When starting out playing guitar, the method or approach, as well as the materials and resources you choose are clearly very important. you might, for example, decide on, such as a set of books, DVDs, a downloadable course, a membership site, or a private teacher.
But all of this will amount to nothing unless you answer the following four questions completely honestly...
(Note: I suggest grabbing a notepad and pencil and "thinking on paper" as we go through them)
1. How much can you afford to spend on resources?
This means to get started. Nothing more. Just to get started. You don't need to lash out huge amounts of money to get started and, in fact, I don't recommend you do because you might actually find that you don't want to learn how to play guitar at all! Perhaps it's not the instrument for you!
That's not a reason to give up before you begin, might I add. Don't let the fear of failing or maybe not liking it stop you from trying. If you think you want to learn to play, then start learning to play!
But... be honest: How much can you really afford to spend on study materials?
Write down this amount on your notepad.
2. How do you learn best?
You are no doubt aware that we all have different preferred styles of learning.
Knowing yours will help you learn any new thing you want to learn much faster and more effectively.
Why just do what everyone else is doing if that's not the way YOU learn best? That's just madness and you're unnecessarily slowing yourself down.
But how do you know what your dominant learning style is?
Well, do you find, for example, that you pick up concepts and techniques easily just by reading about them?
Some people do.
Or do you prefer reading through the information and being able to listen to it too? Maybe you prefer listening first and then reading it afterwards. Or the other way around.
Some folks learn better that way.
Still another way is through demonstration and copying: Watching someone do it and then trying to do it yourself. Video and personal instruction works well for people like this.
Now, clearly, all of us learn things using all three of these broad approaches. It's not the case that we only learn via just one of these modes. But the point here is for you to identify the one that has, in the past, worked best for you. So...
Think of things you've learnt in your life. Write them down on your notepad.
Then write down how you learnt them. All the different modes.
An example: If you've learnt to drive a car, or surf, or play snooker, you might have learnt in any of the following ways (or combination thereof):
a. Your friend/instructor explained a certain technique or rule to you
b. You watched a video demonstration with or without close-ups and slow-mo shots
c. You read an article and were (or weren't) able to apply the information immediately
d. You took lessons and the tutor needed to physically adjust your body before you got it right
...and so on...
Do this for two or three things you've learnt in your life until a pattern emerges.
It will.
And it may not be the one you THINK! So please do the exercise now.
3. Do you want to learn a specific style of guitar playing?
The main genres for guitarists usually include: Classical, Blues, Jazz, Rock, Country, Fingerstyle, and Metal. You might, of course, want to play more than one style. Nothing wrong with that!
You do need to start somewhere, though. And what you'll find is that all styles share some striking similarities with regard to the basics. Be careful with racing out and getting a genre-specific course because it might be too advanced for a beginner. Make sure you cover the basics, which are the same regardless of style.
Then go and get a genre-specific course and/or tutor.
This is a very common mistake that beginners make so think about this point carefully. There's nothing at all wrong with wanting to play, say, jazz guitar. Other styles may not interest you. That's fine.
But there are things that make jazz (to continue the example) different from other styles. To go leaping into these too early, skipping over the commonalities across all styles would be foolish.
Basics first.
4. How much time can you--and are you willing to--devote to practice?
Grab that notebook again for a moment, eh...
Write down how many practice sessions you can comfortably fit into your schedule each week. Comfortably. Don't cram them in or you'll soon find that they get squeezed right back OUT of your schedule!
Next, write down how much time you think you'll be able to practice at each of these sessions (half an hour, an hour, 15 minutes, etc.)
Now, look at the other things in your current weekly timetable and be honest: Are these realistic estimates?
If not, then you're setting yourself up for failure.
You don't want to do that. And I don't want you to do that.
There's nothing wrong with being ambitious and determined, but you have to also be realistic--with anything you undertake in life. If you set unrealistic goals, you're highly likely to not reach them. And then you feel bad.
On the other hand, if you set high-but-realistic goals, when you achieve them you feel good and that spurs you on to even greater heights.
So, how much time and when can you practice each week... really?
This point will be particularly important if you're thinking about hiring a guitar teacher. They're not cheap and if you're not practising, your tutor is unlikely to move onto more advanced stuff. Not until you've mastered whatever they've set you.
Meanwhile, you're still paying for your lessons! Paying to go along week after week and not improve because you're not practicing. That's madness too. Don't do it.
If you really don't have a lot of time to practice--never mind how much time you fantasize about practising; focus on how much time you actually have to practice!--then using self-study materials is obviously the best choice for you.
So as you can see, learning to play is not quite a simple as just grabbing a guitar and the first material or teacher you come across. Not that it has to be super-complicated either; it's not. Just work out the answers to the 4 simple questions we've gone through in this article, and go from there.
Whichever route you take, I wish you best of success with it!
Leslie
For further information and to snag your free report "Guitar: Where Do I Start?" go now to: http://www.absolutelyessentialguitar.com
Or...
Not a beginner, but need some help choosing the best instruction for you? Try here instead: http://www.absolutelyessentialguitar.com/guitarwizard/
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