Learning to play guitar could be one of the most challenging things a person could ever learn. It takes time, practice, and serious dedication. For something as challenging as music, a person would have to have a good ear and be able to multi-task. A very good start to playing the guitar would be the ability to read music.
To begin learning to play the guitar the following items are needed: a guitar, any one electric or acoustic with six strings, a guitar pick, a chair without arms, and an extreme amount of patience. There are many types of guitars such as electrical, acoustic, classical, and electrical-acoustic. Learning the parts of the guitar should be one of the first parts of the lesson. The body of the guitar is the largest part. It has the hole in the center of it, called the sound hole. The bridge is the part on the body that has the six strings attached. The six strings have letters to identify which string is which. Starting toward your head is: string E, second string is A, third string D, fourth is string G, fifth string is B, last string is E. To help myself remember this order I made up my own saying. The saying is Eat A Damn Good Burger Everyday. It is simple to remember and even a little comical, which will help in remembering it. The strings extend all the way down the neck of the guitar. The neck of the guitar has something called frets. These frets are the spaces separated by vertical metal bars. Fingers are placed in several different places and positions to create the notes. At the end of the neck, the strings meet on the headstock. The headstock holds the tuning knobs. By turning these knobs, you are changing the sound of each of the strings. Something called a nut is a piece of plastic usually and guides the strings to the tuning knobs.
Sitting in the armless chair, you should have good posture. If your posture is poor you will develop soreness in your back and also could develop bad habits on the guitar. If you are right-handed, the fattest part of the body should be toward the right. Put the flat part of the guitar to your body, and your right arm drapes over the top. With your left hand, you hold the neck of guitar. You will make notes with your left hand and you “strum” the strings with your right hand. If you are left-handed then it will be the opposite way. The guitar will rest on your legs. There is a strap that will go around your shoulder and will aid in holding the guitar.
The thickest string should be toward your head. This string is the E, and it is the first string… just remember the Eat of the sentence. The strings get thinner as they get lower to the guitar. The last string is extremely skinny. The fretting hand is your left hand. The thump should stay behind the neck while the other fingers create notes.
The next step would be to learn how to hold the pick. The pick is the piece of plastic that you will use to strum the strings. They come in many shapes and sizes and are usually very cheap to purchase. The next steps will show how to use the pick.
1. Open your picking hand, and turn the palm to face you. 2. Close your hand to make a very loose fist. Your thumb should remain beside your index finger.
3. Rotate your hand, with your thumb's knuckle facing you.
4. With your other hand, slide your guitar pick between your thumb and index finger. The pick should be approximately located behind the knuckle of the thumb.
5. Be sure the pointed end of the pick is pointing directly away from your fist, and is protruding by about a half an inch. Hold the pick firmly.
6. Position your picking hand over the sound hole of your acoustic guitar, or over the body of your electric guitar.
7. Do not rest your picking hand on the strings or body of the guitar.
8. Using your wrist for motion not your arm.
Next step is to learn to tune your guitar. This task is something that may be difficult at first, but there are many ways to get around tuning by hand or ear. If you know someone who can tune the guitar, that could be your way out. It is important to learn however. There are also electronic devices that let you tune your guitar easily. If you have amps or pedals, they let you know in easy to understand ways if you are tuning to the right note correctly. Many devices will blink until the note is correct, then it will become solid. Some devices you use as well as your ear. It is important to have the ability to listen with your ears and be able to pick up on sounds, notes, and pitches. Next step in the lesson is to begin learning scales. Scales are monotonous, basic, and boring. They are good at picking up sound quality and speed though. Basic one, two, three, four with your fingers will be a part of the scale. Your thumb still remains behind the neck, while your other four fingers practice. Your pointer finger is number one, middle finger is number two, index finger is number three, and your pinky is number four. This will also build the muscles in your carpals and metacarpals.
Start by using the pick to play the sixth string with no fret (open). Next, take the first finger on your fretting hand, and place it on the first fret of the sixth string. Strum the string with the pick. Now, take your second finger, place it on the second fret of the guitar; take your first finger off. Strike the sixth string with the pick again. Now, repeat the same process on the third fret, using your third finger. Repeat on the fourth string and that is the exercise on the scale. You've played all the notes on the sixth string. Now, move to the fifth string... start by playing the open string, then play frets one, two, three and four. Repeat this process for each string, altering it only on the third string. On this third string, only play up to the third fret. When you've played all the way up to the first string, fourth fret, you've completed the exercise.
The following are tips from online (www.about.com) on easier scale exercising:
1. When playing a note, place your finger at the "top of fret" (the area of the fret farthest away from the headstock). This will produce a clearer sound.
2. Try to use alternate picking while attempting this exercise. If this is overwhelming, try using only down strokes with your pick, but learn properly once you've gotten used to the scale.
3. Once you've finished the scale, try playing the scale backwards, by starting at the first string, fourth fret, and playing all notes in exactly the reverse order.
This is pretty boring, but will help in the long run with speed and accuracy. The next thing to learn is chords and these become a lot more fun to play. Chords involve playing more than one note at the same time on the guitar. There are proper ways to play to make the chords clearer when playing. The thumb should rest gently behind the neck. You will not use your thumb on this hand to play guitar. Your hand position should be curled, so that fingers approach strings at an approximate "right angle", using the tips of the fingers to make contact with each string. This will help to eliminate accidentally touching two strings with one finger, and go a long way towards eliminating muffled notes.
This diagram illustrates the first chord we are going to play, a G major chord (often simply called a "G chord"). Take your second finger, and put it on the third fret of the sixth string. Next, take your first finger, and put it on the second fret of the fifth string. Lastly, put your third finger on the third fret of the first string. Make sure all of your fingers are curled, and are not touching any strings they're not supposed to. Now, using your pick, strike all six strings in one fluid motion. Notes should ring all together, not one at a time (this could take some practice). Voila! Your first chord.
Now, check to see how you did. While still holding down the chord with your fretting hand, play each string (starting with the sixth) one at a time, listening to be sure each note rings out clearly. If not, study your hand to determine why it doesn't. Are you pressing hard enough? Is one of your other fingers touching that string, which is preventing it from sounding properly? These are the most common reasons why a note does not sound.
The second chord we'll learn, the C major chord (often called a "C chord"), is no more difficult than the first G major chord.
Place your third finger on the third fret of the fifth string. Now, put your second finger on the second fret of the fourth string. Finally, put your first finger on the first fret of the second string.
Here's where you have to be slightly careful. When playing a C major chord, you do NOT want to strum the sixth string. Watch your pick to make sure you only strum the bottom five strings when you are first learning the C major chord. Test this chord as you did with the G major chord, to make sure all notes are ringing clearly.
Some beginners have slightly more difficulty playing a D major chord (often called a "D chord"), since your fingers have to cram into a fairly small area. This shouldn't be too much of a problem, however, if you can comfortably play the other two chords.
Place your first finger on the second fret of the third string. Then, put your third finger on the third fret of the second string. Lastly, place your second finger on the second fret of the first string. Strum only the bottom 4 strings when playing a D major chord.
Spend some time familiarizing yourself with these three chords... you will use them for the rest of your guitar-playing career. Make sure you can play each of the chords without looking at the diagrams. Know what the name of each chord is, where each finger goes, and which strings you strum or do not strum.
Switching through these chords quickly give you songs. It will take some time to learn songs, and it will become terribly frustrating, trust me. Do not give up because once you start learning songs, it flows greatly and quickly. Here is an exercise to try:
1. Choose two chords you know. You will be moving back and forth between these two chords.
2. Play the first chord eight times (strumming evenly), and then, without breaking the rhythm of your strumming, quickly move to the next chord, and play that chord eight times.
Having a teacher that knows you and your pace is something that will help you learn easier in my opinion. You can also research online in thousands of places to get tips and articles about learning to play guitar.
