The guitar is one of the most entertaining and alluring instrument. It can be carried nearly anywhere with you and will always give you the opportunity to share music. Learning to play guitar however can seem daunting. The reality is however if you follow some simple rules and just get started you will be playing before to long and even become good quicker than you think. Here are some of the things to do to become a really good guitar player.
Buy Yourself a Good Guitar
Most people when they start out playing guitar purchase a cheap guitar that looks good and fits into their predetermined budget. Although this seems like a good approach, it can actually backfire. Cheap guitars do not sound good, do not stay in tune, and use cheap materials that will decay in sound quality pretty quickly. Instead you should buy a good priced guitar right from the start, and if you are already playing spend the money on a good guitar. The great news is that you do not have to buy a new good guitar. You can purchase a used yamaha fg800 for example and both save money and have a great ax to play on.
If you purchase a good guitar, you will be happy to display it to friends and other guitar players, and it will sound great and encourage you to continue to make those sweet sounds. Your good guitar will also stay in tune longer allowing you to play better and recreate the sounds you love. Finally, if you spend extra money on the right guitar you will be more encouraged to continue because of the investment you have made.
Practice All the Time
They say that you can become an expert at anything if you practice it for 10,000 hours, and this has to be correct because of the extreme length of time you put into learning something. But you can become a proficient guitar player much sooner than this length of time. You must however practice a lot, and practice systematically to get good faster. You should set up a specified time for yourself during the week when you will practice, and keep to it. Do not allow for any distractions and only in an emergency should you miss your practice time and then you should make up this time at your first opportunity.
When you set your time make sure that you have no distractions and you only focus on learning the instrument. You should turn off your mobile phone, computer and TV (unless you are using either of these for your practice and tell anyone around you cannot be disturbed. Once you get into your practicing rhythm, you will get used to the routine and everyone will know not to bother you.
Join a Guitar Group
You should join a guitar group in your area or even online to put yourself around other guitar players. Look online for local groups in your city or town that play guitar. These groups will have regular get-togethers where members exchange ideas, introduce new practice techniques and encourage each other. You might even find group members who want to form a music group and have you join. This group will motivate you when you are feeling like you are not making progress and will be a great support system for your progress.
Finally, find guitar idols for yourself. If you aspire to be a good classical, Jazz, country or even pop guitarist, find someone who plays like you want to play and study that person. Many of the best guitarists now have online courses where they teach you how to become great.
