Acoustic Blues guitar lesson spice up that bluesy playing
The internet is a truly magnificent and wonderful learning resource. Young people today don’t all appreciate how lucky they are to have the worlds knowledge and skills at their fingertips via the internet.
I started playing over thirty years ago with Bert Weedon’s famous ‘Play in a Day’ book, back in the 1970s. I could never afford guitar lessons so I would take every opportunity to obsessively study the playing techniques and styles of every guitarist I managed to see.
Modern technology has revolutionised the way that people learn to play the guitar. DVDs, for example, can be played over and over again, unlike face to face guitar lessons. And the internet provides an ideal medium for the delivery of some great guitar tutorials.
There are an abundance of guitar teaching websites but my favourite place for guitar tutorials is Youtube. You can find instructional videos on everything from choosing guitars to making your own electric guitar. There are videos for every level of learner from beginner through to old guys like me who want to learn a few new tunes and techniques.
Learning new guitar licks and techniques has become one of my favourite pass times. If the weather is bad then you will generally find me learning a new tune or two from Youtube. I think that my guitar playing skills have improved more in the past five years, thanks to Youtube, than it did in the prior twenty years.
Another thing to remember is that the system is interactive. When I find a video that I like I will always make it one of my favourites and maybe drop the performer a comment to say thanks. Also, I like to ask the odd question and invariably the person who created the video will respond with an answer. It’s a bit like having every online guitarist in the world available as a personal guitar playing consultant.
I can’t help but feel a little envious of the young people who are just starting to learn today. I like to think that if I had been born at a time when the internet was available, providing this wealth of incredibly valuable instruction and guidance, who knows, I might have become the next Jimi Hendrix or Stevie Ray Vaughan.
Tags: electric guitar, guitar, learn guitar, play guitar, Youtube