What's the best method for learning guitar?
 

I got my first good acoustic guitar in high school. I messed around with it, learned a few chords and songs, but never got good at it. Fast forward 25 years later and I still have the same guitar and know the same basic chords. I've practiced some recently and learned some new stuff by looking up guitar tabs on the internet and playing along with songs on Youtube.

I bought a cheap used electric (Epiphone Les Paul Studio) yesterday hoping to motivate myself. ;) What's the best way to get to the point I can actually play one of these things?

Ask some local musicians who the best guitar instructor in town is, then give him/her a call.

+1

The best "teach yourself" resources available can't match the learning effectiveness of a good, hands-on instruction, IMO. Good luck.

Lessons.

And practice. Practice. Practice. Practice.

A problem in this age of instant gratification.

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Is that you Tim? Not bad. I was in Victoria last weekend and the street musicians there SUCKED. You need to get out there and imporve the pool a bit.

Lee, if you can drive out to my distant outpost, I can give you some pointers sometime.

Who is that guy? I remember seeing a youtube video of his review of a Suhr Badger. Good guitar player...

i think its a hard question to answer without knowing more about a person's talents, interests, natural skills, discipline..etc. these days, there are some great DVD's, books, teachers, youtube lessons, etc....

for me, the thing that got me playing really well, was by playing along with records. both the chord changes and the scales. you do need some basic info first though...take a few lessons

now days, one of the greatest ways to improve your playing is by using a looping pedal. you can create rythms and improvise over them etc....

all my old 33s are worn out from playing along with them. i still have boxes of them that no record store would ever buy. CDs are so much better. get into the local open mics. it forces you to improve.

Nope. But I'm trying.

Use tablature to start getting used to the mechanics of playing, while you incrementally learn music theory. There are numerous websites with tabs for essentially any song you can think of. If you have good basic rhythm, you will be playing your favorite songs within days to weeks, depending on the amount of practice time you have.

As has been mentioned, there is no way around practice time. It takes a lot of it, but it becomes addictive and very enjoyable as muscle memory grows.

That depends on what kind of music you listen to. If you're an Eric Johnson disciple, reast assured, it will be years before you can plan anything of his and make it recognizeable. But most mainstream or classic rock can be copied enough to give you some satisfaction and sense of advancement.

I used to play along with LP's and cassettes. That's how I learned everything by ear. Now with the Internet, I've gotten sooooo lazy. I just Google the title of the song plus "TAB" and find it right there. It's true that there's no getting around practice. But you need to practice music you enjoy to keep interested in it. When I was seven and got Van Halen I, lessons didn't keep my attention very long while she made me play Love Me Tender and Mary Had a Little Lamb. You need to learn songs you will enjoy playing.

Lessons are probably good. And as others have no doubt said, practice practice practice. But here is an interesting tidbit I heard recently:

There are two types of musicians or at least, learning styles. One is the kind that practices for the purpose of getting better.

The other is the kind that practices because it's fun. I got fairly good at the guitar and bass, but I do not remember ever practicing for the purpose of getting good. I played because it was fun. Golfers are the kind of people who, when they encounter challenge......bear down. With music practice, the challenge of 'getting' a song needs to be its own reward. When I was active in playing music, hours would roll by while I "practiced."

If you have Netflix, there are some good DVDs available from Fred Sokolow on blues, slide and chord progression. Another good resource to help you along is the "Guitar Fretboard Workbook" available at Amazon http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0634049011/bookstorenow600-20

and practice, practice, practice even if it's just 15 minutes a day.

True. The approach one takes, I believe, depends primarily on one's personality. Secondarily, it depends on what YOU want to get out of it or NEED to get out of it.

As a general rule though, I think that (assuming you have the requisite skills) if you have fun and enjoy the process, you will be motivated to play and learn and grow. The guitar is an exceptionally complex instrument - if you want it to be. It can also be very simple and almost crude. It all depends on you and the goals you have...

The bottom line I think is, if it aint fun to you, you probably will never progress because you will stop picking it up and another 25 years will go by.

Its probably not accurate to compare golf and guitar though. playing an instrument is about pure expression of one's feelings. Golf is a game and doesnt require an aesthetic or artistic expression. I do not think one can be a very good guitar player or even enjoy trying to play guitar, without that artistic drive to express one's self via music

True, but there is another reason for my use of this analogy. I can remember clearly what it was like when I was learning. I'd play a lick, and get it wrong. Similar to a golfer taking a shot and messing it up. At this point, many people become frustrated and give up. That is the opposite of my approach. When I could see that I was not playing it well, it increased my focus and my interest. My response was to BEAR DOWN. Practicing was not for the purpose of practicing. It was not work. It was play. But it was play with a determined focus. Once in a while I would get it right. Like a golfer making a good shot. Those instances were SOOOOO satisfying that I just HAD to repeat it.

true. ide agree with that.

i used to golf, so i get the comparison regarding the mental determination

there is no doubt that learning the guitar requires extreme determination and "bearing down" as you say. absolutely

I am learning guitar. I started about 8 months ago.

I did lessons at first, and they did help, but $100 a month is pretty steep. What I am currently doing (and wish I had done in the first place) is "Learn and Master Guitar". It's a 20 lesson DVD set with an instruction book. The DVDs are very well done and start at the very beginning. You start with parts of the guitar, how to fret, then do some simple scales and simple songs, then chords, etc. If you go through the series at the pace they recommend it is about 18 months total. The set sells for about $150.

http://www.learnandmasterguitar.com/

Each lesson has a basic lesson, tips and tricks (tuning the guitar, changing strings, etc) and then a workshop where he takes you through the practice part.

It honestly is very very well done and well worth the money.

I will probably pick up lessons again after I complete the series for the more advanced stuff.

Become a fan of AC/DC.
You will be able to learn to play most of their guitar work in a matter of hours ;)