What you can do however is use the various resources out there to discover your own style.

Here are my top tips when it comes to learning the guitar by yourself.

1. Know exactly what you want to learn

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• First it's important to know which type of guitar you want to learn, is it acoustic, classical, electric or bass guitar?

• Next ask yourself and know which style of music you want to learn to play? Is it reggae, jazz, rnb, gospel or contemporary.

• Start off with one or two styles and learn more as you become comfortable on the guitar.

 

If you know your WHAT you will avoid becoming swallowed by the millions of learning resources available out there, it also ensures that you easily find the materials made just for you.

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2. Find at least 2 closely related sources of guitar teaching resources

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Start off with courses, classes or teachers that are closely related in their styles of teaching, similar materials and learning courses. You want to avoid confusion and becoming overwhelmed right from the start. So using the least amount of materials and teachers will help you have a more clear understanding what makes a solid foundation for learning guitar. You can find free guitar learning tools such as free downloadable e-Books, YouTube classes, free online courses and Video tutorials.

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3. Start with basics

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As you start teaching yourself guitar it's crucial to use simple, effective tools and resources that teach you fundamentals. Go for the basic guitar learner's guides while avoiding huge books that teach you depths of music theory. As said before we want to avoid confusion so using simple tools will ensure that you learn the guitar in the shortest time.

Avoid cumbersome explanations with complex diction - they will just confuse the heck out of you. 

Also look for a learner's guide that teaches you how to apply music theory to actual playing - they must consist of tons of examples and "try this" out sections.

 

''When it comes to teaching yourself anything new simplicity is your best friend.''

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4. Follow a weekly learning program

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Since you have no teacher you must account for yourself- the best and easiest way to do this is to actually follow a weekly learning program that you have to stick to for months. If you cannot commit to interacting with the guitar and learning resources everyday then you will forget whatever you would have learned before, you will see little progress, and it will definitely take you longer to master the guitar. You have the responsibility to be disciplined because no one is watching out for your progress - just you.

That's really the price of learning anything by yourself; discipline and persistence over a time period.

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5. Learn to play some common songs

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Feeling discouraged and demotivated is a hurdle that comes with teaching yourself guitar because there is no teacher to encourage you, or congratulate your efforts and progress or give you any credit.

But there is a way to trounce this problem - it's called learning to play some songs. Learning and playing your favorite songs and those of your friends really boosts your confidence. It brings a great sense of progress and fulfilment and these are things you constantly need when teaching yourself guitar in order to keep progressing, learn other styles and do something challenging that will always keep you grounded and levelled up. You can learn to play songs by looking up video tutorials.

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6. Understand that you'll have some hard days

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Teaching yourself guitar is not easy, it has never been easy. But it can be done and you my friend are capable. Some aspects will be hard to understand, some days you will feel tired, your fingers may hurt, you may struggle to apply what you have learnt.

Here's what you can do on days when you are not particularly enthusiastic about picking up your guitar:

• Pick up the guitar - I know so cliché right. But the fact is you can pick up your guitar and convince yourself to practice for just a few minutes. You are more likely to make good progress by channeling frustration energies to focus and really paying attention, try it next time and keep telling yourself only 10 mins.

• Do something simple and fun on the guitar - Try something that you've always been curious about or even try that song you've always wanted to learn. Learn a new chord and ways to apply it to a progression. On days when your motivation is low it's important to do things that are not entirely taxing and challenging.

• Invite some friends over - Have a social meeting where you can play the guitar for your loved ones. Not only are you practicing the guitar but you'll be improving your confidence in a conducive environment.

• Record yourself playing - No matter what level you're at with learning guitar it's always fun and a good idea to record yourself playing, whether in video or audio. Have a mini concert and have some content to look back to a few months from now and you will be shocked with the progress you've made.

• Remember small progress adds up to big results - So be consistent with practicing ever so often, my rule is don't go more than two days without interacting with your guitar and learning materials.

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7. Practice, practice, practice

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I can never stress this enough. The bottom line is that if you don't practice you will never learn the guitar. A girlfriend who always needs your attention - take your guitar as that and you will master the instrument in no time.

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So in conclusion if you are going to teach yourself guitar find simple reliable learning materials, learn songs, and develop good learning and practice habits.

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All the best.