Learning to play an instrument – specifically, the Guitar – can bring joy to you and to those around you. In fact, studies have shown that playing guitar offers benefits to both mind and body:

· Research has shown that both listening to music and playing an instrument can boost brain function and stimulate memory. In fact, a 2009 study found that playing an instrument can actually increase your IQ by as much as 7 points! More, the study found evidence that musicians have structurally and functionally different brains, as compared with non-musicians, especially in the areas of the brain used to process and play music.

· Learning to play guitar teaches you perseverance. Ask any long-time musician what the secret to his success is, and one of the first answers he’ll give you is bound to be, “Practice, practice, practice. And then practice some more.” Learning guitar takes time – there is no magic formula for doing it fast; however, the time you put into it will help you appreciate it more, thereby making the entire experience more valuable to you.

· Creating music, just like painting, sculpting, or writing, is a form of art. A good musician can share his emotions and tell a story with melody and lyrics the same way the artist Degas tells a story and moves us with his lovely ballerinas. This has been proven to help relieve stress, and can even be used as a form of therapy. Music therapy has been useful in treating kids and teens suffering from autism, and in helping Alzheimer’s and dementia patients reclaim memories and even speech.

So, now you know why you should learn to play guitar; now, we just need to figure out how to play! If you ask 50 musicians what they think the best way to learn guitar is, you’ll probably get 50 different answers. That’s why we’ve put together this guide, to help take the guesswork out of your decision. Whether you want learn from books, DVDs, in-person lessons, or online videos, we’ve got you covered.

 Teach Yourself to Play Guitar: A Quick and Easy Introduction for Beginners

Teach Yourself to Play Guitar is one of the best guitar books for beginners available on the market today. It was created with the student with no musical background in mind. The lessons in the book are presented in the popular TAB format, which uses graphical representation of the strings to show the student where his fingers should be placed for each chord. This book offers new guitar players the essential fundamentals to guitar-playing, as well as some more advanced information regarding power chords, open position scales, and single-note patterns and fills. The lessons incorporate several different musical styles, including rock, folk, classical, and country, and there are lessons designed to help the beginner guitar-player become more familiar with his instrument. If you’ve never picked up a guitar before in your life, this is by far one of the best guitar books you can pick up.

 Guitar for Beginners: The Ultimate Guide to Learning Guitar and Mastering Guitar Basics, with Chords and Strumming Exercises for Best Results (Volume 1)

This 100+ page book contains structured lessons, exercises, pictures, and plenty of diagrams to get the beginner guitar-player started.

Mastering the basics can be split into four sections: learning about the parts of the guitar and how they work together; learning the fundamentals of music theory and how it applies to learning guitar; learning the basic chords; and developing your own rhythm skills.

After you get those down, the last section in the book tells you how to put it all together to actually play a song. Fans of Nicolas Knoll, the author of this guide, maintain that this is definitely the best beginner guitar book available today.

Guitar for Absolute Beginners

This guitar book for beginners was developed by the New York City Guitar School to help new players learn the basics of guitar playing through the use of stories, examples, and practice session plans.

Additionally, the NYC Guitar School’s YouTube channel contains hundreds of video examples of the lessons so that students can see the lesson in practice. They also have what is called the "Lick of the Month." It teaches you a new "lick" every month, adding another rhythm to your arsenal of guitar knowledge!

With this book in your musical library, there is no doubt you’ll return to it time and again as your skill level advances.

Guitar Adventures: Fun, Informative, and Step-by-Step Lesson Guide

Guitar Adventures is great for both beginner guitar players, as well as those with a bit more experience. It is a combination of books and streaming videos, designed to be all you need to get started playing your instrument.

The book comprises 101 easy to follow lessons that offer new users the best way to learn guitar, without having to know how to read music beforehand. Damon Ferrante, the music professor behind the creation of Guitar Adventures, employs teaching methods that are used by thousands of guitar teachers and their students all over the world.

By the time you’ve worked through his lessons, you will have a heightened understanding of – and appreciation for – guitar technique, creativity, and music. For the price, this one is hard to beat!

Fender Presents: Getting Started on Acoustic Guitar – A Guide for Beginners

This guide from premier guitar manufacturer Fender is one of the best guitar lessons on DVD on the market. One of the things fans like most about this offering is the fact that the DVD offers looped backing tracks. Combined with professional drums and bass (rather than the .midi format many other DVD instructional guides use), this allows the student to work on a chord progression or solo technique over and over until they learn it. At just over 3 hours long, this DVD guide to learning guitar offers more than 50 interactive lessons, which are accompanied by easy-to-follow graphics. There are two major sections, allowing the new user time to learn about his instrument and important things like how to tune it before moving on to actually guitar play. The DVD also includes some bonus footage, including a behind-the-scenes look at a Fender factory tour. If you’re a visual learner, this guide for beginners from Fender offers the very best guitar lessons on DVD!

Still not sure?

Making the decision about how to get started is an important one, so we found a short video for you to check out that goes into the different options for learning guitar that are available to the beginner. Check it out and then we’ll wrap this up.

Conclusion

Let us leave you with a quote from the Chinese philosopher, Confucius, who said, “Music produces a kind of pleasure which human nature cannot do without.”

As we’ve learned, playing music comes with a lot of benefits to both body and mind, not to mention the fact that it is fun! Music will always be “in,” so you never have to worry about being relevant, and once you learn all you need to know, you’ll be a source of entertainment for your friends and family. What’s not to love about that? The best advice we can give you is to pick a method of learning that works for you and stick with it – THAT is truly the best way to learn guitar!

If you know how you want to learn, but are still undecided on what guitar you want to learn on, check out my post on awesome guitars, especially for beginners.