Learning how to play the Guitar is Easier Than You

Learning how to play the Guitar is Easier Than You Think

It certainly seems like everyone is interested in learning how to play the guitar, and for good reason. Learning how to play the guitar provides the ability to express yourself, interact with your favorite songs and bands, possibly create your own band, and, of course, it looks really cool. Perhaps most important, the ladies really seem to dig it. And the best part? Learning how to play the guitar takes very little musical ability; it's easier than you think.
Unlike other musical instruments, playing the guitar does not mean reading sheet music. Instead, you can play at least 95% of songs by learning tablature. Tablature is a different sort of code for representing musical arrangements with a specific grid. This grid will correspond to each of the six strings, and the various frets that run up the neck of the guitar. From there, one simply needs to place a finger at each grid spot, start strumming, and all of a sudden music!
As someone who has played numerous instruments, I can tell you that learning how to play the guitar was the quickest and easiest. The guitar is one of few instruments that are designed to play by itself many other instruments like saxophones and violins are designed to play as part of an ensemble, orchestra or group. A guitar can be played alone to complete a full musical experience.
One thing that I would recommend is finding someone who already plays the guitar. When I first learned in college, I had a friend living down the hallway who already was pretty good. At first, I struggled a little bit with the tablature, but I quickly got the hang of it. We'd practice in the dorm room until I got the hang of it. He would show me tricks and it was easy to understand the tablature by watching him try a chord first, and then mimicking what he would do. Once we got pretty good, we'd go hang out in the quad and jam. This may or not may have been how I got several dates.
If you don't know anyone who already plays, learning how to play the guitar doesn't have to be cumbersome. There's plenty of web sites out there with thousands of free guitar taulature. I would also recommend checking out some of the play-a-long DVD's. I found it helpful to watch someone else's fingers find the right position, rather than translate the tablature on my own. But after a couple of weeks, I could play any tabulature without watching someone else do it. That's how easy learning how to play the guitar is.