I spend a lot of time with my Yamaha acoustic guitar in my hands but I’m not always focusing on learning or practicing. Most of the time I’m just playing stuff the pops into my head while I’m watching the TV.

The thing is I learn more in 20 minutes or a half hour of focused practice than I would learn in hours of just playing my guitar. The thing is concentration is needed when you want to really learn something.

Most Newbies Don’t Last Long

I really couldn’t tell you how many people I’ve seen start learning guitar only to give up shortly after and I’ve been playing for more than 10 years now. Most couldn’t handle their fingers hurting long enough to continue but the big killer is the mind. They tell themselves they can’t learn and they are usually right.

The thing is it’s not all learning all the time. It’s more about learning one thing and practicing it until you can do it without thinking about it. I practice while the TV is going, but only once I’ve learned first.

When I started learning guitar I was able to go to some guitar jams where I learned new things I could practice once I was back home again. Today we can use the Internet and specifically Youtube to learn things. I love seeing and hearing so I go for videos over books.

You can also learn through Jamorama and Jamplay.

I will learn a new lick on my guitar and focus on getting it right. Once I have the lick in my mind I then practice it any time I get the chance until it’s automatic. This usually means, like I said, in front of the TV.

Note that the time you spend really focused on learning something new on your guitar will make it easier when you begin practicing with less focus. As time goes on each new thing you learn becomes easier.

Playing Guitar For The Fun Of It

When I started learning guitar the plan wasn’t to spend my life learning, even though I still learn new things all the time. My goal was to be able to entertain myself and playing guitar with friends. So when I am practicing I focus on getting it right before I begin practicing without paying attention.

It’s like so many other things in life. The brain learns and after some time things you learn come together in the brain and actually makes it easier to learn easier in the future.

Find A Quiet Place To Practice Guitar

This is so important to me as I get easily distracted and distractions are what make a 20 minute quality practice time into a frustrating 2 hours. Also I only take on one thing to practice at a time. That’s when I’m actually in practice mode.

So keep in mind that it’s the quality of your practice time and not how long you practice.

Just Let It Go, For A Bit

It might sound strange but it’s a good idea to just stop practicing for a few days. I do this all the time when I’m learning something new. I practice it until I know it and then I might not practice that particular thing for a couple of day.

I have done this countless times in the 10 years I’ve been playing guitar and it always amazes me that I get better when I give myself a break.

Now I don’t mean don’t practice other things, just leave that new lesson you’re learning for a couple of days and come back to it. This really does work so be sure to give yourself the chance to see just how well it works.

Clear Your Might Before Practice

If you can clear your mind before you begin practicing as well as any distraction such as TV or family. It can take just a minute to go clear and put things out of your mind. For me a little meditation does the trick. I think about a great day of fishing actually and it works for me.

Even taking the time to close your eyes and slowly counting to ten can help clear your mind and help you focus. If there are any distraction you may have to start over, so try to find a placed to practice where there are no distractions.

When we were still living in an apartment I had to resort to practicing guitar in our bedroom and even then it was tough to train my son and wife to leave me alone but eventually they got the idea, but not before I had to put a big note on the door saying NOT to come in.

Let me start by saying that anyone learning how to play acoustic guitar for beginners should pace themselves and complete one course before starting the next. I could say that you should give each course you take a week or maybe two but the fact is that not all people learn at the same pace.

Learn At Your Own Pace

For a long time I studied every day but found I was not learning as fast as I thought I should be, then someone told I should try studying every other day as it give the brain time to take in the lessons.

In the back of my mind I thought he was a bit off but tried it, just out of frustration.

I was actually amazed that it really worked. It renewed my energy for learning and even though it took me twice as long to do lessons I was learning faster than before. My learning pace increased in speed without the pressure I was feeling before.

Seeing Helps Me Learn Faster

I have to say I love using Youtube.com, Jamorama.com or Jamplay.com to learn more about playing my Yamaha acoustic guitar. I learn the most from the videos I watch, over and over. Watching someone play helps me learn much faster.

I’m on a limited budget so I can’t just go out and rent video but I can afford a membership at Jamorama and Jamplay. The fact that Youtube is free is just a bonus for my.

I know that when I am at guitar jams I learn to play songs so much faster. I’m pretty sure it’s because I can see finger position, strumming and the timing of each song. The timing is where I have the most stress for some reason and seeing it with my own eyes just makes it work for me.

For the riffs in songs I usually don’t play them unless I can watch someone playing them. Hearing it just doesn’t work for me, although I do better than when I started so maybe over time I will master playing by ear.

With a video tutorial, you would get a systematic instructional on how to read chords, locate the appropriate chords on your guitar, tune your guitar, and play an entire acoustic song. You can definitely learn a lot from these videos and video sharing websites.

Use Guitar Tablature And Chord Sites

Even if you’re a beginner, it’s safe to assume that you have your share of favourite acoustic artists. After all, it’s impossible to embrace a love for the instrument if you didn’t have inspiration.

Try to take advantage of the Internet by searching for a tablature (tabs) that your favourite artist transcribed. Nothing beats the feeling of having to learn the instrument from no less than your favourite artist.

One of the main reasons I like Youtube so much is because of those who cover artist’s songs using an acoustic guitar. Some artists even do acoustic versions of their songs to share with fans.

I have to say that I do find it quite frustrating when anyone plays an acoustic version of a song using a guitar but doesn’t show the hands for strumming and chord changes. I usually give them a thumbs down. Who cares if I can see your face, I want to see your hands.

Learning how to play acoustic guitar should be fun and with not too much stress. I get stressed a bit but that’s just me. When I finally find someone that can show me what I need to know I calm down.

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Realistically, you can’t expect yourself to be a genius playing guitar chords if you’re just learning how to play the acoustic guitar. Everyone who plays the guitar, even the famous ones like B.B. King, Eddie Van Halen, Jimi Hendrix, and Slash all had to start with basic, simple, and easy acoustic guitar chords for beginners.

The truth is these basic chords lay down the foundation for all succeeding lessons. So once you have mastered the easiest chords, you’ll be well on your way to learning intermediate and then more advanced chords.

You may find that you breeze through the basic chords which is great however if you want to be really good at learning guitar chords, you need to acquaint yourself with the basic anatomy of an acoustic guitar.

You need to keep in mind that the chords are usually show in a pattern that’s printed making it important to learn how to read chords charts.

The main component of an acoustic guitar that you will be working closely with are your guitar’s strings and the fingerboard of your guitar.

Your acoustic guitar will most likely have 6 strings, although I have a few guitar playing friends who have 12 string guitars.

A right handed guitar player holding their guitar facing away from them will have the six strings starting with the top as Low E, A, D, G, B, High E. Just like in the image to the right.

Going down the neck of your guitar you will have metal bars that cross the neck at specific locations. These are called Frets and allow you to change notes while you’re playing.

If you play or pluck each individual string without placing any fingers on the strings they are called open strings. When you place a finger on one of the strings at a fret it will give you a specific note.

Example: When you put your finger on the first fret holding the low or high E string down it will produce the note F. If you move that finger down one more fret so that it’s on the second fret and pluck it you will hear a F# or F Sharp. Holding the string down at the third fret will produce a G note.

The diagram on the left shows a G chord. The black dots show where to place your fingers and the blank circles at the top of the chart show which strings to play open. Open means you don’t put a finger on that string. So this combination will product a G chord and is just one of many ways to play a G chord and is the most basic.

Now if you wanted to play a D chord you would use the finger positioning shown in the diagram on the right. Again the black dots are where you place your fingers and the blank white dot is played open.

The other two strings in this case don’t get played at all. So when you see a chart like this one and it has no black dots on a string or no white dot above the string it doesn’t get plucked.

Here is a diagram of the basic chords I learned first. Learning these simple chords allowed me to learn dozens and dozens of songs I have loved over the years.

Do you feel overwhelmed already. Don’t fret, ‘pun intended’ it’s not as hard as most people tend to think it is. Although the ends of one’s fingers can get a bit tender when first learning but you can soon get over that as you practice.

There are hundreds of combinations that make up chords at various positions along the fret board but concentrate on the basics and you’ll find it less frustrating or overwhelming.

There are options for learning how to play guitar today. I started with books and chord charts I picked up at a local guitar shop. I also learn a ton of cool stuff at local guitar jams but where I learned the most is from online sites such as Jamorama.com, Jamplay.com and YouTube.com.

I do prefer the online methods of learning as I do so much better with show and tell than learning from books, but that’s just me. I also tried hiring a guy to teach me but he was an ass and it cost me more than I wanted to pay.

If you’re keen on learning acoustic guitar chords for beginners, you will find these tips indispensable:

1. Take advantage of the power of the Internet. It’s rife with online tutorials and instructional for learning chords. Just be wary of choosing the right website, as there are those that require payments so you can access the lessons. Patience is the key to finding sites that provide free lessons.
2. When it comes to acoustic guitars, it pays to spend time studying the instrument and familiarizing yourself with its different parts. You don’t just play the guitar. Instead, you need to know it like the back of your hand. This is important as it lets you understand how each component of the guitar works together to produce sound.
3. Rather than just strum the strings on your acoustic guitar, try to understand how the tension in the string affects the sound emitted by the guitar. You’d be surprised to find out that the sound differs depending on the length and size of each string.
4. You need to know that there are different ways to play acoustic guitar chords. This allows for versatility. In addition, once you’re able to play chords in various ways, it would be easier for you to transition from one chord to the next.
5. It may be cliché, but practice makes perfect. Hence, devote 20 to 30 minutes each day in practice. Don’t try to learn the chords in one go, or you’d end up frustrated and overwhelmed. It’s impossible to learn everything in one sitting, so make do with the pace you’re most comfortable with and don’t rush yourself.

By following these simple tips, you’d be reading chords like a pro in no time. 

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Every guitar player I’ve known has been impatient and want to play songs before they are ready to. I’m one of them as well, so it’s not uncommon at all.

It’s just such a cool thing to be able to sit down and play a song you love. For me it’s a great stress reliever, although at the beginning, well I’m not so sure that it wasn’t a stress builder.

You don’t have to actually master the basic chords in a song to play it but it sure sounds better when you do. All those I know who were beginners started the same way. They were at a jam, got interested, learned how to form a few basic chords and then went out and bought a guitar.

That’s exactly what happened to me, although a friend loaned me an extra guitar from his collection until I had one of my own, but I learned a few simple chords. I think they were C, G and D. Then they played songs using those chords for most of the night. It was great fun and I was hooked.

Both my guitars have been used Yamaha acoustic guitars that were within my budget but now I think I’m ready for a brand new Yamaha acoustic guitar.

Playing Guitar Is Addictive

I would have to say that playing guitar is a little like taking a drug that’s addictive. You have to continually get that fix or something just doesn’t feel right. I play guitar, even if it’s just to strum chords and practice finger positioning, every single day.

Well almost every day, there are exceptions like when I had a heart attack and was in hospital for a week and later when I had to be taken to Saint John so they could find the problem. Another time was just the other day when I came home from a day of fishing. I was so hot and exhausted I could hardly think and went to bed without playing guitar.

I have been playing guitar now for just over 10 years and have only ever missed a handful of days, it’s that addictive.

Blessed To Have Friends Who Play Guitar

Not everyone is blessed like I have been to have friends who play guitar. Years ago when I was in my early 20s I had the opportunity to learn to play guitar from friends but I was far too shy back then.

So if you are just too shy to learn in front of others I totally understand and for you I recommend two places you can learn without the need for human interaction. The first is Jamorama.com and the second is Jamplay.com

I have been so blessed to have friends who play and have learned so much from them. The thing is I have actually passed the playing level of most of my friends because I started using the guitar sites I just recommended and learned some pretty cool stuff.

I learned new chords that allowed me to learn even more songs. Today I think I have a few hundred songs I can play. I can’t play them all from memory so it’s great that I have them all on my laptop.

For times when my guitar friends aren’t around or perhaps for those songs they can’t play yet I like Youtube. I can usually find someone playing a cover tune while playing guitar so I can learn these songs even faster.

A Big Pain In The Behind

I’ll have to admit that I became a bit fanatical and called my friends way too much. I just couldn’t get enough and would stay up night and day. All I could think about was learning more and more. So I had to apologize to a few for being such a pain. They were polite of course but I know I was pushing the limits. I was decreasing my stress but increasing theirs.

If you turn your nose up at the thought of buying a used guitar, you really need to rethink things a bit.  There is no better way to stretch your dollars and get more guitar for your money.

When I was learning to play guitar, about 10 years ago, I bought a used guitar from a friend buying a new guitar. She learned on a used and was ready for that new one giving me the opportunity to get a good guitar, although used, for just $75.00.

Then it was a matter of money for me but even my second guitar was a used one and at that time I didn’t have money issues. I have been more than happy with them.

So, here are some reasons why a used guitar might turn out to be a better option that a new one in some cases.

Reason #1 – Really the design of the guitar hasn’t changed much over the past few decades so unlike computers or electronics which seem to be updated yearly.

Reason #2 – For The Price.  This is probably the biggest and best difference.  A used guitar be as much as 50% cheaper than the same model new and there are many used guitars that show so little wear or marks that you’d swear it was brand new.

Reason #3 – Guitars are made of wood and wood ages over time changing the sound.  This is especially true with acoustic guitars if you offered me a 30 year old Martin or Gibson acoustic in good condition or said I could have a brand new one for the same price, I’d take the old used guitar every time.

Now I’m not saying that ALL old acoustic guitars are a great buy.  The aging of the wood causes changes in the humidity.  If the guitar has been subject to drastic changes in humidity and/or temperature it could crack. 

Reason #4 – Bringing a used guitar to life and making it your own is very rewarding.  You bring the guitar home, remove the strings, clean the fretboard and vacuum the inside of the body out (if it’s acoustic), oil the neck, restring it and polish it and now it’s as good as new and it has some of your personality added to it.

Reason #5 – Many used guitars have actually seen very little use in the first place.  They get bought and then strummed every now and then before the owner decides they don’t use it enough and wants to sell it off.  This is where you swoop in and get a great guitar for a great price.

Reason #6 – Some older guitars are built from woods that either do not get used as much anymore or simply cost a lot more.  Wood such as Brazilian rosewood and bubinga are beautiful woods that create a rich and full sound but they are more rare these days so your best bet of getting a guitar built with them is to buy used.

Reason #7 – Construction techniques have become automated.  Some older guitars were handmade and there was a lot more attention to detail.  That’s not to say that there aren’t companies today using automation and building great instruments, it just that your chances of getting something unique are very low.

The days of a luthier hand selecting each guitar top based on the one it produced when he tapped it and listened to the wood are over for production line guitars and reserved only for the high and or custom handmade guitars.

In conclusion I really feel buying a used guitar is the way to go for those of us on budgets. I learned to play guitar from friends, Youtube and Jamorama and Jamplay. Take a look at them if you want to learn to play guitar.

For a lot of years I have heard the practice makes perfect. Great so what if you’re learning bad habits on guitar which may be holding you back. Now you’d be practicing those bad habits until they were engrained on your brain which will most likely keep you from achieving the speed you desire.

I have friends who play guitar pretty well and for a long time they were way ahead of me. They learned to play many years ago but learned a few bad habits that have kept them at the level of playing they are at.

What happened, as far as I can tell, is that they learned from others who taught them the bad habits that had where I learned mostly from books and online because I was too shy to play in front of people for a long time.

Of course we have very fun guitar jams but their limitations keeps us from playing many many songs we all love.

Below are a few ways to practice effectively as well as efficiently so you can move to that next level:

Find A Good Plan And Follow It

I never had a plan for my life or anything in it, for about the first 30 years. Well actually the plan was to party hard. I tried to learn guitar way back in the 70s as I’ve mentioned in a few other posts but life got in the way.

If you want to be a quality guitar player you need commitment and a plan that will take you step by step through learning guitar.

Keep A Practice Schedule And Keep It

Now that you have a plan to learn to play guitar you need to practice the things you are learning. I practice every single day, unless I am not home, which isn’t often. I most likely practice guitar about 325 days a year.

I practice at least an hour a day and many days longer. It’s great having a work from home business. I am my own boss, other than my wife of course, and can stop what I’m doing if I get the urge to take a guitar practice break.

Learn And Practice Multiple Genres of Music

There are many styles of guitar playing in a variety of genres so don’t limit your playing and practicing to just the one you like the most. For me it’s country, rock, bluegrass and blues. It’s a great way to add some coolness to your guitar playing. I love it when I learn a new lick I can use at guitar jams.

Practice Where You Won’t Be Interrupted

I have a hard time concentrating on my guitar practice if others are around, so for me, again, it’s great I have a work from home office I can hide in to practice practice practice.

Before we bought our current home I didn’t have an office so I just used our bedroom. It’s just that in the bedroom we don’t have a computer so I would have to print out what I wanted to practice because I wasn’t hauling my computer up and down the stairs for practice.

Today I have a laptop that travels with me pretty much everywhere so I can have access to the Internet, Youtube, Jamorama and Jamplay. No matter where I am, as long as I can get a connection.

My Fingers Don’t Work So Well

I have arthritis so it can be tough getting started in the morning and without warning the arthritis can flare up and make it tough but with a few fingering exercises they loosen up so I can get on with my guitar practice or lessons.

I remember the early days when my fingers felt like they were going to bleed but I would suck it up and start practicing anyways. After a few minutes of tender fingers they started feeling better so don’t let sore fingers stop you from practicing.

Find yourself a group you can play guitar with and you will learn so much faster. I love going to jams where there are new players. I always seem to learn something new each time. Learning one new thing can take you to brand new levels of guitar.

I mentions Jamorama and Jamplay as two sites I belong to. They are worth the investment, so pick one and check it out today and get practicing.

In the world we live in today it sometimes shocks us to find some things are still free and without a catch, but it’s true. On of those things is getting free guitar lessons or ecourses online and even songs with guitar chords for you to learn right at home.

I’m just about 60 and didn’t actually learn to play acoustic guitar until I was 47 years old. I tried learning how to play guitar back in the mid 70s and didn’t succeed. I ended up giving up and giving away my guitar and books. I even hired a guy to come to my house to teach me but he just wasn’t a people person and shouldn’t have been trying to teach. I kicked his sorry ass out the door after just three lessons.

It wasn’t until 20 years later when the Internet was available to me that I started finding more and more sites about learning to play guitar and a lot of free guitar related sites. Then along came Youtube and my interest in learning to play acoustic guitar returned like a tidal wave.

The Freedom of Free Guitar Lessons

I have a membership with Jamorama.com so I can learn more and more but prior to that I learned most of what I know because of the free content, including videos, I found online. Youtube is by far my favourite site for both learning and sharing about how to play guitar as a beginner all the way to advanced.

The only downside to using the net for free content is that it’s scattered all over the place meaning you’ll need to go from site to site. But hey, I did it and learned a lot before joining Jamorama to learn more advanced lessons. Wish I had started with them as I spent a lot of time searching for the exact stuff I needed where Jamorama has it all in one place, just like JamPlay.com does.

How To Find Free Guitar Lessons Online

If you don’t think there are a lot of people who want to “learn how to play guitar online” just do a search in Google for that phrase and you’ll find about 60 million pages. Fortunately you don’t have to search through all of those to find the best as Google does a great job of giving us the best content for our search phrase.

Check Out YouTube For Free Guitar Lessons

I go to Youtube.com for free guitar lessons almost every single day. Most of the time it’s to find songs I hear on the radio I like and want to learn. To do this I look for the song, the artist and the word ‘cover’ which usually gets me a list of those doing cover songs. I will also add the word guitar into the search to be sure I find those playing guitar.

I just did a search for “how to play guitar for beginners acoustic” I added the word acoustic because I don’t have an electric guitar and would rather learn things for my Yamaha acoustic guitar.

You can search for ‘learning guitar chords’ as a way to learn more chords. I like looking for ‘guitar riffs’ or ‘guitar licks’ to learn some cool things that impress my guitar jam buddies.

Living in a world where sounds abound, appreciation for music comes naturally for those of us who are still human.

This is reflected in the way different cultures keep their own interpretation through use of indigenous instruments. In this generation, one of the most popular acoustic instruments is the guitar.

Learning to play guitar can be done in many ways such as using many self-help tools like learn guitar DVD.

The best starting point in learning to play the instrument is to have the interest and motivation. Once the interest is there to learn, everything is easily regardless of the mode of learning. With the technology that is the most influential attribute of the present times, the Internet is the best source of information and self-learn materials. With the abundance of options, one may become confused with the spread of choices. Finding one too many free online and downloadable self-learning tools can make choosing hard. For those who have no access to the Internet, other methods are better preferred.

A good alternative is the use of learn guitar DVD that can be watched in homes with a DVD player. It is actually like watching a movie so that it comes without too much pressure. A DVD self-help instructional material can be likened to having a private tutor that can be used anytime and be replayed again and again especially the hard topics. As long as one wants to practice, it can be played repeatedly without tiring. Just how perfect is that?

To get the best possible DVD for learning the guitar, one can always refer to reviews to find the most cost-effective that gives a good value for money. Jamplay.com for $19.99, Learn and Master Guitar for $149.00, Guitar Tricks with a 14-day free trial, Beginner Guitar System for $97.00, and Jamorama.com for $49.95 are the top five DVDs in the Guitar Lesson Review for 2012. By a mere glance and reading the brief descriptions, one can easily form an opinion.

Why learn how to play guitar with lessons the are difficult and stressful when simple video instruction can make it so much easier. One can use the guidance provided by the reviews to cut corners, avoid mistakes  and smartly make the right picks for the learn guitar DVD.