Is Guitar Easy To Learn To Play For Beginners

A lot of beginner guitar players have one initial thought of “is guitar easy to learn to play?”. A lot of beginners can get thrown by the idea of the guitar being difficult to learn but I am here to tell you that it is not difficult to learn guitar as long as you learn properly.

Most beginners run into the same problems when starting out, so I decided to do a quick post about the most common ones, as basically, every novice guitar student will find something useful and relevant among them.

Here are the most asked questions and problems novice guitar players have and how to solve them.

1. Changing Between Chords – This is definitely the first problem beginners run into. They learn to sort of hold down a couple of chords (which takes a considerable amount of getting used to in itself), then they realize that they’ll need to change in between all of these chords.

Solution: Remember what it was first like to hold down a C major? It seemed impossible but got easier. The same thing with chord changes. Learn how to change between chords correctly, and work at it.

2. String Skipping – Another common problem beginners face is when they have to pluck 2 non-adjacent strings, they just end up not hitting the right string.

Solution: The more you practice, the more your picking hand gets used to the strings. You’ll ultimately be able to pluck whichever string you want without even looking at them, which will be great, but getting such an instinctive feel for something does not happen overnight. Practice makes perfect!

3. Barre Chords – I would say that at least half of the letters my students send me relate to problems with barre chords.

Solution: Your hands need to be strong and coordinated to be able to play bar chords correctly. Once you know the correct technique of playing barre chords, you’ll need to practice them a LOT to get them sounding right all, or at least most of the time.

4. Which Song to Practice – This question comes mainly from students who like to skip between songs, without really learning them and thereby mastering the techniques taught in the song. What usually happens is that they start learning one of the beginner guitar songs, run into a problem and decide to go for another song leaving the first one behind. But the new song is a bit hard as well, so they try something else, and so on. The result is that without having learned any of the songs and thereby not having improved at all, they feel like they’ve looked at every song, and don’t know what to do next.

Solution: Don’t give up on learning a song when you run into the first sign of difficulties. Rome wasn’t built in a day!

5. No Time for Practice – We live accelerated lives, which means that a lot of my guitar students don’t have time to practice.

Solution: Find online lessons that are short and to the point. Watching one a few times over will take you about half an hour. You can print out the tabs afterward, and practice the techniques without having to watch the video over each time, which means that you can practice and just fool around at any time of the day afterward.

And really, even 5 minutes at a time will be to your benefit. While you’re watching TV, while something is in the microwave, while you’re talking on the phone, while you’re waiting for someone or something, etc. So my point is to have your guitar out where you can see it, making it easily accessible, and picking it up whenever you can.

The “Secret” of Learning The Guitar

So, now it’s time to unveil the ultimate, 100% guaranteed, super-duper extravagant secret to learning the guitar. Are you ready? Here you go:

PRACTICE

Believe me when I tell you that all of the “learn guitar overnight”, or “in 5 days”, or “in 5 weeks” programs are not the answer.

The people who make it seem easy, the rock stars, the classical guitarists, the guitar teachers, have all been playing for many years, even decades! The best guitarists of all time, like Eric Clapton, Robert Johnson, Jimmy Page, Santana, etc. have devoted their lives to learning the guitar.

So the moral of the story is that you shouldn’t get discouraged when you’re not shredding like Slash after 3 months of playing.

Is Guitar Easy To Learn?

Well, it’s no walk in the woods at first, but playing the guitar is a skill that becomes easy with time. It takes a considerable amount of practice, but it will be much more than worth it.

Playing the guitar is a wonderful hobby, and will bring countless hours of joy to you and your loved ones. And who knows, you might even make your fame and fortune performing.

Cut your learning time in half by practicing correctly!

If you are not practicing correctly, you are literally wasting your time. Seriously.

• If you are a beginner, you can cut your learning time down by at least half if you learn the right way
• If you are an intermediate player, you will hit a plateau and literally not advance anymore if you don’t practice correctly

Do yourself a favor and practice correctly.

What Are The Benefits Of Learning Guitar?

Playing a musical instrument is a great outlet to remove yourself from the daily stresses of life. The benefits of playing music include: enhancing cognitive function, improving mental health, better communication skills, and decreased agitation and anxiety. Below are more details about these benefits.

• Improves coordination: When practicing, you will learn to develop excellent coordination between your hands.
• Sharpens your mind: Playing an instrument requires steady focus and concentration. It also builds on your memory when practicing a song over and over.
• Teaches time management: Learning guitar teaches time management skills when you fit a practice into your schedule.
• Let off steam: Playing guitar is a great way to decompress or wind down after a stressful day.
• Great for children: A musical instrument can be a great benefactor to a child. It provides confidence from playing in front of an audience and can enhance academic skills, including reading.

What Are The Disadvantages Of Learning Guitar?

While there are plenty of benefits to learning to play guitar, some disadvantages are worth considering. It is essential to keep in mind that most of the issues you face will be when you start and will most likely be temporary. 

Below are some of the main drawbacks:

• Can be loud:  No one sounds good when they first start playing guitar. The sound can be loud and annoying for those around you until you gain experience. An easy fix is to play alone, use a nylon string guitar, or a small-bodied acoustic. Learning on an electric? Plug those headphones into the amp.
• Temporary finger/hand pains: When first starting, you will experience initial pain when pressing down on the guitar strings. You will eventually develop calluses to help pad your fingers, but until then, switch to a nylon string guitar to relieve some tension.
• Time Restricting: You need to allocate at least twenty minutes a day into your schedule. If the idea of fitting one more task into your busy schedule seems impossible, it may not be best to start learning guitar. 
• Expensive: Once you start getting the hang of playing, you may experience what musicians call GAS – Gear Acquisition Syndrome. While it is easy to get lost in the excitement, check yourself before each purchase to make sure you have the money, knowledge, and space beforehand.

Tips For Choosing The Type Of Guitar To Learn On

A good rule of thumb is to teach yourself electric guitar if you want to play heavily distorted notes. If you want to play more sing-along songs while fingerpicking, then an acoustic is best for you to learn. 

The easiest type of guitar to learn is the kind that motivates you enough to pick it up and play it. A guitar that inspires you will most likely be used and practiced more than a guitar that intimidates or bores you.

To find your motivational guitar, ask yourself questions such as:

• What kind of music do you want to play?
• Is there a guitar you picture yourself playing more?
• Which type of guitar catches your eye first?
• Who are your favorite guitarists?

Ultimately, there is no easy type when it comes to playing guitar. It depends on your wants. An electric guitar may be physically more comfortable to play due to its smaller body, lighter gauge strings, and thin neck. However, the extra effort that goes into plugging an electric guitar into an amp and hooking up any extras each time may not be your idea of easy.

While the acoustic guitar may be harder to play due to its size and heavier gauge strings, someone may be more inclined to play the guitar due to its easy accessibility. Bottom line: the easiest type to play is the one you are most interested in learning.

What Is Important To Know About Learning Guitar?

Starting anything new can be a little bit scary as everything seems overwhelming as you struggle to learn the ins and outs of guitar playing. 

Determination and patience will get you through the challenging parts, but continuously practicing will enhance your skills. Whether it’s twenty minutes just messing around or 2 hours going over an instructional video, do not skip this step and try to stick as close to your schedule as possible. It’s hard at first, but starting with the basics will help you learn quickly.

The Basics

Learning how to hold the guitar and play single notes correctly should be one of the first steps you make. This step sets you up to master almost any guitar skill you set your mind to. Since you can’t play a chord until you can play a note, really focus on the quality of the single notes you play.

Take the first month to go over all of the basics, including:

• How to hold a guitar properly
• The names of all six guitar strings
• Holding a pick correctly.
• Where to place your thumb on the back of the guitar’s neck

Make sure not to rush or skip over learning the basics, as these are the building blocks of teaching yourself guitar. If you’re stuck on where to receive this information, the Internet is your biggest tool. Scour professional websites and videos for free information and valuable online lessons.

Practice 

The next step is to hold yourself accountable and set up daily practice sessions with a minimum of 20 minutes. It is essential to stay consistent with practicing as repetition is vital due to muscle memory. If you wait too long between practices, you will spend more time relearning what you already taught yourself and less time learning new material.

Open Chords 

After getting the basics down and sticking to a routine, the next step is to learn how to play open chords. Open chords lay out the foundation, and once you know and understand them, you have a hefty arsenal of songs to play.

Figuring out where to put your fingers, how to transition smoothly from one chord to the next, and learning how to play open chords, in general, may take up to 6 months. However, once you understand even three of the chords, that is enough to have you playing some of your favorite songs.

So Should You Learn Guitar?

Before you drop money, time, and space into owning and playing guitars, make sure you are ready to commit. Genuinely having an interest in guitar-based music and imagining yourself playing certain songs are signs that you should learn guitar.

If you have a strong sense of determination, commitment, and do not give up easily, then you should learn guitar. The guitar is a hard instrument to learn, but with the proper tools, practices, and effort, you can start to pick it up quickly, and soon enough, you’ll be able to play along with all the greats!

Here at Music Lessons Australia, we have many wonderful teachers looking to help you reach your dream of being a master guitar player. Contact us for more details and begin your guitar journey today!