How Can I Teach Myself To Play Classical Guitar?

So, you have decided to learn an instrument, and it is none other than the classical guitar. Now you’re wondering if you can teach classical guitar to yourself. Well, the answer is YES, you absolutely can.

It was believed that you must have professional teaching to learn any instrument. Somebody can tell you the basics and take you along on a knowledgeable journey to understand the instrument. However, with the abundance of resources available, it has become very easy to learn all kinds of new skills.

Learn to Play Classical Guitar in 6 Simple Steps

Let us dive into how you can learn to play classical guitar yourself.

1. Know Your Instrument

The first thing you need to do is get a classical guitar. You have already made it easy on yourself by deciding which guitar you want to go for. You can find several kinds of classical guitars to choose from on teds-list.com. Know the basics of what to look for in the instrument you are set on buying.

It is essential that you know and understand the classical guitar you choose. Learn about its body and craftsmanship. Learning an instrument is like starting a relationship. Your guitar can be your best friend or your arch-nemesis. So, be sure to get to know your instrument well before starting your journey with it. It will also reduce your chances of getting ripped off.

2. Find Resources

Even though you can easily find resources in this technological age, it still is challenging to look for reliable outlets. Click-bait marketing techniques can make even the most useless piece of information attractive and worthy. You might see something that is low-yield in your classical-guitar lessons more often just because of marketing gimmicks. For this reason, we strongly recommend keeping your eyes peeled and only opt for authentic resources.

There are plenty of influential books, websites, articles, and videos available all over the internet that great professionals curate. There are even some online courses and programs designed specifically for people who want to learn classical guitar independently.

3. Make a Plan

Once you have settled on your resources, make a lesson plan for yourself. A well-organized system will help you go through the learning process smoothly. Make sure you are not moving forward too quickly. It is essential to learn all chords and scales. Line up a repertoire that is suitable for a beginner. Stay motivated by rewarding yourself for your little achievements.

The plan should be executed at a chosen time each time. You can choose to fix the time to build a routine around it. If you fix a time, it will be easier for you to include it in your daily schedule. Since you already have a lesson plan, specifying a time will help you schedule your daily lessons. You will also be able to make more time for this activity if you want more room for improvement.

4. Record Yourself

One of the most important things that you can do while learning to play classical guitar is to record and play the guitar. Listen to the clip later to analyze yourself. This is a great way to see your progress and find mistakes in different learning sessions. It will also help you scrutinize your process and see if it works for you. It will be like shifting perspective.

When you listen to yourself while you play, your primary focus is on playing the instrument, and listening becomes secondary. Similarly, your focus shifts when you record yourself and listen only to study yourself. If you have become familiar with the tune, then you will be more likely to pick minor deviations and misgivings that one might miss otherwise.

5. Join a Community

Being a self-taught legacy is excellent but also a rarity. It is always good to get some feedback from others when you can. Join a community, and you can find one locally or even online like the one at teds-list.com. This enables you to get constructive criticism from somebody already at the prime of their career so that you may excel at yours.

You can find other people learning to play classical guitar, share tips, do jamming sessions or just listen to each other play and share feedback. Being part of a community will also help you get over when you’re having an off day in training. Learning on your own might make you feel isolated, but having several people sharing the same experiences will help you with your journey.

6. Play Your Favorite Songs

Once you have gotten the basics and moved forward in your learning, remember to play songs you like. Nothing can get you more motivated than strumming to your favorite songs. Everyone has a genre they prefer to listen to; these songs make us fall in love with music. Most of the time, these songs tempt us to play an instrument.

So, search the notes for the song that made you pick up that guitar. This will give you pleasure and help you in your learning. Playing songs that you can’t relate to or like might bore you and make you feel discouraged. If you like a song, you are more likely to stay focused on learning the notes clearly. Additionally, you will also know where you are making mistakes because you know the music inside out.

What NOT to Do While Teaching Yourself Classical Guitar

Knowing what to do right is important if you also know what to avoid while teaching yourself classical guitar. Some of the mistakes to avoid are as follows:

1. Expecting Immediate Results

When you start the learning process, it falls on your shoulders to measure your improvement day by day. Query menu scale is always going to be more difficult than you anticipated. Be ready for a lot of frustration at not getting the notes just right. You are a beginner so always understand that there will be room for improvement. Celebrate small achievements to keep yourself on the right path.

2. Focusing on All the Theory

Learning theory will not be that important when you are acquiring a skill that essentially requires you to get your hands dirty. Learning classical guitar is a practical skill. Getting your hand on the strings is more important than knowing what different parts of the instrument are called.

When you begin with too much knowledge in your head, you are more likely to get confused with all the different parts and lose confidence in the process. Open to learning new things but do not get discouraged if you get something wrong. Just motivate yourself to keep on practicing and leave theory for later.

3. Giving Up Due to Discouragement

The improvement will not be immediate, which is why you need to be consistent with your practice and planning. There are days when you will feel very discouraged with your lack of progress and feel stagnant with your learning. The key to the situation is to keep engaged with the learning process and give yourself time to improve.

If you give up in the initial case, you will not know the learning curve that can happen while learning classical guitar. Accept that you will make mistakes and take breaks whenever you feel overwhelmed with discouragement. Try to analyze your mistakes critically and work on them like a teacher would on a student.

Final Verdict

Realistically speaking, whenever you pick up an instrument to learn, there will be days when you will question your progress. There will be days when you want to quit, but your progress will continue if you remember to take the days one at a time. You require patience and practice to learn to play classical guitar skillfully, and if you follow these steps, you will surely master the skill.