Technical Basis

• Regardless of musical style, navigating the fretboard requires extensive hand and finger dexterity.Jupiterimages/Polka Dot/Getty Images
  
  All types of music, from classical to metal to blues, require essentially the same type of finger-bending, accurate-picking and voicing techniques. While each musical style makes use of the guitar in different ways, proficient guitarists in each genre are highly technically capable. To improve technically, many guitarists practice permutations. These exercises can be difficult at first, but they improve finger accuracy and hand-to-hand coordination, both of which are important, regardless of musical genre or style.
  
  

Music

• Listen closely to your favorite bands to really hear the guitar and start to analyze how it's played.Jupiterimages/Creatas/Getty Images
  
  Many people learning how to play guitar were already interested in music before they started. Even so, it is often necessary to broaden your musical range and to listen specifically to the guitar and it's role in the song. This "learning by listening" technique allows learners to hear how the guitar is supposed to be played. This, in turn, allows the learner to set goals. In addition, playing along to easier songs as you're learning how to play is a good way to solidify your already-learned skills. And it can be fun.
  
  

Instruction

• Signing up for guitar lessons gives you one-on-one attention and professional technique tips.Jupiterimages/Creatas/Getty Images
  
  Even though some famous guitarists were self-taught, it often helps to have professional instruction. While effective in most cases, it can be expensive and may not fit into your daily schedule. An alternative is to use the vast array of guitar instruction videos on websites such as YouTube. There you can watch videos of professional guitar instructors and the actual guitar players of your favorite bands teach licks and entire songs.
  
  

Tablature

• While still found in books, guitar "tabs" are a popular online method for learning favorite songs.Marc Debnam/Photodisc/Getty Images
  
  Sometimes just listening to a song isn't enough to determine what notes are being played. For that, there is a large database of guitar tablature, also known as "tabs," on various websites. These tabs are either opened in a program, usually either Guitar Pro or Power Tab, or as a plain text file. While the former makes it easier to play along , the latter is sufficient for beginners to start to learn their favorite songs.
  
  

Noodling

• Discovering all the nuances to the guitar is best done through "noodling" -- just fooling around with the instrument.Jupiterimages/Brand X Pictures/Getty Images
  
  Many beginners at guitar "noodle" a lot, meaning they explore their way around the fretboard and strings without really creating any music or sound. Despite what it seems, noodling is a good way to become comfortable holding and playing the guitar. Even discovering ways to make cool sounds, such as natural harmonics and pick scrapes, are in and of themselves a learning process. It should be remembered that the guitar is a fun instrument and that playing around with it is a way to become more accustomed to using it.