Learning how to play the guitar is not all that hard, it is getting started that is a problem. I know when I started, I had a lot of desire and very little else. I wanted to play guitar and I wanted to start today. Back in my day, it was pretty simple. My uncle played and a couple of cousins played, all I needed to do was ask them to teach me something. Well that and I needed a guitar. The answers to my questions came built-in to a plan that was obvious. If I had a question, I just asked Uncle Jet or my cousins. I didn't have a guitar or even know the correct way to hold one but no problem, Uncle Jet would help me find one. He knew everything about playing the guitar and would make sure i got exactly what i needed to start learning. That made it simple for me because my uncle was the only source of information I knew. I trusted him and so did my Mom and Dad. All I had to do to learn how to play the guitar was pay attention and do what he told me. I couldn't go wrong because when questions came up, Uncle Jet had the last say. I bet my mom and dad were glad Uncle Jet was around back then. Uncle Jet took care of everything. He gave me an old guitar that he had owned and showed me how to tune it and take care of it. Then he started by showing me a few cords and taught me my first few songs.
Learning how to play the Guitar today is no different from how it was back in the 60's, but wow, getting started sure has changed. I think it is wonderful that there are so many more opportunities and information available to everyone. Today we don't have to look very far to learn how to play the guitar. My favorite search engine returned over twenty billion results for that very phrase. My mind can barely contemplate that amount of anything. I think there is too many choices these days, surely there is enough to find anything you need, but it is seems a little confusing. When I focus on something I want, I forget to think about the things I need. I'm much too interested in the wanting, to be bothered with silly details about what I need. Back when I first wanted to play guitar, I didn't even know enough about the guitar to ask questions and I surely didn't know what I needed to get started. I think it is the same with young people now, they know what they want, but they usually don't consider what they need to get there. That supposedly comes with maturity although I am not too sure in my case.
I have a young friend that wants to learn how to play the guitar. I'm a close friend of the family and he felt comfortable bringing me an old guitar he had bought from a neighbor boy, so that I could look at it and tune it for him. It was about a week before Christmas and the old guitar had seen better days. It wasn't really worth fixing, the bridge was just about to let go of its hold on the guitar's face. It needed replacing and that is what I did. I bought a new starter Yamaha brand guitar at the music store as part of a Christmas special. The guitar was a very nice starter I checked it out and found it was well made for a starter. I had told Joe that I would help him get started learning the guitar. It really felt good to see that little face light up on Christmas Day. I thought about Uncle Jet.
After Christmas when things settled down we began to talk about his progress on the guitar. I had shown him a few cords and how to hold the guitar and the music teacher at school had taught him a few things but he wasn't making much progress. Joe is an active 11-year-old student who plays baseball, takes Karate, belongs to the science club and participates in a lot of school activities. He seemed a little disappointed that he wasn't making more headway learning his guitar. His situation was difficult because both parents worked and he had a very busy schedule himself, making it hard for him and I to get together regularly. I decided to try to find a method for Joe to learn how to play the guitar, that would fit his schedule better. Joe is a very bright youngster and likes to learn online and as an only child he has some time to himself and always has his iPad with him. Knowing this about Joe, I dove head long into the 20 billion search results to find the right venue for Joe to get the basics.
Uncle Jet's role has passed to me Uncle James and it has gotten a little more complicated with all the information to sort though. We did come up with a plan through a bit of consulting with my new student, we decided that for now Joe would learn the basics of how to play the guitar online at a pace that will fit his schedule and won't put extra burden on his Mom and Dad's schedule. He checks in with Uncle James regularly and we are making decent progress, mainly due to Joe's own initiative. He spends a lot of time online going over and over each lesson just as I told him he needed to do to teach this mind, eyes, ears, fingers, and hands. I am very proud of us both.
I have discovered just as I stated before, learning how to play the guitar is not much different today than it was back when I was learning. Getting started has indeed changed more than I care to think about sometimes, but you still need an Uncle Jet or Uncle James or someone to help get you started in the right direction and to keep you on track for a while until you are ready to solo. When my grand kids hear about this article and Joe learning how to play the guitar, I may become a very busy man. Oh by the way, while doing all that research online I found a few guitar tricks to enhance my playing. Check it out. You never stop learning get online and go!
James Bohannon is a webmaster/internet entrepreneur who manages and edits http://learn2-play-guitar.com/ and other websites.
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