How long did it take you to learn how to play the guitar?

Hey there! I learn how to play the guitar when I was 19 years old. It was on acoustic guitar. It was really hard trying to learn how to play the guitar on your own. Even though I was a starter I immediately proceeded with using tabs. It was the first guitar chart that I've learned first before I learn the chords. Of course I know A-G chords. After trying to learn how to play the guitar for 2 months with no improvement I quit. After three months when I was just sitting feeling bored I took my brothers dusty guitar and started practicing again. Now, I have proven to my self that it is only in your mind. I was thinking, if others can do it I can do it too. And I can do better than them. So I practiced daily almost the whole day. After a week my fingers on my left hand were full of calluses, but I've made a significant improvement. I was getting into the rhythm! I am making good progress. I just continue practicing everyday. After 2 months I've already reach the level of guitar playing that my brother possess. After 5 months I joined our school choir as a guitarist. From then on I started to make big improvements. My fingers can move fast and I was doing pretty well on the lead.A year and a half ago I started playing guitar the freestyle way. Like Justin King, Andy McKee, Trace Bundy. They are my favorites. I can now play Larivee by Justin King, Drifting and Rhylyn by Andy, and Canon and Dueling Ninjas by Trace bundy. It was hard how to learn tapping, harmonics, slapping, and many other terms. But through practice and positive thinking you'll learn it eventually. Now, I would say that I can play guitar good, not very well because I didn't pursue learning the scales. I know how to tune guitar to different tunes though. Have a nice day. Happy posting!!

I've been playing for about 2 years or so (I think). I try not to limit myself. I like to play a lot of melancholy acoustic songs (think darker, finger picked acoustic music). I also like playing many forms of heavy metal, a little blues/jazz, and such. I am also self taught and am doing pretty good considering that. I have a MIDI keyboard as well and have been learning how to play that. I think playing keys as well as guitar help you as a musician all around.

I've been playing for 30 years and I'm still learning. It's a process that never stops for me. I play mostly electric, though I do acoustic as well as software synths driven by midi keyboard. All my amplification and proccessing are software based, native instruments "guitar rig" and "amplitube" as a supliment. I play mostly hard rock and progressive stuff, but love doing classical as well. I love ripping out blazingleads, but a nice soulfull rythm with well placed expressive and minimal licks is a nice escape to and has a value all it's own.

I started learning guitar at the age of 18 and attended classes for four years.I learned to play chords and lead only.I didn't learned to play bass.After leaving the classes,I concentrate only in playing lead.Cheers!

I play an acustic/electric Alveraz. Love it. It's small (I am small so are my hands). I actually learned on a jumbo Martin. It was beautiful! My daddy told me if I learned well enough to play in church I could have the guitar. He made me some hand made chord charts with the chords I would need and also which went within each key! A short time later I owned the guitar! I definetly only play rhthym.. and even that is questionable!!

commanderxo: I played in high school and college but did not play for ten years or more. I started playing again recently and it has gotten my attention. I am learning a lot of things now that I wish I knew when I was playing earlier. You mentioned a program you downloaded that lets you find chords. That sounds very useful. Can you tell me the name and where I can find it and download?

I started learning an acoustic guitar when I was a small kid. I don't even remember when. I quit midway for reasons I still trying to find out. Now I am 27, have an electric guitar, bought some learning CDs/DVDs and books and am learning it myself.

well. remember that on my senior school times i learned from someone to play guitar. but found it's really hard to learn and after some days boring and no progress learning. i quit soon. think if i did not quit then perhaps i also can paly some easy now. till now i still envy those guys who play guitar good.

Great thread! I've been playing since I was 16, wound up fronting a band in my 20's that almost (lol) got signed... (hey it was the 80's!). I remember at 17 playing from early evening to early morning... I was kinda obsessed. Eventually getting into recording, and now have my own home studio... and am pursuing a songwriting career!

I got my first guitar when I was 15, I also took lessons. I was okay at playing licks but not very good with chords and keeping rhythm. I had an ESP Explorer...it was one fancy guitar (my parents always spoiled me ). I gave up around the time I was 18 because I didn't feel I was making much progress . I thought maybe I would pick it up again one day, but I sold my ESP to my cousin for a really good deal for him, he is really talented and always was a better player than me.

I had my 1st guitar when i was 16, sweet age, wanted to impress the girls so i started learning by myself, it was hard there was times i wanted to break the dam guitar in pieces, but when i had that feeling i simply put the guitar aside and waited for another day. I took 3 or 4 days to learn my first song "Come as you are - Nirvana", but only the beggining. Then i started with Eric Clapton songs, passed to metallica, etc etc. There was sometimes i just played with random chords to see the results. After the 1st year i could say i had the skill to play some good parts of some of my favourite songs, altough still messing up some parts- Now it has been 7 years and i can say i play many known songs with decent skill, but theres always space to improve, we never stop learning. In therms of rythm or picking, i can say its the same for me, i dont find anything more dificult in one or another. At the moment im learning to play Flamenco so i can finally take the dust off my nylon strings and put aside my steel strings.

i begun to play last year and it took me about 3 months before i was reading tabs and beginning to rock, i had a nature by jixing, a not too shabby, yet not too good electric guitar, recently i upgraded to a peavey preadator EXP. i play pretty much whatever i can get my head around, but mainly end up playing different forms of rock

Well, I played guitar for more than 30 years and I'm still learning...that's a beauty of the instrument. I mainly play acoustic fingerstyle, but I can flatpick not too fast. Like to play an alternate bass style, as the older blues players used to do, and later on Players like Merle Travis, Chet Atkins and others developed. I play folk, blues, ragtime-blues.And portuguese music. After an accident 5 years ago I stopped, but I want to restart and i'm very enthusiastic about it. I'll develop my stoty if you are interested.

My story begin in 2003 when I decide to begin an instrument. I directly choose the guitare. Why? Because I love the rock and the guitar. After I bought an acoustic guitar I use it know but rarely. 3 years later, I bought an electric guitar, red and white like style rock/blues. I really love my guitar and since all the day I play 1/2 hours a day. In 2003 I began to take lesson, today I am taking lessons and play a lot of tabs. The best instrument in the world: the guitar. Never I will stop to play.

I learned to play guitar when I was 47 and it didn't take me long at all. Of course being good and learning how to play are not the same thing. :) One thing that really helped me learn was to go to guitar jams that my computer class students had. Being able to hear how it should sound, watching those that do great and then practicing works great. Now I use Youtube to find all the help I need with just about any song I want to learn. I practice or should I say play around for a couple of hours a day just on scales and chord sequences. I wish my guitar friends would practice more so we could do more songs. I think I would go bananas without my guitar now.

I wish I could play something my grandmother was teaching me paino but being a kid I was to didn't want to learn it which I sorry I didn't listen to her she was great at it but me I not good at music or singing eather haha...so you are very smart.and lucky.. cd

Dont know how to play...would probably take me forever to learn. :) My boys know how to play though. They started learning around 3 & 4 and they are now 7 & 8. They are actually pretty good at it. Their dad has a few friends that are in bands around here and they take time out each week to give them lessons on the guitar and drums.

I'm learning since two years, you never learn how to play the guitar completely, you just get better and better at playing it.

I started learning guitar when I was 17. It didn't take long to get started but playing good and appreciating good tunes from my own guitar took time. It started of more like a pass time to me but I started to enjoy it very soon and at the end of the day it helps me to bring peace of mind. Somehow I got attracted to acoustic and am continuing with the style till date.