Guitar Lessons For Beginners - The Difinitive Checklist

There are so many resources available online for the beginner guitarist, some free, some not - so how can you really be sure you're not wasting and time or money on something when you could be learning so much faster elsewhere and wowing your friends?

Well, read on through this definitive checklist and you should come up with a set of questions to run by any online system - free or paid - and make sure you get the best bang for your buck and the most efficient use of your time.


Before we go any further it's important to understand that there are no magic shortcuts - despite some of the amazing claims some of these systems make.

Going the self taught route means disciplining yourself. It means creating your own roadmap and finding ways to stay motivated and stick with it.

1. Does the content include video? - This is an essential part of any online system, if there's no video content pass it by.

2. Does the content include audio to play along to? - Again this is a must as playing along to music is the fastest way to learn and develop rhythm, technique and especially soloing.

3. Does the content include an easy way to learn to read music and tab? This is another must have seeing as the tab and music for just about every song ever written is available online - this is how you can learn to play 'any song'

4. Does the content include guitar tuning software? You can't play along with your favourite tracks or with custom made jam tracks if your guitar isn't in tune...

5. Does the content include a metronome or other rhythm keeping device? The best ones do, so don't settle for one that doesn't.

6. Does the system have a way of keeping you motivated? It can be tough and lonely without some motivators to keep you focused, the best systems have ways to deal with this – don't settle for one that doesn't.

7. Does the system have a clear path of development or enable you to set your own roadmap? The most important of all. An instructor will make a course around what you want to learn, most online systems are '1 size fits all' so you have to do some planning and thinking ahead. Make sure you look for a course that helps you plot your own course and stick to it.

This simple 7 step checklist should help you decide which guitar lesson package is best for you and keep you from wasting any money or time on duds. Get this right and you'll be jamming along and amazing your friends and family quicker than you thought possible.

Just remember, there are no shortcuts that remove the need for you to work at it, there are accelerated learning techniques which can speed up your learning process but only if you're prepared to work at it.

About the Author

Peter Webber is the creator of the Free Accelerated Online Beginners Guitar E-Course. A unique resource that combines textual, graphic, video and audio guitar lesson content with highly effective learning and achievement tools to produce proven results.

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by: music Total views: 13 Word Count: 515 Date: Mon, 3 Mar 2008 Time: 5:20 AM 0 comments