Hey, Rob here. I made my living as a full-time professional guitar player and programmer. When I was asked to find a good “how to play guitar” program for my nephew I wasn’t expecting the difference in quality of materials available online. The truth is that the majority of “learn how to play guitar” programs online are JUNK!
To see which program I believe is far superior to the rest click here

“Lookin’ For An Online Guitar Course?
Wonderin’ Which Programs Are Good,
And Which Are Absolute Crap?”

I made my living playing guitar in clubs, concert halls and recording studios for over 20 years. It was my occupation, my full time job. I wasn’t just some weekend warrior, guitar player wannna be! I was a professional, well-paid guitar player

My sister asked me to recommend a program to help my nephew start learning how to play the guitar (unfortunately, I don’t live close to them). They don’t have a decent guitar teacher in their little town, so she asked me to find a good online program.

I bought ELEVEN online courses. I didn’t know there was so much CRAP out there. I asked for a refund on 7 of them. Only 4 were worth the money. (And ONE stood out head and shoulders above the rest!)

Seven out of the eleven I purchased were AWFUL!!

There’s an old saying.. “those who can’t do, teach!”
I’m sure that a few of these jokers who put together these “learn to play guitar” programs wouldn’t make a penny if they had to use their “axe” to make a buck.  One guy really couldn’t play at all!

So, I ended up sending 4 programs to my nephew. After speaking to him, he took my advice and concentrated on just one.

A few months later I was impressed by how much he’d learned. The kid could actually play! (It was great sitting down and jammin’ with my nephew). He’d been devouring the Learn And Master Guitar program and watching his favorite musicians on YouTube.
Here’s a little more detail about the 4 programs that are worth a lick (sorry about the pun). Unless you just can’t pony up the cash for the first one (Yep, its the best and it’s also the most expensive.), I highly recommend the first program. Seriously, if you get Learn And Master Guitar, put in the time to go through the whole course, and you can’t really play, I suggest you take up another hobby!.

Learn And Master Guitar was by far the most professional, thorough and complete program I reviewed. Honestly, after sifting through the rest of these programs this one is SOOOOOO much better I really shouldn’t have included the other 3 reviews. If there’s a down side to this program (the reason I gave it only 9.9 out of 10) it’s that you have to wait for the program to be shipped to you. I really wish I had access to this type of training when I was starting to learn. .

There is an online student support site and you get your questions answered very quickly.

Here’s what you get

You’ll receive 20 very professionally produced DVDs, you get 5 Jam-Along CDs and a 100+ page lesson book. And, as I said earlier, a free online student support site.

Okay, this is the most expensive of the program I reviewed, so let me throw in this disclaimer. If you are looking to just “noodle” around and learn one or two songs on the guitar, then maybe you want to choose Jamorama. BUT, if you are serious about becoming a “GUITAR PLAYER”, someone who can really make a guitar sing, and you are willing to put in the time and focus to go through this complete program, this is the only program you’ll need.

They give you EVERYTHING you need to become a good player, the rest is up to your level of desire and the time you put in.

Click Here To Visit Their Official Site

Jamorama would be the second best option for my nephew. It is web based (no DVD or Cd’s to be delivered by snail mail). This is a great package for the beginner to intermediate player. I found the lessons very easy to follow. My only criticism was that occasionally the instructor got a little “sloppy” in his playing. I’m sure most beginner’s would be delighted to play as well as him, but, as you progress you’ll notice that you can probably player cleaner than this guy.

You do get a lot content  for a very reasonable price. I have friends who charge more than this for a single, one hour lesson! At 39.95 you are getting a lot of stuff. Good tabs, good videos and the lessons are laid as pretty well.

What’s included?
Two downloadable e-books
- Jamorama Beginners
- Jamorama Advanced

Approx. 150 Online video lessons
26 “active” jam tracks for you to play along with (you can toggle guitar on and off)
Thousands of lines of guitar tabs (tablature)
lots of helpful audio files

Extras:
Jamorama Metronome (to help you develop your sense of time)
GuitearIt! – A software program that helps you develop chord identification and ear training.
Jayde Musica Pro – A game to teach you how to read traditional notation (not tabs)
Guitar Tuner Pro – Software app for tuning your guitar
Bonus ebook: How to Tune your Guitar e-book
Bonus ebook: Advanced Learning Techniques for Guitar
A dedicated support email line.
Lifetime access to updated lessons and tabs

(Update:) Apparently they now offer a complete DVD and book course as well. It’s over $100. I’d stick with the online lessons for now.

Click Here To Visit Their Official Site

Confession: When I first read the salespage for this program I was VERY skeptical. Ask any guitar player how long it takes to learn guitar and you WON’T get the answer “one weekend”. That being said, I didn’t throw up when I got inside this course.

I guess there are many people who wanted to learn to play guitar, spend some time, don’t see immediate results and quit. This course is probably the best at getting people starting to make some musical sounds on the guitar QUICKLY.
Will you be burning it up in a weekend? NO.
However, seeing some initial fast results might be just what a beginner needs to stick around and commit to the process. I’m sure that for many people this course will be the difference between enjoy the guitar or having it collect dust under the bed in a week. Just don’t expect it to do much more than get you started.

IF you are a complete beginner, this will get you to an intermediate player fast (but that’s about as far as this goes).

This program costs less than $50. Not bad for learning how to play QUICKLY!

What’s Included?
- Beginner’s Guide to Unlocking the Guitar downloadable e-book
- 150 popular songs with four chords or less e-book
- Beginner chord sound files
- “Press and Listen” sound files
- The Perfect Chord Chart for Beginners
- Beginning Singing Techniques e-book

Click Here To Visit Their Official Site

This is my fourth choice. If you are a beginner and you’re easily distracted, stay away from this site! They have a tons of videos, tabs, tips and tricks for every level of guitarist. They also cover every genre and style of playing imaginable. You can access this mountain of information within their membership site. You get more “stuff” for $29.95 than on any of the programs I purchased.

The Downside: There is so much information inside their site that many people could get lost, or become unfocused. In Jamorama there is a slick, well designed series of steps and lessons laid out for you. This is important to many beginners. Inside Guitar Hot Shots is a mountain of information. Some of it not exactly “ready for prime time”. There is information for beginner, intermediate and pro level players. I worry that a beginner might get disillusioned or distracted by the pro level stuff. That being said, I knew my nephew was a fairly self-disciplined kid so I suggested he join this program. (Hey, I even learned a new trick or two inside this)

Conclusion: Not extremely well organized, but there is a ton of resources here.

What’s Included?
Tabs, Rhythm guitar riffs, sound files, tons of videos, ear training, tricks, equipment reviews, buying tips and resources, solo scales, arpeggios (and on and on)
A TON of stuff! (quality aside)

Click Here To Visit Their Official Site

There isn’t a program, or a teacher out there that will have you playing better than Eddie Van Halen, Jimmy Page or Keith Urban. You’ll never play just like Eric Clapton because you’re NOT Eric Clapton.

These programs are a great place to start. But to become a truly great guitar player you need to practice, practice, practice AND you need to listen to great guitar players. At a certain point, you’ll be able to develop your own sound, your own style and your own “voice”. That is when you change from “playing guitar” to becoming “a guitar player”. Don’t try to be better than Jeff Beck, or Carlos Santana, just be the best YOU that you can become. And if you’re playing makes you happy, that’s what counts.

And, when you become “a guitar player”, you won’t believe how people treat you differently!

Old Strat or Martin Guitar — a few thousand dollars
Time Spent Practicing — a few thousand hours

The look on their faces when you start to play —— PRICELESS!

Starting developing your chops by trying one of the programs above (or all four) and then keep workin’, playin’ and listenin’ to develop YOUR own style.

Good Luck

Rob

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There are many ways to notate music on the guitar. You can use sheet music easy to understand when you have learned to read sheet music. To learn to read sheet music on the guitar is however not so easy for many students.

What different ways are there to notate guitar melodies?

1. You can use guitar sheet music. The advantage is that it is universal, meaning that other instrumentalists will understand the notation.

2. You can use guitar tablature. A tablature staff consists of six lines representing the six strings on a guitar. Number on the lines indicate what fret to press down. Guitar tablature is very common on the net and is a widely used.

3. Use another system.

4. Describe with words how to play the melody on the guitar.

In this article I will use an easy system that doesn’t need a staff and I will also describe how to play the melody on the guitar with words. We will learn to play the melody Happy Birthday To You.

How to read the guitar notation

The first number tells you what fret to press down. The second number what string to play on. An example:

1/2

This means, press down the first fret on the second string.

Let’s play Happy Birthday To You. We can divide the song into four parts:

1. Start by playing the open third string twice. When you play a string without pressing down a fret is called to play an open string. Then you press down the second fret on the third string and the open third string. Play the first fret of the second string and the open second string. It will look like this:

0/3 0/3 2/3 0/3 1/2 0/2

2. Play the open third string twice. Play the second fret on the third string and the open third string. Play the third fret of the second string and the first fret on the second string. It will look like this:

0/3 0/3 2/3 0/3 3/2 1/2

3. Play the open third string twice. The third fret on the first string and the open first string. The first fret string two and open second string. Second fret on the third string. It will look like this:

0/3 0/3 3/1 0/1 1/2 0/2 2/3

4. We finish the song by playing the first fret first string twice. Open first string and first fret second string. Third fret second string and first fret second string.

1/1 1/1 0/1 1/2 3/2 1/2

Learning to play the song Happy Birthday To You on guitar is a good investment. According to the Guinness Book of World Records, “Happy Birthday to You” is among the top three most popular songs in the English language.

Peter Edvinsson
http://www.articlesbase.com/music-articles/guitar-lesson-learn-to-play-popular-melody-on-your-guitar-13088.html

Thanks for you help

Try "reeducation through labor" it’s really easy but it’s tuned a half step down. One way to do that is if you have a capo put it on the first fret and tune it regularly or just bar the strings on the first fret with your finger and tune it.

Is learning to play guitar just knowing how to play all the possible chord variations?

not really it takes practice but if u know major important chords u could play a quite a few songs but if u wanna play more then rhythm u need to now more than chords

It takes you step by step through the basic guitar chords one by one. There’s also lessons on guitar scales, techniques and some easy songs to play.

http://www.pluckandplayguitar.com/

Many young people of today who are interested in modern music have a love for the sound of an electric guitar and when asked if they would like to learn how to play a musical instrument, the electric guitar is always a favorite. However, some guitarists will tell you that it’s so much easier to learn how to play an acoustic guitar first of all. Why do you think that is? Well, one thing to bear in mind is that electric guitars have steel strings. If you are not used to playing a guitar, your fingertips will be soft so the steel strings are likely to feel very uncomfortable, even painful at times.

If you decide to begin with an acoustic model, by the time your fingers have hardened sufficiently on the softer strings, you well be well on the road to knowing your chords and many other aspects of playing needed for the electric guitar. The transformation will be quite simple. On the other hand, some guitarists will say, just go with the type of guitar which is best suited to your taste in music. So if an electric guitar is the instrument of your choice, then go for it.! Remember to start off gently in order to let your fingers get used to the steel strings without a blister in sight.

Aside from the strain on the fingertips, another reason to begin your guitar playing with an acoustic instrument is that you are more likely to learn how to play correctly. This means you will be laying down a good musical base instead of having to rely on sound boxes to achieve your desired results. It is important when you start to learn to play the guitar you are aware of what all the controls and knobs allow you to do. This is not just a plug and play machine. A sensitive ear is needed to get the mix just right.

A good way to learn how to play properly from the beginning is to take one to one lessons. But it really doesn’t matter which type of lessons you have as it is practise which will make you perfect. It’s the only way to learn to how to play an instrument well.

When you buy your electric guitar there are a few other pieces of equipment which you will need. It’s advisable to get the best amplifier within your budget to go with your guitar. Even the greatest or most costly guitar will sound disappointing, if the amplifier is not of good quality. You’ll also need a good effects box with lots of characteristics such as distortion, reverb, chorus, amp simulator and easy adjustment modules.

Last but not least, don’t forget the cables. Just like the amp, its better in the long run to spend your money on good quality cabling. At least then, you will not have to replace them so often.

Kevin Sinclair