Geek Daily

When people ask me whether it’s possible to teach yourself the guitar, my answer really depends on the mood I’m in. Being a self-taught guitarist, my honest answer is always yes, since I taught myself the guitar without any instructors guiding me. However, back in the day when I was learning, teaching yourself the guitar wasn’t as easy as it is today. I learned from books and from VHS instructional videos, and it took way too long, as the information available wasn’t as abundant as it is today in the world of the Internet.

Nowadays, if you decide you want to teach yourself the guitar (or anything else for that matter), what do you do? Google it! You’ll find an overwhelming amount of information, articles, videos and learn guitar products. In fact, you’ll find so much, it will become burdening, as you’ll end up jumping from one place to another without sticking with one program consistently. There is a lot of information and products out there, and to tell you the truth, some of them are pretty good. Of course, you’ll need to beware the scam offers, where the tag line reads “Teach Yourself the Guitar Overnight”. That is NOT possible, never was, never will be.

But if you do find the right website and stick with a learning program that you find motivating and fun, you’ll definitely be able to teach yourself the guitar. It takes work, but it’s more than worth it in the end.

Most guitar teachers will agree, that the best way to keep a student motivated, is to start playing real songs right from the beginning. Playing simple songs is possible from virtually day 1, and it gives a tremendous confidence boost to the student.

Following the below “path” will surely get you results, just know that practice is key:

Learn basic guitar techniques
Practice by playing songs using those techniques
Learn chords
Practice chords by playing songs
Learn more techniques
Practice these techniques by playing more songs
Play your guitar at least 30 minutes per day, or until your fingers hurt so much that you can’t hold the strings anymore, whichever comes first

Practicing any given technique in the context of a song, a song that is popular and will cause the student joy when playing, will motive the student to practice the technique. And as we know, practice something enough, and you’ll be able to do it soon, guaranteed. Know that the old saying, “Practice makes perfect” is especially true when learning the guitar, both acoustic and electric.

Read about JAMORAMA’s simple method to learn how to play the guitar - and have great fun.