Getting Started
It is important to have a plan set to achieve a goal when trying to learn a new subject or in this case instrument. The sections in my manual are separated by different skills used while playing the guitar.
Realistically you can be playing basic songs quite quickly (within a few weeks or days). More advanced playing takes time and practice, they say 10000 hours to become a master at most things. If you play every day for 1 hour that is only 365 hours per year or almost 30 years to become a master guitarist. Don’t fret as any guitarist will tell you “you never really stop learning guitar”. The more you play the better you will get.
Start by reading the Introduction section and review this document and the sections it refers to.
First make sure you are comfortable with the basic terminology of the guitar and music in general. There are sections in the manual (in italics) which explain the list below on terminology.
A well set-up guitar is also critical to making the guitar easier to play and learn. A guitar with a poor setup will be harder to play because the strings will be too high or stiff. This is one of the main reasons many beginner guitarists quit and tell themselves they cannot do it. See a guitar shop, experienced guitar player or luthier to check your guitar and its setup.
Start each lesson with Exercises to improve your dexterity and accuracy for your hands on the guitar.
Posture and Hand Position are critical in the beginning to help make playing the guitar easier on the hands and easier to make the notes sound correctly on the guitar.
First lesson starts with Notes on the Strings, String 1 and moves up to String 6. There are exercises and songs to practice (from the second string on). This may seem rudimentary to someone who knows a little about the guitar but is important to both practice hitting the strings accurately and memorizing the notes locations on each string.
Remember the notes in music are linear, there are 12 notes A through G and then they start again at a higher or lower octave. You can revue this in the Theory section but the details can be studied at a later date once you are progressing with your learning.
Once you reach the forth string you can start memorizing Chords in that section there are exercises to learn and practice the 15 open chords. Also sections on 3 Chord Theory, Bar Chords, Movable Chords, etc.
The Strumming section will get you started on basic strumming techniques so you can start playing songs using rhythm and chords. Good strumming technique takes practice and is critical to becoming a good guitar player.
Once you have some basic chords and strumming happening you can review the songs from the Notes on the Strings sections and play the chords listed in many of the songs there. You can start playing the songs I have included in the Songs section of the manual and you can start to search for new songs which interest you moving forward. Obviously it will take some time and practice to be able to know how to play all chords, all styles and any piece of music.
Once you have the basic Exercises working well, have completed the notes on the strings section move to the Scales section and start to memorize scales on the guitar. This will be the beginning of a long road of learning as the journey is long and can seem complicated at first. Start with pentatonic scales then the major and natural minor scale, blues scale and beyond into modes.
This is a great time to get more serious about Music Theory, Chord Theory etc. Once you reach this point there is no stopping the learning potential and the sky is the limit for you playing the guitar.
Realistically you can be playing basic songs quite quickly (within a few weeks or days). More advanced playing takes time and practice, they say 10000 hours to become a master at most things. If you play every day for 1 hour that is only 365 hours per year or almost 30 years to become a master guitarist. Don’t fret as any guitarist will tell you “you never really stop learning guitar”. The more you play the better you will get.
Start by reading the Introduction section and review this document and the sections it refers to.
First make sure you are comfortable with the basic terminology of the guitar and music in general. There are sections in the manual (in italics) which explain the list below on terminology.
- Parts of the guitar (Introduction)
- Numbering system for the guitar and your hands (Introduction)
- How to Read Music
- Notation
- Tab
- How to read Chords and chord sheets
- Review the How to Read Music Notation section
- Review the How to Read Tab section
A well set-up guitar is also critical to making the guitar easier to play and learn. A guitar with a poor setup will be harder to play because the strings will be too high or stiff. This is one of the main reasons many beginner guitarists quit and tell themselves they cannot do it. See a guitar shop, experienced guitar player or luthier to check your guitar and its setup.
Start each lesson with Exercises to improve your dexterity and accuracy for your hands on the guitar.
Posture and Hand Position are critical in the beginning to help make playing the guitar easier on the hands and easier to make the notes sound correctly on the guitar.
First lesson starts with Notes on the Strings, String 1 and moves up to String 6. There are exercises and songs to practice (from the second string on). This may seem rudimentary to someone who knows a little about the guitar but is important to both practice hitting the strings accurately and memorizing the notes locations on each string.
Remember the notes in music are linear, there are 12 notes A through G and then they start again at a higher or lower octave. You can revue this in the Theory section but the details can be studied at a later date once you are progressing with your learning.
Once you reach the forth string you can start memorizing Chords in that section there are exercises to learn and practice the 15 open chords. Also sections on 3 Chord Theory, Bar Chords, Movable Chords, etc.
The Strumming section will get you started on basic strumming techniques so you can start playing songs using rhythm and chords. Good strumming technique takes practice and is critical to becoming a good guitar player.
Once you have some basic chords and strumming happening you can review the songs from the Notes on the Strings sections and play the chords listed in many of the songs there. You can start playing the songs I have included in the Songs section of the manual and you can start to search for new songs which interest you moving forward. Obviously it will take some time and practice to be able to know how to play all chords, all styles and any piece of music.
Once you have the basic Exercises working well, have completed the notes on the strings section move to the Scales section and start to memorize scales on the guitar. This will be the beginning of a long road of learning as the journey is long and can seem complicated at first. Start with pentatonic scales then the major and natural minor scale, blues scale and beyond into modes.
This is a great time to get more serious about Music Theory, Chord Theory etc. Once you reach this point there is no stopping the learning potential and the sky is the limit for you playing the guitar.
