Can Guitar Be Self Taught – Learning any new skill is difficult. Even more so when you have to do it on your own. So how hard is it to learn guitar by yourself?
Back when I was 15 I got my first guitar. I have never picked up a musical instrument, much less tried to play. I was incredibly naive, knew nothing about guitars, how to hold a pick, how to strum etc. and I was alone.
Can Guitar Be Self Taught
I didn’t want a teacher. I was both very shy and embarrassed to play in front of anyone. So I decided to go it alone and learn by myself. And that’s what I did.
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Was it difficult? Yes. Would I have learned faster with a teacher? Without a doubt But I still got there. I can play the guitar now! (how well I can play is another matter!)
So if you’re thinking of learning the guitar on your own, but aren’t sure how hard it will be, then this guide should help you decide.
We will look at both the cons and positives of learning guitar on your own. Is it just too hard or easy to achieve? And finally you should get a teacher or go it alone.
It all depends on how you learn yourself. Choosing the right resources and materials to help you learn is key.
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If you follow the wrong advice and get into bad habits, it will set you back and it will be difficult to progress. But if you use good websites, YouTube videos, courses and more, you can totally learn guitar on your own without too much trouble.
Some parts of learning the guitar are simplified with a teacher. Having feedback or someone to ask questions can be helpful. But it doesn’t suit everyone.
Regardless of how you learn, though, it’s important to remember that it will be hard. Everyone finds learning the guitar difficult, whether they are self-taught or taught by a professional.
At first you might not be able to put your hands and fingers in the right places, it will hurt (you’ll need your calluses) and everything you do will sound… bad.
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So be realistic and expect to struggle. Don’t assume you’ll be blasting killer solos within a few weeks. It really doesn’t work that way!
If you’re a beginner, check out our guide to whether you should learn acoustic or electric guitar first.
There is no time frame for you to learn guitar on your own. It all depends on how often you practice and how dedicated you are.
If you only play the guitar on Saturdays for 30 minutes, you will not progress. If you exercise for 30 minutes to an hour every day, you will see improvements pretty quickly.
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That’s all relative of course. “Improvement” in the early stages could be something as basic as getting better at switching between a D and G chord. Not nailing the Sweet Child O’ Mine solo.
But those small improvements add up and over time you’ll see noticeable progress. I can remember the days when I could barely strum properly or pick the most basic tune. Looking back at how far I’ve come is amazing.
Yes. While some people learn better with a teacher, it is still very possible to learn guitar without one.
In fact there are many famous self-taught guitarists, including Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Prince and many more.
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Now, you probably won’t be the next Clapton (although who knows? Prove me wrong!) and that’s okay. But what it does prove is that many exceptionally good guitar players are self-taught.
Most people just want to be ‘good’ at the guitar. That’s pretty vague but it doesn’t mean they aspire to be the next Jimi Hendrix.
Good guitar teachers are amazing. Learning with a teacher who can shape lessons according to you, find your weak points and really focus on them and inspire or motivate you to learn is amazing.
But for all those excellent teachers there are many less good ones. In fact there are an awful lot of simply bad teachers.
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And the bad ones can actually cause you more trouble than learning on your own. Unfortunately they are either more concerned with making money than actually improving their students or have an extremely high opinion of themselves. It’s sad but that’s the truth.
So you might get lucky and find a great teacher. But you might also be wasting time and money going through a lot of really junk. And that time would probably be better spent teaching yourself.
There are many different ways you can choose to teach yourself guitar. There are also many bad ways!
Tons of websites and videos will make big claims about learning in a few months or quick ways/cheats to master the guitar. Avoid those at all costs.
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There are no shortcuts. It’s all about following a proven method and putting it into practice. It sounds simple, but that’s all. Obviously it’s more difficult than that but the basic principle is practicing the right techniques.
So, among the many different ways to learn, which ones are best for you? Let’s go through the options.
Following a course or lesson plan that guides you through learning the guitar is probably the best way to learn on your own. Having a structure and step-by-step approach to what you’re learning is always helpful and means you won’t pick up random bits here and there.
The next best thing to a real teacher are some of the courses you can take online. These can be free or paid and usually combine video lessons with written explanations and exercises for you to do yourself.
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There is a good range of courses aimed at different skill levels – beginner, intermediate and advanced – as well as courses for specific styles of music (such as metal or fingerpicking) and for specific techniques (such as improving speed).
Although you won’t have the ability to directly ask someone questions or get feedback on your playing, most of these courses are well designed, comprehensive and have helped thousands of people learn to play the guitar on their own.
Applications tend to be similar to courses or just an extension of what a course already offers. What they offer is the convenience of having lesson plans or tutorials on your phone/tablet whenever you want.
Being able to exercise on the go or take a lesson from your phone means you’re not tied to your computer or laptop. The programs are usually well designed, easy to follow and have features that you can even use if you don’t have your guitar with you.
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You can also get ear training programs that help you improve your musical ear. Functional Ear Trainer is one of the best, has an app or software for PC and Mac, and is free to use.
YouTube has probably had the most dramatic effect on learning the guitar. It made it much more accessible to self-learners.
You can find thousands of tutorial videos for theory, technique, practice routines, songs and more. It’s really great for a relaxed approach to playing songs or understanding certain topics.
Using either course as mentioned above along with looking up tutorials for your favorite songs on YouTube is a great way to learn. You get the structured, disciplined learning of the course and then apply what you’ve learned from it to those songs you want to play.
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But you can also find a huge amount of information and help for every aspect of the guitar. Although you may lack the proper course structure or instructor, you can still learn a lot just by using YouTube.
The disadvantages of using YouTube are the lack of coordinated learning. You spend time looking for lessons and piecing together snippets from different sources. It can be a bit of a mess.
With websites, apps, and YouTube now available using a book may seem a little dated. But there are some amazing ones that will really help you.
Books also allow you to follow a structured plan at your own pace. You can pick it up and put it down whenever you want.
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If you don’t have access to a computer or your phone, you can still practice if you have a book.
Be careful though – there are so many books out there and many of them won’t be great. Finding a good one is the challenge.
Tabs are good because you can start playing songs very quickly. Many people find the initial stages of learning the guitar frustrating as they struggle to hold the frets, strum etc. but also learns some rather boring, if important, concepts.
It’s important to know scales, chord shapes and so on but many of us just want to start playing songs. That’s why we often pick up the guitar in the first place. And tabs can be a way to learn some really basic, easy songs early on.
What’s Easier To Learn Guitar Or Piano?
Something like White Stripes – Seven Nation Army or Deep Purple –
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