Do You Have To Learn Music Theory To Be Able To Play Simple Songs On Guitar

by Maurice Richard

It's so boring. You listen to the instructions for what seems hours and it all seems like Greek. None of it makes sense. It's so confusing. You go home and try your best to get it. You study as much as you can but it seems to be no use. You are not getting anywhere. All you want to do is play. Why do you have to learn all of this stuff to do that? This is no fun. There has to be a better way to learn to play songs on guitar.

Learning Music Theory Does Not Work For Beginner Guitar Players

Music theory is a very useful thing to learn. It can help you learn how chords are formed, how chords work together and how to write music. This is great if you already know how to play guitar. Otherwise it is going to be a very steep uphill climb for you to learn. Learning music theory in order to learn to play guitar is like trying to learn how the engine of a car works before you can learn to drive. There is no point to doing this for most people.

Why Do So Many Guitar Teachers Start Beginners With Theory

The reason a lot of people teach music theory to beginning guitar players is because that's what they learned. When they did their degree in music theory was a huge part of it. So when they teach people how to play guitar, and most guitar teachers out there went to university for music, they simply teach the same way they were taught. However you are not going to university and you do not want to become a professional guitar player. You just want to actually play guitar and have fun. So this is overkill for you.

Find A Teacher Who Will Show You How To Actually Play Guitar

It may seem obvious at this point but what you need to do is find a different teacher. Someone who does not use the standard methods most teachers use. This kind of teacher will ask you what you want to accomplish. Where you want to go with your guitar playing. They will build a plan to get you there that is tailored to you.

They will focus lessons on you actually playing something right away. They will help train you instead of giving you more and more content or theory. They are rare but there are teachers out there that will help you actually play guitar. You will have to do some homework and research all the teachers in your area until you find this person.

A Good Teacher Is Not Enough: You Will Have To Work Too

Once you find a good teacher it's important that you learn to trust their methods and follow them. If you do the results will happen. You must also put in the time and effort required on your side of things. You can have the best teacher in the world but if you do not practice daily you will not improve much if at all. A good teacher will show you how to get the most of your practice time so even if your time is limited you will still accomplish a lot if you do follow their guidelines. Learning to play guitar should be fun, not boring, so get yourself a good teacher and watch the results follow!

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