Learning to Play Acoustic Guitar for the Beginner

The very first step toward learning to play acoustic guitar is to develop confidence and to destroy that "I can't do it" mentality. Your biggest obstacle in your acoustic guitar playing is not going to be money, time, or the absence of a good teacher. The biggest obstacle is going to be you. You are your own worst enemy. Once you learn how to tame the negativity inside, you will be that much closer to becoming a good acoustic guitar player.

Frustration is normal during the learning process. Learning anything new is not meant to be easy. Resistance is what helps us grow. So the next time you are working on a scale, or chord progression, and you find yourself fumbling or messing up, don't throw down the guitar with frustration, instead welcome the challenge and have patience in it.

YOUR FIRST GUITAR

Buying a first guitar is an important step for the beginner guitarist. You should have a good understanding of the acoustic guitar as a whole as well as a good idea of what your goals are as an acoustic guitar player. By educating yourself in these areas, you will be able to make an intelligent purchase that can provide you with years of enjoyable playing.

There are generally two kinds of acoustic guitars that you can purchase and they are your classic or nylon string guitar and your steel string guitar. One is not necessarily better than the other as it is really a matter of personal taste, but each guitar does have its own unique feel and sound. The classic or nylon guitars produce a round or dull tone, where as the steel string guitars are much different, producing a bright tinny or metallic sound. You will certainly develop your own preference the longer you play, or like many guitarists, you will enjoy using both. Only time will tell.

Another thing you will have to consider is the body style of your acoustic guitar. Acoustic guitars come in a variety of different body sizes from small to jumbo. Each size has its own distinct sound. Smaller body guitars have more treble and midrange sounds and are much easier to hold. Lead guitarists tend to favor smaller body guitars because they tend to have a more balanced sound to them and are easier to make out when playing with other musicians in a band. Your larger body guitars have more bass and are more difficult to hold. The only way to really know what body style is right for you is to try one out for yourself. Your best bet is to find a guitar that you are comfortable holding and playing. Guitar playing is challenging enough in the beginning and you do not need any added difficulties.

Guitar quality will differ depending on the model and brand. Sometimes two instruments of the same make and model can differ as well. It is therefore important to try out as many guitars as possible within your price range. It is also recommended that you bring along an experienced musician when you go guitar shopping. An experienced guitar player will be able to better judge the quality of a guitar.

Buy the best guitar that you can afford. Many of the guitars that sell for under $100 are poorly made for the most part. If you cannot afford to spend more, then save up and wait until you can. A well made guitar will be easier to play, more appealing to the eye and more responsive. If you enjoy playing your instrument more, you will then be more inspired to play. You can find a fine beginner acoustic guitar for under $500. Some brands to look into are Seagull, Martin, Yamaha, Fender and Ibanez to name a few. You may also want to look into the used acoustic guitar market. You may be able to find some real gems out there at great prices, but you have to be very careful with used guitars. Make sure you take an experienced guitar player with you if you decide to buy a used guitar.


LEARNING & PRACTICE

There is probably no substitution for a good guitar teacher, but it can be rather expensive over time, so many guitar players are left with no other choice then to learn on their own. For those of you who may not be able to afford a professional instructor right now, below are some guidelines for helping you get the most out of your practice time.

Practice as many days out of the week as you can for at least twenty to thirty minutes, more if possible. The more often you play the faster you will learn. Be careful not to overdo it though and take breaks of course. Your brain can only absorb so much information before it needs a break and your hands and the rest of your body need time to recuperate as well. When you practice do not rush through any of your exercises. Twenty minutes of quality focused practice is much more effective than an hour of sloppy practice

Study Your Instrument

Take some time to learn more about the parts of your acoustic guitar. Learn about how it is constructed and how all the parts work together to produce those beautiful sounds that you hear.

Learn How to Tune Your Guitar

You can find free step by step guides online for tuning your acoustic guitar. Make certain that you spend time learning how to do this. Purchase a guitar tuner at any local music store and practice tuning your guitar with the guitar tuner. When you begin to develop a better ear, try tuning it without the guitar tuner. Then use the guitar tuner to check and see how accurate your ear was. This will help you develop a good ear.


Learn the Right Posture

If you are accustomed to just grabbing your guitar and sitting down to play in any old position, then you are at risk of injuring yourself and developing bad playing habits. Make sure you understand the correct way to sit and hold your instrument for optimal performance.

Learn Your Chords & Scale

Learn as many different chords and variations of the same chord that you can and practice your scales. This will give you a well rounded familiarity with the frets on the guitar and it will build up strength in your fingers and hands.

I hope this article has helped with your acoustic guitar learning. Keep a positive attitude and practice! Before you know you will be playing acoustic guitar like a pro. I wish you well. God Bless.
About the Author: Ralph Serpe:

Would you like more free articles on how to play acoustic guitar? Visit http://www.learn-acoustic-guitar.com today for tips, articles and instructional video clips!
Article Source: ArticlesBase.com - Learning to Play Acoustic Guitar for the Beginner
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WHEN You Practice Your Guitar Playing Might be More Important Than HOW You Practice

In this article I will discuss a concept which I've come to know and appreciate over many years of playing guitar. This concept is how the brain programs muscle memory overnight when we sleep. This has been studied in regards to many fields (mainly athletics), but I will be discussing its use and value as it relates to playing guitar.

If you've been playing guitar for quite some time or just know a few chords this scenario may ring true to you:

You're practicing a key technique, strumming pattern, picking pattern or maybe even a simple chord and it is really difficult. You know what I mean -- it's frustrating you to the point where you would rather use your guitar for a planter at the time. You finally give up and go to bed. The next day, suddenly like magic, you find you can now play the thing that mere hours ago was giving you fits.

As you can guess, your brain is responsible for this feat. The key point here is that your brain does the "wiring" for your newly acquired skills during sleep. This is referred to as "muscle memory". Everything you know how to do automatically (such as walk, drive, eat with a fork) is due to your brain processing new data learned and in effect rewiring itself to help you do that physical activity again more efficiently. Muscle memory is a bit of a misnomer, because as far as we know, your muscles do not actually remember things. However your brain does restructure itself to make new neuron to nervous system connections. Scientific research indicates that these connections are made primarily while sleeping. This is where the benefit is for the guitarist, whether you be a beginner or an advanced player.

How to use Muscle Memory to your advantage

Try this experiment and see if you don't learn more rapidly. I've used these techniques with my guitar students before with good success.

1. Pick a chord or picking pattern you want to learn (maybe one you've already been practicing and having difficulty).
2. Practice the chord or technique exclusively before bedtime for only 10 to 15 minutes. I've found that in most cases the best practice-to-skill acquisition ratio falls within this time frame. Any more and you see declining results and increasing frustration. Any less and you may not get the full benefit of programming for muscle memory.
3. Go to sleep for the night.
4. The next day, try to play the desired guitar technique you are learning and note how much easier or faster you can play.
5. Do this for as many nights as you need to develop the proficiency you desire.
   
   These steps may seem simplistic, but the concept is powerful. As a practical example: If you are a beginner, learning chords, I would do the 10-15 minute practice time by carefully making the chord shape strumming each string to ensure each string in the chord rings clearly and hold the chord shape for a few seconds. Remove your hand from the fretboard and attempt to make the chord again as well as you can automatically. I usually recommend verbally saying the chord you are fingering as well. Practice no more than two or three chords and practice switching between the chords as well. Remember - do this no more than 10 - 15 minutes before bedtime.
   
   One word of warning in regards to muscle memory - it does not differentiate between good technique and bad technique. In other words, you need to be sure to do all that you can to use proper form, posture, finger arch, or whatever you can do to ensure that muscle memory does not program a flaw into your technique. I will probably discuss these good practices and techniques in more detail in the future, but for now just be aware of this.
   
   If you utilize these simple steps, you can make rapid advancement in your guitar playing, particularly as a beginner. The power of these techniques is in the limitation of time. The point is to keep guitar playing fun and rewarding. By not allowing yourself to relentlessly practice the same piece over and over for hours you eliminate the potential for burning yourself out on guitar playing due to the frustration.
   
   Give these tips a try and let muscle memory and your brain do the hard work while you sleep and wake up a better guitar player.

This article by: ©2009 by J. Corey Lewis - All Rights Reserved

An Introduction to the Various Types of Guitars

Author: Ian Williamson

The guitar is one of the most popular musical instruments today. There are different kinds of guitars that are available out for different guitar players. Guitars are different in terms of playability, overall appearance and sound quality.

Here are some of the types of guitars that guitar players or aspiring guitar players can choose from:

Acoustic

If you want go get into the guitar world, you can start learning with an acoustic guitar.

Acoustic guitars are dependent on their structures and body shapes for resonating sounds. Unlike the more modern electric guitars, they don't rely on other external devices to enhance sounds. The natural vibrations of the strings are resonated by the body of the guitar.

Acoustic guitars are generally made out of wood. The neck is usually made from mahogany and the fret board is made of maple or rosewood. There are many kinds of acoustic guitars, here are some of them:

1) Classical

Classical guitars are very popular and are usually the choice guitar for beginners. The strings are usually made from nylon. They are usually played in a standard sitting position and used in playing classical music. Classical guitars produce whole sounds which are very pleasing to the ear.

Flamenco guitars are similar to classical guitars, however, they produce crisper and thinner sounds than the other classical guitars.

2) Steel-top

Steel-top guitars are much similar than the classical guitar but are constructed to be more resilient. The parts of the steel-top guitar are reinforced and their bodies are significantly larger than the classical guitars. They also produce a warmer tone than the classical guitar.

3) 12-String guitar

A normal guitar usually has 6 strings, but the 12-string guitar, as its name implies, has 12 strings. Each string is accompanied by another string with the same note but is usually tuned in a higher octave. This guitar produces a semi-chorus effect which is very pleasant to the ear.

4) Resonator

This type of guitar is similar to the steel-top guitar, but the steel in the middle of the soundboard is used to amplify the sound from the vibration of the guitar strings to produce a very thin and distinct sound. These guitars are generally used when playing the blues. There are also variations of the resonator guitar: the square-neck resonator guitar is played on the lap like a piano or organ; and the round neck resonator guitar is played like a common guitar. Resonator guitars work very well with glass or metal slides.

5) Archtop

The archtop guitar was inspired by other instruments such as the violin and the cello. An archtop guitar usually has the f-hole design. Jazz players prefer archtop guitars. Some archtop guitars can command a price of about $25,000.

6) Acoustic Bass

Acoustic bass guitars are bass guitars without electronic pick-ups. The body of the guitar is used to produce the sound. They are usually 4-stringed guitars but there are acoustic bass guitars which have 5 or 6 strings.

Electric

Electric guitars make use of electronic pick-ups to amplify the vibrations of the guitar strings. They are usually connected to electric amplifiers. Electric guitars have a solid or semi-solid body type and they don't use the body for sound resonance so usually make very little or no sound when played without an amplifier. The concept used by electric guitars is that the energy of the strings is diverted into electrical impulses and not directly into sound so that they are able to achieve an amplified sound.

Electric guitars usually have control knobs for changing the volume or the tone of the guitar. There are also pick-up selectors in electric guitars and many electric guitars use multiple pick-ups to achieve the best guitar sounds. These pick-ups gather and produce different tones from the guitar. The tone knobs are used to shift from a bass-intensive sound to a treble-intensive sound or vice versa.

Some electric guitars also have whammy bars. These bars are attached to the guitar to shift notes without changing the finger positions on the fret board. Whammy bars are used to produce "crying" guitar sounds and are a very useful tool when performing rock and roll songs or even ballads. The use of the whammy bar in less expensive guitars is not advised because it may cause the strings to go out of tune.

These are some of the basic types of guitars that are available for everyone. Guitars are made to fit the preferences of the player in terms of playability and sound. Choose the guitar that best fits your preference.

About the Author:
For More Information on Guitar Types by Ian Williamson please visit http://guitar.you-can-learn.info

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com - An Introduction to the Types of Guitar

First Act Releases Info on the "Bambusa" Bamboo Guitar

In keeping with the Earth Day spirit, here is an article / press release from First Act on their new Eco Friendly guitar: The Bambusa. I don't know much about the quality of First Act guitars having never played one, but this guitar does look quite nice. In addition, construction of this guitar with a very renewable source like bamboo is a welcome addition considering the supply of classic guitar making woods like Brazillian Rosewood is becoming very scarce. Let's hope this begins a tradition to more responsible guitar construction and material usage.




New York - April 21, 2008
First Act, an innovative music products company, has unveiled the most eco-friendly electric guitar on the market, The Bambusa. The guitar is crafted from bamboo, one of the most renewable natural resources on the planet.

First Act's Bambusa is the only guitar of its kind and is available through First Act's website (http://www.firstact.com) and select retailers ($399.00 MSRP).

The company has taken a new approach to confronting the growing scarcity of old growth hard woods traditionally used in guitar production. In a revolutionary break from the past, no wood at all is used for the body and the neck of the Bambusa. Rather the instrument is made of densely laminated bamboo, which, combined with its water-based natural matte finish and food safe glue, makes it the "greenest" guitar on the market today.

In the Bambusa, First Act luthiers created a gorgeous guitar with spectacular tone and playability that is also an environmentally friendly instrument.

For additional press information on First Act, including hi-res images of the Bambusa -- click here: http://shorefire.com/clients/firstact/.

Based in Boston, First Act is celebrated for its consistent devotion to musicians at every level and ability. Its music products range from a full line of instruments including entry level drum kits, guitars and band instruments sold in stores nationwide to delicately crafted custom guitars for expert players.

For more information on First Act please contact Nick Baily (nbaily@shorefire.com) or Maggie Poulos (mpoulos@shorefire.com) at Shore Fire Media - 718.522.7171 or Jeff Walker (jwalker@firstact.com) at First Act - 617.226.7920

http://www.shorefire.com/clients/firstact

http://www.firstact.com | http://www.shorefire.com

SOURCE: First Act

Meet the World's No. 1 Guitar Hero

Move over, Eddie Van Halen -- there's a new generation of guitar hero on the block.

Armed with a small plastic axe, Seattle's Freddie Wong is taking the gaming world -- and the Internet -- by storm as one of the best players of Guitar Hero.

It's a wildly popular series of video games that lets users play along with their favourite songs and pretend they're guitar gods -- but Wong is quickly becoming one in his own right. He won the Guitar Hero 2 championship at the World Series of Video Games in Dallas last summer, appeared on MTV, and now earns money showing off his skills across North America.

"[Guitar Hero] has gotten a lot of attention because it's one of the few games you can play and if a girl walks in the room, she doesn't actually turn around and leave," he laughs.

The 22-year-old student owes part of his fame to another wildly popular phenomenon -- YouTube, a video-sharing site.

Read the Full Article HERE

Source: Sandra Sperounes, Canwest News Service

Vancouver Sun

How to Learn to Play Guitar by Ear

Learning to play guitar by ear is an essential skill to master. Once you have a properly developed ear and the underlying skills, any song that you have ever heard will be at your disposal. Learning to play by ear is not unlike any other skill: the more you practice, the easier it will become. If you practice this complimentary skill regularly, you will eventually be able to play just about any guitar piece just by hearing it a couple of times.

I've already covered basic chords and I hope you've been mastering these. Things may even be starting to make sense and you are getting comfortable playing at least some basic songs. It's time to learn to play guitar by EAR.

Learning to play by ear is not unlike any other skill: the more you practice, the easier it will become. If you practice this complimentary skill regularly, you will eventually be able to play just about any guitar piece just by hearing it a couple of times.

So how do you go about learning to play by ear? The first step is pick a song you like. Don't pick anything too complex at first and you want to be able to clearly hear the guitar parts. You want to first want to determine the points in the song where there are chord changes. You need not worry about which chords are being played right now, just listen and get a feel for the chord changes and when they happen. This is important because it will gradually build your sense of timing and refine your ear.

Next when you are ready to begin picking apart the song, you need to make sure your guitar is in tune. Normally, the universal standard is 440hz. If you do not already have a quality guitar tuner, I suggest that you purchase one. If your guitar is not in tune, you will build your ear to become accustomed to hearing an out-of-pitch guitar.

Once you have tuned your guitar, you should figure out the first chord of the song. Typically this will be the "Key" of the song. Go through the basic chords first (C, G, D, E) the large number of songs will start with those chords. If you are unable to determine the first chord (perhaps it is a more exotic chord) then you can figure out the root note (or the lowest pitched string) of the chord. In the case of Hotel California, it is an F#, Then you can play the major version, noting it does not sound like the recording, then the minor version of the chord. So in this case the first chord of Hotel California happens to be an F#m. I would suggest starting with relatively simple songs from The Eagles or similar as they tend to use standard chord
progressions and simple chord forms. Several popular Eagles songs are G-C-D or similar.

Once you have figured out the basic root note of a chord how do you figure out what chord it is? At this point is really is a matter of trial and error (there will be less trial and error as you develop your ear). Strum through the basic chords and
you will hear when you have hit upon the correct one. Most songs in a certain key (Key of G) for instance will tend to begin and end in that key or chord.

At this point, it is a matter of figuring out the remainder of the chords used in the song you are learning. Initially it will seem difficult to find all of the chords, but you will find that as I mentioned, most songs use similar chord progressions and many of the same chords. There are literally thousands of songs that use just the G, C, and D chords alone.

Learning to play by ear will help you to not only master guitar chords with which you are already familiar, but it will allow you learn new chords as well. In addition you will develop your skills in general as a musician. You will begin to appreciate more how chords and passages are constructed to build the overall feel of the piece of music you are learning. Again, take as an example the sheer number of songs that sound completely different that are constructed with the same G, C, and D chords.

Developing your ear as a guitarist is a valuable skill to master and will improve with time, just as it took time for your untrained and weak fingers to learn to make a simple C chord. Do not despair as at times it is frustrating, But I guarantee if you learn to play a song by ear, it will be infinitely more rewarding than learning by reading tablature or some other means. Develop your ear as a guitarist, and it will pay dividends in your future skill and more importantly your enjoyment of your guitar playing.

This article by: J. Corey Lewis - ©2008 - All Rights Reserved

Knocking on Heaven's Door - Guinness World Record Broken with 1,730 People Playing Guitar at the Same Time!

Wow! A large group of people - 1,730 to be exact, assembled to all play Bob Dylan's classic tune - "Knockin' on Heaven's Door". When confirmed by the Guinness people, this will break the record currently held by a group that assembled 1,683 people together to play "Smoke on the Water" by Deep Purple. Where was this massive guitar feat done? San Francisco? Chicago? Dallas? London? Nope. In Meghalaya, India. Who knew those Indians were such big Dylan fans?

By Subir Bhaumik
BBC News, Calcutta
The hills of north-east India may seem an unlikely place to reverberate to the tones of nearly 2,000 people playing a Bob Dylan classic.

But that is what happened when 1,730 guitarists played one of the great man's songs in a bid to break a record in the state of Meghalaya.

The guitarists hope their achievement will now earn them a place in the Guinness Book of World Records.

If confirmed, it will be the second Meghalayan record-breaker in a year.

Last year, 7,951 drummers from across the state broke the record for the highest number of drummers to perform collectively.

Tourist destination

"Ours is surely the largest guitar ensemble in the history of the world," claimed RG Lyngdoh, the chairman of the Meghalaya Tourism Development Forum (MTDF).

The current Guinness World Record is held by a guitar-ensemble from Kansas City in the US in June last year.

On that occasion 1,683 guitarists, played Deep Purple's Smoke on the Water.

The Meghalayan guitar-ensemble, like the drum ensemble last year, was part of the autumn festival that the MTDF holds every year in the state capital, Shillong, to promote the state as a tourist destination.

On Friday the gathering of guitarists - most of them amateurs - met at the city's Jawaharlal Nehru stadium.

Music-mad

Later in the evening - organised by MTDF officials - the guitarists started playing the immortal Bob Dylan classic, Knocking on Heaven's Door.

Officials say that they counted the number of people participating in the event five times over.

They announced that no less than 1,730 guitarists played the song together on Friday.

Bob Dylan is perhaps a natural choice for Meghalaya's music-mad population.

The picturesque state - often called "Scotland of the East"' for its striking similarities with the Scottish Highlands - has been celebrating the legendary singer's birthday with a gig for the last 35 years.

But unlike last autumn's drum ensemble, Shillong will have to wait a while to make it to the Guinness Book of World Records.

No Guinness representative could make it to Shillong on Friday, so the Meghalaya police chief Bijon Dey Sawian was asked "to judge" the event and send them a detailed report.

"I am sending them recorded visuals according to the Guinness norms along with my report," Mr Sawian told the BBC.

He said the Guinness will make an announcement after examining his report and video recordings.

"Every youngster in Meghalaya either owns a guitar or knows how to strum one. So beating Kansas City's record was not a problem," said the MTDF's vice-president Larsing Ming Sawian.
Original News Link

Beginning Guitar? Learn and Master These 10 Chords! Part Two

Now that we've covered the first six of the basic open chords you need to master as a beginning guitarist, I shall continue with the final four chords to round out the first ten you need to master.

Fourth Set - The E, B, and A Chord.

or

Here is another classic chord progression in the I - IV - V format. This progression is very common in Blues music and Country music as well.

I have displayed chord diagrams for both a B chord and a B7 chord. The reason for this is that the B chord is a fairly difficult chord to master due to the barring required on the fourth fret. Thus, you can usually get away with the much easier B7 chord as shown. An upside is that it sounds bluesier and is commonly used. Several Stevie Ray Vaughan songs follow an E, A, B7 progression or E, A7, B7.

The Final Set - The Em, Am, and Dm chord.



These are not always set in a predetermined chord progression, but are some of the most commonly used minor chords. These are all relatively easy to master. The Em is fingered the same as an E chord only you lift your index finger, thus playing the open G string.

The Aminor chord is fingered the same as an E chord except that it is played a string higher in pitch. The Dminor chord is a new form, but is not difficult to master.

You'll find several rock songs (The Eagles come to mind) where there is a G, C, D chord progression, only they will throw in an Em and sometimes a Dm as well.

Master these ten chords and you will be well on your way to strumming along with some of your favorite bands.

This article by: J. Corey Lewis - ©2008 - All Rights Reserved

Beginning Guitar? Learn and Master These 10 Chords! Part One.

A good number of beginning guitarists get frustrated early on by grabbing a chord book trying many of the exotic chords and generally become overwhelmed and frustrated by the sheer number of chords and the complex nature of some of them. What the hell is a Ddim7th? Well, I won't be covering that in this post, but if you want to get a good foundation to playing guitar -- one that will increase your enjoyment of the guitar plus give you the ability to strum hundreds, if not thousands of songs, then master these ten chords.

The technical definition of a "Chord" is simply a simultaneous sounding of three or more notes together.

While I recommend a good chord book to beginning guitar players, they have a fundamental weakness in that they are kind of like a dictionary with no definition. In other words, they show hundreds of chords with no context as to what each chord is good for.

There is little point in trying to learn all of these chords in order, just as in my dictionary example, it would make little sense to learn the English language by learning each word in order alphabetically. Thus, I recommend learning these ten key chords first. Most are relatively easy to master. I would suggest taking a look at my post about muscle memory and sleep to utilize while learning these chords.

1st Set - Chords 1 - 3. The G, C, and D chord.

These three are the bread and butter of rock and roll playing. This three chord combination is probably used in more songs than any other. In music theory, it is represented as a I - IV - V chord sequence. In this case the Key of G . Simply the "I" is the key, and the others are steps from that key. In this case, G is one, so as you count up A would be two, B would be three, C would be four, D would be five, E would be six, F would be seven.

The Key of G is very popular especially in Country music. But you will recognize this chord progression in many genres. Practice these three chords and practice switching between them in different combinations.

2nd Set - The A, D, and E Chord.

You've already learned the D chord, so there are only two new ones to learn in this set. The key of A is also typically a I - IV - V chord progression, which is very popular in rock music. Any song played in G, can be transposed to A with this chord set, but it will be higher in pitch.

The E chord is perhaps the fullest sounding open chord in my opinion and I frequently use it to check tuning. If you can hear any particular string sounding over the others while playing an E chord, your guitar is probably a little out of tune.

3rd Set - The C, F, and G Chord.

Again we already know two of these chords, so now we only have to learn one new one - The F chord. This chord is usually somewhat difficult for the beginner, but it's not terrible. The trick and difficulty usually is barring the 1st and 2nd strings (the smallest) with your index finger. This simply means you are going to be fretting (pushing down) the first two strings on the first fret with your index finger. Otherwise it is very much like the fingering of a C chord only everything is a string higher (higher in pitch).

This chord progression in the Key of C is slightly less popular, but it is important to master. Keep practicing with the F chord and it will come easy soon enough.

Well that's all for this post. You've learned the A, C, D, E, F, G chords. You are well on your way. In the next part we will cover one more chord progression and a couple of Minor chords. Good luck!

This article by: J. Corey Lewis - ©2008 - All Rights Reserved