Many people say that they don't want to play an instrument such as the guitar because they can't become good, or as talented as someone else. Well you should not have to think in that manner and it is never too late to start playing the guitar for enjoyment. Enjoyment of the way you play the guitar is the most important thing. Forcing yourself to play a certain way just to try to impress is just not worth it. No matter what, in the future you will be able to excel at what you enjoy playing and that will be impressive enough.
If you are a beginner, you don't really need lessons to start playing songs that you wish to play. There are many ways of learning guitar material and chords on the Internet these days. Start by doing some stretching exercises with your fingers. Just try to gradually be able to stretch your fingers so you can form chords cleanly. After that, maybe you should try purchasing some sheet music of your one of your favorite bands, which should include easy to read tablature. Practice the songs you enjoy the most over and over until you can play them perfectly note for note. I would learn maybe just a few songs of many different genres of music that you enjoy. This will give you the ideas you need to start writing your own enjoyable and creative songs.
You might have heard people talking about the importance of learning songs all the way through, but after a couple, in a different genres of music, it isn't really necessary. After that, learning certain parts of songs that you find interesting is all you really need if you are trying to concentrate more on creating music instead of copying it. Learning interesting riffs and licks from songs is just as good a way to gather information for how to create the sounds you want. It isn't a necessity to know the name of every note or chord you are playing, but is important if you are planning on playing in bands of a serious nature or becoming a professional musician. If not, don't worry about it and just play what you like over and over so you don't forget.
Writing your own tablature is a good way to keep track or your material so you don't wake up one day and get upset that you can't remember your own riffs or licks. Playing what sounds the best to your ear is what is important, so you can excel at what you enjoy. You don't need to spend countless hours at home forcing yourself to play when you don't really feel like it. Playing music that resembled the mood that you are feeling at the moment really enlightens things and that is when you write good songs. You write your best material when you are really feeling it. You don't have to copy someone else to make good songs, but copy the mood, so to speak.
The hardest part about getting better is thinking whether you are improving or not. Just practice many different chord structures so you can play them cleanly. Picking them in a different order according to how you feel is what will make it interesting quickly. So feel your guitar out and play what you wish to play until you play it well.
Michael Russell Your Independent guide to Guitars
