Become A Guitarist 

Music, practice, time, resources – learning to play the guitar might be difficult done overnight, but it certainly can be done from the comfort of your own home. You may be finding yourself with a lot more spare time that you’re using for playing with the cats or watching Tiger documentaries. If you haven’t yet, seize this as an opportunity to dust off those guitar strings and knuckling down to some learning. 

Becoming A Guitarist

What does learning the guitar at home require? Well.. firstly an instrument, some structure and decision-making. You may already be tapping your pick against the table thinking when will I play the solo at the end of Bohemian Rhapsody, but you need a guitar above anything else. 

Depending on your budget, an acoustic guitar from any online retailer like Andertons or Dawsons will do the trick and I would advise for your first, something cheap and cheerful before going into your local specialist music shop to try and play a few when you want to upgrade. 

With a trusted sword on our belts, it’s time to head to battle and depending on the kind of person you are, there are a host of books, apps or teacher options allowing you to find whatever suits your style of learning; no excuses! 

Online you can find countless videos on YouTube, with tutorials on every guitar topic from tuning to strumming to playing scales and improvising. However if you’re like me and you prefer a good book then I’d recommend Guitar Method by Hal Leonard. There are lots of options out there, just check the reviews! The Fender Tune App is great for a standard guitar tuner or if you know a bit about the guitar already then maybe try the Guitar Tool Kit app on which you can see all the scales and keys on the fretboard for a very affordable price. 

Every guitarist wants to be Jimi Hendrix, but it’s just a phase so don’t get agitated if it’s taking you longer than you thought, enjoy that journey and keep a notebook to relate back to and acknowledge those small achievements. Keep that drive going, designate some time each day or week to progress and write up your aims and achievements. Don’t be put off by the strain of your fingers, because tomorrow they won’t be hurting like they did today. 

Finally remember never to put added pressure on yourself. The London Guitar Academy is home to a whole selection of professional and engaging teachers, so if you find yourself stuck get in touch and we’d be happy to help. We do online lessons among our own studio and home visits, so no need to leave the house. You can just pop that cat documentary on pause.