Learning to play without having to pay

A simple guide for learning how to play an instrument on a student budget. BY JOHNATHAN MCGRATH-OSBORNE

Playing an instrument is a great way to meet new people and discover new places, especially when at university. Having a mutual interest to bond overis a fantastic way to create life long friends.

However, with budget constraints and busy schedules, learning an instrument can be perceived as a pipe dream to many.

With this list of tips, you should be able to take advantage of learning guitar for pleasure in no time.

1. Networking

Possibly the most important aspect of playing guitar is networking with people.

Actively finding groups of people who play provides you with a free learning resource and a chance to improve your skills. It may seem daunting when you are far from home,but this is by far the best way to learn.

Normally, you’ll be able to find other musicians through university but there are also groups you can find on websites such as MeetUp.

2. Maintenance

While instrument maintenance varies between the various types, it can be a costly expense, especially while you’re still only learning. For example, when learning to play guitar,there will often be strings that snap and need replacing, or adjustments to the bridge that need to be paid for.

For string breakages, don’t feel you need to buy an entire new pack of strings. Instead remember the number string you broke and most music shops will happily supply you with a single string.

Also, when you see an external issue with your guitar, it is best to fix it yourself. So invest in a pair of wire cutters and screwdrivers. These will enable you to freely cut strings and adjust the bridge height without forking out unnecessary maintenance fees.

3. Tuning

I have kept this separate as it is an important aspect of playing.

While it is fun to mess around with different tunings, I recommend keeping to standard tuning (EADGBE) while learning for the first time. This is because learning the scales and chords in standard tuning makes it easier for you to spot mistakes so that when you go to other tunings, you will hear when they don’t sound quite right.

Free tuning apps such as GuitarTuna are available on most smartphones but I would personally recommend investing in a physical chromatic tuner as you can plug these straight into your guitar and they are far more accurate.

4. Sheet Music

I would advise that, while it is important to have an understanding of music theory, formal sheet music when you are first learning (especially if you’re self-teaching) will cause problems for your enjoyment.

Guitar Tablature (Tabs for short) are a great way to learn the placement of fingers for chords in songs that you want to play, as it basically maps out the strings of the guitar and the number of the fret you’ll need to finger. Where sheet music expects you to understand musical theory, tabs do not and will even provide a key to the symbols shown.

The best free tabs are from Ultimate Guitar, a website which gives other musician free reign to see and contribute their own tabs to assist learning.