When starting to learn the guitar, it’s important to be aware of some key areas to focus on; these can range from deciding which style of guitar you want to play to picking the right equipment and teacher for your lessons. You can also benefit from knowing where to look to buy guitars online, and how internet videos and tutorials can help you to improve your technique. Ultimately, learning guitar is all about putting in the hard work to build up a routine, while ensuring that you have everything you need to move up to the next level with your playing.

Decide What Style of Guitar You Want to Play

It’s worth considering what style of guitar you want to focus on when you’re starting out. Electric guitars will cost more than acoustic models, and require more accessories like amplifiers. By comparison, acoustic guitars can be better to learn on, as you gain a better sense of the natural sounds of strings and your playing without having to rely on amplification. Compare the market for different guitar sellers, and look online for deals, which can include second hand options for instruments.

Pick Up the Right Equipment

During your first months of playing guitar, you need to work out what equipment is essential, and what you can gradually work towards buying or renting. A string tuner is useful to have until you’re confident enough about your own awareness of different notes and chords. If you’re traveling or commuting with your guitar, it’s also worth picking up a high quality case, as well as some spare strings. For electric guitars, headphones and a small amplifier can help you to practice without disturbing other people.

Pick a Good Teacher

Take the time to find a guitar teacher that’s going to be right for your needs. When doing so, you need to weigh up a number of factors, which can include whether or not you prefer to be taught as part of a group or individually. You can also find out whether a guitar teacher will provide any books or sheet music, and if they have structured lessons with goals for every week and month. Similarly, check to see if they have electric guitar accessories that you can use during lessons.

Get to Grips with the Basics

Make sure that you commit at an early stage of your learning to getting some of the basics into your routine; this means trying to learn pentatonic and other scales, and working on mastering essential chords. Moreover, you should work on recognising notes, to the point that you can tune your guitar without using an electric tuner. Other elements of playing that you can focus on might include strumming and picking techniques.

Make Use of Online Tools

One of the advantages of being able to learn the guitar now is that you can make use of online resources; this can involve following video tutorials that show you how to master particular techniques. These can be used as a complement to your main lessons. You can also find guitar tabs and backing tracks that you can play along with. As your playing becomes more advanced, you can use online resources to find the best guitars and equipment from different sellers.

Author Bio: 

Sarah is a guitar player who has classical and blues training. She recommends taking the time to compare the market when looking to buy guitars online. Her other blogging interests include restoring old equipment and collecting old records.