How I Began To Learn How To Play Guitar By Myself

After my first ever guitar practise session where I tried to learn how to play my first ever chord on the instrument (the C chord, what else?), I was a little disappointed with myself and the progress I displayed. Sure, it was only the first four hours I ever had on an electric guitar, so I couldn't possibly ask for too much. But it also showed how little talent I had for playing the guitar (or so I thought at that time). The whole thing needed a proper plan and it was time to sit down and come up with a good one, before I could ever hope of gracing any stadium arena and rocking out to anthemic rock tunes in front of adoring fans. There was the prerequisite guitar chord book that I already had. It was no point getting any guitar sheet music since I did not really know how to play any chords yet, much less in changing from one to another. Now at this point let me just say that the advice given by many guitarists to beginners is to learn songs as soon as you can. I agree that you should do that, but before you jump, please learn how to walk. Spend some quality time learning how to play your chords and practise changing them, before you go on to your first ever song on the guitar. And always choose the easiest song you can play on the guitar as the first to learn, otherwise be prepared to be demoralised.

Back to what I should get in training myself how to play my guitar. I had my chord book. I figured that my fingers were struggling to have any strength in fingering the chords and changing from one form to the other. Perhaps it might be worth the money to get one of those grip strengthening gadgets for guitarists, where you could simulate doing push ups with your fingers to get them finger muscles growing and making pressing on guitar frets a breeze. But that was not a priority. I could get just as strong by practising more and often on the guitar neck. A decision was finally made that my next purchase should be an guitar instructional book which would provide me with some guidance while I learned how to play without a formal guitar teacher or attending lessons at Yamaha or with some other dodgy part-timer struggling to make ends meet as a professional guitarist cum musician.

Making my trip down to the music shop which stocks guitar sheet music and instructional books and videos, the next hour or two were spent flipping through the many books and trying to figure out which to buy. Honestly, I had no idea. In the end, I just hopped on a generic title (which I cannot remember now after so many years) and sped home to get started. My second ever guitar lesson on my own was then spent learning how to play the C chord (again) and then G and E chords. I was told that you could write a song on the guitar with just these three chords, and there were the essential chords that all guitarists should have in their arsenal. And so I strived to master them. This second guitar lesson was thus all about the C, G and E chords and struggling to change from one to the other while my fingers continuously slipped on the guitar neck and felt sore from pressing on the frets. In fact, my next few self taught guitar lessons encompassed trying to master these few chords. It was C, G, and E over and over again till I got absolutely sick of playing them. Until eventually, miraculously, my fingers moved faster, smoother and I was incredibly playing three chord self composed tunes of my own imagination on my electric guitar. This was how I began to learn how to play the guitar by myself.

There was no secret to it. And there is no secret to how you can do it either. It is down to pure hard work and perseverance. The first chords and changes are always the hardest, no matter how simple the chords are. You just keep practising on the guitar until one day, you find yourself being able to switch from one to the other with ease and your eyes closed. Of course, it really helped a lot with the musical background I had, as it made learning the basics like how to tune your guitar and read music theory a breeze and gave me a headstart. But no matter what, learning how to play the guitar by myself required the same discipline and dedication, sometimes even more, as learning it from a formal music school and lessons. The advantage is that you are actually free to try anything you might think of and can imagine, while rote learning in a music school can sometimes be restrictive or they might subconsciously get you to move in the same direction as they believe in themselves, which does not take into account the fact that everyone has different musical abilities and levels, and everyone should be given a choice to express their own musical vocabulary and freedom, especially with an instrument like the guitar. It was also why I chose to learn to play the electric guitar, where freedom and wild creativity is often the symbol of the instrument and what it represents.

First Time Learning How To Play The Guitar

I can still remember vividly the first time I wanted to learn how to play the guitar. I was about fourteen years old, and had just gotten into rock music. Yes, I am quite sure many guys who chose to take up the instrument, or fell in love with the guitar, also started at the same point as I did. Rock or heavy metal music encapsulated in the best possible way all the angst, joy and energy that most teenage boys represent. The power and adrenalin that such music provided, through the unbridled use of the electric or acoustic guitar, gave so many men a turn on that all the other attractions that came with it - the girls, parties, booze and whatever you can think of - were secondary to the rush that playing the guitar had.

Far from what I mostly listen to nowadays, it was rock music that pretty much sealed my love for the guitar at that age. Bon Jovi, White Lion, Skid Row, bands that were part of the hair metal and glam metal age, but had enough pop rock tunes that captured the energy of the electric guitar. And so it was the electric guitar which I first jumped on. I remember guitar purists telling me that it was not advisable nor the right move to learn how to play the guitar on the electric version first, and that I should master the fundamentals and basics on the classical guitar. But why should I? For I was not interested in the classical nor acoustic instrument - it was the energy and beautiful force that emanated from an electric instrument which had so entranced me and ensnared my soul. Learning how to play the guitar on a classical or acoustic instrument would be like having sex with your aunt - limp and a total turn off.

I saved and scrimped on every penny that I had. I would skip meals in school, take walks home instead of the bus, and all that money would go into my first electric guitar, so that I could start learning the instrument. I decided that I would not take any formal lessons, simply because I hated the time I spent learning the piano when younger. Those were taken against my will and before I developed any real love for music. Piano lessons were torturous and taking the exams were even worse as I was a shy and timid person who often wilted under inspection. But looking back, those same lessons enabled my faster learning curve on the guitar. While I did not, regrettably, finish my piano education, the musical theory and practical training smoothed my path to mastery of the guitar. I could read piano sheet music and learned to play many tunes by ear, something that I might not have been able to do as fast without the musical background.

Amazingly, I managed to save enough within 6 months, for a brand new electric guitar of my own. It was a Fender copy, not the real thing, but enough to get me started and excited. There was also enough cash to get a small guitar amplifier which unfortunately I cannot remember the brand now for the life of me. Everything cost me about $500 at that time, which included the electric guitar, amplifier, picks, strings, guitar tuner and a guitar softcase. It was pretty much the raw basics and everything was on a budget. The experience picking and choosing the guitar in the musical instruments shop was an experience in itself. I did not know for sure what to look out for, and did not even know how to play the guitar at that point in time. When asked if I wanted to test the instrument, I was honestly a little embarrassed and shyly declined. The guitar tech was actually kind enough to test the piece for me, just to make sure everything was working fine and in good order. The trip home carrying my first ever electric guitar and amplifier was one of the few highlights in my life.

My first time ever learning how to play the guitar was not a pleasant experience, truth be told. Taking the electric guitar out of its case, and setting it up on the amplifier and ensuring it was in tune, I realised I did not plan how to start learning the instrument. It slipped my mind to buy any instructional material, although I had a basic chord book which I guess every self-respecting aspiring guitarist would own. There were the few guitar magazines which I owned and had told myself would go back to when I had enough proficiency on the instrument. So it was on to learning the guitar chords first, on an electric guitar to boot. Unless you were born naturally talented with the guitar or had the appendages of Spiderman, you must agree with me that the first chord is always the hardest. I started out with the C chord, and to say it was hell trying to pin down the guitar strings would be an understatement. I had difficulty getting my fingers to form the chord in one smooth motion, and spent the whole first session just putting each finger down on the guitar frets one at a time. And it was just the C guitar chord. After four straight hours doing it, I had to take a rest and at the end of my first ever guitar practise session, I was a little demoralised and a little doubt begin to creep into my mind. Was I ever going to be able to learn how to play the guitar and how long would it take me?