Learn to Play Guitar in 5 Days - Get Real !!!

I see advertisements all over the internet, magazines and TV that make wild claims about learning to play guitar in some number of days, hours or weeks. Whatever the claim it’s most assuredly exaggerated for the most part. I guess it’s how you define playing. I would imagine their definition is likely very minimal. Mine is likely on the other extreme.

In my opinion playing is being at least able to play a set of songs fluently, without effort, second nature so to speak. I want to stress I’m not a purist that say only classically trained players are real, I know many but I’m not in that camp. I know a few very talented guitarist that can’t read a lick of music and were never formally caught that can play circles around me but they are very rare. The key word is “a few”, they are simply not that common say maybe one in a million. My point is if your not taking lessons and formally learning, the chances you will be a very accomplished guitar player are very low. Again it depends on the definition but that’s my cut.

I’ve been playing guitar for over 30 years. I’ve played many styles minus flamenco which I loved but could never master, or even fake for that matter. I walk into places like Guitar Center and Sam Ash music stores from time to time and see many young people at the guitars cranking away. I enjoy seeing this and shake my head at the same time. I remember walking into a Guitar Center in San Diego years ago and wishing I had earplugs. There was so much noise coming out of those large amps. Notice I say “noise”, being able to imitate your favorite guitar riff at Guitar Center over and over again at high volume is NOT playing guitar.

These days I usually head to either the acoustic guitar hideaway in the stores, or the piano section. I head to the guitar section during the day to avoid the “noise” scenarios. The last time I was at Sam Ash I noticed they had even put most all the guitars behind counter to cut down on the noise, I chuckled.

So how should you learn guitar. To start get a sound foundation in music theory. As a example my children play classical piano and not guitar, I did that intentionally to teach sound theory. It’s simple really, if you learn sound music theory, all the other instruments are simply mechanics. I’ll get arguments that disagree with that but I think I’m right. My wife is a classically trained piano player and she agree’s with that theory also. I myself struggle on piano not due to mechanis or dexterity but do to the fact I can’t read a grand staff well, I hop up and down between staffs I freak out as a guitar player seeing two staffs up there and struggle I with anything bass cleff.

I was trained to play guitar. I remember endless hours of counting exercises, practicing Elvis songs, practicing scales until my fingers nearly bled and practicing chord forms endlessly. I remember getting hammered on sight reading better by my teachers. I even continued this assault into college and took music classes there ( I was not a music major however). I always wished I could have played piano and learned music theory better. I’m OK but my kids make me look like a rank amateur. One of my kids has some minimal interest in guitar so we will see were that goes but in general I see the following mistakes when people start learning guitar, some of which are tongue and cheek and some tips mixed in as well.

1. Esteban and the TV shopping channels can not teach you real guitar playing in a few minutes. He is mostly marketing hype, his real name is Steve Paul and was a Phoenix lounge guitarist. He makes claims to have been a student of Segovia ( but not until after Segovia died) amongst other less than stellar claims. I have personally not held one of his guitars he pedals on TV , but I can’t possibly imagine a quality instrument at those prices, but I could be wrong. Do not buy these guitars and expect to learn guitar magically. Steve himself is a OK guitar player, if you want to see a great classical player checkout Christopher Parkening. I’ll give him some credit, he’s got people thinking about guitar, so I’m not gonna knock him too much
2. People tend to buy electric guitars to learn on because they think it’s “cool”. I think this can work but in general I think it’s a mistake, nearly everyone I know whom went through formal lessons either started on a nylon string or steel string acoustic guitar and then moved onto electric guitar.
3. Learn right, take lessons, learn to read music and understand music theory, it’s similar to not being able to read books, it can cripple you musical. I’ve had kids say to me “but Van Halen can’t read music” and I say , it shows. No doubt a great talent , but think of how much better he could have been.
4. Find a good patient teacher, ask around, check out the quality of students, my advice older the better. Find a retired person to teach you , you’d both benefit.
5. Learn to play ALL types of music. Heavy metal guys like Malmsteen, Vai, and others are well planted in classical music training. I think the best example of this is Tony MacAlpine he is a metal guitar player that can sit at a piano and play Chopin Etude’s have Van Halen try that one. Check out a few of his youtube videos in my links. I'm told he plays violin just as well.
6. Look at country music guitar players, for the most part these guys , I’m talking about the session guys and the guys in the back on stage, are very accomplished folks watch and learn.
7. People do not practice enough, my own kids included. I played hours a night when learning. And it was not songs, but boring scales, chord forms and modes.
8. Focus on playing clean and well slowly, playing fast is great when needed, but playing clean and correct is far more important. Play crisp and clear. Most folks could care less if you can play fast and sound terrible or muddy.
9. Buy good quality equipment. I do not mean you have to go buy a Gibson Les Paul or Dreadnaught, or a American Strat Fender. Check out my other hub a regular Fender Strat is good or a Epiphone if your into electric. I like Yamaha’s as good value acoustics. Most folks do not need that $2000.00 Taylor but they do not need the $89.95 special either.
10. When you buy a guitar , go play it unless you are absolutely certain what you want mail order. I’m shocked folks buy hand crafted Gibson’s on the internet, I’d never do that personally. Guitar are touch and feel things, so go touch and feel one. Find a good experienced guitar sales guy ( over 30) or better yet take your teacher with you. He/She will be able to look for things you might not, uncorrectable intonation issues, neck issues, headstock issues, material problems, etc. If they play it and they say things like “this feels weird” or “this is not right”. Move to the next guitar. I must have played 15-20 Gibson Les Pauls at a music store before I bought my Custom years ago. When I was looking for a metal type guitar in the mid 80’s I played Charvels nearly all day and left not having liked any of them, I must have played 30-40 I was their almost all day.
11. If you go the electic guitar route, you do not need a Marshall Amp to start with your electric guitar, it is serious overkill. There are plenty of cheaper and less volume intensive options.. Vox and Line6 make nice modeling amps that can come pretty close to emulating thousands of dollars of other amps. Do not get caught up in tabulature and think you’ve “learned to play”. Tabs are very cool and even I use them from time to time. But they are no substitute for real music theory and training.
12. Be Patient. You can not learn guitar overnight, it takes years of study to get good. Sure you might be a prodigy but that’s unlikely. I’ve met a few in my time that it comes naturally to but they are rare indeed. They almost always think they are not talented and it’s the teachers that say they are prodigy’s. The key here is that if you think your really good, your likely not.
13. Play everyday if possible, this gets me big time. Work and other duties prevent this for me and my skill level has suffered badly as a result. I was fortunate to have recorded a few things in “the day” and I look back and say “I played that” you would be amazed how easy it is to lose it.
14. Have passion, I see a lot of kids start to play , lose interest and then the equipment becomes dust collection areas. Start for the right reason, start because you have passion for it not because it’s “cool” or your really good at “Guitar Hero”.
15. Do not be deluded thinking your a great player by playing in a band too early. The loud drums, bass, keyboard and a screaming singer can cover up a lot of bad playing. So get good first, then join the band. Example, it’s 12:00 in the local bar and the crowd is well lubed, lets face it, my dog could play and no one would notice. A great story on this point. One of my friends was holding a guitar in a Guitar Center and started strumming and a bunch of teenagers gathered around intensely listening to the noise he was creating. They complimented himin a very serious fashion on his playing ability , the trouble was Gerry can’t play guitar at all, as he said at the time, he played the radio. I was amused.
16. YouTube video’s and comments on there are not a good indicator of talent, sure I’ve seen some truly talented folks on there. But for the most part I’ve seen comments posted on video’s in numerous quantities saying how good that player was , when in fact they were worse than horrible. Again do not be deluded.

SO I have all these observations and some tips, whats the NET here:

1. FIND A GOOD EXPERIENCED TEACHER

2. TAKE LESSONS

3. LEARN TO READ MUSIC AND STUDY MUSIC THEORY

4. GET REASONABLE QUALITY EQUIPMENT

5. PRACTICE FAITHFULLY

6. PRACTIVE MORE

7. PLAY FOR YOUR OWN ENJOYMENT FIRST

8. KEEP AT IT, IT’S A MARATHON NOT A SPRINT LEARNING TAKES TIME

9. DO NOT GIVE UP

If you have the opportunity, play in competition. This will enable you to judge how well you play against people your level. Ask your teacher about this.

Becoming good at anything involves hard work, learning to play guitar is no exception. In the end learning to play guitar is about passion, you have to love it. I did it for myself and no one else. I played when everyone else told me to quit. I’m not the worlds best player, but I’m not bad either I can play pretty much everything I want. If I had to do it all over again, I’d take piano lesson first and absolutely NAIL music theory before starting guitar.

I have the great benefit to watch my kids piano teacher and her friends. She is a Julliard graduate and it shows. She and some of her friends are true concert pianists, I sit in awe as they play insanely difficult pieces from composers like Liszt and Chopin wonderfully. I wish I had that skill level on my instrument. Shoot for that level on guitar it can’t hurt.