Can Anyone Learn Guitar? (Yes You Can!)

Learning guitar is one of the most fulfilling journeys you can undertake. The path to mastering guitar is filled with many milestones and moments of bliss that will make it hard to put your guitar down once you’ve picked it up.

While getting started can seem daunting and reaching the level of your guitar idols may seem impossible, this isn’t the case!

All it takes to learn guitar is passion, motivation and PRACTICE.

Just because you are told that anyone can learn guitar, it might still seem too hard – especially if you are struggling with some of the following negative thoughts.

What If I’m Not A Naturally Musical Person?

Do you have the belief that you are not a ‘naturally musical person’?

Luckily this doesn’t really matter, as long as you can hear then you can play! 

When you start to learn guitar you shouldn’t go in with the expectation to be a master straight away. That’s why it’s called learning. 

The process doesn’t just involve learning the technical parts of playing, you’ll also be learning other musical skills naturally while you learn guitar. 

Did You Know?
The more you play, the more your subconscious mind starts to remember the way musical sounds go together. So while you teach your hands how to play your brain is also learning!

The most important thing to do is to practice a little each day – even just for a few minutes. This way your hands and your brain will retain what you’re learning easier and you won’t have to re-learn things each time you go to practice. 

What If I Can’t Sing – Does It Matter?

Not being able to sing isn’t a big deal at all. Some of the greatest guitarists on earth have never sung in their lives.

Singing while you play is a lot of fun though and can help you keep track of where you’re up to in the song. If you’re not a confident singer you can always speak the words or count the bars in your head as you play through a song. 

Just remember that the joy of singing doesn’t come from whether your voice is any good, only whether you’re enjoying yourself, just look at Bob Dylan!

Singing especially doesn’t matter if you’re more interested in lead guitar playing. Lead guitarists usually play strictly lead guitar and rarely sing, that’s often left to the rhythm guitarist. 

Playing lead guitar and singing is something not even experienced guitar players would want to try.

This is definitely the case when playing guitar solos. Singing over a guitar solo doesn’t even make sense, it’s supposed to be a guitar SOLO – right?

What If You Have A Disability?

The logistics of playing guitar can make the idea of learning with a disability pretty daunting. However musical history is filled with amazing musicians that have overcome the perceived limitations of both physical and mental disabilities. 

For example singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell has limited use of her hands and fingers due to her battle with polio in her childhood.

Determined to play guitar, Mitchell makes use of alternative tunings to make chord shapes less complex. This lets her compose vibrant and compelling chord progressions without having to use the entire fretboard. 

Did You Know?
A tool developed to help make strumming easier are pick straps. These products allow you to strap a guitar pick to your hand without having to hold the pick in your fingers. This allows many guitarists with motor neuron diseases to play without having to hold the pick in their strumming hand. 

An example of this type of device is the Strum-N-Comfort. It’s simply a velcro strap with a pick attached.

Strum-N-Comfort Kodiak

Learning guitar with a disability can be a challenge, but resources and techniques to make playing easier are becoming easier to access.

So don’t be deterred from playing, and do some research into how people in similar situations have overcome the challenges presented to them. 

What Are Your Expectations for Guitar Playing?

Setting your expectations is an important decision to make in guiding you through your learning experience. Knowing where you want to end up will allow you to focus your efforts on aspects of playing guitar that will get you where you’re heading.  

The approach to learning guitar will be different for each player. If you’re looking to pick up a few chords to learn and sing along to some of your favorite songs, you’re going to take a different approach to someone that wants to learn jazz guitar.

While the first person should start with the most common chord progressions the other should probably start by learning scales as this will be more useful in reaching their goals.

Where you start your journey doesn’t dictate where you’ll end up but it will give you some guidance to get you on your way. You can always change up the way you want to play later. 

Going from jazz scales to learning country style guitar chords will be sure to make you a diverse player!

Playing Guitar Is About Enjoying Yourself

It’s hard to not compare yourself to other guitar players when you get started. 

If you want to be able to play like your favorite artists you need to start at the same point they started at – knowing nothing! 

The only reason people get so good at guitar is because they enjoyed playing so much that they couldn’t put the guitar down. Playing guitar isn’t a competition, and to aspiring to play like those you look up to means capturing the passion for the instrument that got them where they are today!

The great thing about learning guitar is that everyone has their own style somewhere inside them. So while you need to learn the skills and the techniques, everyone will learn them a little differently. These little differences are what makes every guitar player unique. 

If we all played the exact same way, the world of guitars would be pretty boring! So don’t compare yourselves to others – just play your own way.

Anyone Can Learn Guitar – Are You Motivated?

Learning guitar is all about following your passion. Everyone’s guitar journey is different but starts in a similar way… With a dream.

Following this dream will take time but each day that you practice your dream will edge closer to reality.

That is where motivation is key to realizing this dream and where you’ll find out if you truly have a passion for guitar or simply a passing interest. 

The most important thing you need when learning guitar is motivation!

Just remember, ANYONE CAN PLAY GUITAR as long as you’ve got the passion and motivation to find out how YOU play guitar.