So you have a cool new guitar and all the accessories to go
with it. Now you are ready to sit down
and start learning the guitar. In our
heavily wired world there is no end to the websites, blog posts, YouTube
videos, and digital downloads that are geared towards teaching folks how to
play the guitar. Although many of these
resources are affective and convenient, nothing beats having an instructor.
In
attempting to learn any instrument lessons are by far the most effective form
of education. This doesn’t mean that you
have to go to a local college, sign up for some musicology class, and pay a Ph.D. to teach you. Any form of one-on-one
instruction can work wonders. This can
be from a family member, friend, or a professional player. The point is to have someone that can help
you knock out all the beginner bad habits and to answer all the little
questions that will pop in your head while your playing. Many local music shops offer lessons from
passionate and accomplished players. My
own family’s shop employs Pat Corn and JeffGriffin. Both of these men have
years of experience both on-stage and in the studio, and can teach you to play
many different styles.
 |
| An instructor can be more efficiently then any other form of learning. |
For some
people, lessons are not in the budget or they simply do not have the time. If this is that case for you there are some
very good resources to help get you started.
However, none of these are on YouTube or any app store. The key to learning the guitar is muscle
memory. Your hands need to be in contact
with the guitar’s neck, body, strings, and sound board for this memory to take
hold. It is very difficult for this to
happen if you constantly have to pause a video and rewind, or swipe back and
forth on your phone to get the next snippet of the lesson. Instead find a beginner’s book or a strong website that has the lesson written out so that you can move at your own pace.
 |
| The Acoustic Guitar Primer from Watch and Learn, is the Music Outlet's number one selling beginners book. |
Either way
you choose to go, there is one piece that is the most paramount: PRACTICE! This is the one thing you must do to learn
the guitar. If you can set aside 30
minutes everyday to sit and practice your chords and strumming, you will truly
be amazed at how quickly it all comes together.
Over the past couple months I have been heavily considering buying and learning to play the banjo. I know that the blog is titled “Guitar 101” but I figured some of the ideas could transfer over for the banjo. I had never really considered having someone give me lessons, but having read your blog and understanding that your family is in the music business, it would be wise to follow your advise and skip the tutorials online. Thank you for the encouragement!
ReplyDeleteWith the banjo the need for lessons are not as demanding in the beginning. Depending on the style you want to play, you first few lessons may simply be going over basic role patterns. We tell people in our store, "Guitar is hard to learn but easy to improve upon where the banjo is easy to learn but difficult to improve." So in your case the internet may be better off the bat, but after you know the roles (or the strum for claw hammer) lessons are almost a necessity.
ReplyDeleteIf you are interested in a banjo, stop by the shop some time and look at the Fender FB-300. It is affordable, easy to play, and comes with everything you need to start (the accessories in the previous blog) all for $299. Unlike the internet, we will also make sure it is properly set-up and in tune before you leave. Good luck.