Eight Steps to Learning the Guitar

1. Study and learn the instrument. Learn the parts of the guitar, what each part does and how it interacts with the rest of the instrument. Learn how the guitar produces sounds and what changes and affects the sound. A solid understanding of the guitar is crucial to becoming a skilled player and will reward you throughout your musical career.

Here is a video that explains the parts of an acoustic guitar.

2. Once you're familiar with the instrument itself, you should learn the chords and hand positions. These will eventually need to become second nature to you, so you should practice them over and over until you can move smoothly between different positions.

This video describes some basic guitar chords.

3. In addition to hand position, you should know the optimum positions for your body (this will be personal to you). This includes leg, back, arm, and shoulder positions. You will also need to practice your fret hand technique and strum hand coordination. You will need to develop muscle memory in your fret hand.

4. Learn the different ways to play chords. There may be up to 10 ways to play a certain chord. Each may be appropriate for different situations, pieces, and styles. To be a well-rounded guitar player you should be familiar with all of them.

When starting out, you will likely need to look down frequently at your fret hand to make sure it's in the right position. This is appropriate. You should make sure your positioning is correct so you develop muscle memory with the right positions. You can practice this even when you're away from the guitar. For example, when watching TV you can simulate moving and placing your fret hand on the guitar. Over time, your fingering position will become more familiar and you will not need to look down so much.

This video introduces a system for learning the fretboard:

5. Practice daily. As your brain gets a regular diet of guitar, it will quickly absorb the techniques and make them second-nature. You should aim for at least a half hour of practice per day, for at least five days per week. A short practice session each day is better than a long session one day followed by a several-days lay off.

6. Learn the proper techniques. Practice doesn't make perfect, perfect practice makes perfect. Look up on the Internet for good instruction videos and websites. If you know an experienced guitarist, try to get together with them regularly to jam together. By watching and playing alongside them, your technique will rapidly grow. You can also check your local library for beginning guitar books.

7. Realize this will take some time. That chord you've been struggling with will eventually become clean and smooth as you work at it. Frustration and roadblocks are normal; don't let them discourage you.

8. If you're practicing frequently, remember to replace your strings regularly. This will make a dramatic improvement in the sound quality.