| I have been playing for 36 years - here's my take....
1) Take lessons to get familiar with the guitar - the very basics - maybe 5 or 6. Then practice what you were taught for about 2 hours a day with a metronome, paying attention to details of what you are doing. What you want to concentrate on at first is timing and muscle memory. After a few months of learning to play chords ( without buzzing the strings), scales ( in time), you feel comfortable with the guitar, then go back for more lessons, because now, your hands should be able to do what your mind tells them too. Your question about acoustic/electric depends - although they are played using the similar techniques, they are very different. If you have a quality instrument, have a professional shop set up the action and adjust the neck for you, and either will be much easier to manage, that's the problem, most people just buy a cheap instrument and don't bother to have it adjusted, and then struggle with it. The DVD's are great after you can really find your way around, but not really just starting out. Guitarwes has a good point about learning the formal and informal - again, 2 completely different animals. and just because someone can play, doesn't mean they can teach! |