Learning the Guitar

Why do you want to learn the guitar? I think this question is crucial and I wouldn’t actually take things any further unless you can answer it.  If you’re a parent who wants their child to learn – why do they want to learn?  If the will is all on your part and not theirs, they might not do very well.

The reason isn’t important, but there needs to be one.  You might just want to play a few songs at home on your own, or you may imagine yourself in a group, performing in a pub, club or on stage.  You might want the fame and fortune that being a musician can bring.  A word of warning with the last one:  if fame is what you want, then fame is what you should be working on – not music!  If you stick at it, your goals are likely to change.  Just be sure to have some.

This section, Learning the Guitar, is divided up into a number of pages:
  1. Learning songs
  2. Working out songs
  3. Memorising songs
  4. The Nashville Numbering System
  5. Developing your ear
  6. Some Essential theory
  7. The CAGED System
A guitarist will usually aim to learn the skills on the first three pages and to fluidly strum the basic chords.  This way, they will be able to pick up and play a chord chart, learn some songs and transpose (play in a different key).  Most people are happy with this level as it means you can play a song at a party,  a barbecue or on the beach.  How long this takes depends on how much you and how intelligently you practise.

From then on,  you might want to understand how to work out songs for yourself.  A start can be made early on, and I encourage this, but the mystical art of playing by ear takes a long time to develop well.  Years.

Classical and Popular Music
On this website I use these terms quite frequently and many guitarists play both styles.  Strictly speaking, a classical guitarist plays a nylon strung classical (spanish) guitar and plays classical music.  They read the music and the emphasis is on playing exactly as it is written.  They don't, as a rule, play by ear or transcribe music.  By popular music, I include all other styles, for example jazz, blues, rock, funk, country, metal, soul, reggae, gospel....  At the time of composition, the music won't have been written as a score.  If we're talking about a band, there may be a chord chart, but the chances are that the melody (tune) will demonstrated by being sung or played to the other musicans.  The guitar played will be chosen for the sound required and may be acoustic, usually steel strung, or electric.  Popular musicians will often play their own interpretation of a song or piece of music and, with practise, will work it out for themselves.

Although we use the terms separately, a lot of musicians play and enjoy both classical and popular music.  They will have their preferences, but often appreciate good music, whatever the style or genre.  Learning one won't make you automatically able to play another, however, as each has its own techniques; but it would give you a good head-start.

Do I Need a Teacher or Lessons?

Self-taught
There is a lot of inverted snobbery around music theory and lessons.  I can guarantee that, as soon as people know you are learning the guitar, you will hear of someone who is extraordinarily talented and completely self-taught.  I would suggest that every player has, at one time or another, learnt something from another, whether that is being shown a chord or learning a song from a book, a magazine or the internet.  I would also say that it's possible to get started by learning from these sources and working out songs by ear, as this skill develops, but you can save yourself a lot of time by having some lessons.

I’m going to keep to my word now and point you to some resources.  The lessons on YoTube are, of course, free, but the only web-site giving free lessons, as far as I know, is JustinGuitar.

Justin Sandercoe www.justinguitar.com
Beginner to advanced:
Justin’s web-site was probably the first to be well-known, in the world.  I was fortunate enough to have a few lessons with him some years ago.  The site is an encyclopaedia of information of all things guitar-wise and has a great series of lessons for all levels of ability.  It’s free, which is awesome if you’re starting out young and don’t have any money.  You donate towards the lessons, when you can afford to.

Paul Davids pauldavidsguitar.com
Intermediate to advanced.
Paul has a huge number of lessons on YouTube and has the highest number of followers of any teacher.  He is a master of video editing and looking at and analysing music and musicians.  I have not followed any of his courses, but Paul has a very entertaining and engaging manner of teaching.  I highly recommned him.

Carl Brown GuitarLessons365
Intermediate to advanced.
I haven’t followed any of the lessons on this site, but his YouTube explanations on playing songs are generally accurate and easy to follow.  Probably more suited to people who can already play a little.

Intermediate to advanced.
In addition to the web-site, Adrian has a number of his lessons freely available on YouTube.  He has an easy-going and calm teaching style and his lessons are accurate and easy-to-follow, without the rambling you sometimes get.  I don't know him personally, but he teaches in London or via Skype.

Claus Levin guitarmastery.net
Intermediate to advanced. 
Claus has made dozens, perhaps hundreds of lessons on YouTube.  He doesn't teach songs or provide tab, but talks about and demonstrates the art of learning the guitar.  Actually, his methods could be employed for learning most things, really.  I find him energetic and inspirational!  The stuff on You Tube is all free, of course, but you pay for lessons on his web-site.  For intermediate and advanced players, I highly recommend him.

Marty Schwartz martymusic.com
Beginner to intermediate
I have include Marty as he is a popular teacher of beginners on YouTube, as well as showing more intermediate techniques and transcriptions.

Private Lessons
There is so much on the Internet and on YouTube that it can become overwhelming.  It can be a confusing place, with a lot of conflicting information.  YouTube videos are often long and it's hard to find what it is you need to learn.  It's possible to learn on your own, but a good teacher will save you a whole lot of time :  )  We are all different in how we learn and at what pace and a teacher will be sensitive to this.  A talented musician may not necessarily be the best choice: what you need is a talented teacher.

Most teachers now have academic training.  Since the 1990s there have been degree courses in popular music, so your teacher will have a good knowledge of all styles of music and the underlying theoretical understanding.  In my case, I also took a module in teaching in the final year of my course.

Finding a Teacher
Well, if you live in or near Hertfordshire, I can teach you in my home studio.  If not, I can teach via Skype, Zoom, Teams, Whatsapp or Facetime.  Contact me here.  Otherwise, look for ads in your local music shop, or post a query on Facebook. 

There are some good teachers around and there are some who are not so good.  Bear one thing in mind:  they should be helping you improve your playing.  That’s it!  You’ll know quite quickly whether or not they’re doing that.  You’ll need more help in the beginning then, as you progress, you’ll only need help to keep you on track.  All depending on your goals of course.  A few pointers - the teacher should:
  • Develop your learning (!)
  • Be patient and respectful
  • Know and be interested in you goals and helping you to achieve them
  • Be prepared for your lessons
I like to think that I'm providing my students with their own personalised recipe which, if they follow it, will make them the guitarist they want to be.

On Theory and Reading Music
Once more, there is inverted snobbery around these terms, so allow me to share a some observations:

Theory
Once music is written which doesn’t conform to theory, the theory is re-written.  This is what happened with the blues, which was originally considered harmonically ‘wrong’, but now accepted.  If you’re at intermediate level and congratulating yourself for never having leant theory, think about being in a band and saying to the keyboard player “I’m playing this” and showing them your fingers on the guitar neck!  They may be able to hear the chord, but isn’t it better to say that it’s a G7?  That’s theory, isn’t it?    :  ) 

A little basic theory is incredibly useful for playing by ear, and will save you a load of time once you get it down.  I teach my students the theoretical concepts behind the song as I go along.  This way they understand and learn it, and are able to use the knowledge to learn more songs, more easily.

Reading Music
Written music, if understood, tells the musician the pitch of the notes, their duration, tempo, dynamics, whether it is swung….  Guitar players notoriously don’t read music, but many read tablature or ‘tab’.  When music was written centuries ago there were no recordings.  The music had to be passed ear-to-ear or by means of a written score.  Now the recording is the score.  It tells you everything.  Tab will tell you where to put your fingers, when you can’t work it out by ear, but not much else.  Be warned that a lot of tab on the Internet is wrong.  Note also that a classical, jazz or session guitarist, or one playing with orchestral musicians will need to read music.  For the rest, it’s up to you.  If you want to go down that line, once again I would suggest that you use it while you’re learning rather than studying separately.
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