Learning Guitar is Fun and Easy

So you've decided to fulfill your childhood dream of sitting on stage like Eric Clapton, playing an acoustic guitar while thousands of fans scream and clap for you. However, beyond buying the pricey instrument at your local music store, you have no clue as to how to hold the darn thing, let alone "wow" fans with your expert skills. Well, you have to get started somewhere, so if you're waiting for your first in-person lesson in your area, you can still get a head start. In this article, we will look at a few basic ideas to get you started on playing this fun instrument, then I will guide you to a few websites that give even more detailed instruction - you never know, you may not need your fancy-shmancy lessons after all!

A Quick Lesson

To get you started, we'll go through a quick lesson on how to hold your guitar as well as strumming your first cords. That will help to get you on the right track. Then we'll look at some websites that can take you the rest of the way.

Parts of the Instrument - While you may be eager to get started playing the instrument, first you will want to get comfortable with its functions. Take a moment to take in its beauty by standing it up vertically on the floor (the large portion should be at the bottom). The part you're probably holding at the very top is the headstock; it contains a small percentage of the strings, as well as the tuners (the little knobs sticking out of the side). The tuners are what you use to tighten and loosen the strings, which has a similar effect as tuning a piano. The neck is the narrow bridge that sends the strings down to the body of the instrument and is used for holding strings down during play. And the sound hole is the created to provide an acoustically sound noise when plucking the strings.

Holding Your Guitar - You probably already have a pretty good idea of how to hold your instrument just by watching others. Depending on whether you are left- or right-handed, you'll want to hold your instrument so that the controlling hand (typically the one you write with) is strumming and plucking the strings above the sound hole, while the other hand is used to hold down strings at the neck of the instrument. You will need to try both hands in each position to determine which one feels the most comfortable for you. Once this is done, you can begin plucking away.

Strumming the Strings - Most professionals play their guitars using a pick because it makes it easier to differentiate between strings, however, you can also strum with your bare fingers. One of the first things people learn when strumming the strings is the chromatic scale; this is an exercise used to strengthen the muscles in the hands and stretch the fingers. With your hand on the neck, you simply go down the line 6th string to the 1st, learning to press the strings with each finger while plucking simultaneously. This will help you become comfortable with controlling the instrument.

Lessons to Take You the Rest of the Way

Now that you've learned the guitar parts, as well as how to hold it and strum the chords, you will want to seek the advice of experts who have taken considerable time and effort to giving you very detailed lessons. Here are a couple of those experts.

About.com: Guitars - This site has great in-depth lessons on how to play your guitar. In 10 easy steps, you can gain knowledge on everything from the proper way to pluck the strings with your fingers or a pick, learning scales and eventually songs.

GuitarPrinciples.com - This website goes a little bit deeper to touch on the theory behind playing. It offers some techniques and foundations as well as unique styles. It assumes for the most part that you have learned the basics and want to get a deeper understanding of the art.

After you have visited the websites and plucked around for a few hours, days, or weeks, you will find that learning to play the guitar is really simple. Of course, you will need to put in the practice necessary to become really good - especially if you want to be the next Eric Clapton. But hopefully after reading this article, you have a good start that will take you on your way to being a guitar playing pro.