Can I learn to play guitar from the internet?
Discussion
Serious question!
Looking for a new hobby and thought I'd try taking up the guitar (used to play violin back in the day as a kid).
Noticed lots of tutorials online (esp youtube) and wondered whether it's genuinely possible to learn it all online. It'll just be a fun thing in the evening to waste away the time, nothing serious at all.
What do you guys reckon?
Found a full size acoustic guitar at Argos for £35. Of course it'll be rubbish but for the price, surely it'll do the job. (Plus when I inevitably try and fail miserably, I will only have spent the minimal amount of money!)
Opinions?
Looking for a new hobby and thought I'd try taking up the guitar (used to play violin back in the day as a kid).
Noticed lots of tutorials online (esp youtube) and wondered whether it's genuinely possible to learn it all online. It'll just be a fun thing in the evening to waste away the time, nothing serious at all.
What do you guys reckon?
Found a full size acoustic guitar at Argos for £35. Of course it'll be rubbish but for the price, surely it'll do the job. (Plus when I inevitably try and fail miserably, I will only have spent the minimal amount of money!)
Opinions?
It depends on you to an extent, and how you learn. The downside to teaching yourself is that you can get into bad habits without realising, which are then quite difficult to get rid of when they become a problem as you advance.
If you are a musician already, then learning another instrument is made simpler because you are not also trying to learn the rudiments of music at the same time. If you are attempting to learn the whole lot together it is harder.
It also depends quite a lot on what your aims are - if you are intending to learn properly, then I'd say it is worth getting a teacher. If you are just planning on amusing yourself then it won't hurt to get a cheap instrument and experiment.
If you are a musician already, then learning another instrument is made simpler because you are not also trying to learn the rudiments of music at the same time. If you are attempting to learn the whole lot together it is harder.
It also depends quite a lot on what your aims are - if you are intending to learn properly, then I'd say it is worth getting a teacher. If you are just planning on amusing yourself then it won't hurt to get a cheap instrument and experiment.
a £35 guitar from argos will most likely inhibit learning. you can spend less than £100 and something that is not just a guitar shaped object.
http://www.guitar.co.uk/guitars/acoustic/671
cheap guitars are made of really poor quality wood and with an acoustic guitar, thats what obviously generates the sound. Cheapies will not hold tune and have such poor quality strings that they stretch and what you play will never sound quite how it should and frustration will set in quickly.
http://www.guitar.co.uk/guitars/acoustic/671
cheap guitars are made of really poor quality wood and with an acoustic guitar, thats what obviously generates the sound. Cheapies will not hold tune and have such poor quality strings that they stretch and what you play will never sound quite how it should and frustration will set in quickly.
pablo said:
a £35 guitar from argos will most likely inhibit learning. you can spend less than £100 and something that is not just a guitar shaped object.
http://www.guitar.co.uk/guitars/acoustic/671
cheap guitars are made of really poor quality wood and with an acoustic guitar, thats what obviously generates the sound. Cheapies will not hold tune and have such poor quality strings that they stretch and what you play will never sound quite how it should and frustration will set in quickly.
^^This, very cheap guitars are a waste of time as they will go out of tune almost instantly.http://www.guitar.co.uk/guitars/acoustic/671
cheap guitars are made of really poor quality wood and with an acoustic guitar, thats what obviously generates the sound. Cheapies will not hold tune and have such poor quality strings that they stretch and what you play will never sound quite how it should and frustration will set in quickly.
I was self tought through books and CD's, I don't see the problem with learning online. Good luck, hope you enjoy it!
JBM78 said:
+1 started with this over Christmas and brought the Beginners DVD, although everything is available online for FREE and in high quality, his manner and delivery are excellent and it really is good to have a visual reference, there is so much stuff on his website I'm sure it will keep me going for years.Edit as for the £35 argos job, I thought about getting into it like this, but then I really want to do this, and want to give myself a good chance at staying in it.
The pro's generally recommend avoiding cheap acoustics as they are far to hard to play and give crap sound, your much better apparently starting with an electric even if you want to play acoustic and then get an acoustic once you have the basics theories and practices engrained.
watch this vid.
http://www.justinguitar.com/en/BC-102-WhatGuitar.p...
Edited by OneDs on Thursday 6th January 09:17
g3org3y said:
Thanks for the info, and the link to the tutorial website.
I understand about avoiding the cheapo guitars. The Westfield package for £80 seems pretty good. I'm assuming it's fairly decent quality?
String wise - nylon or metal?
A fairly light metal string would be best to start until your fingers get used to it. I never got on with nylon but you can always give them a go further down the line.I understand about avoiding the cheapo guitars. The Westfield package for £80 seems pretty good. I'm assuming it's fairly decent quality?
String wise - nylon or metal?
This dude is well worth a look too Scott Grove
As a Christmas gift he had a bunch of free lessons available, this has ended but I think he still has a try before you buy plan.
As a Christmas gift he had a bunch of free lessons available, this has ended but I think he still has a try before you buy plan.
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