How to start playing the guitar: the basics of playing, tips and tricks for beginners

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

When a person picks up a guitar for the first time, he does not know how difficult it is to press the fingers on the fretboard, how to make transitions between chords or play a fight. And to top it all off, the more an aspiring performer practices, the more his fingers hurt, until calluses form on them.

But the training itself shouldn't be too difficult for the time being. And there is good news for those who are wondering how to start playing the guitar from scratch: with today's development of the Internet and smartphones at the disposal of everyone, it is much easier and faster to reach the level of mastery of playing any musical instrument.

But the great thing is that if you work hard and keep learning the basics of guitar playing, you can build a great base and improve more and more, achieving virtuoso performance.

Guitar Anatomy

Before any driver could drive,he was told about the purpose of all the knobs, buttons and mechanisms in the vehicle. The same goes for musical performance. To understand where to start learning to play the guitar, you need to get to know the instrument and find out what it consists of.

There are two main parts in a guitar: the body and the neck. Acoustic and electric guitars have many of the same parts. However, there are some differences.

• Guitar neck. At the end of it are tuning pegs, which are used to attach and tune guitar strings. Frets are also located on the fretboard - thin metal strips along it. Most guitars have fret markers that can add aesthetics to the instrument as well as help the player keep track of where their fingers are.
• Case. The rest of the guitar is the body, and this is where acoustic and electric guitars can differ slightly. The acoustic body consists of an upper and lower soundboard. The top usually has a pickguard - a plastic pad on the soundboard that protects the instrument from scratches while playing. Most acoustic guitars have a sound hole in the middle, although some may have a sound hole elsewhere or not at all.

Humbucker and single-coil pickups are located on the body of the electric guitar. Volume and tone controls. There may be one, two, three or four, depending on the type of guitar. The volume controls control the volume or power output of the sensors. The tone controls control the tone for the pickups,which means the guitarist can control the amount of treble. Another type of control on the electric guitar is the bridge. Most guitars have a three position toggle switch that controls which pickup is active.

Which guitar should I start learning to play?

Choosing the right guitar to start learning how to play this instrument can be very difficult. With so many sizes and styles to choose from, it's easy to get lost. Learning to play the guitar is one of the most rewarding hobbies and it is very easy to improve your ability to learn this skill quickly and easily from the very beginning if you choose the right instrument.

A simple guide to making this decision easier is the following two steps.

Step 1. What songs does the musician want to start playing guitar with?

This is a very important question. It's like trying to choose utensils for cooking before you know exactly what to cook. It is very important to choose the right instrument for the game. A beginner guitarist should think about what kind of music he likes to listen to and what kind of music he would like to play. There are many types of guitars that suit different styles of music. You need to review your musical preferences and choose a few favorite songs.

Step 2. Choose your size.

Guitars are not universal. Choosing the right size is the most important because if the instrument is large and the player is uncomfortable playing, they will be less motivated to learn. Electric guitars are muchsmaller than steel string acoustics and classic nylon strings and can be used by most people, but additional weight must be considered. The electric guitar can weigh 5-6kg. The correct size is most accurately determined by the height and age of the performer.

How to hold a guitar?

This may seem like an elementary act, but when we learn to play the guitar from scratch and have never picked up an instrument before, it can feel completely lost. Learning how to hold the guitar properly with the left hand on the neck and the right hand over the sound hole is very important for creating the best sound.

What if a beginner guitarist is left-handed? Don't worry, there is a solution for him too! One of them is to turn the strings of the guitar over, completely overstretching them, and take the instrument with the right hand by the neck. Another option is to turn the guitar itself over without tugging the strings. The second option is more suitable for people who are easily given the Rubik's cube and puzzles.

How to tune your guitar?

Nothing prevents a person who is learning to play the guitar on his own from mastering the instrument faster than practicing on an out-of-tune guitar. The learning process usually comes down to mastering the chords, not how to tune the instrument. That is why it is recommended to learn how to tune the instrument first of all.

It is best to purchase a tuning fork for this or use a free online tuning fork to tune your guitar by ear. If there is no handInternet, no tuning fork, you can try using the 5th fret technique, but here you need experience and a good ear.

How to change guitar strings?

When learning to play the guitar, there comes a time when the shiny new strings lose their luster. This can be understood by paying attention to the fact that they have become discolored. The guitar is harder to tune and the sound becomes uneven. Knowing how to change strings is an important skill and will ensure that the instrument always sounds great.

At your local music store you can get advice on how to start playing the guitar, which strings are right for the first steps and for a particular instrument, playing style and skill level. Although the process is quite simple, you should learn the skill of changing strings at the very beginning of the journey.

How to hold the pick?

To learn to play the guitar, it will also be useful for beginners to master such an additional device for playing as a plectrum. There are a huge variety of them, they are inexpensive, but this item is very often and easily lost, so you should immediately purchase several pieces.

Although the pick is not always used when playing the guitar, using it correctly is a very important skill in playing the instrument. Rule of thumb: place it between the tips of your index finger and thumb. Of course, each musician will decide on their own holding style once they start playing.

There are different styles and shapes of picks to choose from, fromthin to thick. It is recommended to start with the thinner one as it is much more comfortable for the beginning player.

Tablature, chords and sheet music

Many beginners ask where to start playing the guitar: chords, tabs or sheet music? Guitar chords give the least amount of detail. They simply show the sequence of harmonies in the song. Tablature will tell you where to put your fingers and in what order. It does not provide information about rhythm, key, or chords to be played.

Music notes provide great detail. They set the key, rhythm, dynamics, etc. However, it will take some time to learn musical notation, and it may be difficult to find a song to play in a certain style.

So, how do you start playing the guitar? You can start by combining notes and chords. If a person is learning on their own, then it will be easiest to start with understanding chords, and then move on to learning tablature. This does not mean that chords are easy to play. It will take some time to develop the technique. But the concept of setting the hand with a fret, which is tablature, is quite simple.

A great way to learn how to play guitar chords is to learn simple songs like many of the famous Kino songs.

How to play open chords?

In other words, open chords are those where all the strings are not pressed. They are often one of the first things a guitarist learns when they start learning to play an instrument.

First lesson on learning these chords: start with a very simple open consonance like G. You should practice playing it on the guitar until you hear a clean combination. Once you have mastered one open chord, you can move on to the next one. Then practice the transition between the two.

You need to keep adding to your chord library until you can easily transition between all the major harmonies.

How to learn to play fighting?

After learning a few chords, an aspiring guitarist may find that they are out of rhythm. No worries. Everyone goes through this when they learn to play the guitar. The best advice on how to start strumming guitar is to use a metronome and slowly practice playing one or two chords to get into the rhythm. When it starts to work, you can pick up the pace.

How to play power chords?

Power chords are two-note chords used primarily in rock music due to their strong and powerful sound. Since these harmonies require only two or three fingers, they are easy and simple to play while learning to play the guitar. In addition, a large number of rock songs are built on power chords. Cocaine by Eric Clapton and Smoke on the Water by Deep Purple are just a couple of great songs to try with power chords.

As with regular harmonies, make sure you use your fingertips and not the entire surface of your finger when playing power chords. By doing this properly, you can get a good clean sound of the note you play. There is one common problem that many guitarists have, and that is that certain parts of the fingers block other strings. This can often lead to chaotic sounding chords. By using your fingertips, this can be avoided.

See below for basic power guitar chords.

How to play songs on the guitar?

When a beginner musician has already mastered the chords and understands how to read tablature, he wonders what melody to start playing the guitar with? The first song an artist masters is usually remembered forever.

It's best to find a song with two or three chords. Something like "Battery" by the group "Beetles" or "Pack of Cigarettes" by Viktor Tsoi. It may be easier to start by simply learning the chords in a song individually. Then you should practice the transition between different harmonies. And when you already feel confident, you should try singing the words.

Everyone wants to learn how to play the guitar quickly, but it takes patience and perseverance. The more a person tries to speed up the learning process, the more likely he is to be disappointed in the end. However, constant practice does not mean that you need to practice for several hours a day to become a good guitarist. Done right, 20 minutes a day will ensure rapid progress.