How hard is it to learn to play the guitar? I have been wanting to learn for a long time now and am going to pick up my first guitar this weekend. Never really tried to play before, just some plinking around on a friends guitar, just wondering how hard other people find it.

 

I can't say its really easy, but its doable. Learn to read tabs and its pretty easy to teach yourself. I've screwed around with it and taken a couple lessons in the past, but just really got into it within the last year. Still not very good at it, but good enough to have some fun.
I can't give you much input on acoustic (sp) except you learn chords and play 'em. I know a few but I'm mainly just playing power chords. Your fingers get sore, you get calices, and you get over it. If your playing acoustic start growing your fingernails on your right hand long, much easier to pluck strings and you can be faster than with a pick.

 

I played the piano for a few years and can read music, keep tempo, etc....... The heardest part from when I have tried is the fingering with the left hand.

 

yeah I've played sax for years but haven't learned how to read guitar music. Like I said, learn to read tabs. Its actually better because it shows you on which strings and where on the neck the person actually plays it, not just the notes that could be in several places.
It can be frustrating, but after a little bit you start getting the hang of it and have something to improve upon.

 

left hand fingering is difficult , but doable and ive never tried to play a guitar either

 

I am not left handed, I just get confused which fret and strings to be on and then strumming at the same time gets me really confused.

 

Learning guitar isn't easy, but it's not the hardest instrument out there. If you're willing to practise up to an hour a day every week for a year I can guarantee you'll be a decent player by the end of the first year, but beyond that it still takes a long time to get REALLY good, as with anything. I would not recommend the self-teaching method, that never works unless you already have a grade 5+ piano background or something similar where you already understand the fundamentals of music. But if you just want to learn to strum a few songs, that's easy to do.
Go here for some good stuff:

ULTIMATE GUITAR TABS ARCHIVE | 300,000+ Guitar Tabs, Bass Tabs, Chords and Guitar Pro Tabs!

They have some great tabs there.

 

I am left handed, so I'm not in the exact same position, however, at first the strumming/picking is hard to do along with changing fingering, but just like your left hand with piano on easy stuff, you get so you can do it automatically and all your thinking about is changing up. It doesn't take too long to get to that point, and after awhile it gets pretty natural even picking different strings becomes pretty automatic and your just concentrating on your left hand.
I still play a right handed guitar, you learn it the same either way and its different muscles than anything else, so your hands get trained and strong either way. No point in me playing a left handed guitar, then I'd always need one.

btw - do you have your mind set on a particular guitar? If your not completely sure go to a good music shop, IE a local place where there's a guy that looks like he's out of waynes world and people playing on all the guitars on the walls and everyone has a smile on their face. Either bring someone with you that can play or ask them to help you, and listen to someone else play them. All guitars sound very different and play differently. Since your just getting started you'll have to kinda guess on how it plays, but you can get someone to help you find the right one, and you can listen to different ones being played and pick the sound you like.

 

FastCR that's crazy, I'm also left handed and play right.

 

Yeah I really don't see the point of switching it up since its completely new learning either way. The only thing now is I've been trying to learn to palm mute better while standing. With the guitar at my waist (no grandpa style ) on a strap it absolutely kills my right arm trying to palm mute plucking seperate strings. Right now I'm working on Last Resort but the palm muting is just killer and I wonder if thats where more right arm strength would help.

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ahhh I just got done playing. OP you definitely gotta do it. I have major anxiety problems and it calms me down and helps me think more clearly. Horrible for my hearing but good for calming down. Right now I can't hear out of my left ear and the last power chord I nailed was ringing off the symbols on the drum set when I turned the amp off.