How to play guitar 1st

How to Play Guitar for Newbies

* Due to its versatility, portability, and the fact that it can be used to play almost any type of music, the guitar is one of the most popular instruments to learn how to play. Whether you're interested in folk, country, rock, jazz, or any number of other musical styles, learning how to play the guitar can give you the ability to play and perform your favorite songs, or even write some of your own. But just like any instrument (or anything worth learning for that matter), learning to play the guitar can take a good deal of patience, perseverance, and good old-fashioned practice. For those who stick with it, though, learning how to play the guitar can be an extremely rewarding experience and can provide endless hours of personal enjoyment.

What You'll Need

1. A six-string Guitar: See Mahalo's Guide to How to Buy a Guitar in order to choose the right one
2. A Guitar pick: Light gauge (thinner) picks are preferable for beginners
3. Patience: Definitely a virtue for learning how to play guitar
4. A love of music and a desire to learn

Advertisement

* GuitarCenter.com: Free shipping on orders over $99 (Sponsored)
* Amazon.com: The Jimi Hendrix Experience: Learn to Play Songs From Are You Experienced DVD (Partner)
* Amazon.com: Learn to Play Stevie Ray Vaughn Guitar Techniques, Vol. 2 DVD (Partner)

Things to Remember

1. Keep your fingernails short by trimming them regularly. This will allow your fingers to hold down the notes easier and produce a better sound.
2. Your fingers will start to hurt as you begin to play. This is normal. Eventually, with time and practice, your fingertips will develop calluses and the pain will go away.
3. Take some time in between lessons to make sure that you've mastered each part. Practice each lesson for a few minutes before moving on to the next.

Lesson 1: The Basics
Photo by Mahalo
Photo by Mahalo

* Before we start playing, let's first go over a few of the basic terms and parts of the guitar that you will need to know in order to proceed:

Strings

* A normal guitar has six strings, each of which has a different size and note value. In standard tuning, the bottom string (also the skinniest and highest sounding) is an E note. This is also known as the 1st string. The 2nd string up (a little bit thicker and lower sounding) is a B note. The 3rd string up is a G note, 4th is a D, 5th is an A, and the 6th string (thickest, lowest sounding, and closest to your body) is also an E note. When in tune, playing the 1st and the 6th strings open should produce the same note, albeit at different pitches. Mnemonic devices can help you remember the order of the strings: For example, from top to bottom: Eat All Day Get Big Easy. Or come up with your own.

Frets

* While the strings divide the guitar from left to right (as in the diagram), frets are small metal strips that divide the guitar into sections from top to bottom. If you look at your guitar from above, you can begin to see that the strings and frets together form a kind of grid that covers the entire neck of the guitar. Placing your finger on a string in between two of the frets is what enables you to play a note. The higher up you get on the frets, the higher the notes sound. In general, each fret is a half-step higher than the previous fret.

* TIP: Since you don't actually put your finger directly on each fret, guitarists usually describe frets as the space on the neck between each metal strip. So, the 2nd fret would refer to the second gap between frets that is found on the neck, rather than the second actual metal piece.

Other Important Guitar Terms
Guitar Anatomy

* Headstock: The top-most part of the guitar on which the tuning pegs are located.
* Nut: The small piece of material that is found where the headstock meets the neck. There are usually small grooves carved out in order to guide the guitar strings up to the tuning pegs.
* Tuning Pegs (Keys): Hold the strings in place and allow the user to adjust the pitch of the string by turning the peg.
* Neck: The long, skinny part of the guitar that holds the frets and strings and where the fingers are placed in order to play individual notes or to create chords.
* Body: The large base of the guitar (usually the most bulky part) that is attached to the neck. Acoustic guitars will usually have hollowed out bodies, with the circular "sound hole" in the middle used to project the sound of the instrument. Electric guitars use "Pick-ups" instead of sound holes in order to capture and project the sound of the strings being played.
* Bridge: Small piece of hardware used to anchor the strings at the base of the body.

Lesson 2: Positioning
How to Hold Your Guitar

* Now that we know a little bit about the different parts of the guitar, lets start by going over how to position yourself best for playing.

1. Start by finding an armless chair to sit in. Make sure that you're sitting comfortably and that your back is well supported. Also make sure that you have plenty of room on either side in which to move your arms and hold your guitar.
2. Place the guitar in your lap with the back of the instrument facing (or even touching) your chest. Let the body of the guitar rest on the leg farthest away from the headstock. If you are right-handed, the headstock should be to your left, which means that you will rest the guitar on your right leg. Most acoustic guitar bodies will have curved indentions on either side that are perfect for resting the guitar on your leg.
3. Take a look at the strings on the guitar. If you are holding it correctly, the thickest string (or 6th) should be closest to your chest, while the thinnest (or 1st) string should be closest to your feet.
4. Take your fretting hand (left for right-handers and right for left-handers) and grip the neck of your guitar gently. Your thumb should be resting behind the neck of the guitar, supporting your hand while your other fingers float above the strings, ready for action.
5. Take your picking hand (the one closest to the bridge of the guitar) and grab yourself a pick. Place it between your thumb and index fingers and hold it so that it is secure.
6. In order to get the feel for what playing guitar is going to be like, start by practicing holding down various notes with the fingers on your fretting hand, and also by strumming or playing individual strings with your picking hand. (Note: This will invariably sound bad and not at all like real guitar playing, but don't worry, that's not the point right now.)