When I first set out to learn to play guitar, I read every book I could get my hands on. Actually, when I started playing guitar, reading books or watching VHS tapes was about the only way to learn to play guitar for someone who was better at teaching himself than going to a private teacher (and, of course, I couldn’t afford a private teacher). Whether I wanted to learn new chords or learn to play scales, guitar books were the way to go. The books could be costly, but buying them was much less expensive than paying for a teacher.
Books were my friend. I remember buying the book “Guitar for Dummies.” The great thing about that book is that it really wasn’t guitar lessons for dummies. Like all those dummy books, it was simply written in an easy to understand format, without all the dry stuff that make instructional books boring.
While “Guitar for Dummies” didn’t really offer guitar lessons for dummies, it did offer valuable information that even a beginner could wrap their minds around. That’s the really cool thing about the world we live in today. The Internet is a vast library of everything we need to learn guitar. Video websites like Youtube provide lessons on everything from jazz guitar scale and chord lessons to country picking techniques and two-handed rock soloing. You can check these videos out on Youtube any time, day or night, all free of charge. That’s like having a music teacher at your disposal all the time.
Non-video websites offer killer lessons too. Picking exercises and scale study exercises (comparison of pentatonic and harmonic minor scale) like the ones below can be found without much effort. These are just a couple of examples of what you can find online. The Internet offers everything from simple instructions about how to take care of your guitar to how to play advanced chords and scales.
Guitar tab websites are popular and abundant too. When I started playing guitar, I had to buy books to learn songs or learn to play them by ear. That’s not the case anymore. Just about any song you want to play has been notated for guitar players in tablature and is available online free. Not only that, but you can find video instruction that teaches you how to play specific songs or how to play various musical genres.
Guitar lessons for dummies are everywhere these days. Don’t take offense at the word “dummies.” Just take advantage of the free guitar lessons.
