Learning the guitar can be a very daunting task and you may struggle to know where to start. Here are 7 tips to help you get over the initial hurdles all new guitar players experience.
1. Have your guitar professionally setup
You do not need an expensive guitar to learn how to play. However, you do want to set yourself up for success by ensuring that your guitar is in the best playing shape. Find a local guitar store and ask them to setup the guitar. This generally runs $50-$100 USD, if you buy your guitar at a local store, you may even ask if they will setup the guitar as part of the purchase (doesn’t hurt to ask!). Also check out our guide Preparing Your Guitar For Recording for more setup tips.
A guitar tech will need two pieces of information from you that you might not currently know the answer to. First, what tuning to setup the guitar for, and second, what string gauge to use.
Tuning – E-standard is the “standard” tuning for guitar and is a good place to start for a beginner. From E-standard you can easily tune down only the low E string to D for Drop-D which is another very popular tuning. However, when you start playing along to your favorite bands songs you will likely want to have your guitar setup to match that bands tuning.
String Gauge – The string gauge is just how thick the guitar strings are. the larger the number, the thicker (and also more difficult to play) the strings are. The standard gauge most guitars ship with are .010 or “10’s” and is a good place to start for most people.
Note: Be aware that large changes in tuning will require the guitar be setup again otherwise you will run into issues like “fretting out” or intonnation issues where the guitar sounds out of tune only when playing chords and notes higher on the neck.
2. Learn how to change your own strings
Guitar strings don’t last all that long, (strings like the D’Addario NYXL are coated to last longer, but also are more expensive). It is a good idea to learn how to string your own guitar.
How do you know when it is time to change strings? If you can see visible rust, or “gunk” building up on the strings it’s probably time to change them. Dead guitar strings will sound dull, and will have trouble staying in-tune.
Fender has a great video on how to string a guitar here
Guitars with floating bridges like the Floyd-rose are much more difficult to string than a standard fixed bridge to string. If you are choosing your first guitar it’s easiest to learn on a fixed bridge guitar (non-tremolo).
3. Lessons are not a requirement
In-person lessons can be great, however there are so many great free resources online to learn lessons are not a requirement. Below are a couple of great sites to get started, YouTube is also full of great channels:
4. Don’t get bogged down in theory
Music theory is a great skill to learn, but when starting out it can overwhelm new players and make playing the guitar feel like a chore. You can become a very good guitar player without knowing any theory at all. Get comfortable with actually playing the guitar first before digging to deep into theory. If you do decide to learn theory at the same time try to dedicate only a portion of your practice time to it.
5. It’s normal for your fingers to hurt when starting out
Unfortunately, the finger tips of your fretting hand will hurt when you are just starting out. There is really no way around it, it is an unavoidable part of being a guitar player. It’s important to keep playing to build calluses, however don’t over do it as it is easy to cause blisters. Make sure to give your hands time to rest. Bleeding/blisters/etc. are signs that you are pushing yourself too hard.
Another tip, don’t press down super hard. Practice applying only the amount of pressure when fretting notes where the note rings out. Pressing too hard will cause fatigue, soreness, and potentially injuries if done long term.
6. Tune your guitar often
Out of tune guitars sound bad. Like real bad. Get a cheap clip on tuner and get in the habit of tuning every time you pickup the guitar.
7. Learn how to read tabs
Unless you have an amazing ear tablature is a must learn skill for guitarists. Most guitar parts are written as tabs as it maps to the guitar fretboard much better than standard music notation. It’s very easy to learn and you can learn the basics in under 10 minutes.
Popular tab sites:
www.songsterr.com
BONUS TIP: Keep it fun
It’s normal to be really excited when learning a new instrument only to have that interest fade quickly because you do not feel like you are making progress. It’s great to learn scales and take classes, however take some time to learn some fun and easy songs. You don’t even really need to learn the full song, just learn some memorable riffs that you can fall back on when you are bored of learning. This will keep you playing, help give you a sense of achievement, and motivate you to keep going!
Some of the first songs I learned on guitar were the intro to Fade to Black by Metallica, and Santa Monica by Everclear. Here are some more ideas to get you started.
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