Many who attempt to teach guitar seem to think if they throw you a bunch of chords you will be able to play. This usually does not happen.

GuitarMan doesn't just show chords. It starts with three chords and then takes you to a song. You can play this song using only the three chords. It then goes to another chord and back to the same song, shows you where to place the chord and allows you to play the song again. It repeats this until you are playing the song using seven chords. Using this system you will find places to add chords to a song which makes it sound better that many people do not use.

This is a plus for songwriters as we certainly want to make our song "not so ordinary". You learn how the chords sound in a song and possibly learn to play by ear... meaning you will remember the sound of the chords, think of a song you would like to play, arrange the chords and play it.

I could never find anyone who would take the time to show me anything, so, I had to teach myself. It made it harder to learn, but I know now how to go about showing someone how to learn. It would have made my task a lot easier if I'd had someone to tell me the things found in GuitarMan.

If you can't learn by standard methods, learn the Cheaters offered by GuitarMan. After you learn to play using the Cheaters you will feel so good about yourself that you will probably learn many chords and become a very good guitar player.

TuneUp: You may use this option to tune guitar in standard, 12-string or alternate tunings.

Transposer: Once you learn a few chords the transposer will show you how to transpose the song to a different key. You may choose the "Transposer Test" where you can choose to transpose a line of chords to another key to see how well you can transpose a song without the help of the transposer.

Cheaters.

Song Book: GuitarMan offers a song book where you may choose a song you have already learned to play in one key to play in other keys.

Chord Book: Various ways of making basic chords, 7th, minor, flat/sharp and barr chords. Chord Book allows you to pick a chord from a drop-down list to display on the fretboard. You can then listen to the chord.

Advanced Chord Chart/Encyclopedia: Tons of chords to study.

Test Yourself: Have a little fun while still learning good stuff.

Name That Chord.

Transposer Test.

This is a list of questions that I wanted to ask when I decided to learn the guitar. I have answered them to the best of my ability.

{Q} Does the ability to play music have to be inherited?

{A} ABSOLUTELY NOT. Although musical ability seems to grow on family trees, you may still be able to play even if no one in your family can. Musical talent does not run in my family but I was determined to play the guitar and now I do.

(Q) Can anyone learn to play the guitar?

{A} Personally I think so. I am sure many music/guitar teachers would disagree with me, but I don't think anyone can actually teach you to play an instrument. I believe they can show you chords, notes, scales and tell you how to put them together, but I believe you have to teach yourself. No one is able to give you speed and accuracy. You get this from practice.

{Q} What kind of guitar do I need?

{A} As long as it is easy to chord it doesn't matter if it is an electric or acoustic. If you have a guitar with strings that set high on the neck and is very hard to press the strings down while making a chord then you may need to borrow or buy another one. If a guitar is too hard to chord it can make you become discouraged and give up. I would suggest to start with a decent electric guitar as they are usually, but not always, easier to chord. Before going out and spending a lot of money on an expensive guitar try to get someone who can play guitar to test a guitar for you and tell you if it has nice action and is easy to chord. Soon after you start playing you will know if you are one who will be playing many hours a week or just a now and then player. This may help you make a decision on what kind and how expensive of a guitar you want to use.

{Q} How much will it cost for me to learn to play guitar?

{A} Very little using GuitarMan. You could spend thousands of dollars on music lessons and may not be able to play a song. Many so called music teachers will show you notes and how to read music etc. This is all great but, unless you can play a song soon after starting you may become discouraged and feel that you are not getting anywhere. You can learn notes and how to read music latter. For now you need to be able to play some songs. This makes you want to learn more.