Is guitar hard to learn?

Question

I've never played an instrument before other then the recorder in elementry. I'm buying a guitar tomorrow for a new hobby. Is music hard to learn how to read and what about playing guitar. What are some good sites or books to learn from? I plan to take lessons in the new year but want a sound understanding before. I hope I don't get frustrated and give up.

Answer 1

If you are willing to put in the time, guitar is a fairly easy instrument to learn. If you take lessons from a good teacher, it will be even easier. It sure is a lot of fun once you get a few chords down.

Answer 2

If you can remember when you played flute.. Think about how difficult that was. Guitar is not an easy instrument. (But you can probably compare them in the sense of learning.) I can say though that it sounds like you have a good ear for music which will make learning guitar a lot easier. Pick up a starter guitar for under $200 and give it a shot. It's a lot of fun when you really get into it! Good luck!

Answer 3

Compared to piano, guitar has a steeper learning curve. Don't expect to be able to even play decent chord progressions until you've been practicing for a while. However, it's worth the effort- it's a very unique and fun instrument. And there is a very low level of expectation for the guitar, socially. If you can actually read music, you'll be better than many guitar players out there. Lessons will be excellent for you- good luck. And stick with it!

Answer 4

Over all I'd say no, the guitar is not hard to learn. Though different people learn at different speeds. I've seen some that make minimal improvement after a few years, and some that sound frighteningly like virtuosos after just one year. It all depends on how much you really want to learn about the instrument, your passion for music, how much time you put into not only practice but learning too, what other musicians you end up playing with, whether or not you have good learning sources, etc.

There are many musicians who never felt a need to learn how to read music, though I think it's a skill definitely worth learning. The Mel Bay books are usually written in a way that makes reading easy to learn. It's a universal system that lets you learn so many things out there, gives tons more working opportunities for professionals, lets you write down the ideas you have, and it clarifies a lot of the conventions used in music theory (why chords are constructed and named the way they are, etc.) It's tricky at first, but like reading english, you get better and better at it, especially if you don't stop conversing in the "language". You're reading this sentence right now without having to sound out each individual letter in your head, even though that's how you started reading in kindergarten. It's the same idea with sheet music.

It's good to hear that you plan on taking lessons. So many guitarists these days have this misguided idea that they have to "unschooled" in order to be "pure" in their "art". But ironically a lot of them end up developing bad playing techniques and narrow thinking patterns that severly limit their playing later on. Learning should be a mix of learning from other people, and learning on your own.

You might stumble across some programs like "Learn Guitar in 7 days!" or instructional DVDs like "Learn Guitar in One Hour!" but keep in mind that these are just like those "Learn Spanish in One Hour" tapes: yeah, you learn some basics about the skill and how to regurgitate some stuff back, but that's it. Not to say that some instructional DVDs don't have their benefits, but being proficient with something doesn't happen overnight.

Good luck!

Answer 5

Learn the guitar is easy as long as you dedicate some time for it weekly. Make you Lover be amazed by you soon :) Anyway look you can always start by reading books in liabraries or go for an online course like http://jamorama.deals-guide.com But remember practise make prefect.

Answer 6

It is not hard to learn but it is hard to play - it hurts your fingers, try keyboards, they are much more gentle.

Answer 7

Seems / looks hard, but if you put effort in to it, it's easy!

Answer 8

It was difficult for me personally, but due in large to the fact that I have really small hands.

Answer 9

takes a lot of time and practice
if you do it remember not to rush it
perfect one cord at a time for easier transitions