20 Easy Tips That Will Put You on the Path to Being a Guitar Hero

20 easy tips that will put you on the path to being a guitar hero

By Justin Sours

http://www.guitarmadeez.com

Practice how you play

When you practice guitar chords, scales, songs, etc., make sure that you focus on quality and not quantity. The guitar sounds a lot better if all the notes in a chord ring or you hit every note in that scale with perfect timing instead of rushing through a scale or playing a chord and having some notes be muffled. Just remember to focus on playing things slow and with good technique (This is Key!). Learn whatever you are trying to learn slow and then increase the speed little by little until you get where you want to be. That’s how you guitarists learn to shred or solo extremely fast. They start playing a scale or riff slow and then gradually speed it up with a metronome.

Keep your guitar out of the closet or storage

This is probably one of the biggest mistakes that a person learning guitar could make. KEEP YOUR GUITAR OUT IN THE OPEN!!! Keep it next to your bed or in your family room on a stand or anywhere where it is out of the closet or out from under the bed. If it’s out in the open, this will force you to play it and force you to mess around and practice.

Memorize the fret board of the guitar

Memorizing the fret board of the guitar can turn out to be an interesting task. There are little tips and tricks that allow you to find notes really fast. The reason why all guitarist who would like to get good should memorize the fret board is because it allows you to play create chords in different shapes, find notes in different areas of the neck and allows the guitarist to familiarize and open up to playing in different parts of the neck. Memorization of the fret board is also very beneficial in soloing and improvising.

Jam with other people with different styles and techniques

You will not believe how much your guitar playing will improve when you jam with other people. If you ever feel like you are reaching a “plateau” (you feel like you’re not getting any better) in your playing, jamming with other people will definitely open you up to new tips and tricks. There’s always something to learn from someone else that plays guitar no matter how good or bad they are. Also, everyone’s individual style is different and the more open minded you are to other styles, the better player you will become.

Listen to new types music and try to play it

I know it’s hard, just force yourself to do it. When all else fails go back to the basics of music. A great way to do this is to listen to some classical music for inspiration. Elton John is an amazing musician and he says whenever he reaches a dull moment or block in his playing, he refers back to church hymns that he learned when he was younger.

Read guitar magazines

Guitar magazines have allot of cool stuff, but they also have allot of filler. The one thing I hate about guitar mags is that they are extremely complex (not for beginners). The articles, stories and advice are cool but some of the lessons are intense! The advanced guitar lingo having to do with intervals of certain modes and technical guitar talk gets to me sometimes. It’s nice to know that stuff but ehhhhhhh….. It can be boring.

Go to concerts

Nothings more inspiring then going to a concert and seeing someone rock out on stage and totally impress the crowd. I remember a couple of years ago; I went to Vans Warped Tour. Immediately after the show, as soon as I got home, I ran to my room and tried learning allot of the songs I had heard. When I saw The Eagles back in October of 06′, I couldn’t stop learning all their songs. It’s amazing to be extremely inspired and motivated once again about playing guitar and going to concerts definitely rejuvenates my interest in playing guitar.

Buy concert DVDs

If you’ve never seen any ACDC music video or concert DVD…. then we definitely need to talk. Angus Young is an amazing guitarist and It’s just amazing to see that this scrawny little Australian guy can play like he does and with such attitude and soul. Seeing that guy rip up the fret board definitely shows us that anyone can play guitar… all it takes is practice, discipline, motivation and commitment. Concert DVDs are great because they show you up close and in really good quality what exactly a guitarist is playing, unlike music videos where bands just dance around and they add in the music later. Concert DVDs are filled with raw footage of guitar playing at its best.

Always use your guitar strap

This is another biggie. When first learning how to play guitar, I never wore my guitar strap. I ended up paying for it later and basically having to relearn guitar standing up instead of sitting down. If you always play with your guitar strap on, there will be no difference to you while playing either sitting or standing. Playing with your guitar strap will also allow you to get to the “show-off” level so you can impress all your friends earlier.

A lot of people who use guitar straps find that they fall off very easy or tend to drop the guitar. There are many different types of locking mechanisms out there (I currently have two guitars that use the DiMarzio locking mechanism and it works very well)). Go to your local guitar shop and check all of them out and see which one fits you best.

Play with passion (slash)

Have you ever heard a guitar player who is a great player, but you feel that there is something missing…… THERE’S NO SOUL!!! Soul is the emotion, the love, the purpose behind guitar playing. Listen to that same talented yet boring guitar player and then compare him to Gun’s and Roses guitarist or Velvet Revolver guitarist Slash. Every solo that Slash plays has so much soul, so much emotion, and so much purpose. What I want you to do is Google “Slash – Godfather theme video” or get on Napster, iTunes, kazaa, etc. and download it. This video is nuts!! Slash plays with such a great amount of solo that it’s amazing. I really don’t know how to explain exactly how to add soul into your playing, however I will tell you that you will understand if you choose to stick with guitar and stay committed to the instrument. It’s basically playing to express yourself and not to just play because you have to or don’t want to but feel you should.

Watch the clips of legendary guitar scenes or solos

Here’s some instant inspiration…. Go to yahoo or Google and click on the “video” tab above the search bar and type in anything having to do with guitar solos. You will find some amazing solos along with amazing guitar tricks. One really cool guitar clip I remember is of this Asian guy playing the super Mario brothers theme for Nintendo. That guy can play that song like you wouldn’t believe. There’s so much inspiring guitar playing footage out there. It’s everywhere and anywhere you look, especially online. Also, checkout the movie with Ralph Maccio from the 1980’s called “Crossroads”… there’s some amazing guitar playing in it.

Try tabbing out songs by ear

This is extremely helpful. Tabbing songs by ear develops your musical ear very quickly. Choose one of your favorite songs and sit next to your cd player with a guitar and a piece of paper and try to figure out the chords in the song first, and then try to figure out the riffs within the chords. Once you find out the overall “key” of the song it’s easy to figure out all the riffs and chords.

Take a college music course (Beatles, history of rock and roll)

While I was at community college for two years studying to get my Associates Degree, I had taken a “History of Rock & Roll course”. This course was extremely interesting. There was so much music that this class opened my eyes up to. I gained so much more appreciation for the Beatles, Rolling Stones, The Who and many more bands of that era. Those bands really did change music forever. I definitely recommend taking a class like this anywhere you can; it will definitely open up your eyes to some great music out there and help you grow as a musician.

Read biographies of guitarists you appreciate

Some musicians out there have led incredible lives. The majority of them come from nothing and in the end, become legendary guitar gods. Look at Johnny Cash; he was a rural country boy that grew up almost penniless and turned into an amazing musician through inspiration and practice. There are so many interesting stories behind bands and musicians. Here’s some that I find interesting (off the top of my head): The Beach Boys, Def Leppard, Metallica, Van Halen, The Beatles and Thin Lizzy. Do some research online and try to mirror yourself with these artists. It will give you a whole new thought process to playing their songs and guitar in general.

“Steal” riffs and ideas from other guitarists

I know it sounds bad but every great guitarist does it. Clapton stole the “crossroad blues” from Robert Johnson and the Beatles used some of Elvis’ ideas and expanded upon them. Every musical generation steals ideas, riffs, chord progressions from the generation before and when it comes to music… its ok. I find this to help guitar players progress a lot, especially if you reach a plateau. One of the biggest things that helped me expand as a guitarist is to learn all my favorite solos by my favorite artists. Once I had learned them, I would play the same solo over different progressions in the same key and then play the same solos in different keys all around the neck and in different scale positions. Once I did this, I had “unlocked” all of the licks in the solo and I’m now able to use them in whatever I play. Just like how in video games you unlock new characters, levels and secrets throughout the game… you do the same in music. From there you can constantly expand upon your lick directory.

Play in front of others

This is one of the hardest parts about performing music. Playing in front of others is something that just takes time. Remember to relax and don’t think about everyone watching you. Just focus on you and the instrument. The more you play in front of others, the better you will get. Everyone’s first time playing in front of others can be pretty gut wrenching. Just remember that it gets easier every time and that you’ll get through it just fine. What you can also do is videotape yourself playing and then put it on the internet. Lots of people including myself put videos on Youtube.com or other online video sites and its up to the viewers to judge. Some people will rip your playing apart but most will applaud you for trying and really like it. The way I look at it… “Led Zeppelin didn’t write songs that everyone liked… they left that to the Bee Gees” – Wayne Campbell (Wayne’s World)

“What if I screw up”? Who cares?! In music, everyone screws up while playing music. When big bands record in studios they spend days, sometimes even weeks recording tracks so that they turn out absolutely perfect. What really creative people do when they screw up is to elaborate on the screw up. If you hit a wrong note, maybe trying hitting the note again within the rhythm of the song and maybe it will sound good.

The Internet and Youtube are valuable tools…

Eric Clapton learned guitar by listening to old Robert Johnson, BB King and many other great blues records on a turntable and then trying to mimick the same sounds on guitar. Eddie Van Halen would be in his room with his door closed for days just messing around with different sounds that a guitar can make just by moving his fingers around in different shapes and seeing what they sound like. Alex Van Halen (Eddies brother and drummer for Van Halen) would go on dates and leave the house listening to Eddie whale away at 5:00pm and then come home to Eddie still whaling away at 2:00am. These artists didn’t have the internet! They had a cassette player or record player and plenty of time on their hands. We’re incredibly lucky today to have such great resources like youtube.com and the internet in general. Youtube.com is great for learning how to play guitar. You can find lessons, people covering songs, tips and tricks and just about anything that you need to get off on the right foot when it comes to playing guitar. The great thing about Youtube guitar lessons is that “they get to the point”. No BS. Each lesson is usually under 5 minutes and they give you great info very fast, because who wants to watch a 30 minute video. Guitarists attention spans aren’t that long, I know mine isn’t. And Finally, you have the internet. The internet has absolutely everything you could ever possibly need, including Youtube.com, lessons, information, ultimate-guitar.com (for tabs), guitars101.com (for any other type of help that you may need), etc. The possibilities are endless. The point is that learning guitar today is and should be way easier than learning guitar in the past due to the great resources we have.

You can learn any riff from any song no matter how crazy or how fast…. just slow it down

Any riff is learnable, you just have to slow it down to a pace that you feel comfortable with, learn it, and then gradually speed it up. There are numerous programs out there that allow you to do this. One very popular one is called Transcribe. You can import any .mp3 file and then control the speed of the song. Practice the riff over and over and gradually raise the speed. If you can’t play the at a given speed, then slow it down 1%, if you can play it and feel comfortable with how you played it, raise it by 2%. Doing this will allow you to master any riff, any song, anything!

Try learning the difficult songs or riffs that you’ve always wanted to learn, no matter what level you are at and no matter how hard the song is…

This is what makes guitar fun, seeing your improvement (ie. Quick Results). I remember trying to play songs that were at my level when I first started playing guitar. Stuff like : The Animals – House of the Rising Son, and Don Mclean – American Pie. I could play them ok, but they weren’t really songs that I had started playing guitar for. I wanted to play Metallica’s fade to black and Eric Clapton’s Crossroads. I put the other two songs aside and started working on the new ones that had inspired me to play guitar. I had spent weeks and months on them even though they were outside my playing level. I was determined to learn them. I kind of wanted to be one of those guys that can’t play anything else, just cover songs note for note. If I couldn’t play any other song aside from the super hard ones note for note, I’d be happy. So I spent so much time learning these songs, and I could play them…. ok… not great…. However, when I went back to playing House of the rising son and American Pie, I could play them 100 times better. I played them like a pro. Its kind of like…. as long as you challenge yourself, you’ll get better. You play with musicians that are better than you… you’ll get better. You lift more and more weight than your used to… you get stronger.

A great musician once said…..

A great musician once said that as soon as guitar becomes a chore and isn’t fun, that’s the moment that you should put your guitar down. Come back to it later. Now this doensn’t mean that when your first learning guitar and you get frustrated, you should put it down and forget it. Sorry, this rule only applies to guitar players who are advanced or who have been playing for a while. It sucks and is frustrating for everyone at first so you have to stick with it. The overall point is, guitar playing should be fun. Don’t turn it into a chore or a task.

Technorati Tags: Free Guitar Lessons, Great Guitarist, Guitar Help, guitar hero, Guitar Lessons, Guitar Tips, Guitarmadeez

Beginner Guitar Basics for Learning an Playing

Every one of us has at one time or another in our life, wished we could play the guitar. This is the first realization every beginner guitarist must experience. Just having the desire to play the guitar is not enough. It cannot be a passing wish, it must be a burning desire, and the beginner guitarist must be willing to work hard at learning to play.

Prior to learning to play, the beginner guitarist will need a six string guitar, a couple of thin light gauge guitar picks, and lots of patience.

Before playing, the beginner should learn the basic parts of the guitar.

Strings – There are six strings on the guitar you will use for learning. All six are a different thickness, with the thinnest string being the highest pitch. The bottom string, which is the skinniest is known as the first string.

Frets – The small metal strips under the strings are called frets. Fingers are placed in the spaces in between the frets to play notes. The higher up on the frets, the higher the notes.

Neck – The neck is the long skinny part of the guitar where you find the frets.

Body – The body of the guitar is the large base and the most bulky portion of the instrument. The beginner guitar has a “sound hole” in the middle of the body. This type of guitar is called an acoustical guitar.

Head Stock and Tuning Pegs – the head stock is the upper most portion of the guitar neck and holds the tuning pegs. The tuning pegs hold the string and are turned tighter or loosened to adjust the pitch of the strings.

The next step is usually learning how to hold the guitar for playing. If right handed, the neck and strings are held with the left hand. The body of the guitar is resting on the right leg, and the back of the guitar is next to the chest or abdominal area. The thinnest and first string is on the bottom, closest to the legs. Hold the pick in the right hand with the thumb and forefinger. The pick should be held firmly. Get a feel for the guitar by practicing holding down various strings on the frets and strumming the guitar strings over the sound hole.

Beginner and Basic Guitar Lessons

Now the beginning guitarist is ready for the first lesson. Deciding how to learn to play the guitar is a personal decision that should be made by the beginner guitarist. To help in the decision making process, the beginner should consider the following:

Private Lessons – Although one on one learning can be a great method to learn to play, these lessons are expensive and must by scheduled at certain times on certain days. Once the beginner leaves the lesson, there is no instruction until the next lesson, so if the beginner has a question or would like to move at a different pace, they must wait for the lesson time.

Teach Yourself Books – A beginner that is good at reading instructions may be successful using teaching books, but most beginners will get frustrated and bored trying to interpret the directions. Also, there are no sounds to listen to, so the instructions are to vague for most beginners.

Video or Online Instruction – Some online or video instructional tapes or DVD’s are cheep, frustrating, and down right impossible to learn. No one learns to play the guitar in “5 easy lessons” or in “30 minutes to playing the guitar”.

The best instructional programs will provide the beginner with a variety of learning methods. The Guitar Home Study course “Learn and Master Guitar” is a good alternative to other methods of learning the basics and becoming an intermediate player.

This program gives the beginner 20 professionally produced DVDs, printed lesson book, “Jam along” CDs, online student support, and a 60 day no questions asked satisfaction guarantee. The Learn and Master Guitar program is the recipient of several impressive awards.

Technorati Tags: Guitar Lessons

Guitar Lessons Checklist

Guitar Lessons Checklist

In my article about guitar lessons appropriately titled “Guitar Lessons” I discussed the rash of inappropriate guitar teachers out there just waiting to rip you off. The bright side was I also discussed how to find a good one, an increasingly more and more difficult task. So read that article first, and then, when you’ve done all that I ask of you and you, think you found a good teacher, star the lessons. Keep in mind that after while, you should check for the following, to assure you’ve made the right choice. Not doing this good cost you months, or even years, of waisted lessons. But first, what is the following? Well it’s a check list of where your child or yourself, should be in respect to the amount of time spent with that teacher. Now of course that’s not to say that this is an exact time line. Lets not forget, we must factor in devotion, talent, and time spent practicing, a huge factor, by the way, but thats another article. Look for “How to practice guitar.”

In the first three to four weeks, there should be a marked improvement in the simple physical ability’s of the student. What I mean by that is the way that the student is able to play note to note. He should be able to move more fluently, but not necessarily proficiently. Simply put it should no longer be a laborious task to move amongst the single notes you know how the play, which brings me to the next item on the list. How many notes should the student know how to play and read? Eight. Eight notes on three strings in the first position. The first position! What’s the first position? Don’t panic. It’s simple. Allow me to explain.

Positions on the guitar are dictated by which fret the first finger falls. Frets are the boxes on the front part of the neck of the guitar. If you position your hand so that your first finger falls on the first fret, (box) then you are in the first position. If it falls on the second fret, then you are in the second position. And so on. Now mind you, it is not necessary to teach all notes. Some of the frets will be skipped at this point. Don’t worry, that is proper form. They will be brought back in to play later. That’s the right way to teach it. You’ll just have to trust me on this barring taking a series of music lessons from me. That’ll cost you. This is free. Don’t worry when junior says that he knows the first and second fret but not the second. That’s actually the way I should be. On the first and second string anyway. So knowledge of eight notes in the first position, on the first three strings. On a guitar, the first three strings are the bottom three strings as you hold the guitar properly in a playing stance. The thinest ones. If your student has been at lessons for about a month he should be somewhere in this range.

Our next check point fall about a month to six weeks later. About 10 to 12 lessons. OK, remember, good practicing habits must be applied. At least 10 minutes a day, 4 – 6 days a week. For this to work. Else, you cannot blame the teacher. Now at the 10 to 12 lesson point the student should be finished with the first position. Knowing all the notes on all the frets of all the six strings, frets 0 – 4 and usually, but not always, 5 on the first string. That includes the missing frets from before. The ability to move among these notes should now be fairly fluent. The student should also be able to tune the strings on the guitar without the help of an electronic tuner. There should be some decent ability to play chords. More then one note at a time; You know, strumming; Stroking all of the strings together. These are difficult to do. And changing from chord is the most difficult thing to do for beginners. So as long as there is some ability here. And some knowledge of the chord names, that’ll do.

Those are the basics. A good teacher, to help motivate the student, and keep them enjoying the process, will throw a few popular songs into the mix as well. Usually nothing to do with theory, just fun. A bad teacher will do this almost exclusively, teaching plenty of songs with no theory. Keeping student happy, and needing to coming back, “forever and ever an ever”. This is a waist of good money. The student will forever need someone to show him how to play a song instead of being able to figure tit out himself. Tabs don’t count. That’s another article, “Guitar tabs equals paint by numbers”. But learning some songs along the way for pleasure is quite appropriate. These will vary greatly depending on the tastes of the student and the teacher. They will include whole songs like “House of the rising sun” or “Dust in the wind”. Or they’ll be famous sections or riffs like the opening to “Smoke on the water” or “Sweet home Alabama”. Usually a combination. Again these are all relative to taste.

Alrighty then, let’s break it down in list form:

4 to 6 weeks:

∙ The ability to play and read in the vicinity of 8 notes on 3 strings

∙ Decent fluent movement from note to note

10 to 12 weeks:

∙ The ability to play and read all the notes in the first position (frets 0 – 4 on all six strings)

∙ Ability to fluently move among these notes

∙ Should be able to tune a guitar on his own

∙ Should have some knowledge of basic chords an some ability to play them.

∙ The ability to play songs or part of some songs is not unusual

Please remember this is not an exact science and there will be some deviation from this I’m sure. Use this as a guide and factor in the things like natural abilities of the student and practicing times, and judge whether or not the teacher is doing his or her job. Although it’s often true, don’t let the teacher try and blame the student, literally at least half the times it’s the teachers fault. You know your child better then anyone if you think they would do better elsewhere, go, before your child looses interest from a bad learning experience. They rarely go back. Another problem might be that the teacher holds your child’s interest but fails to accomplish anything substantial and you loose time and money.

Let me also take the time here to discuss age. If the student is under the age of 9 these expectations are far to high. There are to many things to be considered at such a young age except to say that if the child is enjoying the lessons then there is no harm. But please, hold them to no standards at that age. Simply let them have fun.

John Marchionne is a professional musician and music instructor.

He is owner and lead instructor at Ensemble School of Music at Boca Raton, FL.

Visit his Website www.bocamusiclessons.com

Technorati Tags: Guitar Lessons, Guitar Teacher

Beginners Guitar Chords – 3 To Get You Started

If you’ve just started out playing the guitar, this lesson will show you three basic chords that you can then use to play a lot of different songs, after a bit of practise (the famous ‘3 chords’ !).
Step 1 – Tune Your Guitar
Before starting a guitar practise session, always get into the habit of tuning your guitar. If it’s out of tune, then any chords you play on it won’t sound too good, so to avoid getting discouraged, tune it up first. The following is a quick guide to putting your guitar in Standard Tuning:
1 -||–|–|–|–|–|– (highest-sounding)
2 -||–|–|–|–|-X|–
3 -||–|–|–|-X|–|–
4 -||–|–|–|–|-X|–
5 -||–|–|–|–|-X|–
6 -||–|–|–|–|-X|– (lowest-sounding)
If you’re playing the guitar by holding the neck with your left hand, then if you tilt the guitar towards you, you should see the strings arranged like this. You tune the strings one at a time, by putting one finger on the fret marked with an ‘X’ in the diagram, and playing that string, together with the string above it (ie higher than it).
So start off by tuning string 2 (next to top string): put your left index finger on the 5th fret on string 2, as shown in the diagram, and while playing this note, play string 1. If the notes don’t sound the same, adjust the tuning peg on string 2 until it matches. Then do the same for strings 3, 4, 5, 6. Watch out that you put your finger on the 4th fret when doing string 3, for all the other strings, use the 5th fret.
The C Major Chord
Ok, now hopefully your guitar’s in tune, so let’s move on to learning the first guitar chord – C Major. The chord diagram for it looks like this:
1 -||–|–|–|– (highest-sounding)
2 -||-1|–|–|–
3 -||–|–|–|–
4 -||–|-2|–|–
5 -||–|–|-3|–
6 -||–|–|–|– (lowest-sounding)
In this guitar lesson, we’ll only be using the first 3 frets on the guitar. The numbers in bold on the chart show you where to put your fingers. Your index finger is 1, middle is 2, ring finger is 3, then little finger is 4. So the steps to forming this C major chord with your hand that’s holding the guitar neck are as follows:
* Put your 1st finger on the first fret of string 2, and hold it down
* Add your 2nd finger on the second fret of string 4, and hold it down
* Finally, add your 3rd finger on the third fret of string 5, and hold it down
If you followed these steps, you should have all three fingers holding down strings 2, 4, and 5. When pressing down on the strings, it’s important to put your finger as close as possible behind the fret. So not right on top of the fret, and not too far away either. This way, the string won’t make a ‘buzzing’ sound when you play it. In this chord, strings 1 and 3 have no fret held down – you just play the string as it is (this is called an ‘open string’). When starting, it might be hard to get string 3 to sound, as your other fingers might be stopping it from ringing. If it doesn’t ring to start with, don’t worry about it, just play the other strings.
One important point when putting your fingers on the frets to make the chord, is that the fingers should curl down onto the strings from directly above. This way, each finger is only holding down the fret it’s supposed to, without affecting other strings next to it. This helps you get a cleaner sound to the chord.
So if you’ve managed to get your fret hand fingers in place to hold down the chord as shown, then strum the strings with your other hand (either with the plectrum, or just your fingers). If you’re holding down the chord correctly, then you should hear the C major chord sounding. With this chord, the bottom string (string 6) isn’t normally played, so try to strum just strings 1 – 5.
Congratulations – you’ve just played the C major chord! If it sounds a bit strange, then you might need to check your guitar’s in tune, or check you’ve got the right strings/frets held down. Practise playing this chord a few times, until you get the hang of it.
The G Major Chord
Moving on to the next chord, the diagram for G major is as follows:
1 -||–|–|-3|– (highest-sounding)
2 -||–|–|–|–
3 -||–|–|–|–
4 -||–|–|–|–
5 -||–|-1|–|–
6 -||–|–|-2|– (lowest-sounding)
In the same way as you did with the C major chord, try to form the chord step by step, starting with your 1st finger on string 5 at the 2nd fret, then 2nd finger on string 6 at the 3rd fret, finally your 3rd finger on string 1 at the 3rd fret.
When you can hold all three fingers down on the correct frets at the same time, try strumming this chord. Strings 2, 3, 4 should ring freely, so try to ensure your fingers curl down onto the fretted strings without obstructing them. All strings should be strummed for this chord.
Sometimes it can be a bit of a stretch between fingers 2 and 3, so practise this one until it feels more comfortable. I personally use fingers 2, 3 and 4 for this chord as I find it more natural, and it also makes it easier when switching back and forth between G Major and C Major. Basically, don’t be afraid to experiment a bit, and find what works best for you.
The D Major Chord
OK, so here’s the last of the three basic chords, D major:
1 -||–|-2|–|– (highest-sounding)
2 -||–|–|-3|–
3 -||–|-1|–|–
4 -||–|–|–|–
5 -||–|–|–|–
6 -||–|–|–|– (lowest-sounding)
Again, form this chord step by step, one finger at a time. When you can hold all 3 fingers down, try strumming it. Usually for the D major chord, the bottom two strings aren’t sounded, so try just to strum the top 4 strings if you can.
Practise!
Well those are the three basic chords. The next step is to practise them over and over, until you can form them reasonably quickly each time. What you find is that when you first learn how to play the chords, and are forming them step by step, placing each finger in turn, it seems to take ages to position each finger.
With plenty of practise however, your hand gets used to forming the shapes, with a kind of ‘finger memory’, and it gets a lot easier. Take plenty of breaks in between practising them, and you’ll find that in each practise session, forming the chords gets easier.
Link Them Together
Once you’ve got to the stage where you can form each of these three chords fairly easily, the next step is to try changing from one chord to another. For example, say you’re playing the C major chord. Try strumming this for a few counts of 4 (ie count ‘1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4′ aloud as you’re strumming the chord), and then change to one of the other chords (G major or D major).
For example, you might come across chord progressions (sequences of different chords) written out like this:
| C / / / | C / / / | G / / / | G / / / | D / / / | D / / / |
So here, for each bar (part between the ‘|’ symbols), there is a count of 4, and in this progression, you play C major for 2 bars (’1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4′), then G major for 2 bars, and finally D major for 2 bars.
Again, as with when you were practising forming the chords, it will seem to take a long time to change your fingers from one chord shape to another. Just keep practising though, and it will get easier, to the point where as you’re counting aloud, as you count ‘1′ when you’re changing from one chord to another, your fingers will form into the next chord shape without you thinking too much about it.
Keep At It!
Well that’s the end of this lesson on basic chords. Once you can get to the stage where you can play the above chord progression fairly smoothly, without too much of a delay when changing between the chords, you can try finding some simple arrangements of songs that use just these three chords. One example would be The Beatles’ ‘Hey Jude’, a basic version can be played with these chords.
Good luck with your guitar playing!

Technorati Tags: Beginners Guitar Chords, Guitar Lessons

How To Read Guitar Chords – Jamorama

Guitar tablature or tab is a system of notation that graphically represents strings and frets of the guitar fret board. Each note is indicated by placing a number which indicates the fret to play, on the appropriate string. In guitar tablature, you also have to be familiar with guitar scales and chords. A chord is a mixture of at least three different pitches that are played simultaneously. The different chords, when played in the appropriate sequence, constitute the musical flow in a song. People who wish to learn how to play the guitar, then, must also learn how to read guitar chords.Click Here For Jamorama Instant Access Now!To start out, tabs are written in lines, with each line representing a string on the guitar. The thickest string is represented by the bottom most line, while the thinnest string is represented by the top most line. Numbers are placed on these lines to represent finger positions on the guitar fret board.In order to tab a chord, the notes would be placed in a vertical line upon the horizontal ones. However, a guitar tab does not represent how long to hold a note for. Tab works best if you listen to the song for guidance on the timing, and then read the notes and practice it afterwards.There are simple chords as well as complex chords. As a guitar player, you must know how to play these chords. To be able to play complex chords comfortably, you first have to be able to play the simple chords or otherwise known as beginners’ chords, the most basic of which are the open chords. Open chords have at least one open string, or one that is not pressed down by one of your left hand fingers. The best way to learn how to play these chords is by learning how to play songs that are based on these simple chords.Click Here For Jamorama Instant Access Now!

Technorati Tags: ben edwards, Guitar Lessons, how to read guitar chords, how to read guitar music sheet, how to read guitar notation, how to read guitar tabs and chords, jamorama, online education, references and education, study guitar chords

How To Read Guitar Tabs And Chords – Jamorama

The guitar theory states that there is no point to learning how to play the guitar without any knowledge of guitar, that is to say, without knowing how to read guitar tabs and chords. It states that it is important for the learner to be able to understand and play the different chords such that the resulting sound is melodious and in harmony.Click Here For Jamorama Instant Access Now!Guitar tablature or tab is a system of notation that graphically represents strings and frets of the guitar fret board. Each note is indicated by placing a number which indicates the fret to play, on the appropriate string. In guitar tablature, you also have to be familiar with guitar scales and chords. Guitar chords are an important part of playing songs. Because not all songs can be played on a single string, you need to learn about chords. A chord is a mixture of at least three different pitches that are played simultaneously, or a combination of musical tones sounded at the same time. The different chords, when played in the appropriate sequence, constitute the musical flow in a song. A guitar player has to hit the strings of the guitar at the same time with the fingers of the hand that they use to strum, while holding down the strings at the required places on the fret board, in order to produce the sound.Playing guitar chords may cause problems such as sharp pain in the fingers from holding down the strings, numbness or even blisters, or stiffening and slowing down of reaction time. The pain occurs because your fingers aren’t used to being put in such uncomfortable positions. In order to prevent pain, you have to stretch your fingers out and play some single string notes before playing the guitar.According to the chord theory, learning how to read guitar tabs and chords is the shortest route to producing some kind of music from the instrument especially in the early stages of learning.Click Here For Jamorama Instant Access Now!

Technorati Tags: ben edwards, Guitar Lessons, how to read guitar chords, how to read guitar music sheet, how to read guitar notation, how to read guitar tabs and chords, jamorama, online education, references and education, study guitar chords

Learn to Play Guitar Easily and Fast

Are you want to learn guitar faster? I want to share tha fast way to play the guitar. You can visit Learning To Play The GuitarA particularly important segment of learning to play guitar is to learn how to play simple songs. Before trying to do so you must ensure your guitar is tuned up properly. If it is not, the notes will not come out sounding like they should. A great aid to use while playing songs is guitar tabs. In addition to reading guitar tabs you must train your ear to hear a song too. Simply start out by listening to a song you would like to learn to play. Apparently, you’ll want to stick with simple songs, particularly if you are a beginner. The easy songs to learn on guitar sometimes use 3 easy chords. Play the track over a number of times. Everytime you hear it, pay close attention to the rhythm and the timing of the chords as well as the guitar strums. Do this over again a few more times to ensure you have the rhythm and the timing of the chords down. This is an important step as you learn how to play guitar songs. This is actually how amateurs learn the way to play songs on the guitar. Keep your concentration and don’t worry if you mess up. Here’s another tip discussed in playing guitar for noobs. If you have a video recorder you may need to tape yourself playing. By doing this, you’ll get visible feedback on how you are doing. You will be better informed of what errors you are making and can think up methods to improve your methodologies. Learning how to play guitar songs doesn’t have to be strenuous. That is if you’ve a fervour to learn and plenty of patience and some willpower. If you continuously screw up, put the guitar down for awhile and take five. Should you become agitate, simply lay down the guitar and try practicing again tomorrow. The Guitar Controller : By isolating the elements of the guitar controller being utilized in the computer game, we will be able to compare the guitar controller to a real-world guitar neck. The neck of the guitar has four basic elements. The 1st element is the neck. The fret board is parted by what are called guitar frets. Thirdly, we have got the guitar strings that go on top of the fret board, on top of the frets. Lastly, your fingers when placed on the fret board help produce sound on the guitar when your right hand plucks one of the guitar strings. A computer Playstation game controller like a guitar controller is very similar to the guitar neck description just given above. The controller represents the neck of the guitar. The single thing missing from the guitar controller is the string that goes on top of a guitar neck. two. Rather than just passively listening to a song, you can now actively take part in the particular rhythm of the song. When you are prepared to own your own guitar, and learn the way to play guitar good, ensure that you aren’t just playing computer games during your downtime. Take the amount of time that you play your promo video games and divide that time in half. For instance, if you play guitar hero about for an hour each day, then the next step is to only play guitar hero for a half hour, and then practice your guitar for a half hour.Learn more details : Guitar Superstars

Technorati Tags: Guitar Lessons, Guitar Superstars, Learning Guitar, Play Guitars, Practice Guitar

Best Guitar Tutorial By Guitar Superstars

Learn to play guitar faster!! You can visit Learning To Play The Guitar to be guitar master.
A particularly important part of learning how to play guitar is to learn how to play straightforward songs. Before attempting to do so you need to ensure your guitar is tuned up properly. If it’s not, the notes won’t come out sounding like they should.
In addition to reading guitar tabs you may train your ear to hear a song too. Simply start out by listening to a song you’d like to learn how to play. Apparently, you’ll want to stick with straightforward songs, especially if you’re a beginner. The easy songs to learn on guitar usually use three straightforward chords.
This is a very important step as you learn how to play guitar songs.
Once you are sure you have these things down it is time to pick up your guitar and start strumming along. This is truly how amateurs learn the way to play songs on the guitar. Keep your concentration and do not worry if you mess up. You may need to either strum your guitar soft enough where you will not drown out the music or simply raise the volume on the stereo.
Here’s another tip mentioned in playing guitar for noobs. If you’ve got a camcorder you may want to tape yourself playing. You’ll be better informed of what blunders you are making and can think up methods to boost your techniques.
1. The Guitar Controller : By isolating the elements of the guitar controller being utilized within the Nintendo game, we can compare the guitar controller to a real-world guitar neck.
The neck of the guitar has 4 basic components. The first component is the neck. The second element is what is called the fret board. The fret board is parted by what are called guitar frets. Thirdly, we have got the guitar strings that go on top of the fret board, on top of the frets. Finally, your fingers when placed on the fret board help produce sound on the guitar when your right hand plucks one of the guitar strings.
The one thing missing from the guitar controller is the string that goes on top of a guitar neck.
2. Video game Rhythm : One great thing about music video games is that if you have never had any formal musical training, you can learn basic rhythm simply by playing promo vid games. Most modern music video games make use of real-life songs that are at present being played on the radio. Rather than just passively listening to a song, you can now actively take part in the particular rhythm of the song. If you’re off rhythm you’ll not receive as high of a score as if you are on rhythm, and getting a super high score.
four. Apply your Playstation game time to practicing : if you’re serious about learning guitar, you may need to go from video game controllers to the real thing. Take the quantity of time that you play your music video games and divide that time in half. For instance, if you play the guitar hero on average for an hour every day, then the very next step is to only play guitar hero for a half hour, and then practice your guitar for a half hour.
Learn more details : Guitar Superstars

Technorati Tags: Guitar Lessons, Guitar Superstars, Learning Guitar, Play Guitars, Practice Guitar

Lesson for Beginer to Learn Guitar

Are you looking for easy guitar method? I want to share how to play the guitar faster and effective. You can visit Learning To Play The Guitar
A very significant part of learning to play guitar is to be taught how to play simple songs. Before attempting to do so you must make sure your guitar is tuned up properly. A great aid to use while playing songs is guitar tabs.
Simply start out by listening to a song you would like to learn to play. Apparently, you’ll want to stick with simple songs, especially if you are an amateur.
Play the song over a few times. Once you have that down hear the track again, this time following with the guitar tab as it’s playing. Do this over again some more times to guarantee you’ve got the rhythm and the timing of the chords down.
Once you’re sure you have these things down it’s time to pick up your guitar and start strumming along. You may need to either strum your guitar soft enough where you will not drown out the music or raise the volume on the stereo.
If you’ve got a camcorder you may need to tape yourself playing. You’ll be better informed of what errors you’re making and can think up strategies to enhance your techniques.
Learning how to play guitar songs doesn’t have to be difficult. As you practice easy songs to learn on the guitar, try not to be too self-critical. If you steadily screw up, put the guitar down for awhile and take five. Should you become agitate, simply lay down the guitar and try practicing again tomorrow.
Let’s have a look at three ways that playing a computer video game music system like guitar hero will help you become a better guitar player.
one. The Guitar Controller : By isolating the components of the guitar controller being exploited in the computer game, we will compare the guitar controller to a real-life guitar neck.
The neck of the guitar has 4 basic components. The first component is the neck. The second component is what is called the fret board. The fret board is separated by what are called guitar frets. Thirdly, we’ve got the guitar strings that go on top of the fret board, on top of the frets. Lastly, your fingers when placed on the fret board help produce sound on the guitar when your right hand plucks one of the guitar strings.
The controller represents the neck of the guitar. The 4 buttons represent the fret board that you press your fingers on when you play a guitar note. The single thing missing from the guitar controller is the string that goes on top of a guitar neck.
2. Playstation game Rhythm : One great thing about promo vid games is that if you haven’t had any formal musical training, you can learn basic rhythm simply by playing music video games. Most modern promo video games utilize real-life songs that are presently being played on the radio. Instead of just passively listening to a song, you can now actively take part in the particular rhythm of the song. If you are off rhythm you’ll not receive as high of a score as if you’re on rhythm, and getting a super high score.
four. Take the amount of time that you play your music video games and divide that time in half. For instance, if you play guitar hero on average for an hour each day, then the next step is to only play guitar hero for a half hour, and then practice your guitar for a half hour.
Learn more details : Guitar Superstars

Technorati Tags: Guitar Lessons, Guitar Superstars, Learning Guitar, Play Guitars, Practice Guitar