How to Play Guitar for Beginners
The internet is a wonderful and magnificent thing. It is often said, but still very true, that young people today don’t know how lucky they are to have easy access to the worlds knowledge on the internet.
I’ve been playing guitar for well over thirty years having started out with the classic Bert Weedon’s ‘Play in a Day’ book, way back in the 1970′s. I could never afford guitar lessons so I would take every opportunity to obsessively study the playing techniques and styles of every guitarist I managed to see.
Modern technology has revolutionised the way that people learn to play the guitar. DVDs, for example, can be played over and over again, unlike face to face guitar lessons. And the internet provides an ideal medium for the delivery of some great guitar tutorials.
While there are many guitar tuition websites by far my favourite resource is Youtube. You can find instructional videos on everything from choosing guitars to making your own electric guitar. There are videos for every level of learner from beginner through to old guys like me who want to learn a few new tunes and techniques.
Learning new licks, techniques and tunes from Youtube has become one of my favoured pass times. If the weather is bad then you will generally find me learning a new tune or two from Youtube. I think that my guitar playing skills have improved more in the past five years, thanks to Youtube, than it did in the prior twenty years.
Another useful feature is that the system is interactive. When I find a video that I like I will always make it one of my favourites and maybe drop the performer a comment to say thanks. Also, I will often ask the presenter a question or two and they always come back with a positive answer. Youtube is a bit like having any number of personal guitar consultants who are always happy to answer your questions.
These days I find myself feeling a little bit envious of the young people learning guitar with all these great resources available to them. I like to fantasise that if I had been learning to play using all of these excellent resources who knows, I might have become the next Eric Clapton.
Tags: electric guitars, guitars, tuition, tutorials, youtube