A Beginner's Guide on Fundamentals of Guitar Playing and Performing

While we all know I can't completely start you out on guitar in a single Hub, when it comes to guitar playing there's a few things worth knowing before you start.

First off, the same way an actor/actress doesn't try to memorize all thier lines in a single shot, you shouldn't try to master guitar playing the day you pick one up. I'm not going to try and scare you away by saying that learning to play guitar is going to take forever because, in all honesty, the basics of guitar are rather simple. Don't, however, think that means you can conquer all the basic skills in one day. Stay organized. This leads to my next tip:

Buy into the hype, and buy a book! Most people are quick to shut down the idea of learning how to play an instrument out of a book, turning to top dollar music lessons instead, but it's not necessary! When I got my first electric guitar at age 13, the first thing I did was look up all the basic chords on Google. Upon entering my first serious guitar lesson (specifically jazz guitar), the first thing my teacher did was write down a couple books he requested that I buy for our lessons. An eager student, I ordered all the books online and brought them to my next weekly lesson. It might surprise you to learn that these weekly 60 dollar lessons (keep in mind all the books together were only about 30 dollars) consisted solely of my teacher leading my through the book work, which I could have done myself! Forget the lessons, but do get the books (I suggest a Hal Leonard or Berklee Method book)!

Once you have your book: take it easy, and step by step! The book will have chapters and will be broken up into parts, this is for a reason! Like I said before, don't try and rush through the whole thing, and make sure to start from the very beginning. I stress this because I always see people who've been playing guitar for years plateau and can't get any better because they skipped the first few pages of the book and can't even hold the pick right! If you, on the other hand, stick by the book, you'll be on the right track. On top of that, make sure you don't forget:

Keep it fun! I can't tell you how many people I've seen put down the guitar because of how let down they've been by the book work. It's true people: the book work isn't always fun... but that's when it's most important that you do other things to keep it fun for you. Once the book has taught you about technique and a few chords, feel free to put the book down for a while and have some fun with the instrument! Learn the A, D, and E chords, and you can learn AC/DC's "Back in Black." With G, E minor, C, and D, you've got Taylor Swift's "Teardrops on My Guitar."

As long as you keep it fun and stick to the book work, you'll go from a great foundation to a well educated guitar player! It's not nearly as difficult as people try to make it seem!