A lot of your fellow Montrealers will be making New Year’s resolutions that revolve around their fitness. More time spent in the gym, less time on the couch; a better diet with less fatty foods; maybe they want to travel more or smoke less.

These are all run-of-the-mill resolutions that millions of people make around the world, and most of these people, including your neighbours, break their goals. But not you. You haven’t made a list with empty promising about doing more crunches and lunges. You’re going to be making more chords and playing more scales than you’ve ever done before. This year, you plan to learn the guitar.

One of the best ways to keep your goal in sight is studying with a talented guitar teacher. Taking lessons from a professional is an effective and efficient way to make major progress with your instrument, as you’ll be given insights and pointers that you wouldn’t get on your own. With so many talented blues and jazz musicians in Montreal, you won’t find it hard to locate an instructor.

An experienced guitar teacher can be an important sounding board for you, the aspiring guitarist. They’ll answer any of your questions and help build up the confidence you may be lacking. They’ll also let you know ways to improve your techniques, providing a well-developed and strategic approach to learning the guitar.

There’s only so much your teacher can do for your goal if you don’t practice on your own. Skills don’t develop overnight after some instruction, so you need to dedicate yourself to quality practice. You should set aside time each day to go over your chords, scales, and picking. Mindful attention to fingering and timing will help you integrate the lessons that your teacher has to offer faster, which means you’ll be playing along with your favourite songs faster too.

But before you book a lesson and carve out a time on your calendar for practice, you need to start at square one. You need to visit your local guitar store to pick up the musical instrument you want to learn. There are plenty of guitar shops in Montreal that can help a beginner guitar player pick out his or her first guitar.

Knowledgeable and friendly representatives (who are guitarists themselves) can walk you through their selection, letting you know the pros and cons to each of their guitars. When you visit a renowned local music store in your neighbourhood, you might even be able to find your teacher the same day that you buy your guitar.

With a guitar in hand and weekly lessons with a professional set up, you’re well on your way to meeting your New Year’s resolution. Just be sure to put in the time to learning your instrument, and you can revel in the feeling of meeting your goal.