Have you ever wanted to start playing a guitar but don’t know where to start? Here are my suggestions on how to get yourself started!
Hello readers!
My name is Sami and I will give an easy step by step guide to get started on your journey to play guitar. I have played for a few years for now and I will give tips for beginner guitarists from my experience.
What do I need to know?
There are different kind of variety of string instruments. For example:
- Acoustic guitar
- Electric guitar
- Ukulele
- Mandoline
- Banjo
But for this blog, I will focus on regular 6 string guitars either electric or acoustic.
After you have chosen your instrument you can start by messing around with it and trying out different chords. This is for getting used to the feeling of a guitar in your hand and to make your fingers flexible around the fretboard. You can check different chords by searching them in google.
You also have to check that your guitar is in tune. There are great and accurate applications you can find for your phone to tune your guitar. You can try to play with your fingers and also try with guitar pick to see which is more comfortable for you.
When you notice an improvement on playing chords and getting a natural feeling of playing guitar, you can begin next to play your favourite songs. There are different types of approach to this. You can find almost any songs chords by searching them on Google. Also second possibility which I would suggest is to read guitar tabs. It is an easy tool to use for learning to play your favorite songs. Tabs shows what frets you have to press on what strings. This will seem complicated at first, but when you get used to reading tabs it will make playing easier. If you are a visual learner, you can check tutorials on YouTube for the song you want to learn to play.
Here is a guide for learning to play a song:
- Listen to the song and the rhythm that the guitar has
- Check the chords or tabs for the song
- Start by separating the song into small parts
- Play slowly and repeat one part until you remember how to play it
- Connect the parts together one by one after you have learned the previous one
- Start playing at the correct tempo after you can play it slowly
- Play along with the song
Be unique!
There is no wrong way of playing guitar if it’s just feels comfortable for you.
For example, one of the worlds most famous electric guitar player Jimi Hendrix played a right handed guitar with his left hand.
So if you have a bit different playing style than what others have, but it feels comfortable for you. Play the way you feel the easiest would be and you will improve faster on your playing!
Have fun playing!
Best regards,
Sami
