text: 1. Get a half decent guitar. Don't learn on a cardboard box, it will put you off.\n\n2. Get a decent teacher. It's DEFINITELY worth the money. You can't learn any instrument properly from a video or book, no matter what it says on the cover. How's a book or video going to tell you that you haven't got it quite right?\n\n3. Practise regularly, daily if possible, for a decent length of time. 10 minutes twice a week will not make you a guitarist. Having said that, don't go mad and try to do 3 or 4 hours every time you practise, your brain stops absorbing new stuff after a while. 30 minutes is a good starting point, build it up from there.\n\n4. Expect it to take some time. You won't be out-playing Brian May in 6 months. It takes years of work and dedication.\n\n5. IT'S WORTH THE TIME! Playing an instrument is one of the most rewarding things you can learn.