It’s no secret that having a hobby can be an important instrument in relieving stress…and what better instrument to use than a musical one. One of my goals for this coming year has been to learn to play the guitar. Growing up I learned to play the piano, clarinet, and saxophone….all mediocre. They were (are) all great stress-relievers…and can be used to impress a person or two as well…but I eventually lost interest in them all for one simple reason, they’re not that popular. What I mean is, when was the last time you heard a Billboard Top 100 song on the radio that was written for the clarinet? The piano is a little better, but it’s kind of hard lugging around a 600 pound piano. That’s why I chose the guitar, it’s portable and can play a HUGE variety of music. So the question is, how will I accomplish this? Here’s a breakdown:
1. Get a good-quality guitar. I was lucky and got one from my mother for Christmas 
. It’s an Ibanez Sage acoustic guitar. It’s not a top of the line professional model, but a VERY good beginner/intermediate guitar. This is what my guitar looks like:
Ibanez Sage Series Spruce Top Acoustic Guitar
2. Have the tools. The next thing I did was to go out and buy some good picks, a
quality tuner
, and a
guitar bag
. I know from experience with other instruments that if you don’t have the tools you need, you lose interest really fast. Playing becomes frustrating and eventually you just put your instrument into storage. Make sure you get these items in the beginning.
3. Get some lessons. While you can certainly learn to play the guitar without lessons, it sure does make it a whole lot easier. I started looking around for lessons and they come out to be about $25 per lesson…roughly $100 per month. So, being the cheap-skate I am, I tried finding free stuff on the internet. There’s a ton of it out there, but nothing of really good quality for free, not that I could find anyway. I researched this out for about a week and decided to give JamPlay a try. You pay $20 a month to get unlimited access to their video lessons, chord charts, supplemental content, and forums. I’ve had it about 3 months now and am REALLY happy with it. This was actually an essential piece to me actually making progress on my guitar because it fits my weird schedule. I suggest taking the lessons from Jim Deeming if you’re a beginner.
4. Set aside some practice time. I started out with a small goal…just three hours per week. Eventually, as I started to get the hang of things, guitar got more fun to practice. Now I can practice for a couple of hours in a single sitting if I have the time. It just sucks you in! However, in the first month or two, practicing was painful. I felt like I was never going to get it, my fingers and wrist hurt, and the sound coming out was less-than-awesome. The simple key here is to practice regularly! It will get better, I promise.
That’s it…so far I can play a few basic songs (very basic), but I’m well on the way to my year-end goal. I encourage everyone to pick up a productive hobby to fulfill your spare time, and if you’re interested in learning the guitar, visit the links above….they’re some great resources!
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Three hours a week is a great starting point indeed. You have to get over that hump of painful finger and build up the calluses, then its way easier from there.
Great article! Would you mind if I had you post it on my wesbite? I would love my readers on my site to read it as well. I am so glad I found your blog however and will be visiting it more often!
Good luck to you! I took up guitar as an adult and it has been slow but fun. ‘Wake me when Sept ends’ and ‘Knockin on Heavens Door’ are two great starter songs. The chords are easy.
When I started playing guitar I played about 30 minutes a day everyday. then eventually you just start playing more and more. I am still terrible but its a lot of fun.
I have two acoustic guitars (both cheapies) and I’ve vowed to learn how to play better about a million times.
The trick is setting aside time to practice every day.
Posts like this one definitely inspire me to make a point of getting better!
Amy
Thanks for leaving a comment on my blog.
In my younger days I tried to play the guitar but somehow never mastered it. The key to most things is perseverence – which at the time I hadn’t mastered either.
As for the question you asked: All I spent was the $10 for the domain name.
Interesting blog,
Mike.
You could try taking lessons with a private teacher, they are often a bit more relaxed on how often you want a lesson and when (If you are clear on that from the beginning). The advantage of a real teacher versus internet lessons is that a teacher can listen to you and tell you what you need to focus on/listen for etc.
Jens
I am glad to say that i have two acoustic guitars (both cheapies) and I’ve vowed to learn how to play better about a million times. The trick is setting aside time to practice every day.
These such posts are really helpful.
i’m a frustrated guitarist…I used to have a friend who taught me but he went out of the country…anybody knows who can teach me???