What You Need To Teach Yourself Guitar

So you've decided that you want to teach yourself guitar. The first logical question you're going to ask yourself is "well how do I get started?". Aside from getting a guitar some people don't necessarily know where to turn, especially if you want to teach yourself. I'm going to list off a few things that I think every guitarist starting out should have, the essentials if you will:

• Get a few extra sets of strings. You always want to have some because you don't want to be in the middle of practicing and have one break with no replacements.
• Get a little electric tuner. They're cheap and they're super handy.
• Buy a bunch of different gauge picks. Find one that feels comfortable to you.
• A metronome, whether it's electric or not is your preference. These are great for helping you develop timing and to also understand different kinds of rhythms. It's very important if you're going to teach yourself to watch your technique and develop smooth playing. A metronome is great for this.
  
• Find a really good book on chords. There are lots of them out there so it's best to find one that you like. Some show chords differently than others and I find, for myself, that I find some a little easier to read than others. They all say the same thing it's just finding the layout you're comfortable with. It's always good to have a book to reference chords, even if you only know a few of them at first.
• Find a really good book on scales. It's the same kind of deal as I said with the book on chords. These are mostly set out the same as far as pictures that show the scales so that's really not an issue. Try and find one that has a lot of scales though, because even if you're just learning a few at a time or one or two at first it's always good to have.
• I suggest finding some good video lessons. There are a lot of free ones on the net but remember this: most of the time you get what you pay for. I'll explain: video lessons are great because you can pause, rewind etc.. and it's also good to see someone playing. But a lot of these fly by night youtube guitar teachers are good to an extent but I wouldn't pay any of them to teach my kids. Most of these guys have sloppy technique that you will wind up picking up, that's not good. There are good video lessons out there, most are inexpensive, that have great learning videos, as well as jam tracks you can download and play along to and all other kinds of cool bonuses.
  

So there you have it. For more ideas and help visit www.TeachYourselfGuitarToday.com