Posts Tagged ‘Learning The Guitar’
If Guitar Is Your Biggest Dream….
If you dream of taking up a guitar in your hands, you need to learn some basics of playing a guitar. It’s a difficult phase as you would rather wish to play beautiful songs as soon as you get your hands onto the guitar. After all, with all of the MTV influence out there, one would wish to become a rock star. But to learn a guitar, you have to learn the basics of playing it. Learning the basics will take some time and if you take a bit more of the time then this is an indication of you to become a better guitarist later on. After all, every famous guitarist would have learnt the basics of playing the guitar at some point in time.
Learning the guitar basics involves different things including the scales, the fingering etc but the most important thing is the need to learn all of the different parts of the guitar. Firstly you need to understand the composition of guitar body. The guitar body is the large wooden part of the guitar. The body of a guitar is connected by a thin part called the neck. Near the hole of the guitar body, the bridge is located. The strings of the guitar begin at the bridge and end at the pegs, which is located on the head of the guitar.
There are small metal pieces called the frets that are located at various intervals along the neck of the guitar. As soon as the player presses the strings into the frets at various intervals, the strings vibrate and produce different pitches. The other thing you need to learn as the guitar basics is how to hold a guitar. If you are right handed, then your right hand would be used on the body of the guitar and your left hand will hold the neck of the guitar. So you will use your left hand to hold the neck and press the strings into the frets at different intervals while you will use your right hand for strumming. And if you are left handed, then you will reverse the position described for the right handed person.
It is important to understand that spending more time on learning the basics will produce the better guitarist out of you. That is the key that will make you achieve success rather than failure. You got to walk before you can run…
Andreas Lillebo
http://www.articlesbase.com/music-articles/if-guitar-is-your-biggest-dream-93973.html
Learn to Play Guitar – a Beginner’s Guide
This article is devoted to learning how to play guitar (and even those just thinking about learning to play or giving the gift of music to a loved one) and how to approach gaining some kind of proficiency on the instrument. Now, we’ve all seen people playing the guitar at various times, sometimes on TV, sometimes up close (a real treat), playing various kinds of music and at varying skill levels. I think the hardest obstacle to overcome when you’re /www.activemusician.com”>learning how to play the guitar or thinking about starting is the thought that playing the guitar is only something musicians can do, or is only for people who are musically inclined. The simple fact is that anyone can learn to play the guitar. It’s just a matter of spending some time with it on a regular basis, and practicing in a manner that’s both fun and productive. Once it becomes part of your routine, it’s only a matter of time before your skill level and confidence develop.
When I started learning the guitar, there were a couple of learning aids I found to be indispensable. They include:
- Learning to Play Guitar Chord Reference Book – This is really helpful when you’re not sure how to play an F chord or a B minor, or want to learn some other ways to play it
- Artist Songbook – This is a songbook which has the piano, lyrics, and guitar chords to your artist’s favorite songs, and is great for learning how to strum and change from chord to chord
- Classical Guitar Book – This helps you familiarize yourself with the feel of scales and arpeggios, and also improves your sight reading
- Guitar Tab Songbook – As you progress, you’re going to want to play some of the guitar parts from your favorite songs note-for-note, meaning exactly as your favorite guitarist plays them. This type of book has the music for this both in standard notation and guitar tablature
I had a very insightful guitar teacher who started off each lesson by showing me a new chord and how to play it. Some good chord reference books that tackle these types of chords are the Whole Book of Guitar Chords and The First Book of Chords for the Guitar both written by Dan Fox. Once I had a feel for the chord, he would choose a song from a songbook from one of my favorite bands that used this chord (say a B minor or an A7) and would have me learn that song using an appropriate strum pattern. My mom played the piano, and would often visit the music store to buy sheet music songbooks from her favorite artists, so eventually I got her to buy me a few gems of this type:
- Beatles Complete – This is a valuable book for two reasons. One is that it’s The Beatles. The second is that The Beatles composed songs with relatively few and very easy to play chords (”I Saw Her Standing There” has three), and also songs with many and often unorthodox chords (”Michelle” has, um, a lot), especially when used in rock music. This makes it a great vehicle for learning new chords incrementally via their songs
- Neil Young – Decade - My brother wore out this recording and when I started playing some of the tunes from it on the guitar, it gave his little brother some instant credibility. Many of the songs in this book were recorded by Neil on the acoustic guitar, so it lends itself to the beginner who’s learning on an acoustic
- Led Zeppelin Complete – This is a strange and beautiful book. It has the main guitar riffs for every Led Zeppelin song on the first five albums (I – IV and House of the Holy) but it’s in standard notation. I spent a summer learning every song in this book and not only did my guitar playing improve, but so did my sight reading
- Eric Clapton Deluxe Revised – This contains some of the best songs from Cream, the Layla disc by Derek and the Dominoes, and some of Eric’s early solo work, but it’s unique in that it has a separate section with some of Eric’s best guitar solos transcribed. Eric is a great role model when you start learning how to play a guitar solo, because some of his solos are simple enough that they can be played by a beginning-intermediate guitar player (though it takes a lifetime to learn to play it with as much feeling as Eric)
Once we covered the chord of the week and the song that went with it, we would tackle a classical piece. One of the best classical books I can recommend, especially if you’re not a classical guitarist, is Classical Studies for Pick-Style Guitar – Volume 1. This book is great for developing your right-hand picking and also for developing your sight reading since all the music is in standard notation. There are some interesting pieces by Matteo Carcassi, which require you to arpeggiate various chords, and also some Bach Inventions that are arranged for duet guitar, so you can play with a friend. You can hear how this sounds in an on-line guitar lesson I created at WholeNote – Bach’s 8th Invention.
The one thing that’s changed over the past decade in sheet music for guitarists is the emergence of guitar tab songbooks. In the late 1990’s, an archive of guitar tablature files was collectively created and dubbed the On-Line Guitar Archives (OLGA), in which random guitarists from around the world created text files containing their own transcriptions of how to play your favorite songs by your favorite bands. The problem was that the quality and accuracy of the transcription was hit or miss. Sheet music companies finally wised up and started releasing accurate note-for-note transcription books, which were the real deal. In my day, you were a god if you could play the guitar solo, “Eruption”, played by Eddie Van Halen off Van Halen I, because you had to learn it by ear off the record, which is pretty much impossible. Today, you can just buy the Van Halen I guitar tab songbook and get all the music for Eruption both in guitar tab and standard notation. Oh, and they also throw in the rest of the songs from Van Halen I, and from Van Halen II, as well. I’ve always loved the whacked-out intro that Eddie plays in Mean Street, which opens the Fair Warning recording. The Van Halen Guitar Anthology Series has the tab for this, note for note, including every last harmonic, pick scrape, bend, and tap. It’s unbelievable. And it’s not just Van Halen. You can find similar guitar tab songbooks for The Beatles, Metallica, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Dave Matthews Band, Nirvana, Green Day, Audioslave and pretty much anyone else you can think of.
Finally, as you develop your practice routine, the one thing most often overlooked during practice is being able to play in time. When you start to get comfortable with chords and strumming, there’s a natural tendency to stop or to hesitate while switching between chords. A good metronome will make you aware of this and force you to play in time. The Qwik Time QT-7 Quartz Metronome is a good budget option and provides a good click, while the Wittner Wood Case Metronome w/ Bell and Cover is the kind you can hang onto forever and pass along from generation to generation (and I should know – I have one from my grandfather). The Fender MT-1000 Chromatic Tuner/Metronome is unique in that you get both a metronome and a guitar tuner in one convenient package. Very handy, indeed.
You too can learn to play the guitar today! Hopefully, this gives you a bit of direction as you learn to play the guitar. Remember that it’s simply a matter of spending some time regularly practicing some of the basics and then applying them to your favorite music. Keep expanding your knowledge of the basic chords and learn to play songs that use them, along with the strumming patterns of the tune. Combined with some classical pieces for dexterity and developing your sight-reading chops, you’ll be well on your way to mastering the guitar in no time!
Christopher Sung
http://www.articlesbase.com/music-articles/learn-to-play-guitar-a-beginners-guide-88437.html
Learning The Guitar Fretboard
I never cease to be amazed at the number of guitar players who
cannot name the notes on their fretboard. Little do they know that by
devoting a little time to unlocking the neck of their guitar they will
improve their playing, and enjoyment of the instrument, ten fold!!
During my time at the Guitar Institute in London, and Sandown
College Of Performing Arts in Liverpool, I met many guitarists who had
been playing for 10, 15 or even 20 years, and yet, unbelievably,
couldn’t show me where to find an A# on the 2nd string or a B natural
on the 5th string. My amazement prompted me to write the “Fretboard
Master” ebook.
The “Fretboard Master” ebook contains all you need to know in order
to become a master of the fretboard. What do we mean when we say master
of the fretboard? Well, it doesn’t mean that you will suddenly start
sounding like Steve Vai, Segovia or Jimi Hendrix! A fretboard master is
somebody who feels comfortable with their guitar, Somebody that can
find any note on any string within a second and somebody that can
transpose a piece of music on the spot. That is a fretboard master.
Many guitar players are usually only interested in learning hot
licks or funky chords. That is good, as long as they also take time out
to study the layout of the fretboard. The old saying “The proof is in
the pudding,” is so true when it comes to stating the importance of
fretboard mastery. Once you start familiarising yourself with the notes
on the neck of the guitar you will quickly discover how important it
is. It will be like somebody has switched on a big musical light that
shows you exactly what you have been missing. You will feel like a
better player, look like a better player, inevitably sound like a
better player and more importantly…..WILL BE a better player!!
Imagine learning a really cool chord progression, a red hot lick or
a head turning funky guitar riff. You have spent hours practising it
and you are now ready to unleash it on your band members. You play it,
and they are all amazed at your stunning technique. They shake your
hand, ruffle your hair, maybe even give you a shoulder lift around the
rehearsal room. You feel great! Then when the fuss dies down, the bass
player asks “Can you play that again in F#?” What? F#? You begin to
sweat, your palms itch, your head races. Where’s F#? you ask yourself.
Too late! The drummer drops you from the shoulder lift and you hit the
earth with a bang!! Ouch!! You blew it! You should have learnt your
fretboard.
Take a tip from me. Whether you are just starting out or have been
playing for a number of years, you need to learn you fretboard. There’s
no way round it. Do it today and who knows, maybe the next time you
learn a cool guitar lick your drummer want drop you on the floor!
The amazing “Fretboard Master” ebook and other great (some rare) guitar books can be found at WWW.Jack-Sky.Com
- visit us today! We are based on the banks of the River Mersey in the
great city of Liverpool. We are also proud to offer you the world’s
greatest chord book! Yes, you heard me correctly, the WORLD’s greatest
chord book. It contains 3 positions of every chord you need to know.
Our site is devoted to helping you become the best guitar player you
can possibly be. Check us out, we know you will not be disppointed.
Peter Jones
http://www.articlesbase.com/music-articles/learning-the-guitar-fretboard-3042.html
