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Learning to Play Guitar – Frets and Promises

Posted on August 3rd, 2009 by guitarbiz in Music - Play Guitar
Ricky Sharples posted:

Learning to play guitar could possibly be the wisest thing you ever decided to do. But it will not be easy. Whether you aim to be a professional guitarist or a campfire guitar strummer, there will be pitfalls to cross. This article will touch upon a few of the more common bumps on the guitar playing road with the hope that you will benefit from being warned about what lies ahead.

The reason Learning to play guitar can be one of life’s disappointments is that many people do not know how to start. Spending a week or so stumbling through the first chords to “Blackbird” by the Beatles and laboriously picking out the “Iron Man” riff, then putting the guitar away in a cupboard is one of your classic urban tragedies.

If you are interested in just playing the guitar informally at parties or round the campfire, the best course of action is first, to learn what tabs are and how to read them, and second go online and pick tabs for songs that you know and like, and try to play them.

Usually I would not recommend lessons from your local guitar teacher because they are far more expensive than even the best courses on the internet, but if you are not going too deeply into guitar playing, a few lessons will eliminate some of the uncertainty from the first steps in Learning to play guitar.

One of the big issues for almost everybody who has started Learning to play guitar is which song to learn first. Your own preferences in music will help, of course but the best songs to start on are the ones that will impress other people at parties. “Smells Like Teen Spirit”, or “Smoke On The Water”. Something instantly recognizable. The thing with metal is the heavy use of power chords which only need three fingers to play. Twelve bar blues is good – you can learn different lyrics using the same chords.

Another simple solution is to think of albums that you like to play. Are there tracks that have stand-out guitar parts? Write down the names and hunt for the tabs on the internet. Failing that, just look for easy guitar songs. “Wish You Were Here” by Pink Floyd or “Horse With No Name” by America are good ones to start with. Go to about.com for a list of easy songs.

Let us move onto a problem that strikes the learner guitarist who manages to set a practice routine and actually learns two or three chords. Learning to make the changes between chords is one of the loneliest ways in the world to spend your time. Every day you seem to make a little progress, and the next day you always seem to be back to square one. Without an experienced guitar player to guide you, this is the time you could easily lose all hope of learning to play guitar. This is the beginning of the uphill climb that confronts all people who learn a new skill. Swimming, driving, guitar playing, they all need regular practice. If you do not have a friend who can help you with your guitar playing, seek advice from guitar forums or places like Yahoo Answers.

Finally, let us talk about the physical discomfort that can befall new guitar players. One of the first things you should ask an experienced guitarist about is how to hold the guitar. If you do not get it right, you are only going to make Learning to play guitar painful. Then there is the matter of making your fingertips hard. For a week or two, every time you start playing the guitar your left hand fingertips will hurt. Usually just for the first few minutes. This is a process all guitar players go through. Do not try dipping your fingers in stuff that is supposed to make the pain go away, just let it go away by itself.

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Learning Acoustic Guitar

Posted on June 22nd, 2009 by guitarbiz in Music - Play Guitar
Kristaps Baltins posted:

Many of beginner guitar players choose acoustic guitar as their first instrument. That is, is many ways, a wise choice. You don’t have to buy additional accessories to make the guitar sound louder , and acoustic guitar also weights less than electric guitar.

Playing acoustic guitar is different than playing electric guitar. Let’s take a look at these differences.

The first and main difference is the body. Acoustic guitars has a hollow bodies, and they’re projecting sound only with acoustic methods. That’s different from electric guitar, who has pickups and need amplifier in order to make it sound loud. The neck and scale also is different. Usually acoustic guitar’s scale is shorter than electric guitar’s scale , making it harder to reach higher notes. The neck is usually fatter than electric guitar’s neck.

The difference is also in strings. The are strings that are made and should be used only on acoustic guitar in order to maintain the guitar’s sound quality. Unfortunately not all people realize it, so they make mistakes such as putting electric guitar’s strings on acoustic guitar. That’s not right and can ruin your sound and even guitar. One of the biggest mistakes is to put an electric guitar’s strings on a classical guitar (acoustic guitar with nylon strings) , which requires specific strings. Doing it you can even brake your instrument.

To sum this all up I can say that acoustic guitars has much wider variety than electric guitars, so there’s a greater chance that you will purchase the right instrument.

 

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How To Play Acoustic Guitar For Beginners

Posted on June 22nd, 2009 by guitarbiz in Music - Play Guitar
Gyorgy Huba posted:

Many people dream of playing the acoustic guitar and the good news is that it\’s not that difficult. The reason a lot of people don\’t succeed at playing acoustic guitar is they give up too soon. Some people say they don\’t have time to practice, others say they can\’t handle the sore fingers. So here is some tips on learning how to play acoustic guitar for beginners who want to go beyond the first few days.

Many people complain of sore fingertips when they begin to play acoustic guitar one way around this is to simply let nature take its course. After a few weeks of regular practice your fingers will develop calluses and the soreness will stop. It might help during the first few weeks of guitar practice to press as hard as you can on the strings. To build up the muscles in your fretting hand, keep a tennis ball handy and squeeze it for a few minutes several times a day.

If you do a little searching on the internet it might be hard to find some basic instruction for acoustic guitar. There are hundreds of websites specializing in free acoustic guitar lessons. Another good idea is to join acoustic guitar forums. Most forum members are experienced guitarists who are only too willing to help beginners.

Once you\’ve been playing acoustic guitar for a few months it will be quite embarrassing if somebody says, \”what are those knob things at the top of the neck?\” and you can\’t answer them. So get to know the parts of the guitar. There\’s not much to understand, half an hour\’s reading will give you a basic idea of the names of the parts of the guitar and their functions.

One of your first jobs as an acoustic guitarist will be to learn to play chords. You will be starting with open chords in the first position on the guitar. Don\’t stop there, every chord you learn in the first position can be played in other places on the guitar\’s neck. Learn a couple of these other positions every time you learn a new open chord. This entails learning bar chords which you will not be able to play perfectly at first, but your muscles will get used to them after a while.

One of the advantages of the acoustic guitar over the electric guitar is that you can practice the acoustic guitar anywhere. Providing you\’re not disturbing other people in your house you can even practice while you watch TV. This doesn\’t mean you substitute a bunch of random practice times for a set disciplined practice session, it just means that you have the flexibility to practice any time you feel like it. This applies to repetitive practice of chords or scales that you have already learnt. You need your full attention to actually learn chord positions and how to play scales initially.

Even right from the very beginning of playing acoustic guitar you will benefit by jamming with a friend. Of course you won\’t have the expertise to play much at first but the situation of playing guitar with somebody else will give your learning a special stimulus. And if you\’re embarrassed about playing in front of somebody with more skill than you have, just remember that they had to start somewhere too.

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Important Facts to Know Before You Learn to Play Acoustic Guitar

Posted on June 19th, 2009 by guitarbiz in Music - Play Guitar
Bernice Eker posted:

The most traditional of the guitars is the acoustic guitar. In fact, its nearest relative, the electric guitar was only invented in the 1930’s. The acoustic guitar, as we know it today, has actually been in existence from around 1779. Close relatives to the acoustic guitar such as the oud and the lute have been around for much longer, maybe even thousands of years. Learning to play acoustic guitar will place you in good company.

The most popular guitar type is the acoustic guitar and the musicians favourite being used in unplugged sessions for decades. It is unable to produce a loud sound like the electric guitar, because its sound is not amplified. But in the right hands, an acoustic guitar is a very powerful instrument quite able to provoke emotion.

Learning to play the acoustic guitar is not that hard. Firstly, to learn how to play, you should select the correct acoustic guitar, one that suits you. It must be the right size and weight to allow you to play it comfortably though you should avoid using an instrument belonging to someone else when you learn to play acoustic guitar. You should instead use your own and get to know it properly.

An acoustic guitar should be quite easy to obtain; you can buy them brand new at almost any music store or if you ask at the store you could also probably pick-up a second hand instrument. If you have made arrangements with a music teacher they may be able to help find you a guitar as they often act as an exchange for their students old musical instruments. Again, just be sure it is the right size for you.

Once you have your instrument you can begin to learn to play acoustic guitar, you just have to pick the method which is most convenient for you. The most common ways to learn acoustic guitar are as follows:

Take lessons-The most traditional way to learn acoustic guitar is by paying a qualified music teacher to teach you. The obvious advantage is that you will be tutored one-on-one, they will keep you motivated and make sure you use the proper techniques. And if you get stuck they will be able to help you. A disadvantage is the likely cost involved, music lessons are not cheap, also you have to work the lessons around your busy life and you have to pack up your guitar and drive to the lessons.

Internet-Thanks to modern technology you can find lessons to learn about almost anything, including how to play acoustic guitar. There are free lessons available and lessons to buy. Steer away from the offer of free lessons, they can be a waste of time due to their frequent poor quality, it would be easier to find a good one and pay the money instead of wasting your time.

The advantages are clear. You simply pay a one time fee and receive all the instruction and lessons you need without the need to leave your home, you can also take lessons when it suits you. Of course, there will be no one-on-one instruction, but if you learn to play acoustic guitar from the right source, you will progress reasonably well.

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