So you want to learn guitar...

Many people want to learn how to play the guitar, dreaming of how one day they will become the next legendary guitar god. But whether you want to impress your friends, join a band, or simply acquire a new (and amazingly awesome) skill, it will take work and despite any beliefs that you will be a natural, no matter what, it's going to take time and practice.

First of all, if you already have or are enrolled in guitar lessons, that's great..but for the rest of us (who are too cheap or too poor), the journey might be a little tougher (but it'll be free!). For beginners, the key to success is staying motivated. If you don't want your guitar to end up under an inch of dust, forgotten in your attic, you have got to pick up your guitar and play.

"But what if I have no idea where to start?" you ask. Well, that's easy. There are many free resources you can use to begin learning chords, songs, and techniques. One is Youtube where there are countless tutorials and free lessons (many explaining exactly where to place your fingers and how to form each chord). A great place to start is with Youtube guitar teacher Marty Schwartz who will teach you how to play hundreds of songs of varying degrees of difficulty. But before you learn any songs, I recommend that you learn a few basic chords and start strumming. Marty Schwartz actually has a free e-book with basic open and barre chords...just visit his Youtube channel. Then, once you master these, you'll be playing songs in no time.

In addition to Youtube, once you are more comfortable with playing songs I suggest that you learn how to read guitar tab (there's not much to it) and play songs using this method. There are many free sites such as ultimate guitar that gives you free tabs for thousands of songs.

If you still want more resources you can buy (or go to the library and check out for free) books on guitar theory, guitar chords, etc.

Happy strumming!