Deciding to play any musical instrument is a great choice and will enhance your
life more than you can imagine. The sense of pride you will feel once you can play
your first song is amazing. And being able to impress your family and friends is
an added bonus.

The first step in learning is to get yourself a guitar you can practice on. You
may want to buy your own, or you can ask anyone you know if they have one you can
borrow. The down side to borrowing a guitar is that you get used to playing that
guitar, then eventually have to give it back. If you can afford to buy a new
guitar, you can find second hand guitars online or at a pawn shop. The great thing
about second hand guitars is that you don’t have to worry about scratching it.
Usually older guitars are already “Weathered” and have the “authentic” look
already.

The next decision you have to make is what style of guitar you want to learn to
play. Do you want electric or acoustic? To decide this, you need to consider the
style of music you want to play on your guitar. Are you into heavy rock music? If
you are then an electric guitar would probably suit your style better. If you are
more into John Meyer then an acoustic would probably be more for you. This is not
always the case, so you can always try both styles to see what you are more
comfortable playing. The one great benefit from playing an acoustic guitar is that
you can bring it with you anywhere you go. You don’t have to plug it in like and
electric, and you don’t need an amp to be able to hear what you are playing.

The final element on learning and mastering the guitar is to find yourself an
audience. If you know someone that can actually play the guitar, then ask them if
you can play to them once or twice a week. Have them critique you. Tell you the
good points of your playing, and also the things you need to work on. Its good to
have someone who has already mastered the guitar as they will be able to see your
mistakes that a “non-guitar player” wont see. But if you don’t know anyone that can
play, ask a friend or someone in your family that you know will be honest with you.

Now you have the main components that will help you while learning the guitar,
next you need to actually start playing. You now have the guitar that you are
going to learn on. Your next step is to make sure you are holding your guitar
correctly. Sitting is the most common position to be in when playing the guitar,
but some may find standing easier. You decide which is best for you. If you are
choosing the sitting position, you will need to rest the body of the guitar on your
leg. Your right hand will be your strumming hand (if you are a right handed
player, and opposite if you are left handed) and your left will the hand that will
move to play the notes. Make sure you have a good posture while playing so you
don’t strain any muscles.

Weather you have decided to learn through books, DVD’s or online courses, make
sure you are following all the steps that are given to you. Don’t skip ahead. They
are written that way for a reason. If you practice you can master the guitar in no
time, just take your time and do it right the first time.

Once you know the basic chords, choose one or two EASY songs that you want to learn
to play. Don’t start off by choosing a hard song. This will only disappoint you
when you have a hard time mastering them. Choose a song that has only a few
chords. Many songs are written with a variation of 3 or 4 basic chords. Start
with these then work your way to more challenging ones.

If you are an OK singer you should practice doing so while you play. This will
assist you in timing and knowing when chord changes are needed.

Never give up. You made the choice to learn to play the guitar and no-one said it
would be easy. Now only you can decide if you are going to follow through on that.
Your fingers will be sore at first, but that’s a sign of determination and great
practice. Eventually they will build up callouses and no longer be painful.

If you follow all these elements on learning and mastering the guitar, in no time
you will be challenging yourself with more and more difficult songs.

A chord is a combination of single notes that are played together on the six strings
of your guitar. When you put several chords together, you produce a melody. On a
guitar, a chord can be made up of one single note on one string or several put
together on two or more of the strings, and strummed or plucked at the same time.

There are 5 basic chords that almost every guitarist started out learning. C,A,G,E
and D. Learning to play the chords listed here is a great place for you to start
too. Mastering these five chords will enable you to play the harder chords down
the road with greater ease. You can find out how these chords are formed online or
from a chord chart that you can purchase from any music store.

Once you have your chord chart, knowing how to actually read it is the next step.
Its not as hard as it looks. The Chord chart is instructions in picture form
teaching you exactly where to put your fingers on the fret board. Think of your
guitar in the upright position. This is how you will be reading the chord chart.
The top line is the very top of your guitar. The lines going down are your 6
strings, left to right (or top to bottom if you were holding your guitar in the
position of playing). The dots on the strings represent the string and fret where
you need to place your finger. For example, when you play A major, you will need 3
fingers. They are all placed on the second fret on the third, fourth and fifth
strings (D,G, and B string). Now you have your fingers in the right place, strum!

In the beginning it is really hard to play for long periods of time. This is
because the tips of your fingers get very sore. Don’t worry because this happens
to all beginners. If you are playing your chords correctly you will be pressing
with the tips of your fingers, and this can be painful after a short time of
practice. Keep going though. Eventually you will build up callouses on your
finger tips that will enable you to play for greater lengths without any pain!
Hang in there!

If you are hearing a buzzing sound from your strings when you strum and are having
trouble making your chords sound clean, there are a few things that you may need to
improve on. The first is to check the length of your finger nails. If they are
too long, you wont be able to press the tips of your fingers down hard enough on
the string.

Another thing to be aware of when you are playing is to make sure that you use the
very tip of your finger. If you play with your finger laying on the string, there
is a chance you may hit other strings. This will mute the other strings and make
the chord not sound correct. This is one of the hardest things to do when you
first start playing the guitar.

Make sure you are pressing the strings down firmly. Once you have your fingers in
the correct position, strum all the strings at the same time. You are now playing
a chord!

The last thing which is equally as important as the others, is to give yourself
time. You will not be an expert in a day, so stay focused, keep practicing, and
learning to play the chords will get easier every day.

There are two common ways that most people use to learn to play the guitar when they don’t want to pay for lessons. The first way is look around you. Is there anyone you know that plays the guitar? Maybe a close friend, colleague, someone in your class or even your significant other? When trying to find someone you know to help you, make sure they are someone who is patient and willing to spend a good amount of time working with you. After all Rome wasn’t built in a day, and you wont learn to play guitar in one either!

Another method to finding basic guitar lessons for free is to use the resources available to you. There are many tools online that can help you to learn to play the guitar. The advantage with doing online learning is that you can practice at will. No one else’s schedule to work around, but your own. When you feel you need more work on certain things, you can take the time to practice those skills and not feel a burden to anyone else. And if you want to learn for multiple hours a day, or rest if you need to, then that’s your call. You are your own tutor.

I have outlined 5 steps below to get you well on your way to learning guitar.

1. The first thing is essential in learning to play guitar. You actually NEED a guitar. If you can’t afford your own, ask friends and family to see if anyone has one you can borrow until you decide if you want to buy your own. Also you will need a pick (or you can strum with your fingers, that’s your call), a stool or chair (whatever you are comfortable on), and mostly dedication and time. Once you have all these things, learn the different parts of your guitar.

2. If you have never played the guitar before, chances are your fingers will be a little tense. So move your fingers. Do what ever you think will help them not feel “stiff”. If your fingers are tense, your notes will not flow correctly. The more you practice, the easier it will get.

3. Once you are comfortable with your guitar, learning the chords is your next step. Start off with the basic chords. Probably the easiest chords to begin with are C, Cm, and C7. D, Dm, D7. E, Em, E7. F, Fm, F7. G, Gm, G7. A, Am, A7. B, Bm, B7. You can find the finger placements for these chords online for free. Once you master these chords you will have a great start in playing many songs as these are some of the easier chords that are widely used by many musicians.

4. Once you are more familiar with the chords, you need to practice strumming. Listen to the song you are trying to play and how they strum. Play along with the radio until you get the hang of it, and then try it alone. It is alot easier to strum than to pluck, so don’t jump ahead of yourself. You can try the strumming pattern of “down, down, up, up, down, up…” to help you when you start.

5. Finally the last and most important step is to practice. You are not going to become a famous musician over night, but if you practice enough, you will get better. Have a personal goal you want to reach and try to stick to that (like playing your favorite song within the next 6 months). Don’t set your expectations too high. And have fun! That’s why you wanted to play in the first place right?

In conclusion, there are several resources around you that will help you get basic guitar lessons for free. Now the rest is up to you.