the area, but they end up wasting their money (and time) because the instructor isn’t as good as the others charging more. Sometimes they’ll get lucky, but it’s almost impossible to tell from the start.
Another very important part of the cost of guitar lessons to consider is the gas money it takes to take those extra trips every week to the teacher.
If you’re lucky enough to be within a few minutes of the instructor, this might only add another $10 or $20 to the cost each month. However, if you live further away, this can really add up over time!
The last factor in to consider for the average price of guitar lessons is the extras you’ll be forced to buy while taking lessons, such as supplemental lessons, work books, song lessons, CD’s, and other equipment your teacher will ask you to purchase.
All in all, I highly recommend taking online guitar lessons, as they can save $1,500+ per year!
Ever go to checkout and buy something online, and see that little box that says “Redeem Coupon Code: “? Maybe this time it was at JamPlay.com?
Yeah, most the time I see something like that, I go to Google to see if I can find one to save some cash. So, since I found a code that saves 25% on the first month at my #1-rated guitar lessons website, I figured I’d return the favor to all those people that have saved me money over the years, and spread the word. You know, good Karma and all that…
Anyway, if you’re looking for a JamPlay coupon code, enter 86C6CC on checkout to save some dough.
Hope that helps, and that the $4.99 you’ll save is spent on something awesome! Oh yeah, and I’d really appreciate it if you could go through the banner on the right to sign up. If I refer a friend I get a commission, kind of like when someone refers their friend to the apartment complex they’ve been happily living in, and they save some money on rent. Maybe that good Karma will help me out after all…=)
Many beginner guitarists believe that the only way they can learn guitar is through reading theory and doing exercises in books, or by paying $20-$50/hour for private lessons.
The trouble with this logic is that these same people frequently send emails.
“What does that have to do with it?”
Well, quite a bit actually…let me explain: A mere 15-20 years ago, the quickest way to send someone a written message was to hand write a letter and send it to them by postal mail. Now, the vast majority of us simply type an email, click “Send”, and the person on the other end can see it in a matter of seconds.
My point is that things have changed from the Internet, and guitar lessons are no different.
You do NOT have to sit in the same room as your instructor to take lessons, even if you’re a beginner! In fact, because teachers can record well-organized video lessons, then let 1,000’s of students watch the videos, they can charge a LOT less money for their services!
So, if you are searching for the best way to learn to play guitar, be sure to consider taking lessons online. I just finished writing a more in-depth article comparing the various ways to learn guitar, if you’re interested:
