Seniorstrummer

Here is where you start you new journey into the world of guitar playing, music and joy. This is a journey that will bring you joy and deep satisfaction It will be satisfying because you will have to work at it. Learning guitar is not easy regardless of all the ridiculous claims on-line teach regale you with. Empty promises. You cannot learn to play guitar in your sleep or in ten easy lessons. But working hard, keeping at, will take you on the journey of your late lifetime. My very best wishes to you as you get started and my encouragement that you ride out the plateaus, the chords you can’t strum, the G>C chord change, barre chords and other little challenges.

BUYING A GUITAR OR UKULELE

First all, very first of all. Don’t just buy any cheap guitar. In the low price range, even below $100, you can find a wide range of guitars. My first guitar was by a well known maker and was just crap. My wife hated and I came to hate it also. So, I went and spent $400 on a very good acoustic guitar. It’s amazing what $400 can buy you. However, eventually, I traded down to a $275 guitar simply because it sounded better to me, it felt better in my hands. That is it in this picture above. You can see in the background, I now have many stringed instruments. The little headstock you see sticking up from the bottom is a Portuguese instrument from Brazil, a cavatinho, which was the forerunner to the ukulele. But, another story.

Pay attention to your first guitar. If you are lucky enough to have a superb guitar shop in your area, great. Serious, responsible guitarist will really help you. There is a difference between a guitar shop and a guitar store. Guitar stores are generally music stores that sell guitars. Nothing wrong with that, everything right with it. Usually, you will find a knowledgeable, capable guitarist in the store who would love to help you and generally can. Go to superstores at your own risk. Where I live, we have a fabulous guitar shop, Schoenberg Guitars and an outstanding music store, Magic Flute.

Anyway, spend time on getting your first guitar. You will wind up buying others.

FINDING A TEACHER

Hardest part of getting started. I have been through four teachers and wound up quitting each one of them. There are lots and lots of good teachers around, but finding one the resonates with you, who gives you confidence and effectively guides you is difficult. Most of them are accustomed to teaching young kids who are for more malleable than you are. You have opinions, experience and biases and all those make a differences. Don’t be surprised if you go through two or three teachers.

Then, there are internet based teachers. Most them are excellent guitar players and have built a small company of web people to help them manage their sites and communicates. Coming soon is a list of the most popular and, in my opinion, competent sites. There are two or three really out-standing teachers for guitar and for ukulele. The challenge in using them is finding a coherent path. The serve everybody and nobody as the create excellent videos on particular aspects of learning. They do not work directly with you although the accept comments and questions general answered by “assistants.”

BOOKS

In the world of classical guitar, there are some truly outstanding books written for the beginner that provide a clear path that will take you from absolute beginner to