What's the most important thing for a new guitar student to learn first?

Question

When I was a student, learning guitar seemed impossible. It felt like there was so much to learn and I had no idea where to start. Should I learn chords then notes, or the other way around? Or should I start by learning music theory and then learn guitar? These were questions I asked myself, and now many of my students come to me with the same question of where they should start.

Answer 1

A new guitar player can work on two things at once with more ease than someone who has already gotten comfortable with the instrument. When starting out, you have to work on rudimentary things like: holding a pick, strumming, hitting the strings correctly, holding a string down, and having a note come out clean, etc. When your hand starts to hurt during the beginning stages is a perfect time to absorb some theory, which can be studied with or without a guitar in hand. This is a generalization and is not true for every single person, but it applies to most.

Answer 2

There are some great answers in this thread already. I'd echo those who've said it's important to figure out your motivations for playing the guitar and determine what kind of music you hope to play. Learning how to properly tune your own guitar is a great tip as well.

For my part, I'd recommend learning to read music as soon as you can. Guitarists often have the option of reading tablature instead of standard notation. Tablature (or "tab") uses a six-line staff, one line for each string of the guitar. Numbers are printed on the lines to represent frets of the guitar. For example, a "6" printed on the third line (counting from the top down) tells the guitarist to place her finger on the sixth fret of the third string.

On the other hand, you have standard notation, which is the form of written music most people are familiar with. It represents notes using closed and open circles arranged on a five-note staff.

There's nothing wrong with reading tabs. I'd still recommend devoting time to learning standard notation at the beginning, though. The concepts behind it are simple enough, but it can take years of practice to really get fluent with it. As you advance, you'll likely want to work through guitar books that don't have any tablature at all. So, why not start the process of learning to read music right from the get-go?

Answer 3

The most important thing to remember is WHY you are learning guitar. Keeping that in mind and enjoying the journey is the most important factor in success.

Answer 4

For people just starting to learn guitar, I believe the most important thing to learn is exactly what kind of music you want to play with the guitar. I have students who want to be able to bring their acoustic guitar to a campfire and jam or sing a Beatles tune with. Other students want to learn rock riffs, and both of these require different paths to learning, so I think its very important to figure out early what is is exactlyyou want to be abel to do with the guitar and then to come up with a solid gameplan with a teacher into how to make that possible!

Answer 5

The most important thing for a new guitar student to learn is very simple: how to properly tune their instrument.

If the guitar isn't in tune (E-A-D-G-B-E) you will never sound "good" and no amount of skill or practice can overcome that.

Whether you use an app on your phone, a clip-on headstock tuner or a tuning pedal, tune your guitar to proper pitches every time you pick it up and give yourself a head start on sounding like a pro.

Now when you are able to properly finger that chord that you've been struggling with, you'll hear the guitar ring out and the sound of your success. Then you'll know you're growing and be inspired to continue on your musical journey!

Answer 6

The most important thing a beginner needs to know is what kind of guitar to choose. That depends on your musical interests. Do you like classical or Latin genres? Pick a guitar with nylon strings. Most other genres use steel string guitars. In both cases, pick a size that is comfortable for you hands and body. Don't spend a lot on your first guitar, especially if you still have some growing to do. The second thing to know is how to take care of your guitar. My first guitar was a used acoustic with steel strings. The strings were already rusty and "dead" when I bought it. As a result, they cut and hurt my uncalloused fingertips so badly I couldn't make any progress and eventually gave up. It was only years later I learned you can (should) replace old strings with newer ones. I did that and never stopped playing again.

Answer 7

Although everyone comes from a slightly different school of thought about what to do with people who are new to the guitar, I try and take a goal-oriented approach. I make a point of it to ask them in the very first lesson: "What exactly are you looking to get out of this? Is there some song you specifically want to learn that we can work toward?" and use their answers to these questions to formulate an approach that will keep them improving and motivated because they're seeing (or hearing) tangible progress.

By doing this, it avoids this idea that music has to feel like a lot of work and that they requires hours of disciplined practicing. While music at a high level involves both of these things, my goal with new students is just to get them to fall in love with the thing. For me, theory and all of this stuff is introduced only when it's helpful, or really adds something to the student's journey in becoming a good musician.

Answer 8

In my experience, students have the best long term results by focusing on technique first and foremost! My goal as a teacher is to give my student the tools so eventually they won't need me to help them continue learning guitar.

When a student spends a good amount of time focusing on forming basic technical habits (playing with their fingertips, minimizing movement, etc.) once these habits become second nature they fly through material!