Simple Music Secrets

I wanted to talk about the exact steps to learn to play guitar one step at a time over the next few posts. First up is how to find the guitar itself.
Luckily today there are many very well made guitars for a reasonable price so that is nice. Years ago there were only cheap guitars and expensive guitars. Not much in between. I know I had a Silvertone before I graduated to an Ovation and eventually a Martin.
If you do not have a friend to help you, I would suggest a visit to your local music store or stores to get an idea what you want. Please don’t buy anything for a week or so. Go home, research the exact model numbers on the internet and get an idea if the price you are looking to pay is in line with the current retail price. You can buy online also, although I would not recommend that for a first time purchase because the new player is more apt to be happy with a guitar that he picks out the first time. After a while you can buy online and you will know what to expect from experience.
You can buy a very decent, first time guitar for $300 these days. You can of course pay less and perhaps find a good one on Craigslist or at a garage sale. If you are patient and have a friend to help you check out possible buys that would be the most economical way.
Finally you have to decide whether you want an electric guitar or an acoustic one. Unless you are just dying to play electric, I would recommend starting with an acoustic guitar at first. It requires no amplification (an additional expense), and you can play all types of music on it and is also portable to the campfire or at the beach etc.

Next time;tune the guitar.

The guitar is one of the most popular and widely played instruments in the world. The guitar is known for its beautiful looks, addictive playability, and outstanding sound. The guitar is a must for every band out there, and is in the vast majority of all bands today. In order to learn the guitar you must first understand guitar basics, the construction and techniques which make the guitar so fascinating and difficult to master.

Guitar Sound

What makes the guitar so amazing? One of the first guitar basics is how it produces the sound. The guitar produces its sound through vibration, and resonation. It has six strings numbered from the smallest (known as the first string) all the way up to the thickest and deepest sounding, the sixth string. These strings are based on a chromatic scale which uses letters of the alphabet to represent musical notes. The guitar consists of E, B, G, D, A, E, from one to six. (smallest to largest, or first thru sixth)

In order to combine notes, the musician depresses its strings against a fret board. They are pressed against a small metal rod, known as the fret itself, placed on the fret board, and produce sound. Depending on how far away from the sound hole the string is depressed, notes are produced varying in pitch. The farther up (towards the sound hole) on the fret board you go, the higher the note of the string. The guitar can play multiple notes at once and these are known as chords. By pressing down and holding multiple strings you are making a chord.

Right and left hand guitar techniques

In guitar basics there are several techniques for the right hand (the picking and strumming hand) to play guitar. First there is simple strumming, either with a pick or with just fingers. This strumming can be complicated also as in flamenco guitar music. Then there is using a pick to play one note at a time, such as in lead guitar. Then there is fingerpicking,also known as Travis picking named for one of the pioneers, which is using several or all of the fingers of the right hand all at once to play different notes.

Guitar tuning

One of the very first guitar basics that everyone struggles with is learning to tune the guitar. Every beginner struggles with this aspect of guitar learning.Thankfully we now have electronic tuners which can help you  take the guess work out of tuning a guitar. Ask your teacher or search on line for guitar tuners.

Guitar Strings

The guitar uses bronze strings in which to produce soft, brilliant sounds. The exception to this is the electrical guitar which uses nickel plated strings to produce a more mellow sound and interact better with elctronic pickups found on the electric guitar. The classical, or nylon string guitar uses just that, nylon strings.The fourth, fifth and sixth strings are a combination of nylon wrapped with bronze.

When you first begin learning the guitar and getting to know the guitar basics, it is important to know all of the above, so that you can begin learning how to play. The first step that you should always want to take is to learn the basic chords. Then practice your strumming patterns. If you can’t keep a rhythm, you’re not ready for any of the other aspects. Once you have mastered the chords and strum patterns, you can begin picking the chords string by string to add more melody and skill towards your music. The last thing that anyone should learn is the first thing that every one wants to learn, scales.

Lead guitar is flashy, but is difficult to pull off at first. Once you have become adapted to the guitar basics, it becomes easier to progress to other techniques. Stay with it and be patient and you can learn guitar fast enough to move to the next level.

Right Hand Guitar Techniques

Flat-picking – Playing the guitar using a pick or plectrum. Plucking each individual string one at a time to sound a unique note. This simple technique is one of the primary skills almost every player will learn.

Finger picking – Using the fingers and thumb of the right hand to pluck one or more strings at a time to play complex melodies. Master finger pickers can play several parts at once, forming a complex sound.

Alternating bass – Often known as Travis Picking, involves playing the melody upon the top three or four strings of the guitar with the fingers of the right hand, while the thumb plays a constant or alternating bass part on the bottom strings.

Classical style – A very difficult finger picking technique to master, where the hand is held entirely away from the fingerboard, and all 4 fingers, plus the thumb are used to pick notes.

Dampening – Where the player uses the heel, or side of the right hand to dampen vibrating strings, or to stop strings currently being picked or strummed from sounding fully. This produces an almost percussive sound.

Left Hand GuitarTechniques

Barre chords – These chords differ from open chords in the fact that the player creates a bar across the entire fret board using the forefinger of the left hand, in effect making a human capo. Barre chords are extremely useful, allowing the guitarist to play complex chord progressions without moving up and down the guitar neck.

Arpeggios – An arpeggio is basically a three note run, with all three notes taken from the chord, or scale, which the piece of music is currently attuned to.

Dampening – Either lifting the left hand slightly from the fret board when playing a chord, or possible placing it loosely onto the fret board before playing the next chord, this produces a muffled, funky kind of rhythm playing.

Hammer ons – A hammer-on is used to describe the action of playing a fret, and then hammering down with a different finger onto a different fret, causing a new note to ring out, without actually picking the string.

Pull offs – A pull off is the reverse of a hammer-on. A finger will be placed on a fret behind the note currently being played, and the original finger which played the original note will be lifted off, allowing a new note to ring out.

These are just a handful of basic left and right hand guitar techniques, there are many more, and all of these should form part of every serious guitar player repertoire. These techniques become easier with practice, even if they do appear to be difficult at first.

The term guitar is used for a number of different types of guitar, with different sounds, techniques and uses.  Although most people will probably conjure up an image of an electric or acoustic guitar in their minds when somebody mentions the word guitar, there are several other sub-categories of guitars. Let us look at the main types of guitars.

Acoustic Guitars

An acoustic guitar produces its sound by allowing the strings to vibrate and then be amplified by a large hollow body section. Almost always constructed of wood (due to its excellent tonal properties), they are usually flat-topped and flat-backed. The exception to this rule is the newer type of acoustic guitars that will use a flat wooden top, bonded to a shaped composite back as well as arch-top guitars.

Acoustic guitars have been the backbone of modern music since the 1950s, and remain one of the most versatile instruments available. They are relatively easy to play, and make excellent first instruments for beginner musicians.

Electric Guitars

An electric guitar is simply a guitar that uses a pickup to send the sound of the plucked string via a cable to an amplifier to produce its sound. Electric guitars range from simple acoustic guitars that have been fitted with an after-market pickup, to technologically advanced instruments which contain electronic circuitry.

Most people will think of a name such as Fender when they discuss electric guitars, or Gibson guitars. The Fender Stratocaster and the Gison Les Paul are the standard that all guitars aspire to be. Since the early 1960s, the electric guitar has done more to define modern music than any other instrument.

Classical Guitars

Classical guitars are acoustic, and are very similar to standard acoustic guitars. Where they differ is in the way in which the neck is constructed, and the types of strings that are used. A classical guitar has a much wider neck than an acoustic guitar, and uses tuning pegs instead of machine heads, to apply tension to the strings.  Additionally, most classical guitars will have a much softer tone.

Electric Bass Guitars

An electric bass guitar will have much in common with a standard electric guitar.  Almost all of the fitting on an electric bass guitar are the same as those found on an electric guitar, except they will have been up-sized to handle the thicker bass strings. Once again, usually a 4 string set is used, although some advanced electric bass guitars will have five, six or sometimes seven strings.

Acoustic Bass Guitars

Acoustic Bass Guitars are quite rare; they are constructed in the same fashion as a standard acoustic guitar, except they will be fitted with bass strings and have a very large body.  Usually this will be a standard 4 string set, although some newer acoustic bass guitars may come with five, six or even seven strings.  Due to the fact that bass strings are much thicker, and therefore will vibrate less when plucked or strummed, an acoustic bass guitar produces very little actual volume. For this reason most acoustic bass players use a microphone to amplify their playing.
These are the main types of guitar, although there are several more variations, including electro-acoustic, resonator guitars, and 12 string guitars among others.

Today I was playing my guitar and practicing a song I have almost memorized. One of the best techniques I have found to ensure the effective memorization of a piece is to always check the music as you are playing if you make any mistakes or even think you are playing it wrong. the reason I say this is that if you practice the section wrong, then you are very likely to remember it wrong when the time to play by memory comes around. Do not make that mistake. Always check your information to make sure you are learning the song the way it should be learned. Only when you really know it can you interpret it. Keep playing music.