I have been playing the guitar for 7 years now and I am still continuing to learn new things. There is a pretty large hump that all beginner guitar players go through before they can really start playing well. In my case, this hump took a year to get over. After that year however, I could learn songs within a few hours and have it memorized that very same day. Not only did I learn guitar, I also learned how to sing while playing.

So how did I learn to play? One word. YouTube.

There are so many beginner guides available on the Internet. YouTube has videos that you can follow and you can see how the other person is doing it. You can also learn at your own pace and you have the power to pause and replay videos. Of course, YouTube wasn’t my only teacher. I had a number of friends who were very into playing the guitar who taught me a few tips and tricks.

I started out learning chords and getting used to the weird position my left hand would get into. After mastering the positions of four chords (G, Em, C, and D) I started to learn how to strum. I started out with single strums for each chord and then progressed into two strums and then a steady four beat strum per chord. This was where YouTube came in handy because I would watch videos on different strumming patterns and how to do them.

From there, it was just a matter of dedicating a few hours every week to learning a song and I eventually got over the hump. Now, nothing relaxes me quite like playing the guitar and singing while lying on the grass or on the beach in the sun.

Here is a video that you can use if you’ve never picked up a guitar before!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jg-BRpn38L8

I use this website to look for chords for different songs
http://www.ultimate-guitar.com

-Jan Bartolome

Follow