How to learn to play the guitar: a detailed guide for the most independent. How to learn to play the guitar: a detailed guide for the most independent It is inconvenient to play standing on an electric guitar forest floor

Many people consider mastering the guitar an overwhelming task that takes many years. This is partly true, but only if you want to master the instrument at a professional level.

Much more often, people want to learn to play the guitar in order to perform their favorite songs in a company or just for fun. In this case, training will not take much effort and time: in two to three months you can easily learn the basic chords and ways of playing.

Don't give up, even if you've already had a bad experience. Talent is only a tenth of success. Determination and regular practice are much more important.

What you will need

Guitar.
Wish. It is even more important than the instrument itself.
Time to study. You can do it easily too, if the desire is strong enough. Moreover, 30 minutes a day will be enough for you.
Teaching aids. There are no problems with them at all: you can buy a tutorial in a bookstore, watch video lessons on YouTube, and find chords on the Internet.

As you can see, nothing supernatural.

Choosing and purchasing a guitar

Let's assume that you have the desire and time. All you have to do is get the tools. They say that any guitar is suitable for a beginner, but this is not true. When the strings touch the frets and cut into your fingers, and the guitar does not stay in tune, there can be no talk of any progress.

A bad instrument will almost certainly discourage you from learning.

Therefore, it is better to find a good guitar. At first, you can borrow an instrument from one of your friends, and then, if things work out and you like it, get your own. Not necessarily expensive and branded, the main thing is more or less high quality.

There are two main types of acoustic guitars: classical and dreadnought (western). There is an opinion that classical guitars are more suitable for beginners due to the wide neck and nylon strings. The first feature reduces the chances of accidentally touching an unnecessary string with your fingers, because the distance between the strings is greater than that of a dreadnought. And the nylon strings themselves are softer than metal ones, so they don’t dig into your fingertips as much and cause less calluses.

On the other hand, if performing classical compositions is not part of your plans, it is better to immediately take a dreadnought. This guitar sounds louder and more resonant due to metal strings, and on a narrower neck it is more convenient to play chords. Again, when playing on metal strings, your fingers will become rougher faster and there will be no more calluses.

As a compromise, you can take a dreadnought and replace the metal strings with nylon ones, at least for the duration of training.

When going to the store to buy a guitar, take with you a friend who knows how to play: each instrument has many little details and a beginner may simply not notice them. Choose a guitar not only by appearance, but also by convenience. Pay attention to the possibility of adjusting the neck, the tuning mechanism, and the strings.

Getting to know the guitar

The tool is purchased (or borrowed from friends), and you are one step closer to the goal. Take a close look at the guitar.

The larger part is called the soundboard. A neck is attached to it, ending with a head with pegs: with the help of them the strings are stretched.

The neck is divided into frets by metal sills, against which the strings are pressed to produce sound. The first fret is at the headstock, the last is at the soundboard.

There are only six strings. The countdown starts from the bottom, thinnest one.

Guitar tuning

Before you try to play, your guitar needs to be tuned. Don't be alarmed, even a beginner can do this. And without this skill you will not be able to play.

By tuner

You will need a tuner in the form of a separate device (you can buy it in a music store or on AliExpress) or an application for your smartphone. In both cases, tuning consists of alternately tightening or loosening all the strings in accordance with the tuner's prompts.

By the fifth fret

This method does not require any additional equipment. Its essence is that the strings, clamped on certain frets, sound in unison and can be adjusted relative to each other.

According to the rules, the first string should be tuned to the note E, using a tuner (for example, its online version) or another tuned instrument as a reference. However, this only makes sense when playing in a group, so that all instruments sound in the same key.

If you play alone, or even just learn, then the first string can be adjusted arbitrarily by approximately selecting its tension. All others are configured like this:

Press the second string at the fifth fret and loosen or tighten it until it sounds the same as the open first string.
Press the third string at the fourth fret and tune it in unison with the open second string.
Press the fourth string at the fifth fret and adjust it to the open third string.
Press the fifth on the fifth fret and adjust it to the open fourth.
The sixth fret is clamped in the same way on the fifth fret and tuned in unison with the open fifth.

It sounds complicated, but in reality everything is as simple as shelling pears. Each string pressed at the fifth fret should sound in unison with the previous, lower string. The only exception is the third string: it must be clamped not on the fifth, but on the fourth fret.

The setup process itself is also extremely simple. For example, to tune the second string, you need to loosen it, and then pull the open first string and gradually rotate the second peg until the sound of both strings merges into one tone. That's all.

Let's try to play

Finally we got to the most interesting part - the game itself. It seems there is nothing complicated here. Just remember to press the strings with your left hand and hit them with your right: you’ve seen this a million times and probably tried it yourself. Why then doesn't it work? The strings rattle, the pads of your fingers burn, and your joints become tired and stiff.

It's all about experience, which comes with practice.

Take your guitar and sit on the edge of a chair or sofa, crossing your legs or placing your left foot on a low stand, such as a stack of books. This way the instrument will not rest against the chair and slide off your leg.

The right arm should be relaxed and the hand should not be twisted. The left one covers the fingerboard, but the thumb is always parallel to the frets. There is also no need to squeeze the bar as hard as you can, otherwise your hand will quickly get tired.

You already know that fret numbering starts from the headstock, and strings - from the thinnest, bottom. Try playing random notes by pressing the first string with your index finger on different frets. Try to fully press the string so that it sounds clear. It won't be easy, but over time the technique will improve.

Try playing on other strings, as well as using other fingers, letting them get used to it.

Playing melodies on one string

Just making sounds is boring. Therefore, to make it more interesting, you can learn simple melodies on one string and practice on them. Here are some example tunes.

Classic “A grasshopper sat in the grass”:

"Smoke on the Water" by Deep Purple:

Intro to “Iron Man” by Black Sabbath:

Melody from the movie "Boomer":

"Imperial March" from Star Wars:

Spend some time playing on one string. Bring your actions to automaticity and achieve coordinated work of both hands. Practice until the melodies sound smooth and clear, without stopping or stuttering.

During this time, your fingers will get used to the loads, which means you can move on to more complex things.

Playing chords

The next step you have to climb is playing chords. This is much more difficult than single string melodies, but don't be discouraged. Once you learn the chords, you will be able to play full songs.

The principle here is the same, but you will need to press not one string, but several at once: usually three, less often two or four. There are many chords. However, to perform most songs, only five to seven are enough. First, let's learn the three main, so-called thieves chords: Am, Dm, E.

All chords are designated by Latin letters depending on the main note:

C - before;
D - re;
E - mi;
F - fa;
G - salt;
A - la;
H - si.

If there is a small letter m next to the chord symbol, this means that the chord is minor. If there is no such prefix - major. Chords are read either by letter designation or by name. For example, “a-um” (Am) or “G major” (G).

Chord patterns are called fingerings. A neck with strings is drawn on them. Frets are signed with Roman numerals. Arabic denotes the strings and - in circles - the fingers that should be used to press the strings (1 - index, 2 - middle, and so on). A zero opposite the string means an open sound (unpressed string), and a cross means that the string should not sound.

Let's return to our thieves chords. Here are their fingerings:

To play an Am chord, you need to press the second string on the first fret with your index finger, the fourth string on the second fret with your middle finger, and the third string on the second fret with your ring finger.

The rest of the chords are taken using the same principle: we look at which frets and which strings need to be pressed.

With these three chords you can already play simple yard or army songs. But it’s better to learn three more chords, with which your repertoire will expand significantly. Here they are:

There should be no difficulties with the first two, but the third is a little different from the previous ones. It uses barre - a technique where the index finger is used to pinch all the strings on one fret. Barre chords are a little more difficult than open chords, but with practice you can get the hang of them.

As always, to make learning more interesting, you can practice on some song right away. For example, on the canonical “Pack of Cigarettes” by the group “Kino” or “Watchmen” by “Boombox”.

You can also find any other songs that you like on the Internet (for example, by searching for “Louboutin chords”). If you come across unfamiliar chords in the selection, you can try to find another one or simply learn something new.

Fight and bust

There are two ways of sound production: busting and fighting. Some songs are played only by fingerpicking or only by strumming, others by both methods. The same chords are used, the only difference is whether you pluck the strings with your fingers or hit them.

There are a huge number of battles, just like battles. And they are, of course, different in different songs. Usually, in the analysis, along with the chords, it is indicated which fingering or strumming should be played.

Let's look at some of the most common ones as an example. You'll learn the rest as you go.

What's next

Now that you have become acquainted with the basics, studied the chords and gained a little experience, the main thing is not to give up on your training. Your fingers will get sore and tangled when changing chords, and the strings won't always sound.

Don't stop under any circumstances and just keep playing. Every day you will do better and better, and in the end you will achieve your goal.

Finally, a few tips that will help you learn to play the guitar on your own and won’t let you despair:

Always use multiple sources of information to fill in possible gaps and inaccuracies from one teacher to another.
Play every day: Regular exercise will boost your confidence. Remember that talent is only a tenth of success, the rest is practice.
Once you've learned a couple of songs and are comfortable performing them, be sure to invite your friends over and play for them. Listeners will help develop and point out shortcomings.

To be able to run fast, a person must first learn to walk. Likewise, you'll have to learn how to hold the guitar correctly before you can play a Mixolydian tapping solo on E flat. By holding the guitar correctly, you will develop the fundamental skills needed to build proper technique and later be able to play whatever you want with freedom and ease. Good guitarists take the time to develop habits that help them improve their skills. Whether you like acoustic or electric guitars, whether you like to play standing or sitting, it is very important to learn how to hold a guitar correctly.

Steps

Holding a guitar while sitting

Sit on a comfortable chair. When you're first trying to learn the guitar, it's best to practice while sitting down. Before you can dance around on stage while simultaneously performing a solo, you need to learn how to hold your guitar in such a way that you can strum chords and pluck the strings effortlessly. The best way to learn how to hold a guitar correctly is on a suitable chair.

Position the guitar correctly. First of all, you need to place the guitar in the correct position relative to your body. In the correct position, the guitar's thickest string should be at the top and the thinnest string at the bottom. The body of the guitar - a wooden box with a hole - should be on the side of your dominant hand, that is, the hand with which you write in your notebook. The neck of the guitar - a long board with markings - should be on the side of the auxiliary hand.

You will use your dominant hand to strike the strings and produce sound. Although it may seem to you that it is more convenient to play chords with this hand, it will later be easier for you to master the instrument in this position.
You'll use your side hand to play chords and create individual notes.

Place the body of the guitar in a balanced position on your hip. When holding the guitar in a seated position, place your lead leg slightly forward and bend your knee at a right angle, with your foot flat on the floor. Take your other leg back a little and place it in a way that is comfortable for you. Keep your back straight. Balance the position of the guitar body on the thigh of your lead leg.

Some dreadnought-style acoustic guitars have a comfortable curve that fits well on the hip and helps position the guitar correctly. Take some time to get a good feel for your guitar and position it comfortably on your lap. If the guitar is balanced correctly, you won't have to support it with your hands.

Tilt the neck of the guitar. When positioned correctly, the neck of the guitar should be at a 45-degree angle, not parallel to the floor. Although this is sometimes called "classical style", this position is the most comfortable for learning the instrument, no matter what style you choose to play it in.

Some instructors do not insist on this position of the guitar. You can hold it in any way that suits you. However, this makes it much easier for beginners to reach the frets. If your instructor teaches you to play with the neck of the guitar parallel to the floor, try holding the instrument this way.

Support the body of the guitar with your elbow or forearm with your dominant hand. You need to lightly press the back of the guitar body towards your torso. The front wall of the housing should be perpendicular to the floor. Avoid tilting the guitar back to better see the fretboard. Hold the guitar lightly against your body with your elbow and forearm of your dominant hand behind the sound hole.

To check if you're pressing the guitar too hard, try playing it. Your hand should be free to reach a few inches below the sound hole on an acoustic guitar or level with the pickups on an electric guitar.
When playing, you should not so much "hold" the guitar as simply let it rest comfortably on your lap. The less you “hold” it, the easier it will be for you to play.

Place the bar between the index finger and thumb of your supporting hand. This hand does not need to support the guitar. In the correct position, the guitar should rest on the knee of your dominant leg, lightly pressed by the elbow of your dominant hand. Make a V with your thumb and forefinger on your secondary hand and control the bar with that hand.

Some instructors place a piece of tape on the back of the fingerboard behind the third fret to mark where the thumb should be. If you're doing it right, your thumb should always be on the back of the fingerboard and your other fingers should be around the fretboard. There is no need to wrap your thumb around the bar from above.
Virtuosos such as Hendrix and John Fahey completely ignored this rule, skillfully fingering the frets with their thumbs. If you have long enough fingers, you can do it too. Follow your instructor's recommendations if you agree, or experiment and find a style that suits you.

Keep your back as straight as possible. To master the instrument correctly, it is very important to keep your back straight and the body of the guitar to be perpendicular to the floor. If you tilt your guitar back to see the frets better, you'll end up slouching. This way you will very quickly acquire the wrong playing skills. If you want to hold your guitar correctly, keep your back straight.

Holding a guitar while standing

Buy a belt with an adjustable length. When performing on stage, guitarists usually use a special guitar strap. Belts are available in a variety of styles and styles, from mariachi-style loop belts to short banjo-style belts, but generally the most common types of belts are easy to use. Choose a strap made of thick textile or high-quality leather with an adjustable length so that you can find the most comfortable position for the guitar.

Before purchasing a strap, make sure your guitar has strap mounts, or contact a musical instrument store to have them installed. To secure the strap, you need at least one clip on the body of the guitar. Most guitars are sold with clamps installed.

If you decide to learn to play the guitar, then do it right from the very beginning!

I am self-taught and learned to play the guitar on my own, without anyone’s help, but in vain. As a result of the fact that there was no one to tell me and control how I performed certain techniques on the guitar, I developed many “bad habits” regarding playing technique, which are now very difficult to get rid of. So I I encourage you to start learning using the right techniques so that later you don’t have to relearn for a long time and painfully.

At the time of my training, I did not have such amazing guitar applications in my arsenal that help a beginning guitarist at the initial stage. A common problem for new guitarists is impatience..

Slow and sad

Any source, be it a book or a website, insists that you learn to play slowly and gradually, practice each exercise thoughtfully and meticulously, focus on the fundamentals of guitar playing and build a base the base is our everything!

However, despite this, all beginning guitarists want to quickly start chopping solos and rocking the hall with “power chords” surrounded by a wall of marshals. They can be understood; I was like that myself). If you look at the best guitarists in the world, whether they play classical music or hard rock, they all have the same thing in common, they all have great guitar technique.

We say Petrucci - we mean correct technique!

Look at the same John Petrucci (Dream Theater). Look at his left hand during his speech. These fast-paced solos and chord progressions are performed effortlessly and effortlessly, with a minimum of body movement.

And all because Petrucci used proper guitar technique, and most importantly, he did this from the very beginning of his professional journey. Good technique is ultimately the proven and best way to play the guitar by placing your hands and fingers in the right place at the right time.

My 10 Tips for Learning to Play Guitar with Good Technique

Here are my 10 tips for learning to play guitar with good technique. Some of them are quite obvious, while others are the result of long experience. I hope they help. All recommendations are designed for right-handed people, but they will work just as well for left-handed people, just use this advice in a mirror manner with respect to your right and left hands.

Guitar chords for beginners, pictures, chord interpretation

1. Avoid poor grip

When you just start playing the guitar, you immediately discover that holding the strings on the fretboard for a long time is quite hard work, your fingers begin to hurt, your wrist gets very tired and begins to ache.

A natural way to combat this is to rest your thumb over the top of the fingerboard; this will certainly take the stress off your wrist and prolong your playing time, but it will also result in you using the flat of your finger to pinch the strings. (the pad on which the fingerprints are located), and not the very tip of the finger, as required by proper technique.

This grip of the bar is sometimes called a "death grip" because it severely restricts your finger movement on the bar. The correct technique is to have your thumb on the back of the neck of your guitar.

This fretboard grip technique forces your hand to use only the very tips of your fingers, which is much better and more accurate when it comes to playing only the notes you want to hear without accidentally muting nearby strings.

The problem is that it feels weird and difficult at first and your wrist will lack strength. Stick with it and very soon you will fully appreciate the benefits of this approach. Remember, your thumb is on the back of the fingerboard!

It is important to understand here that playing the guitar while sitting and playing the guitar while standing are two big differences (as they say in Odessa).

I think almost any guitarist’s goal is to perform in front of an audience, and as a rule, this happens in a standing position.

Therefore, you need to take care of this in advance and be sure to include in your rehearsals practicing the material in what is called “in combat conditions,” that is, standing, it is advisable to even put on the appropriate clothes))

In your chair, you'll be hunched over and trying to see what your hands are doing (another bad habit to break). Then when you get up, everything changes. Try it and you'll see what I mean. It will be more difficult for you to see your left hand, but it is not at all necessary to see it.

Make sure you have a good comfortable guitar strap, adjust it to a comfortable length (forget about lowering the guitar to your knees - it looks cool, but it's just a cheap show-off and has nothing to do with playing technique) and regularly practice playing while you're standing.

3. Don't chase speed

Don't even try to learn how to play quickly)) Seriously, don't do it. Good technique is about precise fingering and hitting the right notes every time, especially when it comes to scales and difficult chords.

Is it possible to learn to play guitar by ear?

Focus on precise fingering. The truth is that with this approach to learning to play correctly and quickly you will become yourself.

The biggest barrier to fast play is poor technique.. Never rush and play slowly. Use special software, there are many free applications that listen to how you play the guitar and correct you if you play incorrectly.

Humanity has been playing the guitar for a very long time, and during this time the optimal position of the fingers on the guitar neck for playing notes and chords has been experimentally determined. I strongly recommend that you adopt time-tested guitar principles.

Sometimes you may discover an easier way to play a particular piece of music - most likely you are a musical genius, but just didn't know it. Don't give in to temptation. Correct fingering is not just about playing a chord or scale.

After all, if you add a little variety to such a scale or chord, you will sadly discover that it is not possible to play such a chord or play such a scale, there are no longer enough fingers (yes, this is one of the things that I learned on my difficult path as a guitarist). Attentively make sure your fingers are positioned correctly when playing a chord and playing a scale.

5. Practice in silence

It's time to hone your scales, but you want to watch TV? No problem, you can achieve a lot by holding a guitar with one hand and clicking the TV remote with the other. This is of course a joke) You need to rehearse in complete silence so that nothing distracts you and you can concentrate. In general, complete immersion.

6. Use a metronome

Playing with a metronome is really difficult at first, but you will soon see how useful it is. A good sense of rhythm is the key to the professionalism of any musician. Don't set the metronome to too high a tempo.

The idea of training is to hone the correct execution of a scale or piece at a slow rhythm and only then gradually increase the tempo.

Do not increase the tempo until you achieve a perfectly technical performance of the desired musical fragment.

Here Here Can download metronome to your computer and you can use online metronome.

A few weeks ago in my studio I was recording a friend of mine, a vocalist-guitarist who would do anything to avoid playing a B minor chord.

He found the fingering too complicated and used a capo and all sorts of transpositions just to avoid the dreaded barre chord.

But you shouldn't do that, on the contrary, you should look for those difficult chords and devote more time and energy to them. What kind of professionalism can we talk about if some kind of barre scares you? In short, this is not even discussed. From now on our motto is: “The more difficult, the better!”.

8. Exercise regularly

You need to practice the guitar on a regular basis. At least 10 minutes You need to devote a day to studying, regardless of how busy you are.

All chords on a 6 string guitar

One of the components of good guitar playing technique is muscle memory, and in order for muscle memory to appear and remain at the required level, it must be maintained in good shape.

Therefore, be sure to find time and exercise for at least 10 minutes. The main thing in this matter is regularity! In addition, daily practice will help a novice guitarist quickly acquire calluses on his fingertips, and without them we can’t do anything in our business)

9. Relax and listen to music

A great desire to quickly master the treasured instrument, amazing performance, many hours of lessons and rehearsal marathons are very good!

But here the main thing is not to overdo it, especially at the initial stage of learning, until your hands and fingers are strong enough.

If you feel like your muscles are tired, your fingers are burning and your wrist is starting to ache, take a break and relax for a while. It’s almost like in sports, excessive overexertion can lead to injury, for example, you can damage tendons and ligaments, and with a hand injury, the guitarist out of you will be, to put it mildly, “so-so.”

In general, working out a lot and persistently is good, but the main thing is to approach it head-on. You need to be able to stop in time. Rest is an integral part of learning to play the guitar., remember this.

10. Don't forget your right hand

Sometimes it helps to simply mute the strings with your left hand and practice your right hand technique. The guitarist's right hand is rhythm and timing.

Play a light chord (or no chord at all) and focus on the movement and fingering of your right hand fingers. Practice the movement with a pick in the same way.

Another important point, this is not a piano) and the actions of the right and left hands must be absolutely synchronized. If you are currently playing only chords and using strumming on all strings, then in this case your inaccuracies will certainly not be very noticeable, but if you want to become a good rhythm guitarist, and even more so a lead guitarist, then you need to pay attention to your right hand. less time than the left.

A guitar is two hands! Achieving complete synchronicity of sound production.

So, these were my 10 tips regarding guitar technique. Most of this advice is obvious, and yet many beginning guitarists make the same mistakes when starting out. You have a great opportunity to avoid them. Correct technique is the basis and key to professional success. There will be technology, and the rest will follow.

Good luck and creative success to everyone!

The guitar is a very accessible instrument; anyone can learn to play it, regardless of talent. The main thing is desire and perseverance in achieving mastery.

You can play the guitar in different ways - strumming, tablature or notes, as well as fingerpicking. Playing with notes and tablature is the most difficult and is suitable only for experienced musicians who have already mastered the instrument. It will be easier for beginners to master combat and busting. And if combat is easy to learn, then busting is a little more difficult.

What is Bust?

Picking is when a musician touches the strings in a certain order to create deep and melodic music. There are a huge number of searches in the world, the main ones are about 60, about 20 are constantly used, and three or five are enough for beginners for the first time.

We remind you that strings are always numbered from the bottom. The bottom (the thinnest) is the first string, and the top is the sixth.

Let's learn to play by bust. Basic Rules

The 5-3-2-1-2-3 sequence is considered the simplest. As you can see, each number means a string that needs to be pulled. Let's figure out how to do this easier. Play any simple chord, maybe Am or Em. Now pluck the fifth string with your thumb, the third string with your index finger, the second string with your middle finger, and the first string with your ring finger. It takes a little practice to get the hang of it. When you can act without hesitation, try alternating the bass, that is, pluck the sixth string once, and then the fifth. When you master alternation, you can safely change chords.

There is one more overkill: bass and a combination of 3-2 and 1 strings. Here it will be a little difficult to control the first and second strings, which will need to be plucked. This selection is suitable for dynamic songs, while the first one is suitable for slow ones.

There is another beautiful bust. This is a bass with 3-2-3-1-3-2-3. It's not easy to learn to play, but the results are worth it.

In order to play bust you need to remember a few rules:

Finger placement. You should always position your hand correctly to make the game easier.
The chords need to be pressed harder. Any understrength string will ring unpleasantly.
It is better to play the guitar with the help of a mediator, although when playing with your fingers the sound comes out deeper, more velvety, and when using a mediator it is more sonorous.