How To Effectively Learn Guitar At Home

These days learning guitar hasn’t been any easier. There is such a wide range of different ways to learn from home but which are the best and which are the most effective. Despite being a guitar teacher, every day I’m bombarded with adverts for learning to play the guitar via youtube and for books that supposedly improve your playing in a matter of weeks. Are they any good? Some are and some aren’t and sometimes it depends on your level of playing. Recently everyone seems to want to learn something new during the pandemic and learning from home is highest on the agenda at the moment. But what are the most effective ways to learn from home? I will explain how I would use my time if I was in your position. 

If you are a beginner, I would recommend looking for a local teacher who offers online lessons like Antoine at Guitar Lessons Brighton. This will enable you to make sure you aren’t picking up any bad habits because you’ll have a skilled teacher to guide you past all of the potential red flags in the first few months of playing. Having a teacher when you first start playing is something that I would say is essential if you want to have a good understanding of the guitar as well as a good grasp of technique. So many guitarists pick up bad techniques that can hinder their playing for years to come. It’s not something that you need to do long term but I would recommend at least committing to a year of online lessons with a professional. With advances of zoom and skype, we can now learn from home which means no travel time as well as no physical contact with others. 

With something like Youtube, you really have to assess what stage you are at with your playing. If you are a beginner then I really feel that youtube will hinder your playing rather than help your playing. This is because you don’t have someone to tell you when you are making a mistake or when you aren’t learning a song right. If you happen to be an intermediate to advanced guitarist then I would say youtube can be a really useful tool to utilise as part of your practice routine although, I would still warn against using it as your only source of practice if you need it for help learning a song or a finger pattern for a solo then, by all means, go for it. 

There are so many learn guitar quick programs and links out there at the moment, whether it’s via an advert on Youtube or on Facebook, I see them all the time. My one piece of advice regardless of playing ability would be to avoid these at all costs. There is no such thing as learning the guitar in a matter of weeks or months. Please remember guitar is something that takes months and years of practice to master and if you want to learn you have to be willing to put in the practice. 

There are many websites online like Songster and Ultimate Guitar where you can get music for your favourite songs. If you are interested in learning songs then do use these websites. They are a great way to learn the songs and music that you love without having to pay out for a songbook or a teacher. Learning via songs you know is one of the most effective ways of learning to play the guitar and one of the best ways to master techniques that can be a bit dull otherwise. I would recommend using a metronome when learning songs and also trying to play along with the track to make sure you are developing a good sense of rhythm. Sites like these are essential for the development of many guitarists and they are something I would recommend using to aid your learning journey. 

Lastly, I would say that you need to sit down and make a practice routine for when you are playing at home and make sure you stick to this practice routine. If you only have 20 minutes a day then this is enough to see some great progress after a few months. Make sure you focus on all aspects of your playing from chords to picking and everything in between. With a focussed routine and some end goals the sky is the limit with guitar playing and making the most of your home practice has never been easier.