Acoustic Blues guitar lesson spice up that bluesy playing
The internet is a wonderful and magnificent thing. Young people today, growing up with easy access to the world’s knowledge via the internet, have no idea of how lucky they are.
I started playing over thirty years ago with Bert Weedon’s famous ‘Play in a Day’ book, back in the 1970s. I could never afford guitar lessons so I would take every opportunity to obsessively study the playing techniques and styles of every guitarist I managed to see.
Todays technology has transformed the way that people can learn to play guitar. DVDs, for example, can be played over and over again, unlike face to face guitar lessons. And the internet is the most ideal way to distribute and deliver some fantastic guitar tutorials.
There are an abundance of guitar teaching websites but my favourite place for guitar tutorials is Youtube. You can find instructional videos on everything from choosing guitars to making your own electric guitar. There are videos for every level of learner from beginner through to old guys like me who want to learn a few new tunes and techniques.
Learning some new techniques, tunes and licks has become my favourite hobby. If it’s raining outside then you will find me scouring Youtube videos for blues tunes to learn and techniques to master. I think that my guitar playing skills have improved more in the past five years, thanks to Youtube, than it did in the prior twenty years.
What’s more, its interactive. When I find a video that I like I will always make it one of my favourites and often drop the performer a note to say thanks. I will often ask a question or two and the video maker will generally come back with a helpful answer. It’s a bit like having every online guitarist in the world available as a personal guitar playing consultant.
I can’t help but feel a little envious of the young people who are just starting to learn today. I like to fantasise that if I had been learning to play using all of these excellent resources who knows, I might have become the next Eric Clapton.
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