How to Teach Yourself to Play the Guitar

I am a self-taught musician. I love saying that. And you know what? It really wasn't all that hard to learn the guitar on my own. Sure, I've taken a few hours of lessons from a professor (after I had been playing for several years, just to get some base of theory). But if you've always found yourself intrigued by the guitar, but didn't really want to commit your time or money to lessons, you can still pick up and play it fairly easily (it's probably the best instrument for that). I would like to give you just a few tips on teaching yourself some basic guitar skills.

1. Buy a chord book. I recommend the one by Mel Bay. It is the most comprehensive one I've read, and really gives you a good base for chord theory (which is not particularly difficult to understand but nevertheless vital in the learning process).

2. Start perceptively listening to the music of your favorite artist and try to learn how to play some of their songs. When I first started really getting serious about it, I listened to a whole lot of John Mayer, then simply looked up the tabs online to learn the songs (I wouldn't recommend Mayer at first because some of his songs, i.e. "Neon," are very advanced). My recommendation for starting out is country music. Laugh though you might, the simplicity of much of modern country will at least help you learn basic chord progressions more than possibly any other genre.

3. Don't be afraid to ask for help. Dedicated musicians are typically more than happy to help out a little. I've even surprised myself in my utter willingness to teach friends some things on the guitar whenever they wanted to learn. This might even be the best way to learn basic chords before the theory starts clicking with you.

4. Practice every day. Even if only for 30 minutes. Keeping a consistent routine will allow your learning to flow more smoothly. Skip too many days and you may have to review what you thought you already had learned.

Like I said, guitar is one of the easiest instruments to teach yourself to play. Ideally, you would be willing to take up lessons and learn from a professional. This is honestly the best way to learn. I can't even fathom what level I would be at if I had spent all the time I've played with a sound base in theory. But, if theory's not your thing, still give it a shot. After all, learning a new instrument is one of the most rewarding things you can do.