Should I learn to play Guitar?

[Ghost]

Learning an instrument has been something I want to get around to lately.
So I figure, why not the Guitar? 
But how would I learn to play it? Would I need lessons?

Any input appreciated guys and gals!

[Guest Dirty Deads]

Youtube "how to play guitar" or "learn to play guitar" You can learn a LOT from some of the videos. This is information a music store gave me. You don't need some expensive lessons.

Yes,you should learn guitar. If a question starts with "should I learn" the answer is always yes! Learning is always a good thing.

[Ghost]

That's just the answer I was hoping for.
I feel like learning Guitar might give me a sense of achievement, but I was worried about actually learning how.

[AlterStephen]

It may be a lot more satisfying to teach yourself.

[Garth]

I've found the beginners method over at justinguitar.com really good. 

The guy himself is a bit annoying, but the content is super helpful and well put together. 

[redtomato501]

1. Figure out songs that you want to learn to play - I'd make a big list, 'cause some you aren't going to be ready for yet.

2. Look up the chords to some of the songs that seem a little simpler both musically and rhythmically - Stairway to Heaven might be a stretch to start with, for example.

3. Does your song use chords like A, Am, A7, Bm, C, D, Dsus, D7, E, Em, F, G, G7? Good, it's probably going to be easier to learn

3.5 Does your song use chords like A7dim, B#, F#7, Gmaj#dimsumyum? Might be a little more difficult, only try to play right now if you're crazy passionate about the song and don't mind frustration.

4. Look up how to play the chords. Make sure you know how to read chord charts.

5. Try to play your songs!

5.5 Look up videos of other people playing the song on the internet. Helps if it was a chart-topper or otherwise famous song. 

6. Find other people who already know how to play and are patient. Play with them. <- SO IMPORTANT.

 

Go from there.

 

I taught myself for the first year and a half, then took four months of lessons but had four different teachers in that time, so I quit. At that point I started playing with other people, and that's when my ability increased dramatically - I set up a foundation for myself, but playing with others really changed everything. Kind of like studying a language on your own, versus actually speaking it with others. Big difference, in my case at least.

[Jcannon98188]

Youtube "how to play guitar" or "learn to play guitar" You can learn a LOT from some of the videos. This is information a music store gave me. You don't need some expensive lessons.

Yes,you should learn guitar. If a question starts with "should I learn" the answer is always yes! Learning is always a good thing.

 

 

Should I learn how to carry out genocide and get away with it?

[Guest Dirty Deads]

Should I learn how to carry out genocide and get away with it? \

 

Learning how to do something like that can have it's purpose to the greater good. Helping Homeland Security in knowing how a person like that might work. It isn't the learning that is the issue, it's the act.

[markwhelan92]

Hey Ghost, 

I've been learning for about a year teaching myself, and I'd say it is a difficult process. You should definitely learn- the end result is that you may be able to play live, and I'd imagine that's a huge buzz. 

I would definitely recommend taking lessons - when you start out it's extremely difficult to maintain motivation when you take about 6 seconds to change your fingers into the next chord position, and then that sounds awful cause your guitar isn't tuned. However! it is possible. 

If your more disciplined than I am and less likely to get disheartened it's possible. The guy at justinguitar as garthgreen stated is in my opinion the way to go. He makes things a lot easier and gives you structure so you know where you're aiming. Keep reminding yourself also, that it ain't easy but with practise and focus it will definitely come. 

[I-Jo]

if you want to do something to make you a more well rounded individual- then you should.

 

that should never be a question. 

[DasBoot]

I started playing guitar when I was 12, and 20 years later, I've never regretted it. Though I make music in many ways, playing the guitar has always been the most reliable of my instruments (quieter than drums, getting a cold doesn't affect the instrument like singing). 

 

When I started, my dad (also a guitar player, and major inspiration for me) gave me two lessons. The first was a basic 12 bar blues pattern, in E major, no frills. The second lesson was how to play "Walk, Don't Run" by The Ventures. It's a great surf tune, it's instrumental, and most importantly, it's EASY to play. Those two things were critical to my early playing because those two basic lessons repeated over and over and over and over again helped me develop the hand strength to play fuller chords (F major is a beast), coordination between the hands, and especially, callouses on my fingers so I could play for longer periods of time. 

 

More importantly than any of that, those two lessons were FUN!! Most people I know approach playing an instrument (usually guitar) like it's a chore, like they have to play certain songs to be a "real" guitar player.  Or what's worse, they restrict their creativity on the instrument because "i'm not good enough to play like Eddie Van Halen."  So what!?!?  Listen to the first five Ramones albums, and I can assure you, you won't find a single song that has more than 4 or 5 chords in it. And chances are, Johnny Ramone used those same 4 or 5 chords to write the majority of the songs on the album. In fact, he started the Ramones after he got fired from his day job, BEFORE he even knew how to play the guitar. He taught himself how to play the instrument because he wanted to be in a band. And the early Ramones albums show that; the playing is primal, it's simple, but it's aggressive and fantastic in it's own way.

 

Like all things, you have to enjoy it if you're going to stick with it. If you take lessons from someone and spend too much time on the fundamentals (learning scales, chords, music theory, which I love!), you will most likely burn out and never pick the guitar up again. Far better for you to learn a G maj7 chord when you're learning a song that needs it, than to learn it out of context and never remember it again...  Go learn to play your favorite Dave Matthews Band song first. Or, learn your favorite Led Zepplin tune. Hell, write your own music! Make your playing about having fun, and then get lessons afterwards to expand on what you taught yourself. 

 

Simply put, all you have to do is pick up a guitar, start playing it, and make the music you want to make. Trust your ears. It worked for Jimi Hendrix, Eddie Van Halen, and countless other guitar legends, most of whom never took lessons from anyone.  And besides that, the best lessons I ever got where from listening directly to the record and trying to re-create what I heard on the record. Old Beatles recordings are especially wonderful for this, because they used to pan the bass and guitars all the way on the left, and the drums all the way to the right. Just listen to your left speaker (or whichever one it is), and you can hear just the parts you want to learn!

 

Good luck, make it fun, and don't put the guitar down!!