Advice needed: I have a guitar that was given to me as a present 3 years ago. Haven't touched. But recently I have more free time, so it would be nice to learn how to play. Is it possible to learn on one's own? I hear some people have done that. If you have, what do you do? Is there a website or something? How long will it take to know how to play simple songs? Keep in mind I don't really know music at all and don't play other instruments. Otherwise, how much do guitar lessons cost? I'm not sure I want to spend a ton of money, but if it will significantly speed up the learning process then maybe it's worth it?
For most modern rock-like music, all you have to do is this: 1) learn some chords. (i.e. squeeze certain strings with your left hand and strum the strings with your right. then let go with your left hand and squeeze a different combination of strings). 2) learn which chords are used for certain songs. 3) put the chords together and strum them to make a song. note: there will be one slight side effect. After you learn to do this at a simple level, you'll soon lose respect for a lot of the music that you've heard. You'll realize how ridiculously simple it is. But the good part of this is that you will learn to appreciate guitarists who have real talent.
There are lots of DVDs out there that teach you how to play guitar. Get one to learn the basics and then PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE!!!
There are a ton of sites on the internet that you can learn how to play for FREE, and better yet, at YOUR own pace. A good starting site that will teach you the basics: http://guitar.about.com/library/blguitarlessonarchive.htm
My soon to be 14 year old son and I were watching the PBS Cream Live. He told me the guitarist for Mudvayne was better than Eric Clapton (who may have lost a step but still!) and Ginger Baker (who is my all-time favorite drummer - drumming in black socks!) was a hack. {Insert head shake here} By the way - I bought him an acoustic guitar (Washburn - cheap but ok) for Christmas so he could really learn. That will make playing the electric seem a lot easier - I hope.
I don't know much about the internet resources, but I have been playing for about 15 years and haven't had a lesson, and am a pretty decent player. There are a lot of good starter books, and I would recommend using one that has CD audio examples so that you can hear how the written examples are supposed to sound. Once you learn a handful of chords, some basic theory, a few scales (I recommend both major and minor pentatonic scales, as well as the major and minor diatonic scales for starters) you can mix that stuff up and create your own little ditties, which is what music is really all about, as well as start to figure out other peoples songs easier. Your guitar probably sucks though, and you should get a new one before anything else. I work at Guitar Center now and will hook you up with a sweet deal . P.S. If you can afford it, a good teacher can help you improve a lot faster, but I would recommend trying to learn the basics on your own first. P.P.S. A few more suggestions: Play along with a metronome, timing is essential. You might want to invest in a digital tuner if you don't have one already. Believe that you can learn anything you want to if you work at it hard enough. Some musical stuff can seem pretty challenging, but it all follows basic rules which can be learned and make a whole lot of sense. The more you learn, the more you can build on what you already know, and before you know it, you can rip it up like nobody's business. You might even get laid every now and then. Cheers.
lot's of good advice and you can definitely do it on your own. Still, I highly recommend getting a teacher if only for a months worth (4-8 sessions) of lessons to help you get started. pick a song or two that you like and have him teach you how to play them. The key is practice, but you wont practice if you are not enjoying it and making progress. A good teacher can make sure you get off to a good start and to help you not develop bad habits.
I've never been a big Clapton fan and have long held he was over-rated. A very good guitarist for sure - just not 'all that' like the Clapton is God contingent would have the masses believe. However, I have never been more impressed with Clapton's playing than in that Cream reunion on PBS. I thought his playing was dead on with only very few flubbed notes and questionable over-use of the out-of-phase position between the rhythm pickups on his strat. I was particularly impressed with how he did so much with so little. A strat, a few fender amps and VERY little effects wise. I think I remember him stomp the wah wah (and Creams music lends it's self to this sloppy lead guitarists best friend) only once or twice - I actually wish he would have used it more. I was VERY impressed with his bag-o-tricks, or should I say licks, and the over-all purity and tone that he achieved. Yeah, old 'Slow Hand' really let it rip a few times as well.
