Various Ways to Learn How to Play an Acoustic Guitar

Posted on February 17, 2011 by admin

Beaten up with the conventional way of learning how to play an acoustic guitar without even perfecting a single tune? Are blisters forming on the tips of your fingers and yet nothing’s making sense? Maybe you have to double check your resources or better yet, yourself. There must be something terribly wrong with the way you handle your guitar.

Here are some of the numerous ways to learn play an instrument as lovely as an acoustic guitar. All you need is a piece of pick, your own or borrowed guitar, and a lot of patience. Well, a couple of manuals will do and if you’re not satisfied with that, an internet access.

First, you have to make sure that your guitar is properly tuned. Nobody would dare listen to a complete mess. If you don’t know how, find someone who knows.

Then choose from the wide variety of resources. You could search for a private teacher, go online, or settle on being alone with your references like books and manuals. Examples of private tutors are those whom you know, friends, neighbors, your relatives or someone who is paid. An online opportunity is endless. Some sell you copies of their video recorded lectures others are on the spot. Still, your choice.

After which, find the right spot to play in. It has to be comfortable. Your guitar must be supported, if not by your thighs. Hold it steady maintaining your right hand on the strings just above the sound hole and the left hand on the fretboard.

Now, a lot of suggestions were implied by numerous guitarists who had your position once before, a beginner. They suggested that, above everything else, you have to use those two organs hanging on the side of your head just below your temporal lobe, your ears. Right.

Of course you have to use other important senses, like your eyes. That would be a very positive view. But what about those who are blind? Haven’t it occurred to you that at some way they have mastered the art of playing a guitar without even seeing what it looks like. They just follow their instincts and feel the chords. Yes, they listen.

Listening. One of the most effective ways of learning.

Remember you’re handling an acoustic guitar. It doesn’t require any of those crappy contraptions just to make music work. You need more than an amplifier to change your voltage of music current. All you need to do is effectively listen to the melody and determine whether you’re getting the tunes right.

In the event that practicing goes wrong and absolutely mystified, you could always go back to the drawing board. Memorize the chords. The emphasis on your memorization must be on the basic. The C,A,G,E,D chords are considered as the building blocks to your bountiful success in guitar playing. Not only are these chords easier to achieve but they are included in most of the songs played nowadays. Surprisingly, including R & B.

Keep on practicing with these basic chords. Try it without looking. That would be able to help you figure out if you’re strumming the wrong way. Feel your strings tremble and stop. You have to take control of your music. These various ways of playing isn’t the exact key to learn but only a guide.

Posted in Guitar Tips, Learn To Play Acoustic Guitar | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Basic Guitar Lessons for Free

Posted on February 17, 2011 by admin

Thinking of how to learn guitar without paying such an enormous amount on an instructor? Problem solved. This article will prove that learning to play and master a guitar need not be expensive.

There are two practical ways to learn how to play a guitar. First would be through finding someone who knows all the basic essentials. Make sure you know him; a close friend, classmate or acquaintance. Possible, your special someone. He should be patient enough to endure the tireless hours of practice. Because if he won’t be, you’re dead meat. He could teach you tips and techniques to proper fingering. This is difficult if you don’t know anyone but would be a big advantage if you do know someone.

Second practical way of learning your way through guitar lessons is to go online. It’s a personal mentor, a friend, and a reference material all in one package. Unlike having a personal trainer, an online tutorial gives you the freewill to agree and disagree. You can rest if you’re tired. Give yourself time to practice those hard notes. The best part is, nobody would scold you with every wrong string you’ve plucked. You are your own mentor.

Summarized below are 5 easy steps on how to learn how to play a guitar.

Step 1. You’ll be needing a guitar (might be your own or someone else’s, be sure it has 6 strings), a pick (or your fingers can do just fine), stool or chair, and an overflowing amount of dedication and patience. To be able to start playing, you must first know the different parts of a guitar and where to put those fingers of yours.

Step 2. Exercise your tense fingers. Stretch it. Wiggle it. Relax it. A tense hand would add up to a tense musician. You must learn the art of changing notes and strings in a speed that will blend with the song whenever a new melody comes in. To increase the shifting agility and strength, practice on the easier notes before proceeding with the tough ones.

Step 3. Learn the chords. Begin with the basic easy ones. Don’t bother yourself too much on chords that requires you to use a bar or all five fingers. That would put so much stress on your part. Some of the easiest and widely used chords are A, A minor, A major, C, C minor, C major, D, D minor, D major, E, E minor, E major, F, F major, G and G major.

Step 4. Work on those strumming patterns. The tip on being able to catch up on the melody is to listen to the song first. Never advance to your style without knowing the basic. It might turn out hideous and instead of producing music, it will turn out as a noise. Strumming is considered easier than plucking. A sequence of “up, down, up, up, down, up” might be easier to remember.

Step 5. Practice! Practice! Practice! Stay focused on your goal. You don’t have any intention of producing a perfect outcome. What is most important is being able to play and have fun. Relax yourself. If your fingers are growing blisters and your hands are surrendering to a sore, rest it. Don’t wait till drops of blood comes out of it.

Posted in Guitar Lessons | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Learn to Play Electric Guitar in Minutes

Posted on February 17, 2011 by admin

Some say that electric guitars are difficult to play but if you know the right techniques, you can learn to play electric guitar in minutes. You have to prepare yourself for some lessons because you’re about to learn many new things. If you know a bit of the lessons that you’re about to encounter, you can determine your progress.

You see, there are three factors that you need to be aware of before you even start electric guitar lessons.

Number 1 Factor

Once you have the electric guitar, don’t think about your worries in playing such instrument. First, you must sit down and study all the things that you have to know about the guitar’s fret board. Be sure to purchase a diagram of an electric guitar in music stores and choose the one that shows the different notes. You must be able to memorize all the notes. Don’t try to learn it in one day because this will be very boring.

Instead, spend at least ten minutes each day in learning the different notes while playing. You can’t learn to play the guitar unless you’ve memorized each and every note. Ninety percent of beginners achieve success because they memorized all the notes.

Number 2 Factor

The second factor still doesn’t involve electric guitar playing. This time, you need to concentrate on your ears. If you want to learn to play an electric guitar, you have to train your ears to listen. This is essential in the learning process. Ear training involves playing the notes and then singing it one by one. Play the note first and then sing it. Once you’ve mastered this, sing the note first and then play it. Determine if you got the note right. For the ear training, you can do this ten minutes a day, just like memorizing the notes.

Number 3 Factor

The last factor involves muscle memory development. Do some chromatic exercises but only the simple ones first. As you practice, try to incorporate scales as well. If you want to become a good electric guitar player, muscle memory development is essential. Just like the two other factors, spend tem minutes every day for this activity.

These are the three factors that you should know before you take up any guitar lessons. If you are already familiar with these factors, then the upcoming lessons will not come as a surprise to you. You can learn all the guitar lessons easily.

So you see, you have to be patient and you have to devote some of your time in order to learn all the lessons in playing an electric guitar. The three factors seem very easy but if you don’t put your heart into it, you will not learn anything. Concentrate and have the right attitude. Make sure that you’re also motivated so that you can learn the notes or chords. If you have the right attitude, you will learn electric guitar playing in a few days.

Several minutes each day can take you a long way. By doing this, you can have fun while learning. Don’t overdo each of the factors involved in the learning process. Otherwise, you will not enjoy learning to play an electric guitar.

Remember, you shouldn’t focus your attention to playing the guitar immediately. Memorize the notes, do some ear training, and muscle memory development.

Posted in Guitar Lessons, Guitar Tips | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Learn to Play Guitar Notes

Posted on February 17, 2011 by admin

When playing any musical instrument, you need to learn how to play the notes. If you want to play any instrument, you have to have one and this is especially true if you want to play a guitar. The notes are played on the guitar’s fret board. Learn to play guitar notes now and you too can conquer the guitar’s fret board.

You don’t have to be scared of the fret board. Even if it seems that it’s hard to learn the notes, if you really want to learn how to play the guitar, this should not discourage you.

Playing the very first songs on your guitar will be easier if you know the notes on the first guitar string. On this string, there are three notes – E, F (first fret), and G (third fret). The second string is B, C (first fret), and D (third fret). Now that you know the notes, you have to conduct some exercises. Slowly play these notes and make sure that you concentrate to learn notes well.

You don’t have to say all the notes out loud when you’re practicing. You can do this inside your mind and then slowly play them. You must know the notes as well as their names, and most especially their sounds. Know them by heart. You can start by playing simply melodies like that of nursery rhymes.

After mastering the notes on the first two strings, you have to proceed on the third string. G is the open string and the other note is A (second fret). When you know these notes already, start playing them together with the other notes you’ve learned previously. Again, you must stick with simple songs. You don’t have to work on all the notes at once. Try to master each of the notes and learn them consciously. Even small children can learn guitar notes easily. Follow these steps and in no time, you can play the notes on the guitar.

Learning to play guitar notes will be very hard if you don’t have your own guitar. You can’t depend entirely on the music sheets that you have. You have to hear the notes being played on the guitar’s fret board. Many beginners fail to learn because they don’t have guitars on their hands. Once you learn the notes, you can now read advanced music guitar sheets.

Everyone knows nursery rhymes and even if you’re all grown up, you still know these songs. It will be a lot easier to learn the notes by using these simple songs. Once you master and memorize the notes, you can now play the songs that you like.

Guitar notes are not really hard to learn as long as you know what to do. You don’t need an expert teacher in order to learn these things. You can teach yourself these note lessons by using DVD programs or internet guitar programs. You can also use an instruction book. Still, if you can afford the expensive guitar teachers, you can always hire them. But let this serve as a reminder, no matter how good your teacher is, if you don’t have the right attitude in learning, you will not learn anything.

You see, guitar playing is like the lessons that you learn in school. You must know the notes by heart, you have to be motivated and you must be persistent.

Posted in Guitar Lessons | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Learn How to Play Bass Guitar

Posted on February 17, 2011 by admin

Are you aware that the bass guitar is music’s soul instrument? It gives the song life and if you can learn to play this excellent piece of instrument, you can impress your friends and family members. So don’t waste your time and start to learn how to play bass guitar.

Most people are into electric and acoustic guitar playing because it is pleasing to their ears but if you want to feel some beat inside your chest, choose a bass guitar. Before you can play a certain song, you need to learn all the songs by heart. The song’s foundation is thrown off if the bass guitar is not present. So having a bass guitar playing together with all other guitars is essential.

As compared to traditional guitars, bass guitars have fewer and thicker strings. Advanced guitar players say that bass guitars are easy to play but it would take a lot of talent and hard work to master it. Aside from the difference in the strings, bass guitars have larger bodies. Most bass guitars are made from rose and maple wood and usually have four strings only.

Another thing that you need to keep in mind, bass guitars are not oriented. Other guitars are chord oriented but not the bass. If you play the chords using the bass, it can dominate other guitars. Bass guitars should be played consistently so that you can feel its power. Once you’ve learned to play this instrument, it will be a lot easier to learn electric, acoustic, and Spanish guitars.

Here are some helpful tips that you can make use in learning to play the bass guitar:

1. You must always be aware of the beat of the music that you’re playing. Feel it. You see, bass guitars are like drums, only in guitar form. It gives any song timing and depth. Feel your chest as the sound of the bass guitar pounds it.

2. As with ordinary guitars, bass guitars are tuned the same way. But the tones are deeper because the strings are thicker and fewer. You need to learn how to hit single notes often because this is essential in bass guitar playing. If you want to play the bass decently, you need to familiarize yourself with the notes and tunings of an ordinary guitar.

3. The placing of your fingers is of utmost importance. The note’s wholeness is determined on how your fingers hit the fret board of the bass. For a holistic approach, you need to practice playing the guitar as well.

4. Your fingers on both hands should be strong. You need to strength in order to play a bass guitar because it is a solid and sturdy instrument.

These tips when kept in mind will definitely help you a lot in learning to play the bass. Whether you’re attending a private guitar lesson, using a guide book, or DVD programs, these tips can be used.

Buy your very own bass guitar now and practice playing the instrument. Remember, if you can learn to play this instrument, your guitar’s sound will give any song soul and depth. Besides, just in case you want to learn to play other kinds of guitar, it will be easier.

Start your guitar lessons and discover what bass guitars can do to the many songs that you’re about to play.

Posted in Guitar Tips | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment