Rank Beginners (no musical experience) Guitar Tutorial 1

Note: This is part 1 of a 3 part series. Here are links to Part 2 and Part 3.

If you’re starting out guitar, and you’ve answered yes to the question for whatever reason, I hope that this guide will benefit you.

Let’s set things straight from the start.

I’m a big believer that everything follows the 80/20 principle.
I also believe that it takes hands-on time to master skills.
But I also believe that everything should be fun.
In this 3 part series, I intend to give beginners the basics for starting the guitar. There will be topics which I will address in the future. But these are the basics, 3 points each in 3 separate tutorials, which I will try to make as short as possible. The important thing is picking up the guitar and playing for yourself.

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Part 1

Topics Covered

• Why play guitar?

• What can I expect?

• How do I start – a primer

3 reasons to play the guitar

• It makes you look cool

The first point is probably the most important point. It certainly was mine!

When I began, I was a 14 year old stuck to the piano, just like another 100 other people i knew. Basically, being good at guitar was a way to be unique and remarkable in school.

The serious point though is: You gotta have the right motivation to play. Don’t forget that learning an instrument is not a year-long endeavour. Well, it’s possible, but don’t expect to get to a remarkable level in that time frame. Hence, you need the drive to continue for years on end.

• Greater Appreciation for music

When you can hear the subtleties of the notes coming from your fingers, you will hear the subtleties coming from the notes of other musicians. You probably will explore various forms of technique, style, etc and hence realise how modifying even your strumming pattern by a single stroke can bring life to an otherwise dead song.

At worse, you’ll start to appreciate the difficultly and level of expertise necessary to produce some forms of music.

• Its Easy!

If you’re wanting to strum along to your favourite tunes, yes its going to be relatively easy. Meaning that anyone willing to put down some time (how much is answered later) will be able to pick up a guitar and play along to a song with chords.

If you want to become a virtuoso, be prepared for a long ride. Still, though it may be technically hard, it may be perceived to be easy since you’d be so passionate about playing.

3 things to expect during the learning process

• Practice, practice and more practice

It’s one thing to know what to do, and its another thing to actually do it. The amount of time you put in will be reflected in the results you get.

When I started, I would practice for at least an hour on weekdays and an average of 3 hours and up on weekends. Of course, I only did this for about 2 months. For the reasons for my doing so, check out the post on ‘My Theory of Learning any skill’.

Simplistically, more in = more out, up to a point (discussed in the theory of learning post)

• Getting stuck at various points

There will be points you will get stuck at. For some its being unable to hold down a certain chord structure. For others it may the note always buzzing (not always your fault – covered in part 2).

The only way is to keep at it.

Sometimes it really is a huge technical issue which people may take years to resolve. But who cares! Just keep playing and enjoying the music, most people won’t notice anyway.

• Blisters and angry neighbours

If you’re playing correctly (addressed in part 2), then you will have blisters and eventually slight calluses. Not much can be done, its the skin reacting to the stress and awesomeness now coming through your fingers. Push through it and the pain naturally goes away. If you’re doing things right, blisters should rarely happen and if they do, know that it may be up to a week before they completely heal.

Also, try not to play too loud (more relevant for people using electric guitars), you may get complaints from your neighbours (or angry brother trying to study in the next room).

3 things you absolutely must do to begin playing the guitar

• Get a Guitar (with all the strings)

Whether you get an acoustic or electric guitar, it doesn’t matter.

I myself am biased towards the electric, and in particular for ibanez guitars. However, I did start off with an acoustic guitar.

In general, acoustic guitars tend to have strings raised higher from the neck (higher action), and use thicker strings compared to the electric (though you can easily replace them with thinner strings). This means that more force is necessary to depress the strings, and thus may frustrate beginners with the inability to consistently sound notes.

Since the acoustic is by far the cheaper and more common option for beginners, this problem must be faced. The key is to follow the principle of ‘curved fingers and minimal force’ discussed in the next part and keep at it. The problem will naturally resolve with time, though you may get much more blisters doing so.

• Tune the Guitar

3 options here.

- Get someone who knows how to do it to do it for you.

- Get an electronic tuner for $15.

- Listen to a track with each note.
http://www.howtotuneaguitar.org/ – By default set to the most common standard tuning, but you can change it to whatever you want.

• Hold the Guitar and start playing

Yes, it’s that simple. For those guys who don’t know how to hold a guitar, the picture says it all.

If you’re feeling awesome, then go out and buy a guitar strap and start rocking!

Overview

These are the basics. They do not tell you yet how to actually play the guitar – that is covered in part 2.

However, I will point out this very important point: Play it YOUR WAY

Hey, musicians in the past didn’t have the internet. Some of them didn’t even use telephones. The guitar was obviously invented way before any technology came into the picture. Hence the technology only makes it easier, the fundamentals remain the same.

Also, I’ve seen musicians who don’t know how to read a musical score. They didn’t even know what a C chord was! They simply were passed some knowledge that if you press the strings in a certain way, a harmonised chord will sound. They then took it from there and fiddled with the guitar until they became really good at it. Yes, it probably took them years, and lots of time fiddling. But I will guarantee that they had a fun time doing it, which is what it’s all about anyway.

Take fun seriously. There are many ways to learn the guitar.

If you don’t want to read tons of sheet music and spend money on classes (which i feel are a waste of time). Then just pick up a guitar, and play, do it your way.

The act of playing is the most important part, do not get caught up on other things like theory, drills, etc at the beginner stage.

At the end of the day, it’s all about how you sound.

Note: This is part 1 of a 3 part series. Here are links to Part 2 and Part 3.

Related posts:

1. Rank Beginners (no musical experience) Guitar Tutorial 3
2. Rank Beginners (no musical experience) Guitar Tutorial 2

Tagged as: Beginners, guitar, Learning