How to Learn to Play Guitar in Less Than Six Months

• June 12, 2016
• Guitar Lessons

Have you been putting off learning to play guitar while your instrument sits in the corner of the room collecting dust? Are you a beginner who feels stuck after a couple of lessons? Do you want to learn to play guitar?

It’s time to get serious about learning your instrument. No one cares what kind of guitar you have mounted on your wall if you can only spit out a chord or two. With your hard work and the tips listed below, you can become a much better guitar player in less than six months.

Step 1: Get Acquainted With Your Instrument

We’ve all seen videos of people ripping a killer solo while playing behind their back or something equally dazzling. Guess what? That isn’t you. At least, not for the time being.

Right now, you simply need to learn how to hold the guitar in your hands and find the posture that’s going to work best for you. You’re going to spend a lot of time practicing (hopefully), so it’s important that you do this first before you set yourself up for monthly visits to the chiropractor.

After you’ve got this down, you’ll need to learn how to tune your guitar. Playing an out of tune guitar is going to mess you up in the long run because eventually you want to be able to do this by ear. If you’ve been playing out of tune for a while, your ears aren’t going to remember the proper sounds that should be coming out of your guitar. For now it’s okay to tune with an electronic tuner.

Step 2: Find a Lesson Plan That Fits You

If you’re going to learn how to play guitar, you’re going to need a teacher or lesson plan of some kind. Sure, you can learn a few things by just browsing YouTube and picking up a couple of song tutorials, but to effectively learn to play, and do so in a timely manner, lessons are key.

Your two main options will be one-on-one guitar lessons and online guitar lessons. There are pros and cons to each of these options.

One-on-one guitar lessons are more personal but they cost much more than any option on the Internet. You may find more accountability in one-on-one lessons simply because there is another human being keeping track of your progress.

With online guitar lessons, you’re going to have a wider range of choices on instructors as well as areas of study. If you want to learn blues guitar, there’s an option for that. Want to play in your church’s praise band on Sunday morning? The Internet has it covered.

Again, these lessons are cheaper and you’ll never run out of things to learn. Whichever route you end up going for your lessons, though, just make sure you find a lesson plan that’s going to fit your lifestyle best.

Step 3: Practice, Then Practice Some More

This is the simplest advice that anyone will ever give you: if you want to be a better musician, you have to practice. A lot.

Just like any other instrument, the guitar calls for hours upon hours of practice to truly master it. This goes back to Step 1 a little in that you need to be very familiar with your instrument in order to play it best.

How do I practice with my guitar?

There’s a long answer and a short one to this question. We’ll try to hit somewhere in between.

The first thing you want to do before sitting down to practice is to stretch. It may sound silly, but you’ll want to stretch your back, neck, wrists, and fingers before any music is played. If you want to be a better guitarist, you’ll be practicing a lot. Make it easier on your body by warming up a bit before your session.

After warming up, tune your guitar. An instrument out of tune is extremely detrimental to your practice time.

Once you’re ready to play, start off with some things that you already know. For basic beginners, that might mean just playing through a few basic chords like G, C, and D. After you spend some time refreshing yourself and building muscle memory on those, start to challenge yourself with songs you’d like to play or a new chord you want to try.

Every practice session should start with something familiar to get your body moving, then you’ll want to advance to something more difficult. Over time this should help you to advance your abilities by never getting too comfortable.

Step 4: Find a Community

When it comes to learning something new, some element of community goes a long way in helping you to achieve your goals. Think about a school classroom, CrossFit, a cooking class or any similar group activity.

The reason for a community is to help you learn, of course, but it also make the process more enjoyable because you’re connected to others.

For musicians, a community can be a band you play in, friends at school with similar interests, or even an online community. Basically you just want to find a group of people that are willing to answer any questions you have or push you to continue playing even when you’re feeling lazy. These communities should be fun and informative. If you’re really looking to learn to play guitar in less than 6 months, this group of people will help you with that journey.

Step 5: Set Goals & Learn to Play Guitar

This step is crucial, especially for beginner guitar players.

If you’re just starting out, a good idea would be to sit down and write out a few goals for your musical journey. Some examples might be “Learn 10 Guitar Chords” or “Play in Front of a Group of People.”

You don’t even have to a be a beginner to get something out of this. For advanced players, you could try a new style of guitar or tackle an iconic solo. If you still have a pulse, there’s something you haven’t learned yet.

The purpose of these goals is to track how far you’ve come and to give you a boost of encouragement each time you get to cross off an item. When you’re just starting out, you’re going to need some encouragement on the days when you feel like you’re moving at a snail’s pace.

So you’re hoping to become a better guitar player in a short period of time. If you consistently follow these steps, you will see a big change in your level of guitar playing over the course of six months. Why waste your time when you can learn to play guitar on a simple path to success?

No matter what level your guitar skills are currently at, you’re probably always in the market for a lesson plan that’s going to kickstart your guitar education. Pro Lessons is excited to be that resource for you. We have engaging lessons taught by professional musicians at an affordable rate.

To learn more about our rates and instructors, click on the link below.