Learn To Play Guitar With These 5 Keys

Have you ever wondered what it takes to learn to play guitar? I’m not talking about struggling to finger a chord and then spending several painful seconds to move to the next chord. I mean what does it take to play with the freedom and confidence you can’t help but admire when you see someone who has got it? Well, I may not be able to offer you the proverbial “quick fix”, but there is a tried and true path. In this lesson I’ll explain the 5 keys to playing real guitar.

Key#1 – Develop Good Habits Early

When I first started learning to play guitar, like most people I wanted to learn my favorite songs, or more to the point of my favorite song licks. I found over the years that if I develop good habits it’s much easier and more fun to learn whatever I want to learn. There are two important habits to learn early on.

 To learn to play guitar the first basic habit is good basic technique. I'm talking about practicing the things that will allow you to move easily and freely around the guitar. Usually that means specific exercises that focus in on specific issues. This will allow you to put your energy on what you really need to work on.

 The second and most important habit is developing the habit of practicing. Making time on a regular basis to practice is critical to not only learn to play guitar but also to becoming successful at any skill.

Key #2 – Use Your Practice Time Effectively

Once you set up a regular practice time the next important key is to use that time effectively. Strumming a guitar while watching TV or casually playing your favorite song can be a lot of fun, but  it’s not really practice. Effective practice involves working on a progressive set of  material that's designed to help you improve your technique.

By progressive I mean it's the next logical thing to work on based on where you're at and where you're going. This could be some form of exercise, or even a song if it involves elements that you need to work on.

This also means that you're putting a reasonable amount of attention on what you doing. If you really want to learn to play guitar it's best to spend some time each day practicing and paying attention to all the details that you working on, including correct and relaxed hand position as well as getting a good sound.

Key #3 – Practice Chord Patterns (Not Individual Chords)

Key #4 – Get An Accurate Roadmap

If you are going on a trip would it be incredibly valuable to have an accurate map or set of directions on how to get there?

This same concept applies to learning to play guitar. Having an accurate roadmap means you'll know what you should be working on next and feel the confidence that you have a path to get to where you want to go.

It'll also help you avoid the problems of trying to do things out of order. When you try to do things out of order you develop bad habits and tension. It's much better to learn things incrementally in a step-by-step fashion, relaxing your hands and body as you  feel tension.

It will also save you a lot of time in the long run. Even though there are been famous guitar players that seem to learn on their own much less time-consuming to have a good learning system or competent teacher that can help you avoid the pitfalls that you're bound to experience without them.

Key #5 – Persistence Is King

And finally key number five is to persist until you succeed. This may sound like outworn advice to some, but I believe it's critical to being successful in anything that's worth doing.

I want to read to you a paragraph that has inspired and encouraged me over the years that is attributed to Calvin Coolidge our 30th president of the United States.

 If you like this video “like it”,  subscribe, and share it with your friends.

I'm here to help you experience the fun and excitement that I thousands of others have had learning to play beautiful music on the guitar with confidence and ease. Thanks for joining me.

Tell Us What You Think - Please Comment Below!

We would love to hear your comments and questions. What specific things are you struggling with while learning guitar?