Beginner
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Welcome Beginners!
When you're just starting an instrument it can be quite daunting, but don't be intimidated, help is at hand!
If you're seeking online tutorial info that covers the core materials that beginning guitar players of any style should try to absorb to best prepare for the intermediate phase and beyond, you should begin with Justin Sandercoe at the link below:
https://www.justinguitar.com/
Justin has spent over two decades crafting a carefully organised selection of online document and video-based lesson resources, all organised into course structures catering for various student levels. He is well respected (note the nod's from well-known players on his home page), very knowledgeable, and dedicated to the art of teaching guitar...which is essential in a tutor, as the ability to play guitar does not automatically qualify one to teach others. He also provides the bulk of his course material for free, although if you can afford to donate to his cause I would encourage you to do so.
If you’re itching to make music with your guitar right away, do jump directly to the ‘Grade 1’ course on Justin's site if you can’t wait, but I strongly encourage you to go through the ‘Before you Begin: Guitar Basics’ Tutorial video on the page first - it will make your first attempts at playing sound much better!
*You may ask at this point: Do I have to read music to play the guitar?
The short answer is no, you don’t, and many great and famous player’s can’t either. You’ll be able to utilise most of the material on JustinGuitar.com and on this site without reading music if you want to. However, when you’re beginning guitar, it is also the best time to learn to read proper sheet music and the benefits are many, as summarised below:
That being said, I do not try to force it on anyone, and the musical pieces and technique exercises in Justin's website and this one are presented in TAB as well as traditional sheet music, and of course verbally in many of the videos too.
And with that I urge you to begin your journey with the guitar, the most satisfying and rewarding instrument of them all - persevere and it will change your life!
When you're just starting an instrument it can be quite daunting, but don't be intimidated, help is at hand!
If you're seeking online tutorial info that covers the core materials that beginning guitar players of any style should try to absorb to best prepare for the intermediate phase and beyond, you should begin with Justin Sandercoe at the link below:
https://www.justinguitar.com/
Justin has spent over two decades crafting a carefully organised selection of online document and video-based lesson resources, all organised into course structures catering for various student levels. He is well respected (note the nod's from well-known players on his home page), very knowledgeable, and dedicated to the art of teaching guitar...which is essential in a tutor, as the ability to play guitar does not automatically qualify one to teach others. He also provides the bulk of his course material for free, although if you can afford to donate to his cause I would encourage you to do so.
If you’re itching to make music with your guitar right away, do jump directly to the ‘Grade 1’ course on Justin's site if you can’t wait, but I strongly encourage you to go through the ‘Before you Begin: Guitar Basics’ Tutorial video on the page first - it will make your first attempts at playing sound much better!
*You may ask at this point: Do I have to read music to play the guitar?
The short answer is no, you don’t, and many great and famous player’s can’t either. You’ll be able to utilise most of the material on JustinGuitar.com and on this site without reading music if you want to. However, when you’re beginning guitar, it is also the best time to learn to read proper sheet music and the benefits are many, as summarised below:
- Music reading makes understanding music theory much easier, and both reading and theory lead to better understanding of the instrument you play.
- Music reading allows you to communicate efficiently with a much wider variety of musicians in a universal language.
- Once you start to get the hang of it, which happens sooner than you might think, you can play a much wider variety of material at any given time, as the pressure for memorisation is not all on your capacity to remember songs from start to finish. Even without being a great ‘sight reader’, casual familiarity with how the pieces of music you play look in their printed form will help greatly in remembering how to play them.
- If you progress to studying music with any serious intent at school or university in future, the ability to read music is an essential component that you’ll need to understand.
- Contrary to what some people believe, practicing sight reading actually helps with improvisation if both are worked on regularly. Sight-reading music forces you to develop instantaneous fret/note familiarity, thus making it easier to choose appropriate notes for the key or chord you're playing over when improvising, so you're not overly locked into scale patterns.
- If you become a professional guitar player in future, the ability to read music will make you much more versatile and employable.
- Practicing sight-reading is really, really good for your brain - use it or lose it!
That being said, I do not try to force it on anyone, and the musical pieces and technique exercises in Justin's website and this one are presented in TAB as well as traditional sheet music, and of course verbally in many of the videos too.
And with that I urge you to begin your journey with the guitar, the most satisfying and rewarding instrument of them all - persevere and it will change your life!