How to Play the Guitar

You can use your guitar to play any kind of music, from death metal to classical and other music. Once you’ve mastered some of the basics, you’ll find it easier to learn to play the guitar than many other musical instruments. You can also start teaching yourself how to play the guitar.

Table of Contents

Learn the Basics

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Identify the parts on a guitar. Whether it’s an electric guitar or a backing guitar, this instrument is basically made of wood and metal. Copper-coated wires vibrate to create sound. The wooden body resonates with the sound of the strings to create the warm, deep tones we hear on guitars.

The strings run between the headboard – where they are fitted with knobs that can be rotated to adjust the tension of the strings – and the bridge that secures these strings to the body of the guitar. On an accompaniment guitar, the strings are attached to the bridge and the knobs are removable, while on an electric guitar, the strings are usually threaded through the hole.
A guitar neck is a long piece of wood that is flat on one side (this side is called a keyboard) and has a curved side. The keyboard part is fitted with metal keys to demarcate the different notes.
An accompaniment guitar will have a hole in the body for resonance, while an electric guitar will have about 3 amplifiers to guide the sound through the amplifier.

Hold the guitar correctly. Before you start making fiddle sounds like the Hendrix, make sure you have the correct grip. If you’re right-handed, you’ll play by plucking the strings between the hole and the bridge with your right hand and pressing the strings down the frets on the neck with your left hand.

To play the guitar, sit on a straight-backed chair or stool. When you position the guitar on your body, the thinnest string should face the ground and the thickest string toward the ceiling. Grab the back of the guitar, let it touch your belly and chest, and place it on your dominant foot with your plucking hand.
The guitar needs to be supported mainly by your feet and you need to hold it towards your body. Your left hand is used to fix the neck and press the strings. Hold the neck with your thumb and forefinger forming a V. Your left hand needs to be able to move smoothly up and down the neck without having to lift it.
Even if you hold the guitar correctly, chances are you’ll still find it uncomfortable when you start practicing. Don’t be discouraged if your shoulders, arms, and hands hurt. Then you will get used to it.

Tune up the piano. A guitar that isn’t tuned properly can lead to some bad habits when you’re just starting out. Tuning your guitar regularly will also help you become more familiar with the string and fret combinations and the corresponding notes.

First learn the name of each string. From the lowest-pitched string to the highest-pitched string (thinnest string to thickest string), the strings are named E, A, D, G, B, and E (these names are named after the musical notes). is called to strum the strings without touching the keys). Use a technique to help remember this order, such as E ddie A te D ynamite G ood B ye E ddie.
Electronic tuners are easy to use and also very accurate. Point the device towards the guitar and strum a high E. The instrument will tell you whether your guitar is making a sharp (too high) or a flat (too low). Take notes one by one and tighten the string so it makes a higher sound, or loosen the string to lower it. Make sure the space around you is quiet enough when using the tuner as the microphone on the unit may pick up other sounds.
If you can’t afford an equalizer, you can also tune your own by comparing each note with the corresponding notes on the piano.

Practice playing the strings on the keys. The frets are metal bands perpendicular to the strings that mark each note. To play a note, press your finger down between the two metal bands and do not rest your hand on the bands. When you say playing on the 3rd fret, you put your finger on the string in the space between the 2nd and 3rd frets. You also need to adjust your finger to be closer to the key below to avoid squeaking. . Hold the string tight so it can only vibrate between your finger and plucking hand, and use your fingertips to push the string down.

Each time you move from one key to another, the pitch of the resulting tone will be a half step higher as you move towards the body and a half step lower as you move towards the head. Practice moving up and down on the keyboard and pressing the keys to get a feel for the force you need to use to play a note.

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Hold the pick. A plectrum is a small, teardrop-shaped piece of plastic used to pluck single notes and strum multiple strings at once. These picks are very cheap and can be found at any musical instrument store. While you don’t necessarily need to learn to play guitar with a pick, this is the most common way to get started.

Squeeze your plucked hand into a fist and rest your thumbs on your curled fingers. Hold the pick perpendicular to your fist, between your thumb and forefinger, and just let the smaller end of the pick stick out a few inches from your hand.

Play the Chords

Let’s learn the first chord position. A chord is a group of chords consisting of at least 3 notes. For beginners, there are two basic types of chords: first place chords and barre chords. The first chord is a combination of unstressed and stressed strings on the first 3 frets of the guitar.

The most common major chords are C major, A major, G major, E major, and D major.
Once you’ve mastered the hand position to create chords, practice switching between chords as quickly as possible. Write down the chord arrangements you want to play randomly and switch between these chords and strum once over the strings.
Make sure you play the correct notes. For example, in the A major chord, the low E string is not plucked. They will be marked with an “X” on the chord notation chart. Develop good habits now for success later.

Learn to place your fingers on the chords. The position of the fingers is placed as follows: the main note first, the minor note later.

Practice to get a clear sound. After you have placed your fingers on the frets, play each string of the chord. Make sure the strings that need vibrating are not blocked or lost sound.

If the notes don’t sound right, it’s likely you haven’t pressed hard enough or parts of your fingers are touching the string, preventing it from sounding clear. Are any unused fingers touching the strings? ^{[1] X Research Source}
Keep your fretting fingers curved when touching the strings, as if you were placing your fingers on a glass ball, or imagine a marble in each knuckle.

How to pluck the strings correctly. String plucking involves plucking down or up in a multitude of different combinations, strumming all the notes in the chord evenly and rhythmically. Keep your elbows steady and bring the pick down all the strings as you create your first chord hand position, for example a G chord. Your elbows shouldn’t move because of you. only plucked mainly with the wrist.

Learn barre chords. Barricades or movable chords are a great help when you’re starting to practice playing songs. In barre chords, the index finger on your pressing hand blocks all the notes on a single key. To play the F chord – a barre chord in the first place, you use your index finger to block all the notes on the first fret and play the position of the E chord in semitone increments on the neck with your middle and index fingers. and little finger.

The position of the claw finger on the 2nd fret is the B chord, and on the 3rd fret the G. When learning these hand positions you will find it very difficult and sometimes painful, but You can start playing the chords of any punk song pretty quickly if you learn how to pluck the strings and play barre chords. The Ramones group only used barre chords but created a great effect.

Persevere Practice

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Minimize finger pain. There comes a time when things get bleak: you can’t jump to each chord as quickly as you want, fingers torment you and it seems easier to give up. The reason most guitar players stop playing after a few weeks is because it hurts their hands. After several months and years of playing, calluses will appear on your pressing fingers, greatly reducing the pain of having to press down on the strings for a long period of time. Learning how to overcome this barrier will make a huge difference. Anyone learning to play guitar suffers from swollen fingers as a beginner, but it’s totally worth it. Just practice regularly, follow these tips and you’ll get through this phase in no time. Learn to love pain and find the connection between it and your love of music and the guitar.

Ice your fingers after playing or dip them in apple cider vinegar to relieve pain.
The key is in the spirit. Imagine your favorite guitarist encouraging you like a weightlifting coach when your fingertips swell. “One more time! One more time!”
Dipping your fingers in wine after playing will help promote calluses, but don’t do this before playing.

Learn to play some songs. You’ll find it much more enjoyable to play when you play a song you know that’s more than just a bunch of chords and notes, and there’s a lot of songs written with G, C, and D chords. Some songs Folk and country songs like Johnny Cash’s “Tom Dopey” or Johnny Cash’s “Fpsom Prison Blues” are great songs to get you started. Just 3 chords and truth like the famous quote by musician Harlan Howard.

Start very slowly and gradually pick up the pace, singing along (if you want and if that helps) and paying particular attention to the rhythm. You’ll get frustrated when it’s going to sound pretty stiff at first, but don’t worry. The more comfortable you are when switching between chords, the closer you are to your chance to perform on stage.
Once you’ve mastered the easy songs, move on to more complex songs. Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Sweet Home Alabama” basically just repeats the D, G, and C chords in that order, but the sound on this record sounds much more complicated thanks to its signature melodic passages. added by the guitar player.

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Learn to read chord symbols (tabs). Guitar players have their own system of musical notation, called a chord notation. The basic rule is that you look at each line in the frame of the signboard as you would on your guitar, each line corresponds to a string, and each number tells you which key to press when plucking that string. For example, to play the signature piece represented by this notation of the song “Sweet Home Alabama” performed by Lynyrd Skynyrd, you would have to play two notes on the open D string, the B string on the 3rd fret, G string on the 2nd fret, etc.

E|------------------------------------------------ -||
B|-------3---------3---------3------------------- -||
G|---------2---------0--------0---------------2p0--| |
D|-0-0------------------------0--0----0h2p0--------||
A|-----------3-3-------------2---0p2-------0-----| |
E|-----------------------3-3--3------------------------ -||
The transitions between specific pieces and chords are very interesting. You’ll feel like you’re actually making music, not just “learning to play the guitar.” But don’t be too hasty, but make sure you play the right chords and don’t completely lose the rhythm when playing a characteristic melody with a fast tempo.

Learn from others. The best way to learn guitar is through watching, listening, and imitating the techniques of others. You don’t need to take formal courses to learn guitar, but having a partner to play with and share tips and suggestions with can be a great source of knowledge.

Tutorial videos on YouTube will be of great help to both beginners and advanced players. Watching Stevie Ray Vaughn play solos or watching Jack Johnson play one of your favorite songs up close will give you an enjoyable learning experience.
If your goal is to play classical or jazz guitar, or if you want to learn how to read sheet music, take formal courses. Self-study is an effective way to develop your own style, but it can also be difficult when you have to give up that style and replace it with a “standard” style at some point.

Advice

Don’t get discouraged when your chords don’t sound right. Strengthen your fingers and keep practicing. Sound will be improved.
If you have trouble using your fingers to shape chords, you should start with improving finger strength, dexterity, and familiarity with the instrument.
Find songs you want to play, find a chord chart, and practice the song. This will help you feel more excited about playing the guitar.
Practice playing the guitar in the style of using your fingers to pluck each string (fingerpicking). Look for samples of this style of playing online online, or to make it even more effective, try to find samples from your favorite guitar songs yourself.
If the chord doesn’t produce the sound it should, play each string in the chord separately, you’ll find you may have lost your voice or played the wrong chord. This will help you determine where your chords are problematic.
Using your fingertips to play the chords will help the strings sound clearer.
If you have trouble pressing the strings down, use lighter strings. The sound they make isn’t as good, but it’s much easier to use and less painful for your fingertips.
Striking thick strings can hurt your fingers. To avoid this, use a plectrum.
You’re bound to get it wrong while you’re studying, don’t be discouraged, you’re not the only one!
Print out the sounding signs and hang them where you often see them. This can help you a lot.

Warning

Relying on text or video tutorials without the help of lessons taught by experienced teachers can lead to bad habits that are hard to correct. While learning without taking formal courses is equally effective, these courses will help you correct any mistakes you make while playing.
Be careful not to practice too much at first. One hour a day is enough and won’t hurt your hands.

Things you need

A guitar that feels right to you
A plectrum (optional)
A tuner (recommended for beginners)

Steps