Learn to Play Guitar Online

The modern guitar gets its basic design from several ancient instruments, the primary inspiration being the lute. The lute had a hollow body like today’s acoustic guitar but had a rounded back, while modern guitars have a flat back. The first appearance of a guitar that resembles the guitars of today was the classical guitar. The classical guitar is an acoustic model with nylon strings that was extremely popular in Spain, particularly for playing in the Flamenco style.

The classical guitar design was brought to America and outfitted with steel strings, which influences the twangy sound we typically associate with the early folk, country, and rock music of the 30s, 40s and 50s. The electric guitar was invented in the 30s but didn’t particularly come to prominence until the 50s when rock’n’roll became all the rage in popular culture. Today, both acoustic and electric guitar is used in musical genres across the board and remains one of the cultural staples of modern music in America and across the globe.

Guitar isn’t just commonly used in the performance of several styles of music; it’s also one of the most popular instruments to learn for kids who love music as well as adults wanting to pick up a new skill. Plus, due to its affordability when compared to larger instruments like the piano, picking up the guitar is available to almost everyone that has a drive to learn.

Why Learn to Play the Guitar?

If you’re a music lover that wants to be able to play your favorite songs or even write music of your own, it’s difficult to find a more versatile instrument than the guitar. With so many different playing styles, interesting and complex guitar chords to learn, and various types of picks used to produce different sounds, the possibilities are truly endless.

Another major benefit to picking up the guitar as opposed to other instruments is its convenience. Guitars are light enough to carry around throughout your day and can even be worn backpack-style, yet they are powerful enough to produce deep, resonant sound that can carry far distances when played correctly.

Learning guitar is suitable for all ages and all experience levels. In fact, nearly all major music stores that sell guitars also feature slightly smaller models for children so that they can learn the proper guitar tabs and guitar chords on a model that fits their size and isn’t too big to hold. As soon as they grow out of their smaller guitar, they can size up to a model that they can truly appreciate now that they’ve learned the basics.

Additionally, guitars are affordable for most budgets and price ranges. One of the most helpful features about the guitar community is its incredibly wide range of makes, models, and materials that all play a role in a guitar’s final price. This means that a beginner can find a starter guitar for around $200 or less while knowing that they can easily upgrade to the $500 or even $1000 range once they feel that their skills and abilities reflect it.

Guitar Tabs: What Makes the Guitar Unique

When it comes to written music for musicians to learn and play, most modern instruments follow the classical notation method that has been used around the world for hundreds of years. However, this is where the guitar and most other popular instruments differ.

When taking lessons with a professional guitar teacher, most guitar students will learn to read guitar tabs. Also referred to as tablature, this method of musical notation represents the different finger positions used to achieve a certain note or chord as opposed to the traditional method of notation, which is to represent the desired note or chord itself.

Many potential guitar students can become intimidated when faced with the task of learning to read guitar tabs. However, the process of learning guitar tabs is extremely similar to that of learning standard music notation, which you would be learning if you took up another common instrument such as piano or even singing.

In fact, many guitarists that have learned to read standard notation in addition to guitar tabs find tabs to be easier to read and understand in real time. Many guitar students learn common guitar chords over time through the specific shapes that their fingers have to make to achieve these chords, and the concept of guitar tabs reinforces this shape-based way of thinking.

Finding a Guitar Teacher Online

In addition to learning guitar tabs and guitar chords, potential guitar students have to navigate finding the right teacher for them and their needs. When it comes to finding a teacher that will help you to achieve your specific guitar-related goals, there are a few important pieces of information to keep in mind.

The first thing to determine is what kind of style you’d like to primarily learn and work on with your teacher. Like many other instruments, you can easily play songs from multiple styles and genres on the guitar; however, if you have a specific genre in mind that you’d like to get better at, your teacher can help you to do that by focusing on the skills you’ll need for that genre more than other unrelated skills.

Additionally, it’s important to make sure that your potential teacher’s personality is a good fit with yours. This is particularly important for adults seeking guitar lessons for themselves as opposed to lessons for their child. Your guitar lessons and practice will likely become an escape from the other areas of your life, and you’ll enjoy it that much more if your teacher is someone that you’d enjoy spending time with whether or not they were teaching you to play guitar.

Why Take Guitar Lessons Online?

Learning guitar chords and simple picking patterns on your own can only get you so far. If you really want to improve your guitar playing skills, you’ll have to hire a teacher to work one-on-one with you to identify the areas in which you struggle and provide you with the crucial information and training you need to get better.

Though taking guitar lessons is so beneficial for those that want to learn guitar, it’s not always easy. Commuting to and from a weekly guitar lesson can be extremely inconvenient or even impossible if you’re a particularly busy person. Plus, the idea of entering a professional guitar teacher’s studio as a beginner can be daunting enough for some to forget about seeking lessons altogether.

This is where online lessons with TakeLessons can save the day. Without having to worry about time spent commuting or looking for a parking spot, you’ll be able to fit your guitar lessons into a slot in your schedule that works best for you while being able to immediately move on to your other responsibilities. Another added bonus is the fact that you can take your lessons from the comfort of your own home, where you’re more likely to pursue your new skill with confidence and curiosity.

The one potential downside to online lessons is the perceived lack of real time communication. However, as long as you have a device with a microphone and camera as well as a reliable Internet connection, you shouldn’t have any trouble receiving immediate feedback and support from your online guitar teacher. This way, you won’t have to worry about missing out on the plus sides of in-person teaching—you’ll receive all the same benefits that any other student would.

Narrowing Down Your Online Guitar Teacher Search

With TakeLessons, you can find a guitar teacher online that works with your specific needs and schedule in just a few clicks. Our customizable search feature allows you to enter in your weekly budget for lessons, your preferred lesson length, your skill level, your scheduling availability, and more in order to be matched with the best online guitar teacher for you.

Once you’ve narrowed down your search, it’s easy to find the perfect candidate by browsing each teacher’s personalized profiles. Here you can see their training, the languages they speak, and how many years they’ve been teaching as well as useful ratings and reviews left by current and previous students. These reviews can really help to give you a clearer picture of exactly how your potential teacher organizes their classes, what their personality is like, and how effective their teaching style tends to be.

If you’re sick of playing the same few guitar chords over and over and want to improve your skills, it’s time to take action. TakeLessons offers a 100% satisfaction guarantee, so you can be sure that you won’t regret taking the first step on your journey to becoming a better guitarist.