You went out and spent $300 on a brand new guitar, and now it's just sitting in your closet collecting dust.
There are a lot more productive things it could be doing, and that's way too much money to let it go to waste.
Maybe you got frustrated on your first attempt to learn, or maybe you just got side-tracked.
Whatever the reason, don't despair - prepare.
Here are six easy keys to teach yourself how to play guitar.
Key 1: Learn Some Open Chord Structures Millions of popular songs are played using common open chord shapes.
A great example is the song "Have you ever seen the rain," by Credence Clearwater Revival.
It contains only five chords, and they are all open shapes.
The progression includes F, C, G, Am, and Em, which are typically the first 5 chords newer guitar players learn.
Those are actually the best chord shapes to start with as you'll be prepared to play an almost endless supply of songs with just those.
Key 2: Learn Tablature Tablature is a very visual way of composing information about which notes and chords are played for any given song.
A good reason to learn to read tablature, or tab is because it is so freely available on the internet.
If you know how to read tab, and are able to also listen to a song, the combination can significantly improve your ability to learn and play new songs.
Key 3: Learn Scales Individual notes played in guitar progressions are often neglected by newer guitarists.
However, you can't just strum chords and expect that songs will sound spectacular to listeners.
To provide quality entertainment, you need to mix up your strumming with some bass plucking, or lead riffs.
Quite often the note progressions in these riffs and transitions are variations of scales, so scale work will go a long ways to improving the sound of your playing.
Key 4: Practice Simply put, any guitar player is only as good as they allow themselves to become.
Guitar skills require effort to learn and master.
You may have to do something literally a thousand times before you have really acquired the skill.
As in all areas of life, practice makes perfect.
Key 5: Play In Front Of, or WITH People Don't underestimate the feedback mechanism as a learning tool.
Putting your art to the test by playing for other people allows you to get an objective opinion on your skills.
If you're doing something totally wrong this is one of the fastest ways to find out about it.
Further, nothing is more rewarding than that nod when your audience is really digging your play.
That will build tremendous confidence.
To further hone and tighten your skills add playing WITH other people to your regimen.
Key 6: Be Patient Far too many aspiring guitar players totally lose focus and interest because they have unrealistic expectations about their developing skills.
Don't let frustration over how long it takes to acquire a new skill, or learn a new song, derail your success.
If you stick with it your skills can only keep getting better.
Implementing the six keys above is an easy way to teach yourself how to play guitar.
It still won't happen overnight though.
Easy doesn't mean fast - it just means easy.
The faster you take action on these keys though IS the faster you'll begin to see success, and the faster you'll knock out that Metallica song.