Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Learn Guitar Fast and Easy

By John McGee


Playing guitar is one of the most popular hobbies out there, and with good reason. You can play many different styles of music; you can learn easily and without pressure; and the music is fluid and enjoyable. Guitars are portable, fun to play, and create beautiful memories. Think of all those summer night sing-a-longs on the beach, under the stars, the campfires, the cookouts. All of those are enhanced by the soulful music of the guitar. If you would like to learn to play guitar fast and easy, here are some tips for beginning guitar lessons.

In order to play the guitar comfortably, you need to assume the correct position. This will make it easier to play and avoid injury. Guitar is played either sitting or standing. There are two basic positions while sitting; the classical position (in which the guitar rests on your left leg) and the casual position (with the guitar resting on the right leg).

The standing guitar playing position is as follows; set the guitar strap comfortably over your shoulder, support the guitar neck with your left hand and put your right hand over the guitar's bridge. Get comfortable with the guitar and you'll have a much easier time learning how to play it.

Correct Hand position is critical in order to play the guitar comfortably. Make sure that your hands and wrists are perfectly relaxed in order to prevent injury. To avoid straining your thumb and your wrist, be sure never to press your thumb onto the back of the guitar neck. The fingers of your left hand should be used to press down the strings of the fret board (also known as fretting); while the fingers of the right hand simultaneously strum the strings on the guitar's bridge. If you're using a pick, be sure to position in between the thumb and the index finger.

The guitar should be properly tuned at all times; this will contribute to the speed and ease of learning to play the guitar. Tuning means testing each string on the guitar to make sure that it is in tune with the next string. Begin by testing the sixth string E since it is the thickest string as well as the lowest sounding string. Then tune the strings of A, D, G, B, and lastly E. This last E is the thinnest string as well as the highest sounding string. This is the standard method of guitar tuning. Some guitarists, beginners in particular, may decide to buy one of the "guitar tuners" that are available on the market. Tuners who are more experienced may dabble with alternative tunings until they discover that special chord voicing that creates distinctive color to the rhythm.

Now that you've tuned your guitar, you can start practicing some scales and chords. Scales are a series of musical notes played individually, one after the other, in ascending or descending order. Chords, on the other hand, are a group of three or more notes played simultaneously. This can be achieved by strumming or playing multiple strings. Songs can be created by using different chords to make riffs. Play chords several times, moving from one chord to another.

Just give these beginning guitar lessons some time, practice and patience. Before you know it, you'll learn Guitar Fast and Easy!




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