Whether you’re looking for a new way to grow your skills and explore your abilities, you’ve always had a passion for music that you want to explore, or you’re simply bored and looking for something to do, playing guitar can be an excellent hobby to get into. It’s a hobby that takes some investment and organization, however, so you might want to do a little prep to make sure that you’re able to give it a real try. Hopefully, the tips above can help you do that.
Get the right guitar, first and foremost
Before you start riffing, you might want to make sure that you know what kind of music it is that you want to play and, as such, which guitar might be best suited to your needs. There are various types of guitar, each of which can bring different sounds, from acoustic to classical to Spanish to electric. The skills used to play each of these guitars might be roughly the same (though they can feel somewhat different to play), but the sounds that they produce can all be wildly different. For that reason, get to know the instrument that is behind the songs that you might want to play, for instance, so that you can pick the right guitar for your needs.
Start with the basics
Regardless of what type of guitar you want to pick up, the lessons are always going to be in roughly the same. You’re going to start by learning the basic chords, then the scales, then the strumming patterns. As you keep going, you’re going to expand the range of what you can play and how you can play it. However, you need to make sure that you’re taking it slow and being patient. It’s better to take plenty of time to master one chord or one strumming pattern than to try to learn a whole bunch at once. Make sure that you’ve fully ingrained what lessons you’ve got before you move on to the more advanced stuff. Otherwise, you can pick up some bad habits in your rush that lead to more frustration down the line.
Practice your rhythm, not just your chords
You might feel like you’re in something of a rush to pick up on new chords as quickly as possible to expand your playing repertoire. However, there are skills beyond fingering that a guitarist needs to be able to learn, too. Perhaps the most important, if you’re looking to play amongst others or as part of a band is your timing. The easiest way to do this is to use a metronome and to make sure that it’s set to the right timing for the song that you’re playing. However, you can also make use of drum pedals to create and play drum loops to play alongside, if you want a more detailed beat to follow.
Create the right environment to practice
It’s not just about your equipment, either, you have to make sure that you have a good environment to practice playing guitar, as well. Having the space to play is most important, but acoustics can help as well since you want to be able to hear what you’re playing. A private space where you have room for your equipment and the ability to hear without too much echo can be crucial. Tools like a guitar cable organizer can play an important role, as well. You want these spaces to feel organized, relaxing, and professional so that you don’t have to worry about anything except getting your practice in and being able to hear your own sound.
Make good use of the internet
Of course, there’s no need to learn all by yourself. Guitar lessons can be one of the best tools to help you pick up some of the more advanced concepts of playing out there, including the more complex strumming patterns or techniques. If you can find a guitar lesson near you that you’re happy with then, by all means, go with it. If you don’t have the access or the funds, however, then there are plenty of lessons to follow on the internet, already. Some of the more specifically suited lessons might be premium so you have to pay, but there are tons of free video lessons, as well.
The hobby of practicing and playing guitar can bring different things for every person that does it. Learn what it is you love about guitar and make sure that you’re making the choices that suit your own goals following the tips above.
