Various Ways to Learn How to Play an Acoustic Guitar

An acoustic guitar is such a beautiful sounding instrument and there are so many people that want to learn to play the guitar, but so many get discouraged because of many reasons. But fear not, because there are various ways to learn how to play and acoustic guitar. Don’t let blistered fingers discourage you!

Before we start, you need to have an acoustic guitar. If you don’t have your own, ask people you know if they have one you can borrow for a while. You may also use a pick, but if you don’t have one you can strum with your fingers. Using a pick is not as rough on your fingers, so might help you to be able to practice for longer if you use one.

The first step when learning to play an acoustic guitar is to make sure it is tuned correctly. If you don’t know how to tune your guitar either find someone who can, or you can purchase tuners at a music store.

Next is finding a resource that is suitable for you to teach you. There are various ways to learn how to play an acoustic guitar and finding the right method to teach you is key. You can get private lessons, ask a friend or relative that knows how to play to teach you, get books or go online. Learning online is an endless fountain of knowledge. You can get free information, or paid depending on what you are looking for. There are ebooks, tutorials, videos and many more ways online that can help you.

Now you must find a place you are comfortable in to play. Weather you are sitting or standing, your guitar must be supported. If you are sitting you can support it on your leg and if you are standing, you will need a strap to hold it up. For right handed players, you will need to place your left hand on the neck of the guitar over the frets, and your right hand will be on the strings over the sound hole.

Along with your hands, your ears are an important part of your body when it comes to playing the acoustic guitar. Listening to the music your guitar creates helps you not only keep in time, but also lets you know if you are in tune. It’s also important to use your eyes to be able to see where you are placing your fingers and read the chords, but for the blind they don’t have that option, yet many blind people can play the guitar beautifully. And you know why? Because they use their ears! I can’t stress how important it is to listen to the music you are playing.

The beautiful thing about the acoustic guitar is that it doesn’t need and amplifier to be heard. It is a whole instrument in itself. All it needs is someone to play it!

If you feel like you are getting nowhere with your guitar learning, start over. Go back to the basics. Memorize the basic chords until you know them with your eyes closed. There are a few chords that are used as building blocks for many songs and they are C, A, G, E, and D. You can find out how to play these notes free online if you don’t already know them.

And lastly, after considering all the various ways to learn how to play an acoustic guitar, keep on practicing. You have come this far. Don’t give up now. Everyone had to start somewhere. Just think you can only get better from here. But the main thing is to have fun while you’re learning!