Learning to Play the Acoustic Guitar
Learning to play the guitar can be one of, if not THE, most satisfying experiences you could achieve. Basically, every new player asks themselves five questions. Let's take a look at each one now.
Once you decide to learn the acoustic guitar
Develop your own plan with learning the acoustic guitar
Now, do you teach yourself or go to a teacher? If your plan is to be a casual type of player, the online thing will probably suffice nicely. Many of the courses available on the Internet are very comprehensive. On the other hand, if you are more serious about playing the acoustic guitar
Should you learn to read music or just learn tablature /chord charts? Again, it depends on your plan with the guitar. Say you just want to play a few songs right away to impress friends, family and GIRLS at parties, then tabs will be the way to go. This will work for the immediate situation, but you will never become proficient at the instrument.
For more serious students, I would suggest that they learn to read music from the sheet. In reality, most guitar music books have the notation in staff music, tablature and most have chord diagrams above the staff for guidance. There are also song books of strictly tab or strum patterns mapped out. Learn as much theory as you can, too. It helps greatly!
Of all the obstacles facing the beginning guitar player, the roughest to get by is the initial soreness of the fingers. This is where regular practice comes into place. As you are learning the guitar and all of it's wonders, you are also building up your finger calluses. At the start, your fingers will hurt, possibly even bleed a little, until those calluses toughen up. This usually takes about a month of regular playing time.
So, to conclude and summarize:
1. Take in all the advice and store it away for future reference.
2. Decide what type of player you will be. Casual or serious.
3. Find a good method of instruction that fits you, ie.. human teacher or Internet.
4. Learn to read music, tab and chord charts as you go. This ability rounds out the knowledge base and makes you a more knowledgeable, capable player.
5. Play through the soreness of the fingers at first. It is a rite of passage.
6. Practice, practice, practice. Then practice some more to really nail those parts that keep sticking you. The more you play them, the easier they will become and the more fluid you become as an instrumentalist.
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