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Playing the guitar has been one of my favorite pastimes since I was a teenager. I remember the day my elder brother came home with a shiny new Yamaha nylon-stringed classical guitar. I was really excited but could not get my hands on it as he was hogging it. Fortunately for me, he lost interest in it after awhile and I gleefully inherited it and have been playing since.

Well, that was many years ago and when I recently decided to improve my guitar playing skills, I was glad to find some excellent online guitar lessons. In this article I'm going to tell you some tips to get started and how you can benefit from them.

Firstly, be prepared to do some research. There are tons of good websites out there but only a few offer a complete learning system. Most websites are run by guitar enthusiasts offering some lessons online and they might not be so appropriate as you'll need to see and hear what's being played.

That's where you need to find a guitar learning course that offers:

1. A structured course outline

Not just a random "guitar tips" course. You will need a course to take you from the basics to playing by ear.

2. An experienced teacher

Some websites are run by other newbies also honing their guitar playing so make sure the tutor is a qualified guitarist.

3. Videos that show you how its done step-by-step

This would be essential if you are a beginner as you'll be able to see how the chords actually look (and sound) like rather than just dots on a grid!

The beauty of the Internet is that with some searching and comparing, you'll soon be able to find that perfect guitar learning system. And what do you need on your end to get started? Well, obviously a guitar, a good pair of PC speakers and a lot of time and patience. Most of all, tons of practice!

One of the key ingredient is ear training and that only comes from many, many hours of playing and you'll be able to identify chords, chord progressions, rhythm patterns, etc. You don't need to be born with "perfect pitch" to play like a pro! But you do need the determination to excel in you craft.

Guitar playing is a highly rewarding and relaxing skill which you can acquire and if you've been contemplating on learning the guitar, well my advice is get started now! Just get an inexpensive starter's guitar, get online and as they say - "shred your ax"!