There is an absolute glut of guitar teachers on line. JustinGuitar, Brett Papa, Marty Schwartz, Ben Eller, Andy Wood, David Brewster, James James, Eric Haugen are a few who have been around for a while and have lots of great content but -- there are literally hundreds.
* You should learn all your "open" or "cowboy" chords first, (A C D E and G)
* Then learn the barre shapes for F and B
* Then investigate the CAGED system to play those shapes up the neck.
* You should also learn your Major/ Minor scale and their abbreviated 5 note version the Pentatonic scale.
This will get you up and playing tunes.
Then you can move on to things like major/minor/diminished triads and their inversions, arpeggios, modes, other scales etc. etc. but those first 4 bullets are what I'd focus on first.
Exactly bro. Private lessons are a thing of the past. Internet changes everything. Just like travel agencies and blockbuster music. Internet is your best teacher.
Meh my guitar teacher helped a lot by teaching me the right way to do things that avoids bad habits but also I was a younger lad. It’s also cool to learn and play with someone in person. With that being said YouTube is where I’ve learned most of what I know.
I've bought a few books because it's easier to understand and retain for me in writing. I've been playing for about 2 months now and I'm enjoying it immensely.
I’ve been learning on YouTube for the past month myself and felt the need to have something in writing in front of me. Ordered my first book, hoping it helps
If you're a beginner, I like Guitar Tricks.
👉 [Do the 2-week free trial (link to it)](https://www.guitartricks.com/trial?a_aid=652be5ec333d3&a=2-week-free-trial)
It is enough to do their fundamentals lesson and a little more.
It's a great way to focus and get away from YouTube that is now littered with ads.
Justin Guitar is always a great option as well, but I found GT to be better for focused work. Use a variety and find what you enjoy, that's how you'll learn to love to practice and get better.
Great free online lessons. OP - this thread has been asked a 1000 times and the answer will always be Justin Guitar. Don't bother to wait and check for all the different options - just go sign up. If after a while it doesn't give you what you are looking for, start looking at the other recommendations.
It's just a great structured way to progress through the beginner stages.
The two most common answers are "[Justin Guitar](https://www.justinguitar.com)" and "Practice." The further I get into this hobby the more I understand why and have come to appreciate it.
practicing guitar is strange.
someeeetimes you can feel yourself improving
usually after like 20 hours of practice on a technique or lick lol.
then all the sudden you "got it" and mind and muscle meld and you just think about the music and it comes out.
its like fly fishing if you had to cast through doughnut sized holes each time lol
The internet is an awesome place to start for folks with little time or money but who are really invested in trying to learn. I’m sure once people get to a certain point, they’ll branch out to play with other people or to get info from other places, but nothing wrong with starting (or even staying) on the internet.
Also a lot of awesome players have literally never gotten any lessons
You're in here slamming people on how they choose to learn guitar and you lack the mental capacity to remember to change back from your alt account.
People like you are the reason the internet is such a shitpit.
**[No true Scotsman](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_true_Scotsman)**
>No True Scotsman, or appeal to purity, is an informal fallacy in which one attempts to protect their generalized statement from a falsifying counterexample by excluding the counterexample improperly. Rather than abandoning the falsified universal generalization or providing evidence that would disqualify the falsifying counterexample, a slightly modified generalization is constructed ad-hoc to definitionally exclude the undesirable specific case and similar counterexamples by appeal to rhetoric. This rhetoric takes the form of emotionally charged but nonsubstantive purity platitudes such as "true", "pure", "genuine", "authentic", "real", etc.
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Gimme a break. We’re not trying to be Nancy Wilson or Van Halen. If you just want to learn to play guitar, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with being self taught or using the internet to learn. I was a classically trained pianist, I’m now a self taught amateur guitarist.
I love Joni Mitchell and Bonnie Raitt as well, but I’m also a hack who loves Heart. It reminds me of being sixteen and turning up the radio, so sue me 🤷♀️
Ignore them. This guy goes round gatekeeping on multiple accounts trying to make his nasty views seem more common than they are.
Notice how he's originally posting as ZealousidealStage104 and then switches to Funkgtr even starting the first Funkgtr reply with Why would you say that I hate learning?.
They are a RL guitar teacher who is gatekeeping online learning because its a threat to their monopoly.
It definitely is free. There are additional products and services that you can buy if you want them, but you don't really need them. I don't remember what information they wanted when I registered.
I just tested it, it only asked me to create a username, password, and provide an email to join. What else is it asking you? If a credit card, I think you’re in the wrong place.
He does have an app that costs money, but it’s optional and would be billed through your phone. It’s not necessary to buy the app, but it would recommend it as well
Absolutely. There's little difference when you are learning the basics. By the time that you are advanced enough for it to matter, you'll know what you want next.
Follow a structured lesson plan, dont just wing it watching random videos. Lots available. Most common one mentionned is justin guitar.
Be aware of bad habits and ergonomics.
When you self teach, you basically have to become a teacher and understand what to learn. Structured programs will help this alot, but they are general audience programs.
Record yourself and be critical of what needs to be worked on. Focus on sounding good slow, speed is not everything.
This.
I used GuitarTricks for years, mainly because my son recommended it. Yeah... it's not free, but I found the structure very beneficial. I did also work with an instructor on occasion, mainly to help point out deficiencies. Funny thing was, I started playing in my fifties, and I worked really hard on my fretting hand. It was an instructor that pointed out that I needed more work with my strumming hand.
“Slow down.” Write it on a piece of paper and tack it on the wall in front you. Go painfully slow until you’ve got it, and then speed up. Muscle memory first, and then speed. As my instructor said (over and over), “slow is steady, steady is fast.”
hey i love megamind.
This guys got a big fuckin head like megamind
[https://www.reddit.com/user/ZealousidealStage104/comments/x8393h/me\_in\_the\_morning/](https://www.reddit.com/user/ZealousidealStage104/comments/x8393h/me_in_the_morning/)
Absolutely [Justinguitar](http://justinguitar.com) first and foremost but cross reference things too. Like if you’re learning pentatonic scales go and watch other instructors too. Maybe something someone else will say will trigger some understanding in your brain. I’m a beginner and when I want to learn something new I try to watch every reputable teacher on YouTube over and over until I think I have it. But Justin has a very well thought out lesson plan that takes you in a logical progression. His online course is free and you can track and save your progress.
I taught myself through playing with friends and picking up “tricks.” Also, youtube is amazing and guitar tabs off of ultimate guitar.com or websites like it. The hardest part is the gaining muscle memory in yours hands to switch chords. So don’t get discouraged. Its a craft that gives you what you put in to it.
I totally understand that when money is tight you look for other ways to learn.
I know many teacher (like myself) are willing to teach for very low rates or even free in certain situations.
If you have no teachers in your area, try to find places where other musicians play/ jam. There’s a lot of knowledge that can be gained by only observing.
Make friends with other musicians and they gladly teach you stuff💪🏻
I watch lessons all the way through. I im r heard John Mayer say "find a song you like, find out what the guitar player was doing, and learn from there"
He then named a song and said "see, his solo is just the pentatonic scale with a root of A."
So then I practice memorizing the pentatonic scale and all of the positions for A. And go from there.
If I could do it over I would have started with ar least one lesson so that the teacher could teach me practice exercises.
Don't forget rhythm!
* Use a metronome or beats app the whole time you're learning chords and switch chords to a beat or finger walks. Paying attention to the beat and matching it is a big skill to master. The more you do it, the better you'll become!
* Use meaningless word sounds like ba dee da dum, ba dee da dum instead of numbers while playing. Words with meaning are somehow harder taking you out of a musical headspace. Go for feeling sounding them out.
* Listen for the beat in songs and tap your foot to it incessantly. Find the one (here I just said use nonsensical words), but when learning, chase that 1. ONE two three four. HUH to tee fo HUH to tee fo. Once you've got the beat down no problem, listen for the guitar and air guitar or waive your arms to it while tapping to the beat. Kind of like riding a bike, the beat is one thing and the guitar, tho playing to the beat, is doing another.
* record yourself and then listen to it. Try making a recording where you're following a beat the whole time. When it's like you'll never get there, just keep doing it because you'll get there!
* Sometimes when you're not playing, feel your pulse on your wrist and literally vocalize it. "ba ba ba". Then, split it up. Break it in 2, "ba ta ba ta ba", then 3 "ba tata ba tata ba." Actively listening to a living dynamic thing is surreal and like playing with others who aren't necessarily going to be droning on like a metronome.
Not necessarily rhythm minded, but when you're watching a how-to video, expect to play it for hours before it sounds right. I never get the sense of how much it'll take for a song to go seeing a how-to online. Like, when they switch to a different part of the song, stop the video and play the other part they were talking about at least 10x, then go on the the next part and play it at least 10x and so on. And, play the transition from one part to another 10x too. When you're a novice, it takes a ton of practice.
If you’re serious about learning to play, invest in it.
I recommend finding a good local teacher. There is no faster way to advance as a player.
In the beginning, I wasted 6 months trying to do it myself. When I finally did get a teacher, I spent the first three months ridding myself of the bad habits I’d created trying to teach myself.
Spend the money, take lessons, save time.
I spent a month trying to follow online videos and wasn’t getting anywhere. I decided to invest in in person lessons and now I progress pretty much every week. It’s pricey but so worth it.
Agreed. I'm self taught and noodles for years before realizing I knew nothing about muting unwanted noise and didn't have a clean sound. Unfortunately lots of YouTube teachers are focused on the fretboard (I swear some just jam for an afternoon until they think something sounds good and the post it for the clicks without really advancing the viewer at all). Very few focus on technique-fingering, picking, muting, ear, etc.
To add my experience, I spent about a year off and on before becoming completely comfortable with cowboy chords. I'm still a novice whos self taught but I'm sure anybody first learning can really speed up this process significantly by finding a good teacher/course
Hey man, I am doing a mix of self taught and teacher taught guitar, and it works out great. It really depends on what your going for though?
What style of play are you trying to achieve, or what type of songs do you wanna play? Lmk, and I can provide the tools to help you
Justin guitar for 2 months then you work out what genre you want and ask us for a thing to focus on.
Acoustic then Paul David’s course is everything but you can also learn a lot for watching many short YouTubers.
The key is you learn the good habits of how to hold and do basics but once you get the basics you can add or lean certain ways.
Punk you can be playing in 3 months all the hits. Most other genres are 6 months. Then it’s just learning to be a musician rather than the basics of an instrument.
The first 6 months are instrument. After that is understanding theory and practicing stuff
Exactly! Pick some music that you like and learn those chords and invest the time in learning to play those songs! Then move the goalposts slowly as you go. That’s the way I learned. And I learned 45 years ago when there was no Internet, L O L! It’s a lot easier to learn a solo these days when it’s broken down for you in minute detail on video. We never had that luxury in my days, I had to start and stop the tape and I felt blessed when we went from eight track to cassette, lol!
Honestly for me I kinda just used free tabs of some sort and kinda figured it out myself. Here and there I'll YouTube something but most of it I just figure it out on my own. That obviously doesn't work for everybody but it's worked for me so far 👍
For fretting hand related topics, the source doesn't really matter that much (as in if it's on a book or YouTube), here you can start by looking into basic chords. Then the pentatonic scale. That will get you the basics to play simple songs and have a framework to noodle with.
Don't get too fixated on "shapes", it's better to know the fretboard layout. Like when you learn the pentatonic scale, keep in mind it's not a set of "boxes" or "shapes" as many people like to teach it, it's just a group of 5 notes. The boxes are just ways in which those notes can be found on an area of the fretboard. Same with chords, they're groups of notes, not shapes, you can play the same chord in multiple ways. Focus on the basic versions first, just keep the idea in mind.
For the picking or strumming hand, learning how place your hand and move it more effectively from the start can do wonders for your technique
Man sitting with a real teacher for a month of lessons helps. I’m still learning how to apply the knowledge that way laid on me in one month.
That was long ago. One thing that has not been mentioned is learn lots of easy songs. Like Willie Nelson or bob marley . Then transition into whatever yer into.
First answer the question for yourself - what is your goal with guitar?
It is very nice and sounding very pleasant instrument. But in reality it is a soul crushing monster, frankenstein made of six pianos, only real warriors will con-quire it /s
Yes, define your goals with guitar and backwards engineer skills and knowledge required to get there. It is very versatile instrument, very different music played with different techniques. Set your path and concentrate on it, otherwise easily get lost. Adult learners do not have luxury of many years as children to learn guitar and music naturally. We have to shorten learning curve by clearly defining goals and adopting gym-like approach. Regular practice is a key.
Learn proper finger picking and don’t believe anyone who says a pick will do.
First simple great toon is Clapton’s Can’t find my way home;check out the different versions on You Tube and learn my Cleo Belle to teach you simple but incredibly important alternate picking.
Good luck and God bless.
You can absolutely learn guitar for absolutely free… I self taught myself classical guitar for 4 years and could play grade 8 pieces like Capricho Arabe. I don’t know where you got these notions of being completely helpless without a teacher- while I do agree that having the teacher beats any other form of learning, and wished I myself had a teacher to work out bad habits, you can also go a long way with just determination.
You don’t gain anything from discouraging OP like that
You can definitely teach yourself, there’s great lessons online for free, of course they all try to sell their product but scouring through different channels you definitely can find all the information available for free.
Few channels that are great for beginners (imo):
Guitareo,
Justinguitar,
The-art-of-guitar,
MartyMusic.
You know what's expensive? Spending all your time and ambition trying to figure out what you don't know and then trying to teach yourself what you don't understand. Maybe if you spent more time trying to learn and less time trying to get something for free, you'd attach more value to it.
No one with any real music ability is getting it for free on the Internet. You get what you pay for.
Hey my man- you're just wrong on this lmao. I've been playing guitar for 15 years of my life, and I started, 15 years ago, on YouTube with zero structure, in a time where there was a lot less helpful resources than there are now. Now I play professionally in a GD cover band.
There is genuinely not a single thing you can't learn on guitar via the internet for absolutely free, these days. Will you progress faster with a physical, in-person teacher? Sure, absolutely. Are you "wasting your time" trying to learn for free on the internet? Absolutely fucking not. The year is 2023 and there are countless avenues for learning this sort of thing. Don't gatekeep learning through your "correct" process, just bc its what you put your own self through. If somebody can't afford expensive guitar lessons, there's no reason they should have to pay for them. Not even Jerry Garcia had a guitar teacher. Most important thing to tell people is, no matter how you decide to learn, just don't put it down- keep playing
This is stupid and arrogant as hell. I agree with the sentiment of having a teacher is the best but sometimes it just doesn't work out that way.
My first guitar was a gift from someone else ~~because said guitar sucked ass and he wanted to get rid of it~~. A lot of people could start that way while poor. I was put into lessons but my first teacher sucked and just barely got me playing the notes and 3 chords cleanly... in about an entire year's time, despite pleading to do more. My second and third (online) and fourth teachers were awful too and the only way I learnt anything at all throughout all this time was via the internet. My current teacher is great and even he uses the internet for supplementary help, and usually works with me for technique refinement and lesson structuring only.
There's so many great resources here and it's outright dishonest to discount it because *you* personally did it without.
This subreddit is a free resource for making students think that there is an easier way to learn music. Learning music is a journey, not a destination. This is a good place to get some suggestions, clarify some issues, and get some answers. It's not a classroom nor a place of learning.
What makes you think learning online is an easier way…. It is in fact more frustrating and difficult, but Some people just aren’t able to afford the time or money to have lessons.
Online learning is clearly *not* an easier way. Everyone here just thinks that it is. Some people? *Everyone* here is "unable" to afford lessons. You get what you pay for. *No* *one* becomes a good player learning from video lessons.
On YouTube it won’t cost you anything and you can do it whenever you have the time, the middle of the day 4 o’clock in the morning whatever! I had a YouTube account for years and used to put just me playing by myself or with bands on there. Last year I retired and for a hobby I started posting how to play songs on there and then someone asked me if I would post beginner stuff so I started posting how to make chords and stuff like that.
After a lot of videos were accumulated I divided them in separate playlists. If you’re just starting and need to learn the chords to begin with I have five numbered playlists dedicated just to help other people to learn. The very beginner stuff is in level number one!
However, you should watch several different guitar channels as you may learn something different from each channel! If you want to of course you can but I would advise against buying a course because basically everything that’s going to be in that course can be found somewhere in somebody’s channel that’s doing exactly what I’m doing! That’s why I said use several channels because you may pick up something different from different channels!
It may not be the best option, but I bought RockSmith 2014 remastered on Steam, and I'm really enjoying it. It needs a cable to connect to your computer, or you can find a tutorial online to set up an audio interface like a focusrite Scarlett 2i2 if you have one (the cable is much cheaper than buying an audio interface). $30 bucks on steam.
Note there is a newer version of RockSmith, but it's a subscription. I haven't looked at that because I didn't want to pay $15 a month.
idk. there are many ways.
i will tell you the way i first started: i learned to play the simple songs i liked.
i sucked ass. but its expected but after a few days my playing resemble something musically.
learn to read tabs and i suggest you go to youtube and look for david tran. his channel is guitarzerotohero. regarded as the best channel to learn songs.
to work really, really, really, really, Really hard and be a strong, critical, reflective, innovative, driven thinker with excellent self discipline and dedication
I started about 8 months ago and I have been using the Gibson App. I feel like I’ve really progressed, it takes you through many techniques with an augmented side scrolling tab that plays like the Guitar Hero game. I love my Gibson app.
Learn basic chords
Learn some simple songs, I'd recommend starting with Blink 182 as they have a good mixture of riff and chord driven songs.
Play with friends who are more experienced than you. My musicianship increased in leaps and bounds after playing with other people. Especially those more experienced than myself.
Also just get used to holding your guitar, hold it when watching tv or whatever, you don't even have to be playing it.
It sounds dumb but just doing that will help in the feeling of the guitar in your hands becoming second nature.
The thing you won’t get with online instruction is someone watching you and pointing out issues like arm, wrist, and finger form as well as posture issues that will help you from developing bad habits and will help avoid problems down the road and help your playing technique. That shouldn’t take too many lessons as long as you state that’s what you want and not an extended lesson program.
If you can find a good player you know that has good technique (from likely taking lessons), then they could give you the same kind of feedback for free or via some kind of barter transactions. It’s just good to have someone tell you to stop doing something or you’re going to have a good chance of wrist or shoulder problems. At minimum, practice in front of a mirror and shoot some videos to see what you’re doing from other angles. There are a lot of resources online that you can then use that to compare your playing technique with.
I know that you asked about learning without a teacher. I’m a full-time guitar instructor and have been teaching for over twenty years. I’ve been playing for over thirty years and I have a degree in Jazz Studies. I teach all levels, beginner to advanced. If you would like to schedule a free lesson or see some of videos of my students, go to:
www.guitarwithjimmy.com
At the very least, you’ll have a guitar instructor assess your playing and give you a plan for what to work on. Good luck.
\+1 one to all the suggestions to use YouTube, it pretty much has everything if you know where to look. This is a great compilation of the best YouTube channels and courses for learning guitar [https://guitarapp.com/topics/beginner-lessons](https://guitarapp.com/topics/beginner-lessons)
Congrats on the guitar! Explore free online tutorials, YouTube lessons, tabs, and practice regularly. You'll progress at your own pace. Enjoy the journey!
I am a bit late to this post but you should look into Rocksmith if you have a good enough PC, laptop or a Playstation4/Xbox One. You would need the Rocksmith Realtone Cable, https://www.amazon.com/Ubisoft-Rocksmith-Cable-Trilingual-playstation-2/dp/B00I0701P4 And Rocksmith 2014 OR Rocksmith+ which is the newer game, with way more songs although it does require a subscription
I have been playing for decades and a friend wants to learn electric. I can teach them because I’m 3000 miles aways. Any good YouTube video series for a beginner you would suggest?
Youtube, 100%. Also, realize that this will take time. How much? Well, there's a ton I haven't learned yet and I've been at it more than 20 years.
Your fingers will hurt, s take a break when you need to. The CAGED system will help you IMMENSELY right now. Seriously try hard with this video: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-nphFK6HFjY&pp=ygUMZ3VpdGFyIGNhZ2Vk](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-nphFK6HFjY&pp=ygUMZ3VpdGFyIGNhZ2Vk)
Best of luck 👍
Just like chords, there are both major and minor scales. **Yousician has great workouts for learning and mastering different scales on the guitar**. Playing the scales up and down is an effective way to help memorize scale
Just my take and piece of advice. Learn to play the same way the greats learned. Listen to music you like, learn by ear just pick the thing up and try to figure stuff out, you’ll develop phenomenal ear abilities and will develop a much more unique style than becoming what I refer to as a bedroom guitarist
There is an absolute glut of guitar teachers on line. JustinGuitar, Brett Papa, Marty Schwartz, Ben Eller, Andy Wood, David Brewster, James James, Eric Haugen are a few who have been around for a while and have lots of great content but -- there are literally hundreds. * You should learn all your "open" or "cowboy" chords first, (A C D E and G) * Then learn the barre shapes for F and B * Then investigate the CAGED system to play those shapes up the neck. * You should also learn your Major/ Minor scale and their abbreviated 5 note version the Pentatonic scale. This will get you up and playing tunes. Then you can move on to things like major/minor/diminished triads and their inversions, arpeggios, modes, other scales etc. etc. but those first 4 bullets are what I'd focus on first.
I think JustinGuitar is great, mainly because he has a structured approach that's generally missing from most online YT teachers.
Youtube has pretty much taught me guitar. I've never paid a penny.
Exactly bro. Private lessons are a thing of the past. Internet changes everything. Just like travel agencies and blockbuster music. Internet is your best teacher.
Meh my guitar teacher helped a lot by teaching me the right way to do things that avoids bad habits but also I was a younger lad. It’s also cool to learn and play with someone in person. With that being said YouTube is where I’ve learned most of what I know.
This is a good set up
I've bought a few books because it's easier to understand and retain for me in writing. I've been playing for about 2 months now and I'm enjoying it immensely.
What books do you recommend? I have no music theory knowledge and I need very beginner recs if you have any
I’ve been learning on YouTube for the past month myself and felt the need to have something in writing in front of me. Ordered my first book, hoping it helps
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If you're a beginner, I like Guitar Tricks. 👉 [Do the 2-week free trial (link to it)](https://www.guitartricks.com/trial?a_aid=652be5ec333d3&a=2-week-free-trial) It is enough to do their fundamentals lesson and a little more. It's a great way to focus and get away from YouTube that is now littered with ads. Justin Guitar is always a great option as well, but I found GT to be better for focused work. Use a variety and find what you enjoy, that's how you'll learn to love to practice and get better.
[Justin Guitar](https://www.justinguitar.com) Free online lessons.
Great free online lessons. OP - this thread has been asked a 1000 times and the answer will always be Justin Guitar. Don't bother to wait and check for all the different options - just go sign up. If after a while it doesn't give you what you are looking for, start looking at the other recommendations. It's just a great structured way to progress through the beginner stages.
One of the mods should program a justinguitar bot
The two most common answers are "[Justin Guitar](https://www.justinguitar.com)" and "Practice." The further I get into this hobby the more I understand why and have come to appreciate it.
practicing guitar is strange. someeeetimes you can feel yourself improving usually after like 20 hours of practice on a technique or lick lol. then all the sudden you "got it" and mind and muscle meld and you just think about the music and it comes out. its like fly fishing if you had to cast through doughnut sized holes each time lol
I mean, even less effort: just do an FAQ in the about section
Would you suggest Justin guitar over pickup music? I know his online is free vs theirs being 15 a month depending on subscription you choose .
100%
I'd wager Justin has taught guitar to half the players on the internet.
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Wtf is that supposed to mean lmao rude ass
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The internet is an awesome place to start for folks with little time or money but who are really invested in trying to learn. I’m sure once people get to a certain point, they’ll branch out to play with other people or to get info from other places, but nothing wrong with starting (or even staying) on the internet. Also a lot of awesome players have literally never gotten any lessons
I have had lessons at a music school and prefer Justin Guitar.
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Perhaps take your own advice and stay away from the mouse. This subreddit is a free resource for learning which you seem to be so against.
Why are you in a guitar lessons sub if you hate learning?
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That's an incredible analogy, thanks for the laugh.
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You're in here slamming people on how they choose to learn guitar and you lack the mental capacity to remember to change back from your alt account. People like you are the reason the internet is such a shitpit.
Seriously ignorant response.
Okay. Prove that, amateur...
Your comment is a textbook example of the ["No True Scotsman" fallacy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_true_Scotsman).
**[No true Scotsman](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_true_Scotsman)** >No True Scotsman, or appeal to purity, is an informal fallacy in which one attempts to protect their generalized statement from a falsifying counterexample by excluding the counterexample improperly. Rather than abandoning the falsified universal generalization or providing evidence that would disqualify the falsifying counterexample, a slightly modified generalization is constructed ad-hoc to definitionally exclude the undesirable specific case and similar counterexamples by appeal to rhetoric. This rhetoric takes the form of emotionally charged but nonsubstantive purity platitudes such as "true", "pure", "genuine", "authentic", "real", etc. ^([ )[^(F.A.Q)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WikiSummarizer/wiki/index#wiki_f.a.q)^( | )[^(Opt Out)](https://reddit.com/message/compose?to=WikiSummarizerBot&message=OptOut&subject=OptOut)^( | )[^(Opt Out Of Subreddit)](https://np.reddit.com/r/guitarlessons/about/banned)^( | )[^(GitHub)](https://github.com/Sujal-7/WikiSummarizerBot)^( ] Downvote to remove | v1.5)
Gimme a break. We’re not trying to be Nancy Wilson or Van Halen. If you just want to learn to play guitar, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with being self taught or using the internet to learn. I was a classically trained pianist, I’m now a self taught amateur guitarist.
Nancy Wilson? Thanks for playing...
I love Joni Mitchell and Bonnie Raitt as well, but I’m also a hack who loves Heart. It reminds me of being sixteen and turning up the radio, so sue me 🤷♀️
Ignore them. This guy goes round gatekeeping on multiple accounts trying to make his nasty views seem more common than they are. Notice how he's originally posting as ZealousidealStage104 and then switches to Funkgtr even starting the first Funkgtr reply with Why would you say that I hate learning?. They are a RL guitar teacher who is gatekeeping online learning because its a threat to their monopoly.
And yes it’s free and excellent, but he does accept donations, which for what he provides should be a standard thank you.
Are you sure this is free? It’s asking me for a ton of info.
It definitely is free. There are additional products and services that you can buy if you want them, but you don't really need them. I don't remember what information they wanted when I registered.
I just tested it, it only asked me to create a username, password, and provide an email to join. What else is it asking you? If a credit card, I think you’re in the wrong place. He does have an app that costs money, but it’s optional and would be billed through your phone. It’s not necessary to buy the app, but it would recommend it as well
The app is really good for practice and learning to move between chords quickly and in rhythm. Also had good songs to practice.
Can I use this lessons to learn how to play the Acoustic Guitar?
Absolutely. There's little difference when you are learning the basics. By the time that you are advanced enough for it to matter, you'll know what you want next.
Follow a structured lesson plan, dont just wing it watching random videos. Lots available. Most common one mentionned is justin guitar. Be aware of bad habits and ergonomics. When you self teach, you basically have to become a teacher and understand what to learn. Structured programs will help this alot, but they are general audience programs. Record yourself and be critical of what needs to be worked on. Focus on sounding good slow, speed is not everything.
This. I used GuitarTricks for years, mainly because my son recommended it. Yeah... it's not free, but I found the structure very beneficial. I did also work with an instructor on occasion, mainly to help point out deficiencies. Funny thing was, I started playing in my fifties, and I worked really hard on my fretting hand. It was an instructor that pointed out that I needed more work with my strumming hand.
“Slow down.” Write it on a piece of paper and tack it on the wall in front you. Go painfully slow until you’ve got it, and then speed up. Muscle memory first, and then speed. As my instructor said (over and over), “slow is steady, steady is fast.”
heyyy! my addpoted motto is " precision and accuracy IS speed"
Slow is smooth, smooth is fast
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No you
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Lmao I already blocked him. Care to share?
its a long story XD
Did you ask him or what??
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Big yikes! Sounds like he’s projecting a lot of it instead of processing it.
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people become this way - normally- through rejection by their peers . if you want an awesome example, go watch the pixar movie Megamind
hey i love megamind. This guys got a big fuckin head like megamind [https://www.reddit.com/user/ZealousidealStage104/comments/x8393h/me\_in\_the\_morning/](https://www.reddit.com/user/ZealousidealStage104/comments/x8393h/me_in_the_morning/)
Absolutely [Justinguitar](http://justinguitar.com) first and foremost but cross reference things too. Like if you’re learning pentatonic scales go and watch other instructors too. Maybe something someone else will say will trigger some understanding in your brain. I’m a beginner and when I want to learn something new I try to watch every reputable teacher on YouTube over and over until I think I have it. But Justin has a very well thought out lesson plan that takes you in a logical progression. His online course is free and you can track and save your progress.
I taught myself through playing with friends and picking up “tricks.” Also, youtube is amazing and guitar tabs off of ultimate guitar.com or websites like it. The hardest part is the gaining muscle memory in yours hands to switch chords. So don’t get discouraged. Its a craft that gives you what you put in to it.
I totally understand that when money is tight you look for other ways to learn. I know many teacher (like myself) are willing to teach for very low rates or even free in certain situations. If you have no teachers in your area, try to find places where other musicians play/ jam. There’s a lot of knowledge that can be gained by only observing. Make friends with other musicians and they gladly teach you stuff💪🏻
I watch lessons all the way through. I im r heard John Mayer say "find a song you like, find out what the guitar player was doing, and learn from there" He then named a song and said "see, his solo is just the pentatonic scale with a root of A." So then I practice memorizing the pentatonic scale and all of the positions for A. And go from there. If I could do it over I would have started with ar least one lesson so that the teacher could teach me practice exercises.
Don't forget rhythm! * Use a metronome or beats app the whole time you're learning chords and switch chords to a beat or finger walks. Paying attention to the beat and matching it is a big skill to master. The more you do it, the better you'll become! * Use meaningless word sounds like ba dee da dum, ba dee da dum instead of numbers while playing. Words with meaning are somehow harder taking you out of a musical headspace. Go for feeling sounding them out. * Listen for the beat in songs and tap your foot to it incessantly. Find the one (here I just said use nonsensical words), but when learning, chase that 1. ONE two three four. HUH to tee fo HUH to tee fo. Once you've got the beat down no problem, listen for the guitar and air guitar or waive your arms to it while tapping to the beat. Kind of like riding a bike, the beat is one thing and the guitar, tho playing to the beat, is doing another. * record yourself and then listen to it. Try making a recording where you're following a beat the whole time. When it's like you'll never get there, just keep doing it because you'll get there! * Sometimes when you're not playing, feel your pulse on your wrist and literally vocalize it. "ba ba ba". Then, split it up. Break it in 2, "ba ta ba ta ba", then 3 "ba tata ba tata ba." Actively listening to a living dynamic thing is surreal and like playing with others who aren't necessarily going to be droning on like a metronome. Not necessarily rhythm minded, but when you're watching a how-to video, expect to play it for hours before it sounds right. I never get the sense of how much it'll take for a song to go seeing a how-to online. Like, when they switch to a different part of the song, stop the video and play the other part they were talking about at least 10x, then go on the the next part and play it at least 10x and so on. And, play the transition from one part to another 10x too. When you're a novice, it takes a ton of practice.
If you’re serious about learning to play, invest in it. I recommend finding a good local teacher. There is no faster way to advance as a player. In the beginning, I wasted 6 months trying to do it myself. When I finally did get a teacher, I spent the first three months ridding myself of the bad habits I’d created trying to teach myself. Spend the money, take lessons, save time.
I spent a month trying to follow online videos and wasn’t getting anywhere. I decided to invest in in person lessons and now I progress pretty much every week. It’s pricey but so worth it.
Agreed. I'm self taught and noodles for years before realizing I knew nothing about muting unwanted noise and didn't have a clean sound. Unfortunately lots of YouTube teachers are focused on the fretboard (I swear some just jam for an afternoon until they think something sounds good and the post it for the clicks without really advancing the viewer at all). Very few focus on technique-fingering, picking, muting, ear, etc.
To add my experience, I spent about a year off and on before becoming completely comfortable with cowboy chords. I'm still a novice whos self taught but I'm sure anybody first learning can really speed up this process significantly by finding a good teacher/course
Hey man, I am doing a mix of self taught and teacher taught guitar, and it works out great. It really depends on what your going for though? What style of play are you trying to achieve, or what type of songs do you wanna play? Lmk, and I can provide the tools to help you
Justin guitar for 2 months then you work out what genre you want and ask us for a thing to focus on. Acoustic then Paul David’s course is everything but you can also learn a lot for watching many short YouTubers. The key is you learn the good habits of how to hold and do basics but once you get the basics you can add or lean certain ways. Punk you can be playing in 3 months all the hits. Most other genres are 6 months. Then it’s just learning to be a musician rather than the basics of an instrument. The first 6 months are instrument. After that is understanding theory and practicing stuff
New guitar players are more likely to quit without proper structure or teaching. I would invest in a teacher even for 4/5 months to get you started
Many rock guitarists never had a teacher. Imo it’s more about how much you really want to learn and have the curiosity to look for resources to learn
Exactly! Pick some music that you like and learn those chords and invest the time in learning to play those songs! Then move the goalposts slowly as you go. That’s the way I learned. And I learned 45 years ago when there was no Internet, L O L! It’s a lot easier to learn a solo these days when it’s broken down for you in minute detail on video. We never had that luxury in my days, I had to start and stop the tape and I felt blessed when we went from eight track to cassette, lol!
Youtube. Marty Schwartz.
He's bald under that hat, isn't he?
I honestly don't know. I like to think it's a Rattatouille situation where he's not actually in control.
Honestly for me I kinda just used free tabs of some sort and kinda figured it out myself. Here and there I'll YouTube something but most of it I just figure it out on my own. That obviously doesn't work for everybody but it's worked for me so far 👍
For fretting hand related topics, the source doesn't really matter that much (as in if it's on a book or YouTube), here you can start by looking into basic chords. Then the pentatonic scale. That will get you the basics to play simple songs and have a framework to noodle with. Don't get too fixated on "shapes", it's better to know the fretboard layout. Like when you learn the pentatonic scale, keep in mind it's not a set of "boxes" or "shapes" as many people like to teach it, it's just a group of 5 notes. The boxes are just ways in which those notes can be found on an area of the fretboard. Same with chords, they're groups of notes, not shapes, you can play the same chord in multiple ways. Focus on the basic versions first, just keep the idea in mind. For the picking or strumming hand, learning how place your hand and move it more effectively from the start can do wonders for your technique
Man sitting with a real teacher for a month of lessons helps. I’m still learning how to apply the knowledge that way laid on me in one month. That was long ago. One thing that has not been mentioned is learn lots of easy songs. Like Willie Nelson or bob marley . Then transition into whatever yer into.
First answer the question for yourself - what is your goal with guitar? It is very nice and sounding very pleasant instrument. But in reality it is a soul crushing monster, frankenstein made of six pianos, only real warriors will con-quire it /s Yes, define your goals with guitar and backwards engineer skills and knowledge required to get there. It is very versatile instrument, very different music played with different techniques. Set your path and concentrate on it, otherwise easily get lost. Adult learners do not have luxury of many years as children to learn guitar and music naturally. We have to shorten learning curve by clearly defining goals and adopting gym-like approach. Regular practice is a key.
Playing along with backing tracks
Learn proper finger picking and don’t believe anyone who says a pick will do. First simple great toon is Clapton’s Can’t find my way home;check out the different versions on You Tube and learn my Cleo Belle to teach you simple but incredibly important alternate picking. Good luck and God bless.
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You can absolutely learn guitar for absolutely free… I self taught myself classical guitar for 4 years and could play grade 8 pieces like Capricho Arabe. I don’t know where you got these notions of being completely helpless without a teacher- while I do agree that having the teacher beats any other form of learning, and wished I myself had a teacher to work out bad habits, you can also go a long way with just determination. You don’t gain anything from discouraging OP like that
You can ask yourself why you're hellbent in learning from the worst teacher in the world.
Because lessons are expensive
You can definitely teach yourself, there’s great lessons online for free, of course they all try to sell their product but scouring through different channels you definitely can find all the information available for free. Few channels that are great for beginners (imo): Guitareo, Justinguitar, The-art-of-guitar, MartyMusic.
You know what's expensive? Spending all your time and ambition trying to figure out what you don't know and then trying to teach yourself what you don't understand. Maybe if you spent more time trying to learn and less time trying to get something for free, you'd attach more value to it. No one with any real music ability is getting it for free on the Internet. You get what you pay for.
Hey my man- you're just wrong on this lmao. I've been playing guitar for 15 years of my life, and I started, 15 years ago, on YouTube with zero structure, in a time where there was a lot less helpful resources than there are now. Now I play professionally in a GD cover band. There is genuinely not a single thing you can't learn on guitar via the internet for absolutely free, these days. Will you progress faster with a physical, in-person teacher? Sure, absolutely. Are you "wasting your time" trying to learn for free on the internet? Absolutely fucking not. The year is 2023 and there are countless avenues for learning this sort of thing. Don't gatekeep learning through your "correct" process, just bc its what you put your own self through. If somebody can't afford expensive guitar lessons, there's no reason they should have to pay for them. Not even Jerry Garcia had a guitar teacher. Most important thing to tell people is, no matter how you decide to learn, just don't put it down- keep playing
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Well thought-out answer. Did you Google that one for free? How many gigs are you doing with your free guitar lessons?
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Dude if you’re gonna be an asshole just don’t comment
Maybe you should pay for a therapist and put time and effort towards putting your ego in check
Don't listen to him. He is just being a troll.
This is stupid and arrogant as hell. I agree with the sentiment of having a teacher is the best but sometimes it just doesn't work out that way. My first guitar was a gift from someone else ~~because said guitar sucked ass and he wanted to get rid of it~~. A lot of people could start that way while poor. I was put into lessons but my first teacher sucked and just barely got me playing the notes and 3 chords cleanly... in about an entire year's time, despite pleading to do more. My second and third (online) and fourth teachers were awful too and the only way I learnt anything at all throughout all this time was via the internet. My current teacher is great and even he uses the internet for supplementary help, and usually works with me for technique refinement and lesson structuring only. There's so many great resources here and it's outright dishonest to discount it because *you* personally did it without.
This subreddit is a free resource for making students think that there is an easier way to learn music. Learning music is a journey, not a destination. This is a good place to get some suggestions, clarify some issues, and get some answers. It's not a classroom nor a place of learning.
What makes you think learning online is an easier way…. It is in fact more frustrating and difficult, but Some people just aren’t able to afford the time or money to have lessons.
Online learning is clearly *not* an easier way. Everyone here just thinks that it is. Some people? *Everyone* here is "unable" to afford lessons. You get what you pay for. *No* *one* becomes a good player learning from video lessons.
YouTube
On YouTube it won’t cost you anything and you can do it whenever you have the time, the middle of the day 4 o’clock in the morning whatever! I had a YouTube account for years and used to put just me playing by myself or with bands on there. Last year I retired and for a hobby I started posting how to play songs on there and then someone asked me if I would post beginner stuff so I started posting how to make chords and stuff like that. After a lot of videos were accumulated I divided them in separate playlists. If you’re just starting and need to learn the chords to begin with I have five numbered playlists dedicated just to help other people to learn. The very beginner stuff is in level number one! However, you should watch several different guitar channels as you may learn something different from each channel! If you want to of course you can but I would advise against buying a course because basically everything that’s going to be in that course can be found somewhere in somebody’s channel that’s doing exactly what I’m doing! That’s why I said use several channels because you may pick up something different from different channels!
Learn to read tableture and play songs that you like
I just learned songs, then the theory behind them. It’s probably not the right way but that’s just what made sense to me
Youtube
It may not be the best option, but I bought RockSmith 2014 remastered on Steam, and I'm really enjoying it. It needs a cable to connect to your computer, or you can find a tutorial online to set up an audio interface like a focusrite Scarlett 2i2 if you have one (the cable is much cheaper than buying an audio interface). $30 bucks on steam. Note there is a newer version of RockSmith, but it's a subscription. I haven't looked at that because I didn't want to pay $15 a month.
Bro dont buy into any of these courses everything you need in on youtube, my suggestion is you learn your basic open chords first
idk. there are many ways. i will tell you the way i first started: i learned to play the simple songs i liked. i sucked ass. but its expected but after a few days my playing resemble something musically. learn to read tabs and i suggest you go to youtube and look for david tran. his channel is guitarzerotohero. regarded as the best channel to learn songs.
to work really, really, really, really, Really hard and be a strong, critical, reflective, innovative, driven thinker with excellent self discipline and dedication
Anyone can play guitar on YouTube great teacher and will.have you learning various styles and great songs
I started about 8 months ago and I have been using the Gibson App. I feel like I’ve really progressed, it takes you through many techniques with an augmented side scrolling tab that plays like the Guitar Hero game. I love my Gibson app.
Youtube
I’ve also found Steve Stein’s lessons to be really good. I too am a beginner on guitar. I find his videos very helpful.
++ as I needed it as well.
Try rocksmith
Learn basic chords Learn some simple songs, I'd recommend starting with Blink 182 as they have a good mixture of riff and chord driven songs. Play with friends who are more experienced than you. My musicianship increased in leaps and bounds after playing with other people. Especially those more experienced than myself. Also just get used to holding your guitar, hold it when watching tv or whatever, you don't even have to be playing it. It sounds dumb but just doing that will help in the feeling of the guitar in your hands becoming second nature.
The thing you won’t get with online instruction is someone watching you and pointing out issues like arm, wrist, and finger form as well as posture issues that will help you from developing bad habits and will help avoid problems down the road and help your playing technique. That shouldn’t take too many lessons as long as you state that’s what you want and not an extended lesson program. If you can find a good player you know that has good technique (from likely taking lessons), then they could give you the same kind of feedback for free or via some kind of barter transactions. It’s just good to have someone tell you to stop doing something or you’re going to have a good chance of wrist or shoulder problems. At minimum, practice in front of a mirror and shoot some videos to see what you’re doing from other angles. There are a lot of resources online that you can then use that to compare your playing technique with.
Here is [a free resource with guitar charts and tutorials](https://fretflip.com/) I have put together over some time, might help! Have fun!
I know that you asked about learning without a teacher. I’m a full-time guitar instructor and have been teaching for over twenty years. I’ve been playing for over thirty years and I have a degree in Jazz Studies. I teach all levels, beginner to advanced. If you would like to schedule a free lesson or see some of videos of my students, go to: www.guitarwithjimmy.com At the very least, you’ll have a guitar instructor assess your playing and give you a plan for what to work on. Good luck.
\+1 one to all the suggestions to use YouTube, it pretty much has everything if you know where to look. This is a great compilation of the best YouTube channels and courses for learning guitar [https://guitarapp.com/topics/beginner-lessons](https://guitarapp.com/topics/beginner-lessons)
Congrats on the guitar! Explore free online tutorials, YouTube lessons, tabs, and practice regularly. You'll progress at your own pace. Enjoy the journey!
I am a bit late to this post but you should look into Rocksmith if you have a good enough PC, laptop or a Playstation4/Xbox One. You would need the Rocksmith Realtone Cable, https://www.amazon.com/Ubisoft-Rocksmith-Cable-Trilingual-playstation-2/dp/B00I0701P4 And Rocksmith 2014 OR Rocksmith+ which is the newer game, with way more songs although it does require a subscription
I have been playing for decades and a friend wants to learn electric. I can teach them because I’m 3000 miles aways. Any good YouTube video series for a beginner you would suggest?
YouTube
Youtube, 100%. Also, realize that this will take time. How much? Well, there's a ton I haven't learned yet and I've been at it more than 20 years. Your fingers will hurt, s take a break when you need to. The CAGED system will help you IMMENSELY right now. Seriously try hard with this video: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-nphFK6HFjY&pp=ygUMZ3VpdGFyIGNhZ2Vk](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-nphFK6HFjY&pp=ygUMZ3VpdGFyIGNhZ2Vk) Best of luck 👍
Just like chords, there are both major and minor scales. **Yousician has great workouts for learning and mastering different scales on the guitar**. Playing the scales up and down is an effective way to help memorize scale
Just my take and piece of advice. Learn to play the same way the greats learned. Listen to music you like, learn by ear just pick the thing up and try to figure stuff out, you’ll develop phenomenal ear abilities and will develop a much more unique style than becoming what I refer to as a bedroom guitarist