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I recently came across one of the many learn to play guitar video tutorials now available online, and it had the extraordinary effect of converting the heap of wood and string which has been gathering dust for a rather long time into something I am actually enjoying learning to play, and which is already starting to sound less like a cat being strangled by a snake in a bucket of ball bearings, and almost like something resembling music.

Like many people I decided to buy a guitar because there are now so many available at very affordable prices, it’s not hard to find one and get started. In fact I know someone recently who bought a really nice quality guitar for just five pounds from the local market, and my new guitar only cost a shade over thirty pounds. I understand that with more money comes better quality, but when you’re just getting started learning how to play guitar all you need is something you can hold, twang and strum whilst attempting to make a sound that won’t get you arrested for cruelty to animals.

The problem is that having seen other people with guitars playing a range of tunes in a way that makes it all seem so easy, I thought it really was easy. I mean, a tightrope walker might make it look easy, and a Formula 1 racing driver might make it look easy, but in my heart of hearts I know I probably couldn’t do it. But somehow when you see someone strumming away on the street corner, or ripping out a great tune on a small stage at your local pub, or entertaining crowds of people at a large show, I can’t help but see myself there, in their place, performing with equal ease.

I knew this dream was somewhat farfetched when I first picked up the guitar. My first impression was that I’d bought an extra large size by mistake as it seemed almost impossible to hold the guitar comfortably and naturally whilst twisting my left hand almost ninety degrees around the fret board to try to hold down the right notes for the first chord.

I had a small booklet which I got at the same time as the guitar, but compared to watching a learn to play guitar video online, a diagram, no matter how carefully drawn, just doesn’t have the same quality. Watching how someone who knows how to play a guitar holds the instrument, holds their hands, and creates the right sound makes a huge difference. I had struggled so much with trying to play the first couple of chords, and sliding between them without making a sound that was mildly less appealing that nails on a blackboard that I gave up.

But after realising just how many online videos there are for everything you could possibly imagine wanting to try, it occurred to me that there must be some decent online guitar video tutorials I could use to help get me started. It was after just watching one learn to play guitar video that I realised how much simpler it can be compared to trying to be entirely self taught. I don’t know anyone else personally who plays guitar, and I’m loath to spend twenty pounds a week every week on music lessons, as it’s really just a casual pastime.

So my advice to you is this. If you have bought a guitar, or are thinking of buying a guitar, or have one you dust carefully each week before ignoring, why not pop online and do what I did. By watching an experienced guitarist demonstrate how to hold the guitar, play a few chords and move easily from one chord to the next in an easy to follow learn to play guitar video tutorial you could be one step closer to fulfilling your dream, or at least, a step further away from frightening the local wildlife.

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