Are you interested in learning how to play the guitar? Many people agree that compared to other instruments, the guitar is relatively easy to learn as well. But that said, learning the guitar also still takes years of practice. This may lead some players to ask: Is Learning Guitar Worth It?
Learning to play the guitar is absolutely worth it. Learning to play guitar is an extremely fun and rewarding process.
But of course, there are pros and cons to everything in life. Keep reading to find out what the benefits and detriments of learning guitar are so you can be as informed as possible when making your decision.
Top 5 Pros of Learning the Guitar
There are far more pros than cons when it comes to learning to play the guitar. Let’s take a look at some of the most notable pros:
1. Learning Guitar isn’t Too Hard
The first pro is that the guitar is a relatively easy instrument to learn when compared with other instruments. It can be challenging in the very beginning, but once you get the hang of it, the proper method begins to come naturally fairly quickly.
2. You Can Customize your Guitar-Learning Journey
There’s also optionality- you can choose to learn acoustic, telecoustic, and electric guitars. You can decide if you’d like to focus on learning basic chords, fingerpicking, power chords- you name it. You don’t have to be familiar with any music theory to learn guitar chords as well- a saving grace for individuals who didn’t grow up playing an instrument.
3. Learning the Guitar Sharpens Your Brain
Learning guitar is also a fantastic brain exercise tool. The focus, multitasking, and problem-solving that learning guitar involves sharpens up your brain for other functional tasks and improves concentration.
Medical News Today notes that people who learn instruments have sharper brains than those who don’t. You’ll be the envy of your peers for being able to play and being smart for it.
4. Playing the Guitar Provides Stress Relief
Playing guitar is a wonderful stress-reliever as well. Listening to music in general is a proven stress-reliever, and many guitarists find that an hour alone with their guitar relieves stress and worries and helps them come to a more grounded perspective. This is because playing an instrument engages many areas of the brain at once.
5. Playing the Guitar Builds Self-Confidence
Lastly, you can build your confidence by learning to play the guitar. The little achievements you make in your progress are incredibly empowering and fulfilling. Many guitar players find that they build their self-confidence and fortify their mental health through guitar practice.
The 2 Cons of Learning the Guitar
After reading that list, I bet you probably can’t imagine that there are any cons to learning guitar. But there are, in fact, a couple of considerations to make before jumping right into it.
1. Guitars Can be Expensive
Guitars are an expensive instrument, and if you’re wanting to start playing, you’ll likely have to set a few hundred dollars aside to get a decent starter guitar. Of course, there are guitars of varying quality and those made for beginners, so you don’t have to purchase a professional-grade guitar right off the bat.
Check out thrift stores or used instrument stores to find a good deal on a beginner’s guitar.
2. Learning the Guitar Takes Time and Patience
Learning the guitar doesn’t happen overnight. You’ll need to dedicate a significant amount of time to learning the guitar in order to make consistent progress. However, if this is a hobby you enjoy, it won’t be too difficult to make yourself practice every day.
Experts recommend that guitar learners spend at least 15 minutes of practice per day and no more than an hour to avoid burnout. You can also split up your practice by giving yourself breaks.
Ready to Learn Guitar for Free?
Perhaps the ultimate pro to learning the guitar is that you can do so for free! If you’ve read the above list of pros and cons and decided you want to try to learn guitar for yourself, keep reading to find out the best way to get guitar lessons for free.
We are extremely lucky to live in a time where there are plenty of free resources online for learning pretty much anything- and this goes for guitar as well.
You can find guitar lessons available on YouTube for free. Some of these lessons follow an organized curriculum made up of multiple videos. Check out this post on the top guitar YouTube channels.
You can also start by googling certain chords and trying to do them yourself. This helps you learn how to read where to put your fingers on what strings, and allows you to build a repertoire of basic chords you can use to play songs with. Start with G, C, Em, and D- as these are easy chords used very often in many songs.
There are far more pros to learning guitar than there are cons. If you can dedicate the time to practice and get your hands on any cheap guitar, you can start to learn the basics and secure benefits like relieving stress, exercising your brain, and building self-confidence through your practice. Rock on!
Ready to Get Better at Guitar, Faster?
Whenever you’re ready to take your guitar playing to the next level, check out a few of my favorite resources below:
The Best Acoustic Guitar Strings – A unique polymer coating makes these guitar strings last for months or even years at a time, making for an exceptional value. They provide the perfect mix of boom, range, twang, and brightness that acoustic music is known for. — CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE
The Best Acoustic Guitar – Beloved by everyone from Paul Simon to Gordon Lightfoot, the Martin D-18 is one of Martin’s most legendary guitars ever… It’s an excellent, premier quality acoustic guitar for bluegrass, country, folk, rock and more. This is also what I play myself — CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE
Chords, Tabs & Video Lessons for 100 Epic Songs – This free guide that I created for fellow guitarists gives you chords, tabs, and video lessons for the 100 best songs to learn on guitar… I spent many hours putting this guide together to help you get better at guitar, faster. — CLICK HERE TO GET IT FREE
Fingerpicking vs Flatpicking Guitar – Learn which picking style is right for YOU by exploring examples, history, and popular players of each style. Discover essential techniques and pros and cons of each approach. — CLICK HERE TO GET IT FREE
