How Easy It Is To Learn Guitar?

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Short answer - Learning guitar is very easy. I learned to play the guitar in 30 days. But, there is a catch. Read below to learn more.

And, before I actually start answering how I did it, I think it is important to lay down a brief background of music in my life. I haven't gone under any formal music training but during primary school days in DAV, we had a compulsory class of vocal music and classical dance. I was in awe of my music teacher mimicking the sound of running horses on his pair of Tabla, and I had learnt a bit of Kathak. I was part of various school functions either singing in choir or dancing in the group. I didn't pursue dance much but I did become a permanent member of the choir group for 6+ years. Growing up, I tried instrumental music too as my ECA and, learnt to play a bit of the banjo. Banjo was considerably easier than the Tabla. I tried my hands at the drums and xylophone too but failed to learn them. Keyboard and guitar always gave me goosebumps so never tried those. Fast forward, I opted out of the choir group in high school and had no contact with any instrument since then. 

Now, it's been more than 10 years since I graduated from school. Two years ago, in 2018, I decided to learn a musical instrument again, I picked up the flute to start with. I failed miserably in blowing air in the bamboo flute. During the later part of the year, I did more research and then thought of picking up the harmonica. See the pattern, I was finding the instruments that were small and easy to carry :) I shortlisted a cool harmonica but never bought one. 

Now, the journey starts. 

In October 2019 (one year ago precisely), I made a firm decision. This time, I was eying the harmonica again and the ukulele. Considering, ukulele to be similar looking as the guitar, I bought a ukulele. Poor harmonica got rejected twice :) Playing the ukulele looks easy on Youtube but it isn't like that when you actually start for the first time. Holding chords with the left hand, strumming with the right and singing...it takes a serious dedication to perform all three tasks simultaneously. And, this part of the learning journey is very important especially if one is learning completely online by watching Youtube and reading articles. To be frank, it was really difficult during the early days to get the chords and strumming in sync leave the singing alone. In fact, learning the basic strumming pattern DDU UDU took me two weeks. I started by playing the tab version of Happy Birthday. I had a firm determination to learn this time. By January 2020, I was not only decent but good enough. I had developed muscle memory, I could hold all easy and difficult chords without seeing the fingers or the fretboard. I could play even difficult strumming patterns and along with them, I could sing too. All achieved in less than 3 months giving 2 hours during the weekdays and 5 hours during the weekends. By February 2020, I was smart enough to find the strumming pattern of any song just by listening. I could make my own strumming patterns. By this time, I could play any song given I had the chords sheet. To sum up, I learnt to play the ukulele in 5months.

In June 2020, I decided to upgrade myself to a guitar but I couldn't make the final call until August 2020 which is when I finally bought a guitar. 

I had anticipated that the guitar would just be an incremental change from my ukulele. But, when I received Amazon's delivery, I was shocked to see the size of my guitar, it was as tall as a school kid! The dreadnought size put me in a post-purchase dilemma and I questioned my choice of not buying a concert guitar...but considering this just as an experiment, I ignored my worry. I always knew the differences between a guitar and a uke. I had been learning guitar chords alongside the ukulele chords just to be on the safe side for the future. Now, with the guitar in hand, all I had to learn more was to develop my muscle memory for new chord positions and strengthen my fingertips. Actually, I was confident that I would develop muscle memory for guitar in a week or 10 days maximum. But, when I started playing, it took me 3 weeks to learn all the basic and bar chords. I am yet to master my muscle memory for a few chords though like Bm Gm, C#m. Apart from the chord shape, the rest was quite the same as it was in the ukulele. Same strumming pattern, same techniques...I can play more than 20 of my favourite songs on the guitar without needing any chords sheet. I can play difficult strumming patterns. Play and sing at the same time. So, I can easily say that it took me a month to learn the guitar. As long as I can get the chords sheet, I can safely play almost any song on the guitar. Though there have been a few occasions when I could find chords of songs on my own. 

Actually, the notion of learning guitar can be different for different people, all depends on the goals, what you want to achieve, etc. What learning means for me can be different from what it means for others. Like, for me, it was all about being able to sing and play the guitar at home or maybe singing for a friend or family. For some, the meaning of learning guitar could be playing the lead (tabs) of songs which hardly interests me. For some, it could be to be able to play fingerstyle.

The journey of learning the guitar is a never-ending process. If I start from uke journey, I have been in the process for 1 year but if I count only the guitar learning process, it's been only 2 months and I am very much satisfied with what I have achieved in the short span. The next step for me is to be able to find key-notes of the songs, find their chords on my own, learn some complex chords, and to be able to play a handful of leads. Gladly, now I can play multiple instruments. Yay!

A few more insights from my musical journey:

Question 1: Is learning ukulele easier than learning the guitar?

Answer: Yes, the ukulele can be learnt more easily than the guitar. Learning ukulele first than learning guitar can surely give you a headstart. The presence of only four nylon strings and wider string spacing helps in holding the chords easily in comparison to an acoustic guitar which has narrower string spacing and steel strings that make it slightly difficult to handle during the initial months. Plus, the ukulele has narrower frets in comparison to much wider frets of the guitar that make your left hand stretch a lot.

Question 2: Can ukulele help me in learning guitar?

Answer: Yes, learning ukulele first does give an advantage while switching to guitar. If you want to learn guitar, directly learn the guitar, but if you are afraid of handling such a big instrument, start the journey with the ukulele as it can be a stepping stone and help you save a few months from your guitar learning journey. Plus, at the end of the journey, you would have learnt two instruments.

Question 3: Can I learn to play the guitar in a few months?

Answer: Yes. Basics of the guitar can be easily acquired in a few months. My above journey is an example. But, I would reiterate, learning the guitar has different meanings for everyone. 

Question 4: Which guitar should I buy to learn, Dreadnought or Cut-away?

Answer: It depends on your goal. If your goal is like mine, to be able to strum and sing (play the rhythms), go for the dreadnought size as it has a bigger lower bout which is good for higher bass sound. But, if you want to become a lead guitarist, play leads of songs or upgrade to an electric guitar or a bass guitar in future, go for cut-away as it gives a balanced sound of bass and treble.

Question 5: I want to learn the guitar but I am afraid. What to do?

Answer: Go my way. If guitar scares you as an instrument but you really want to try your hand at it. Learn ukulele first, gauge your interest in music. If it's just a visceral interest that you have to impress someone or you really like the musical sound and want to express yourself with it. Once ukulele interests you, switch to guitar.

Question 6: Can I learn guitar online for free?
Answer: Certainly, yes. If you know what you are looking for, you will find that information for free of cost online. So, yes, you can learn guitar online by watching youtube videos. 

Question 7: Do I need a musical background to learn guitar?

Answer: No. The basic music lessons I had got during school days might have helped me catch the rhythms of the songs. But, even if it weren't there, it would not have been difficult. 

Finally, I would say that learning the guitar is just like swimming, it will be helpful if you know it :) Uh! I learnt swimming basics too but never mastered it. I will probably not drown but will not be able to save someone :p

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Picking New Hobbies