Guys and girls,
Success or failure (as relates to becoming a musician) is all relative. There are people who pick up the guitar with the ambition to become the next Steve Vai, John Mayer, or Andreas Segovia, and they usually end up horribly disappointed.
Similarly, there are guys who begin playing the guitar with the expressed ambition to become famous, impress their friends, and mainly to hook up with the ladies. And with the possible exception of Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley, the lion’s share of those fellows also find themselves on the short end of the stick.
I guess what I am saying is that it’s best to set your sights on goals that are reasonable and healthy:
“I want to learn how to play this guitar so that I may have a fun, creative outlet” is a fair ambition.
“I want to learn how to play this guitar so that I can become famous and revered throughout the world, and within two years I want to kick Eric Clapton’s butt off the stage at Madison Square Garden” is not.
My recommendation is to become that guy who becomes reasonably proficient at a given instrument, has fun playing tunes for friends and family at parties, and has the opportunity to sit in on gigs at clubs and bars every now and then.
I also recommend that you not set your sights on becoming a working musician, i.e., a fellow who makes his living purely from the guitar craft. It’s not that becoming a working musician is not a noble endeavor, it’s more an issue that it’s such a long shot. The music industry is extremely competitive, political, and there are a lot of starving artists out there who have spent years trying to make it big, only to realize that the ‘day job’ is what is ultimately going to pay the bills.
That said, here is my heartfelt advice on the technical aspects of ‘learning to play the guitar’:
* Professional lessons are a really good start. Work with the instructor to set reasonable goals though, and do not stick with a teacher with whom you don’t click. You’ll know right away whether you and the guitar instructor are speaking the same language, and if the relationship isn’t working, go find another teacher.
* Have fun first and foremost. Intersperse scales and chord-transition drills with simple lessons aimed at allowing you to play songs that you know and love. (If I was asked to go home and learn “
Old McDonald Had A Farm”, I would kick that instructor’s ass.) If within a month or two you have learned to play at least two songs that you would enjoy listening to on the radio, then you are going to be enjoying yourself, and you will more likely stick with it.
* Your basic guitar should be of a reasonable quality, and the action (the effortless playability of your fingers onto the frets up and down the neck of the guitar) is
paramount. Way too many beginners scrimp on the cost of the instrument, and cheap guitars are incredibly difficult to form or phrase chords on. The action, or height of the strings above the frets, is just too great. If pressing your fingers into the neck becomes a chore, then you will likely give up after a short period of time.
* Cinch the guitar strap up to where your guitar is centered on your navel, not hung low down by your Johnson. While you are learning the fundamentals, it is important that the angle of your wrist and fingers allows you to play barre chords comfortably and without distortion of your tendons and connective tissue. (Hanging the guitar down low, a la Jimmy Page or Slash may look cool in the rock videos, but it is no way to try and learn the instrument.) If the guitar isn’t comfortably and ergonomically-centered on your body, you just won’t be able to learn the thing.
* Set aside a certain amount of time each day for practice. Practice and repetition leads to comfortable, instinctive proficiency. Nothing comes easy, and it takes a lot of work at first.
* Play with as many experienced guitarists as you possibly can. The more players you are exposed to, the more hooks, tricks, and techniques you will learn. Everybody will have advice, and almost everybody will be able to show you something really cool that nobody else thought to show you. Good players will be eager to guide you along, and most are willing to spend time with someone who is genuinely willing to learn.
* Learn the fundamentals before you become addicted to the toys, effects, stomp boxes, and digital effects processors. There are a LOT of cool toys out there that can alter the sound of the notes coming out of your guitar, but they can become a crutch if you let them. Most great songs are written on a simple acoustic guitar. Later on, they may be recorded as blistering, effects-laden art-rock speed/death-metal anthems, but they usually started out as a good tune on somebody’s old wooden box guitar.
* If you hit the wall, then put the instrument down for a day or so and walk away from it. If you are doing something wrong, there is no amount of repeating that wrong thing that is going to make it right. Go get some fresh air, seek some advice from anther player, and then go back to it later on with a fresh perspective.
* Never stop learning. No matter how many songs you eventually write or learn to play, and no matter how many lead-guitar playing hooks and tricks you become proficient at, there is always something else to be learned and absorbed. Read the interviews with the greatest musicians out there; they will all admit that they’ve still got a long way to go to get to where they want to be. Be humble.
* Hit the internet. There are a LOT of really good websites that offer guitar song tablature, lyrics, and even mini-lessons. The internet has a wealth of free information and wisdom for student musicians, so don’t be tricked into signing up for anything, and above all, do NOT shell out any money.
Oh well, that’s all I can think of for now.
Have fun with it, first and foremost. I know that it’s been a great source of joy to me (for the past 35 years or so, anyway).
more posts...