I will start by saying this. Using a guitar instructor can be great for your development. There is no doubt that a good instructor can guide you to learning to play the guitar the right way, and can speed up the learning curve. However, this isn’t the right option for everyone, for a few reasons. Perhaps guitar lessons don’t fit in your budget. A good instructor usually does not come cheap. Even one lesson a week, for only half an hour, is going to cost upwards of $30 per lesson. That means one short lesson a week is going to run you $120 or more every month, which isn’t in the cards for everyone. Or perhaps you are struggling to fit a lesson into your schedule every week. It can be a lot easier to jam when it best fits your schedule. This is often later at night or on weekends, which doesn’t fit the schedule of your instructor. Due to these reasons and many others, there are a whole lot of people out there, like yourself, who want to teach themselves to play guitar at their pace.

The good news is, you can absolutely teach yourself guitar! It may have been hard to learn on your own time 20 years ago, but now great information is everywhere. The power of the internet has created an awesome database of resources for those who really want to learn. However, learning to really shred a guitar is a process. It takes a lot of hard work, determination, and proper technique. I hope you have the determination to make it happen, but we are here to help you with the proper theory & technique. Once you break out that guitar and start the learning process, here are a few tips to guide you along the way.

Learn the Right Way

Learning basic chords and playing along with popular songs is great, and a lot of fun. But if you really want to become an experienced guitar player you need to learn the instrument and proper techniques. If you just learn chords, you will quickly get stuck, eventually running out of options. This is why most people burn out after a few months to a year of learning the guitar. The much better option is to spend the time up front learning major scales, minor scales, note patterns, chords, power chords, guitar theory and much more. The best part is once you have mastered these concepts and the basics, you will learn new songs VERY quickly. In a few months you will be able to pick up new songs to add to your repertoire with ease. This is what really drives us here at Center Stage. Picking out a few YouTube videos of popular songs is a great addition to your learning schedule, but using a program like ours will teach you the real ins and outs of playing guitar. Not to mention, you will learn all of your favorite songs along the way.

Set a Schedule

The beauty of using an online program is that you can fit lessons into YOUR schedule. This means you can play late at night, after work, on the weekends, during a lunch break, in the morning, between classes, literally any time. Although this is great, I highly recommend setting aside some structured time to get into new lessons. Setting aside an hour or so a couple times a week is a good start. This gives you a structured base, and you can squeeze in all of your other learning time when your schedule allows. Many learning players like to spend a few hours a week going through the lesson progression, learning the basics, scales, and techniques. While spending some of their in between hours playing new riffs, chords, and favorite songs.

Find Friends and Enjoy the Journey

Learning guitar is fun. Playing guitar is a great way to stretch and improve yourself, and learn a new skill. You should absolutely enjoy the learning process. If you understand that becoming a master of the axe will take time and determination, it can be a great experience. Find a few friends or an online community of others that are learning as well. You don’t have to be as experienced as them, you can still jam together and learn new things off one another. This is one of the best ways to stay motivated on your guitar playing journey, and have a great time in the process.

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No matter what, keep on jamming. Click Here to join the community!