We have all heard it a hundred times before: the Internet is a vast base of information. It is an unprecedented collection of professional and amateur documentation and advice. Chances are virtually every topic ever has been discussed in some form on the Internet. Well, lucky for us guitars are a very popular topic and there is an endless supply of learning material for beginners on the Internet. I am one of the thousands of people who are living proof that you can learn to play guitar using only yourself and the Internet.

What you will need to learn guitar on the Internet

Everyone’s situation is going to be different. Some people may have some musical experience under their belt already. In their case, learning the musical theory behind the guitar might be a good course to take. For someone like myself who didn’t know squat about music before I picked up the guitar, diving straight into learning songs was the best method. Learning songs allowed me to get a taste for music and made me want to learn more. When learning songs I would be required to study new chords and practice them in order to play the song. This is how my playing progressed. Eventually you will want to write music or play with others and you will get into things like scales and keys.

Regardless of whether you have previous knowledge or not you will need some basic personality traits to teach yourself to play guitar.

1. Patience - Learning any instrument requires patience. Because there is both a mental and a physical aspect to playing the guitar practice is essential. It won’t come easy and sometimes there will be things you wont be able to play.
2. Determination - Learning chords, scales, picking techniques, and fingering techniques will take regular practice. Since you will be learning on your own, you will require the determination to teach yourself these skills.
3. Passion - Finally you will need an interest or a passion to play. If you aren’t passionate about playing what is the point of learning at all? Passion can be the number one factor in determining the speed that you learn.

How much of each of those qualities you need depends on what level of playing you wish to achieve. Metal guitar gods like Zakk Wylde and Alexi Laiho have said that they would spend up to 12 hours a day practicing their playing. Their level of playing is a direct result of that determination.

How I learned to play guitar

I would consider myself an experienced guitarist. I have strengths in a lot of areas, but like every other guitarist there is always something new to learn. It didn’t happen over night. However after 8 years I am playing at a level now that I didn’t even know was possible when I started. Here is how I learned to play the guitar.

Continue reading How to use the Internet to Learn to Play the Guitar

When learning songs from written sources like instruction books or online files there are three main forms of written music for the guitar. The three types are chords, tablature, and music notation. Each form brings its own advantages and each form is a bit more complex than the last.

Chords

Probably the simplest form of documenting a song is through chords. The chord progression for the chorus, verse, and bridge of a song is written out for the player to read and play. The advantages to chord files are they are simple and usually show you when the chords are played in relation to the lyrics. Singing guitarists may find this the easiest method of learning a song.
Continue reading Chords vs Tabulature vs Music Notation

The Guitar Shred Show lessons site takes a unique approach at teaching guitar players how to shred. The site has a flashed base interface and is all in a video form. We follow the path of Mr. Fastfinger who teaches us to shred by example. It’s really easy, you just press a key between A and Z or 1 and 0 and Mr. Fastfinger will demonstrate a different lick for you. Along the bottom of the screen the lick is shown in tab form for you to learn as well. The really fun part is you can make your own shredding solo by pressing different keys from A to Z in succession. Mr. Fastfinger will move from riff to riff creating a wicked guitar solo.

It’s fun for quite a while actually. There is even a story mode where you have to dual with an evil tribe god to win the praise of the village people.

iRocker is a little program for your iPod that has a whole bunch of essential guitarist tools. The software package comes complete with a guitar tuner, chord dictionary, scales, metronome and riffs practice program. The chord directory has over 200 essential chords with correct fingering illustrations. It even lets you hear the chord. The tuner has settings for standard, drop D, half-step down, among others. Another cool feature is the riffs. It plays five different chord progressions that you can jam along with to help improve your soloing technique. Best of all, it runs for a cool $30.

Continue reading Learn Chords from your iPod with iRocker