Learning Guitar Online, the Right Way

[Lester Mcmahon]

When learning guitar online it is important that you use a guitar
teaching website that provides you with a wide range of options:
options on guitar type, on style of play and even options on the
guitar teacher you want to use.
Without these options you would be just as well purchasing a guitar
learning DVD because you would otherwise be left with no options just
as with most DVDs. The reason for needing options is that most people
start learning guitar the same way. They have their own guitar,
whether it is an acoustic, classical or electrical guitar in various
designs, and they learn the rudiments using that.
Most budding guitarists are shown how to hold their guitar and how to
use the left and right hands. They then learn a few basic chords and
then some scales. After a while they can all pretty well play the same
way, but then start to divert into their own particular styles. Thus,
a rock or heavy metal guitar teaching course will teach the player
some of the techniques needed to play good guitar riffs, such as
hammer ons and pull offs, and then perhaps move on to scales such as
the pentatonic scale that is used in many riffs and guitar solos.
However, a classical guitarist would learn more scales and chords, and
concentrate on fingerpicking as opposed to using the plectrum, or
guitar pick, that heavy metal guitarists use. They would also move on
to guitar harmonics a bit earlier, and generally branch out into a
totally different guitar playing style altogether. Where having an
option is important is when a guitarist tries another style and likes
it, and then decides to switch styles during the course.
To do that with a DVD course would involve extra expenditure, although
it is unlikely that you would switch styles since the option wouldn't
be there with a DVD. The same is true of a guitar learning book or a
book and CD. You have got to have the option there before you are
tempted to try something different, and because of the lack of
options, many guitarists could be playing in a style that doesn't
totally suit their nature or abilities, simply because the chose a
style because it looked glamorous.
If you take a good online subscription guitar learning site, you have
many options available. You can learn rock guitar: standard rock,
heavy metal or even just a popular style of playing. Alternatively,
you have lessons in various styles of acoustic guitar, such as
country, bluegrass, traditional fingerpicking, Hawaiian slack key and
whatever else might be on offer. You will also likely have the option
of jazz guitar, but the point I am making is that you won't
necessarily set off on one of these styles when you first pick up a
guitar.
You won't suddenly get into jazz guitar from the start, but will find
that you like a certain style of play once you get to know your chosen
instrument. You might start off with a cheap acoustic guitar, and
learn a few chords and some scales and find that you like certain
sounds. You might find that you are a natural at fast riffs, or that
you prefer a smoother more melodious style of play. You could fall in
love with the keying used in slack key, where you tune your guitar to
play your chords or scales as open (unfretted) as possible.
However, to try all these you must have the opportunity and that's
what a good online guitar learning site can offer you. Learning guitar
online is more than just playing in any old style, or the first that
you come across, but choosing what suits you best, and even choosing
the guitar teacher that suits you best.
You can start off with a teacher that is very good at showing you the
basics, regardless of the style you will eventually choose. Once you
know how a guitar works, and how its various components can affect
your sound, and you can play one or two scales, a few chords and know
how to use a pick, you can try one or two different musical sounds and
styles. A little jazz, a bit of bluegrass and perhaps some rock or
heavy metal, and compare them. Then go for it. Go for what you like
best. You have a lot of styles to choose from.
A good online guitar membership site will also offer a full library of
chords and scales that you ca learn, and lots of music tracks that you
play to. You will also be taught how to sing and play at the same
time, which is a skill that has to be learned, and also how to perform
in front of an audience. You might also have to learn to play standing
up - there are many new guitarists that learn to play guitar sitting
down, then find it totally different when standing up with a belt
round their neck.
Many guitarists believe that learning guitar online from a guitar
membership site is the best and easiest way to learn guitar, and if
you find a good site then you will have the best possible start in
your quest to become the next Hendrix or Clapton.