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Hobby Guide: Learning How to Play Guitar

I write as a person who always made a joke out of the word “boredom.” My favorite cure for when I’m bored and one my favorite hobbies is to play the guitar. This great hobby is a wonderful thing to do when you’re bored! It will kill all sorts of time, as long as you put the effort into it! Learning guitar isn’t just about picking up a new hobby and instrument. It’s continuous learning that will keep you busy!

selling items on Craigslist, selling a guitar

Why Should You Be Learning Guitar

There are so many benefits to learning how to playing guitar, it would be a travesty to list them all! Unfortunately, I’m going to do just that for you!

If you’re bored and looking for something to do, it’s a great time killer. It really is! You spend time learning guitar, followed by practicing songs you learned, researching new songs, learning new techniques, talking to other musicians and all sorts of other great things that can be associated with playing guitar.

Heck, you might even impress a girl (or boy you adventurous girl you!).

Maybe you start learning guitar and you realize that not only do you enjoy it, but you’re AWESOME at it! Maybe you can achieve the dream of joining or creating your own band! Maybe you can post videos to YouTube and get a whole bunch of adoring fans. The possibilities are endless.

For me personally? I play for the enjoyment of playing. I’m NOT good, but I still enjoy it! I’m a fan of music, so the fact I can learn a new song or play something simple really does tickle my fancy.

The Story of a Beginner Learning Guitar Player

Let’s assume that you’re an absolute beginner when learning guitar. Let’s also assume that you’re bored and don’t know what to do with your spare time. Maybe you would like to take on a new project. You may like to try your hand at learning a musical instrument.

You probably have a favorite band that you obsess over right? Why not make some sweet, sweet music just like your favorite band!

The choice of learning the guitar, as a new project, is really quite a practical one. For a start, they’re readily available, relatively cheap to buy and
easy to carry around. Also, a lot of people play, so it is easy to find someone to talk to and communicate with – an instant boredom reliever.

The guitar also stands nicely on a stand in a room. It’s easy to pick up and start playing on those occasions when you actually are bored. When you’ve got some time to kill, or if your waiting for a friend to call around, why not strum a few nice sounding chords?

Step 1: Find the Right Guitar for You

As a beginner, learning guitar is cheaper when you borrow a guitar rather than buy one. However, most musicians don’t like lending out their good quality
instruments. So the first step is to go out and purchase one. It’s best to take a friend with you – someone who knows how to play. It’s an entire day’s fun
to go around and visit the different music stores. Visiting a music shop is never boring.

Chose what style you wish to play and decide whether you need an acoustic, electric or classical guitar. The salesman will try and sell you a good quality
instrument. Don’t chose the cheapest. If you buy a better guitar you will be able to produce better sounds – right from the beginning. Remember: You only
get what you pay for.

Many seasoned guitar players highly recommend starting with an acoustic guitar. The reason behind this is a fairly simple one: the strength of the strings.

Acoustic guitars are harder to play in theory, as the strings are harder to push down to the fret board. Well, you might ask why that’s a benefit rather than a deterrent! Learning to play guitar is all about shaping your hand to form the correct note. If you learn to make these shapes on an acoustic guitar rather than an electric guitar (which is easier to play), you’ll train your hand to make these shapes much easier!

Once you have proudly taken the guitar home, don’t get too excited and start thinking that you will instantly find fame and fortune as a rock star. Some
people are naturals and learn quickly, but generally speaking, it takes years to master playing. It’s a life-long project.

Look at learning as an enjoyable experience. What makes a successful player is that they do the work, have a sense of always improving and have a resulting experience of happiness. Looking at guitar playing as a way of keeping busy, and relieving boredom, also makes for a successful player.

Check out a listing of great guitars on Amazon!

Step 2 – Learning How to Play the Guitar

All the successful musicians have a background in music. They were introduced to the art form of sound at a very
early age and their families and friends all played. They were in a musical group right from the day they were born. Even when they are not playing, music
is still always on their sub-conscious mind.

Consequently, we can assume that the best way to learn is from your friends or by getting into a musical group. It’s also the cheapest. Communication in a
group gives you something to do, and again, relieves the condition of boredom. The joy of communicating about a mutually pleasurable topic such a music is
exciting. It provides many happy experiences. Children and teenagers, who don’t as yet have set ways, find it easier to learn. However, there is no reason
why a mature adult can’t learn how to play.

Online Guides for Learning Guitar

There are many self-help tuition sites on the internet and many books available from sites such as Amazon. They weren’t around when I was learning, and the
volume of resources available now days is staggering.

For instance, it only takes a few weeks to just teach yourself three basic chords, and the number
of suitable songs, published on the net, is almost never ending.

It makes for a great research project.

Obviously, if you go to YouTube you will find plenty of online guides of people showing you how to play the guitar. However if you want a more directed approach, you can try learning from some other websites as well.

Great Websites with Free Lessons for Learning Guitar:

Again, the easiest and cheapest way of learning guitar is from your friends or by joining a musical group. However, some people like the discipline of formal lessons and go to a teacher. I always find that the best tutors are the ones that give freely of their time and hand you all their knowledge on a silver platter.

They have the ability to explain things and do a lot of the hard work for you. I always found it difficult when I had a teacher, who was guarded about
sharing his intellectual property, and who expected me to work out everything for myself.

Now that you have made a start, it’s happy learning and happy playing. Again, remember that what makes a successful player is that they spend the time, and
do the work. They also have a sense of improvement and a resulting experience of happiness.

It means a lot more to them than just a hobby to relieve boredom.

Speaking for myself, I always leave my guitar out of its case – standing in my room. When I get bored I always pick it up and play – even if it’s only for
a period of ten minutes or less. Playing guitar for short periods of ten minutes sure adds up to a lot of practice. It’s another great way of whiling away the hours.

Playing guitar beats being bored and twiddling my thumbs waiting for a new or exciting project to land in my lap. You have to be proactive when looking for things to do when you’re bored! If you have the itch to play guitar, this hobby and skill is a great way to pass the time and bring some much-needed excitement into your life!

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