So you decided to learn how to play guitar. You open your browser, and type "learn to play guitar" on Google and stumble upon thousands of websites. You have to be aware that the Internet can be a useful tool, but it can also be misleading and confusing. So where to start? Here's a couple of tips:

• Join an online community

There are plenty of forums related to music and guitar playing. Most have material dedicated to beginners, and will be very helpful, and if you don't find what you need, you can always ask in a polite manner, and certainly someone will answer.
Here's an example of a well known website, with active forums - Ultimate Guitar

• Don't waste your money

The moment you enter the Internet and search for instructional material you'll probably find advertisements that promise to turn you into the next guitar god in 30 minutes. Learning to play the guitar will take time, dedication and perseverance, and you can find all the material you need for free most of the times.

• You need a guitar teacher

I can't stress this one out enough. Unless you have significant financial problems, you should take guitar lessons. You'll progress faster and avoid common mistakes and bad habits, that not only limit your playing ability, but also waste precious time.

• Set your own goals

What you need to learn, depends on what you wish to play. Think about what you want to achieve by playing guitar. I definitely recommend this Tom Hess article called "Plans are NOT goals", i believe it will help you understand what your goal is, and that will be your starting point.

In the next weeks I'll write about several common guitar playing aspects, provide links to useful instructional websites and review some popular books and videos (i'm actually working on a blog that with a comprehensive list, basically a guideline for all new players). For now, i'll leave you with a suggestion, probably one of the best websites for a beginning guitarist:

- Justinguitar- there's plenty of information here, totally free, and Justin is now improving the beginner's course section, so give it a try ;)