People who play guitar

I don't get the act of being ashamed of wanting to learn to play guitar... Learning how to play instruments and make your own music is awesome!

Anyway, there have been several threads over the years on this. There are some well known youtube channels that have good lessons that can get you started. The only downside is that you won't get feedback from a real life instructor.

Old Thread

I pretty much taught myself before the dawn of youtube, but it was very frustrating at first. That was over 15 years ago and I put down the guitar for several years at a time. I still don't consider myself a "guitar player" but I do it for my own personal enjoyment. All I can say is that you will sound like shite at first and your fingers will get tired fast, especially if learning on acoustic. You will feel dumb and perplexed about how you could possibly be able to move your fingers fast enough to switch chords in time, but it really just takes practice. Just set aside 15-30 min a day if you can to spend time going through the lessons and playing.

youtube is your friend.

it's really a great hobby, one you will never master and that's the beauty of it, like a never-ending puzzle.

I'm jealous of people starting out now because of youtube. Almost any song you like has a "guitar lesson" video showing you exactly how to play it. Learning strictly by ear the way I did was extremely frustrating, especially with songs in odd tunings.

I'm sure there are some YouTube videos that show you how to finger the chords, but may be quicker to take a few lessons and then hit YouTube for more lessons and specific songs.

Chord theory will help you get better, and playing scales over and over (and over) will absolutely help you get better, but if you learn the chords and practice a lot then you can have fun and learn the rest at your own pace.

The best advice I could probably give you is to get a decent guitar that chords and fingers easily, else you are more likely to give up. Most folks start with a relatively cheap acoustic, which is probably the worst thing you can do. An electric is easier to play, plus you can plug in and get obnoxious. There is some fun just in that.

I have owned Les Pauls, Telecasters, Gretsch, PRS, and various others, but one of the easiest to play is probably a Stratocaster. If you can afford a really good guitar then even more better but a Squier Standard Strat is a decent guitar for about $250 new. Since you're a beginner and can't spot a problem with used guitars, I'd probably buy new unless you can get a friend that is knowledgeable to check out pawn shops or Craigslist guitars, and sometimes you can buy new about as cheap. Guitar Center and other stores have 10 to 15% off sales every few weeks. There will be ton of sales soon, for Christmas. I'd note that new guitars sometimes have problems too. I'd spend the $50 or so to let the store set it up for you.

squier strat

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. I have a customer that I have taken on guide trips for over 20 years that has helped me get a guitar

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What guitar? Let's see how well those trips paid off.

Also I second justinguitar. go direct to his website instead of trying to pick through his youtube channel (which is what the embedded videos on his site are). LINK

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justinguitar

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never been to that website but for beginners he says about the same thing I said above, and in the "best guitar for a beginner" category he's holding a strat.

nice guitar. Taylor tone is generally very good

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I would learn a few basic chords online by yourself (E,A,D,G,C,E minor,A minor,D minor) and get comfortable with strumming and transitioning between them and then maybe look into taking a few in-person lessons with a teacher (or your client) to correct any bad habits you may be developing.

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I honestly think this is what approach I will take. I took a look at the site you guys mentioned and it looks great. My free time changes from day to day so having a less to start with may be tough. I think being able to pick it up and practice when my time allows will be the way to go.

If you really want to learn from online only here’s what you do.

There are several good free lessons out there. Justin guitar is pretty good. Find one you like and go thru the beginning lessons. Justin guitar is good because he gives you a practice schedule for each lesson/section. And they’re broken down by minutes you should spend time doing a task. Practice starts off at 30 mins a day and is broken down. Like 5 for finger stretch/warmup, 5 mins for song practice and 1 minute to change between 2 chords as many times as you can. This is very important. Don’t just pick it up and noodle for 30 mins. Have a schedule and stick to it. You can noodle in a month or two.

Any beginning class is gonna teach you some chords and some strumming. Your first task is to learn some chords. Then practice changing from one chord to another. This does take practice and work. It’s hard at first but becomes easier.

Eventually you’ll move on to strumming. Again, lots of good free strumming stuff out there but... in order to take a practical approach you should go to the guitar sage and get his free starter kit. There’s a worksheet for strumming. Print it out. Use it. You basically walk through a ton of various strumming patterns. It’s great practice.

You definitely can learn online for free. There’s a ton of stuff out there. Just don’t bounce around. Have some structure to your learning/practice and you’ll be fine. And it’s beneficial to check out a couple of them at the same time because they have different tips.

Also, don’t rush into a song. Figure out the g-d-c chords. Plus e and e minor. The first chords you need to learn are A-d-c-g-e-em-am. Any basic free program will show you these right of the bat.
Then if you can switch between these chords quickly and know a few strumming patterns you’ll be able to play a ton of songs.

I taught myself years ago and the only bad habit I hate that I have is how I hold the pick. It's not a huge issue but that's something that an instructor could've gotten me out of!

Basically to mirror what others have said, learn the simple chords and play them to a couple simple songs. I wish I'd have started learning scales and building that strength from the beginning. I will forever be rhythm guitar because I don't have the time to sit and get better.