By Adam Foley
The guitar is one of the world’s most popular instruments. It’s also a difficult one to learn. With all of the hand eye coordination, technique, and motivation, it’s often hard for new musicians to pick up a guitar and start playing. The guitar is one of the most played instruments in the world however, if so many people in the world play the guitar, it must not be that difficult, right?
Learning guitar is a process according to Steve Long, the president of Long & McQuade who has 20+ years with the guitar. No one will instantly know how to be a pro once they pick up a guitar for the first time. Every musician in the world has had to learn how to play their instrument. It will take some time, however, there are simple ways to speed up the process or make learning easier and with these five steps on how to get started you will be strumming better than ever.
1. Prepare for the learning curve
One of the biggest challenges for a beginner is understanding the process of learning the guitar. Unlike many other instruments, the guitar is large and cumbersome, therefore many newcomers struggle, specifically with finger pain and difficulty forming proper cords. Since most guitar players face challenges in the beginning, it is the main reason why people give up before improving. Once you push past the initial stage, learning becomes much easier, but you still have to be prepared for a slow start. “The big thing is to be prepared for that long curve” said Long “just be prepared that you’re not going to do anything for three months”.
2. Know it will take time
Unlike other instruments like the piano, where a lot of beginners can play simple songs, the guitar takes a lot more time to build comfort. “With the guitar, you can’t, it’s a few months before you can make the chords properly and your fingers don’t hurt”, said Long.
3. Start small
So many beginner players rely and focus on memorizing finger placement, which makes sense but it does not work if you do not understand the cords and how the notes are supposed to be played. This is only a short term approach, but people need to learn the basic music foundations such as how chords are built, and it will make it easier to learn long term. Long says that when a lot of guitar players are asked to make certain chords, they only know finger placements and not the actual chords themselves. “They can make the chords, but if you said, ‘What are the notes in the G chord?’ they’re like, ‘I have no idea.’” said Long.
4. Take lessons
This is the biggest step in the learning process, and that is to not just self teach yourself or learn using online tutorials. While some people are successful at doing so, for most it takes much longer. Lessons provide direction, correction and solutions to problems based on personal struggle. “Having a teacher, they can lead you into a better direction and they can tell you what you’re doing wrong,” said Long.
5. Set realistic goals
One of the biggest and common mistakes beginners make is setting unrealistic goals when learning the guitar. Long recommended starting with small, achievable goals such as short practice sessions a few times a week will actually help you learn effectively and not get frustrated. “If you want to learn guitar, don’t set yourself up at the beginning. I’m going to practice an hour every day because then you won’t. Say, I’m going to practice 15 minutes a day. There’s no reason you can’t fit 15 minutes in,” Long said.
Learning how to play the guitar is not going to be something that happens overnight, but with these steps, you will not only speed up the process of learning the instruments but you will also have fun doing so. Starting out is the hardest part, but once you get past that learning curve, you will soon be strumming and playing like the music artist you look up to.
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