Locate several music stores in your area. You can do this by using a phone book or searching online. The first store you may think of is the store you bought your guitar from. It's best to create a route of a few stores because various types of musicians occasionally congregate at different stores.
Go to your chosen music stores and ask an employee where the store's events board is located. It's usually in the front of the store. Search through the postings on the board to find bands that need a guitarist. Take the fliers or copy down the contacts' names and phone numbers.
Call or email your list of contacts. Explain that you play guitar and would like to join a band. Tell the contacts a little about your style and how many years you've been playing. Ask to set up a date to jam. Usually, if the jam session works well, you can play guitar in the band.
Visit a musician wanted classifieds web page. There are many available, such as Join My Band, Bandmix and Band Making (see Resources).
Join My Band is a recommended site for UK users. You create an account and post ads or review ads in your postal county. There are usually several posts per day. The site acts like a typical classifieds site. You can browse through ads, where many bands post samples of their music and explain what type of musician they're looking for.
Bandmix is a U.S.-based website that allows a very detailed search. You can create a profile or search through other profiles to find musicians or bands. You can customize your search to what instrument and music style that you're looking for, along with a zip code and mile radius. When clicking on a user's profile, you can see his biography, musical influences, samples of the musician/band, pictures and a way to contact him.
Band Making is another U.S.-based website. You have the option to create a profile and search for the instrument talent you want in your band. The difference between this site and Bandmix is that you don't have the option to search for music styles, but you do have the option to search for your musician/band's years of experience. This is useful because -- whether you're just starting out or you've been playing music for many years -- you'll want to join a band that's on the same level.
Type in or click on your state and city to ensure that you'll find musicians that you can practice with. For most websites, you'll need to create a profile/account to use the website's features. Also, if you create an account, bands looking for guitarists can see your influences, experience and location.
Search through the classifieds to find a band in need of a guitarist. Contact the band.
Explain that you play guitar and would like to join a band. Tell the contacts a little about your style and how many years you've been playing. Ask to set up a date to jam. Usually, if the jam session works well, you can play guitar in the band.