Teaching yourself guitar?

Mayonnaise2001

Is it possible to teach yourself guitar to the point where you can sit graded exams and do well? I've picked up my sister's old electric guitar and have been playing around with it but looking at graded courses online, I feel like getting to that stage is sooo far away. Also, I'm in year 12 and don't have as much time as I'd like to spend on guitar although it's something I've always wanted to do! Any input is appreciated :biggrin:

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Reply 1

Manitude

It's absolutely possible to learn on your own as there are tons of great resources for free on the internet (JustinGuitar and YourGuitarSage to name two off the top of my head). But why are you wanting to sit graded exams?

Also, when I was in year 12 I played more guitar than at any other stage in my life before or since, so I don't think you can use that as an excuse to not play :wink:

Reply 2

Mayonnaise2001

Original post by Manitude

But why are you wanting to sit graded exams?

I kinda wanna do graded exams because they give me a target to work towards and achieving a grade would tell me I'm progressing in my playing ability :smile:

I've been using yousician to learn the basics and I hope to progress further at some point

Reply 3

username2877554

Defo! I am self taught and I would suggest you to do the same. Not only it is not as hard as you imagine it to be, but it is a very good hobby to pick up! It impresses friends and family members :P

Reply 4

Mayonnaise2001

Original post by Steljoy

Defo! I am self taught and I would suggest you to do the same. Not only it is not as hard as you imagine it to be, but it is a very good hobby to pick up! It impresses friends and family members :P

Have you been able to do graded also?

Reply 5

Manitude

Original post by Mayonnaise2001

I kinda wanna do graded exams because they give me a target to work towards and achieving a grade would tell me I'm progressing in my playing ability :smile:

I've been using yousician to learn the basics and I hope to progress further at some point

Fair enough, that does make some sense. I've never really seen the point, personally, as the enjoyment I get from playing is unrelated to any pieces of paper saying how good I am. I've never done a proper formal lesson or a grade exam before and can't ever really see myself wanting to.

Reply 6

username2877554

Original post by Mayonnaise2001

Have you been able to do graded also?

Unfortunately I never went for graded exams because I didn't have any intention of getting grades but I am sure that I could if I tried :yep:

Reply 7

Mayonnaise2001

Original post by Manitude

I guess. I was also hoping that I could have something to put on my CV if I'm planning on spending time on it

Reply 8

Manitude

Original post by Mayonnaise2001

I guess. I was also hoping that I could have something to put on my CV if I'm planning on spending time on it

I don't think it would particularly help a job application that was unrelated to music. Sure, it's good to put down a hobby but to a potential employer, saying "I play guitar" isn't really any different to "I play guitar to a Grade 8 level". What matters is how you tie that in to something related to being employable (e.g. "learning a difficult new song teaches me to be patient" or something like that). But if you want to do grades, then go for it.

Reply 9

Tommy123Hull

Noel Gallagher didn’t need lessons...

And look how good he is!

Reply 10

Conniestitution

I’d recommend you learn all the chords and play along to your favourite songs first (I started with Stay With Me and Mr Brightside). Once you’ve got a grasp on quick chord changes and strumming you will feel comfortable with the instrument and from there you can find out whether you prefer electric solos, classical or fingerpicking acoustic style. All three have graded exams although the last is lesser done (it’s my favourite though!). It’s more important to know you like the basics and learn those first than try and throw yourself into the more academic stuff because it could kill interest.

Good luck!

Reply 11

gjd800

Original post by Tommy123Hull

Noel Gallagher didn’t need lessons...

And look how good he is!

Good songsmith. Not a great guitar player per se.

Reply 12

ArcticArcher

David Grohl (Foo Fighters/Nirvana) taught himself drums and guitar, so it’s certainly possible - I’m doing the same :wink:

Reply 13

Tommy123Hull

Original post by gjd800

Good songsmith. Not a great guitar player per se.

I disagree but each to their own 😀

Reply 14

TheDevil

I've never had any formal lessons and I am a self tought guitarist thinking of learning bass. I find it less stresful being self tought and easier being self tought. I have not sat any music exams and I don't really one to. There are some many great musicians that are self tought.

Reply 15

Stiff Little Fingers

Original post by Tommy123Hull

Noel Gallagher didn’t need lessons...

And look how good he is!

Best argument for taking lessons I've ever heard

Reply 16

gjd800

Original post by Stiff Little Fingers

Best argument for taking lessons I've ever heard

You get it :laugh:

Reply 17

flabi

Buying the relevant books will be really helpful in order to learn scales and such

Reply 18

username3509418

Original post by Mayonnaise2001

Yes

there are TONS of guitarists who are self taught :smile:

some of the best ones were self taught too :smile:

Eric Clapton and Jimi Hendrix, they were both self taught and just look how amazing they were :smile:

Practise as often as you can, good luck.

Reply 19

Max217

Definitely possible! I had lessons for about 2 years as a kid, but picked my guitar back up a while ago having not had lessons for about 4 years (didn't like lessons or want to do grades) and I just play for fun and as an outlet. It is entirely possible, I personally don't care about grades and play for the enjoyment but if you want to there's no reason you can't do that. just takes practice.