How I did it: I've always had a vague interest in playing guitar, as pretty much the majority of my friends have atleast minimal skill at it. I've had several cheap guitars here and there lying around, never learning any more than a few lousy power chords and really easy songs. After a year or two of messing around, my best friend got a really nice guitar, and I just asked her to teach me everything she knew.

After a while I had saved up for my own, and while I was still pretty much a beginner I didn't give up at all: I just picked up the my guitar whenever I got bored, or had to pass the time. Eventually it progressed to the point where I actually wanted to play guitar, and now I just never want to put it down. Self-teaching yourself is an extremely fulfilling experience, and if you're like me you'll love the fact that you never stop learning something like guitar.

Lessons & tips: Seriously; just pick it up and start playing! If you don't have a guitar already, just get something for starters and mess around with it, learning the basics, which you can find through searching the internet, friends, trial and error. If you find yourself with a good liking for guitar, save up for a nice one and go full speed ahead into playing! You'll never be bored again.

Don't give up if you don't think you're progressing: practice, practice, practice, practice. When you're a beginner and the callouses on your fingers are beginning to form, don't get discourage. Keep building them up and you'll be a guitarist for life.

Resources: Throughout my beginner stages and the vast majority of my guitar-playing life, I was completely self-taught via internet, books, and friends, so if you can't find what you're looking for I'll be glad to assist you with what I've used. At this point in my life however, I do have a guitar teacher, so if you find self-teaching to be too much of a trouble or just want the assistance (which, if you get a good teacher, will be well worth it), then that may be something for you to consider.

Dec 27, 2008, 05:09AM PST | 1 comment | 11 cheers