I am sure you have been searching for acoustic beginner online guitar lessons for quite some time now. Perhaps these sites have not answered some of the most basic questions that a beginner has when starting acoustic guitar. This article was written to address those questions with tips, lessons and basics that I hope will help you on your way.
What is the best beginner acoustic guitar?
This is probably the most common question amongst beginner acoustic guitar players. Do not buy the most expensive guitar, but do not buy the cheapest you can find either. A good range to shop in would be between 100 - 300 dollars.
If you can, find an experienced guitar player to come shopping with you. Ask him or her to pick up and play all the guitars within your price range and then purchase the one that feels and sounds the best. Make certain to examine any guitar you plan on purchasing.
Look down the neck of the guitar to see if it is warped. Check the action on the guitar. The action refers to the height of the strings from the fret board. If the action is too high or too low, it can cause problems with your playing.
Remember that you are just a beginner and this is your first guitar. Do not invest a lot of money into buying a guitar at this stage. If you do, and you find that acoustic guitar playing is not your thing, then you will have a beautiful guitar collecting dust in the corner of your room. If you enjoy playing and you find yourself getting better, then you can begin to explore your options and purchase a higher quality guitar.
Do not let yourself get stressed out when buying your first guitar. Just get a descent one and start practicing.
Some good brands to consider: Epiphone, Takamine, Yamaha and Squier.
Ouch! My fingers hurt. I can't play!
This is a very common complaint amongst the beginner. Every single guitarist has experienced hand and finger pain when just starting out. It is something that you simply cannot avoid. The remedy? Keep playing and build up strength in your hands and fingers and develop those calluses!
Building calluses on your fingertips will allow you to hold down the strings of the guitar without any pain while flattening your fingertips to produce a better sounding note.
You build up calluses and strength from practicing. Practice, practice and more practice. In time the pain will subside, but you have to get through this difficult stage of playing first, so hang in there.
Listen to your body though. If you are in serious pain then by all means give your hands and fingers a rest.
Here is a great exercise to help strengthen your hands and fingers and to build up calluses:
This exercise will also familiarize you with the entire neck of your guitar and give you the agility to play chords and solos. Building the muscles in your hands will improve your stamina for playing and will develop what is called "muscle memory".
The object of this exercise is to play each note going up and down the neck of the guitar.
Start with your pointer finger on the 6th string 1st fret, let your fingers follow up the neck of the guitar, one note at a time, staying on the 6th string until your pinky finger reaches the fourth fret.
Play the 1st fret with your pointer finger
Play the 2nd fret with your middle finger
Play the 3rd fret with your ring finger
Play the 4th fret with your pinky finger
Note: After you have played the first fret do not lift your pointer finger up. Keep each finger on the string as you play them. This is important as it will aid in the strengthening process.
Repeat the same process on the 5th string, then the 4th, and so on.
When you get to the bottom string, slide your entire hand over one fret without lifting your fingers.
So at this point, your pinky finger should be on the 1st string 5th fret, your ring finger on the 4th fret, middle finger on the 3rd fret and your pointer finger on the 2nd fret.
Now play in reverse, starting with your pinky, going back up the guitar to the 6th string, only this time you have to lift up your fingers as you play.
Then simply repeat the process until you reach the last fret of your guitar.
Do not rush this exercise or you will develop poor playing habits. Go nice and slow making sure you are producing a nice tone with each note you play.
More Beginner Guitar Tips
Make sure to stretch your fingers and hands before practicing.
Learn to actually read music and not just tablature.
Hire a guitar teacher if you can afford it. A teacher will be able to catch any mistakes you are making and correct you on the spot. This will help you develop better playing habits. If you cannot afford a guitar teacher, then invest in a good home study course.
Learn how to play chords, scales and techniques and not just your favorite songs. I know you just want to jump right in and learn "Stairway to Heaven", but if you do not put the time in to learn the theory behind those great songs, you will not improve as a guitar player.
Do not pack up your guitar. Leave it out in the open. This will make it more convenient for you to just pick up your guitar and play at any time.
Practice everyday for at least 20 minutes, more if possible. If you find yourself getting bored, or making too many mistakes, then take a break and do something else. 20 minutes of quality practice is better than an hour of sloppy practice.
Listen to other guitarists and not just in your favorite genre of music. You will be surprised at how other styles of music can influence your playing.
Play with other musicians as often as possible. This is a great way to learn and pick up new techniques and advice.
Learn the proper way to string and tune your guitar.
Learn the proper way to take care of and maintain your instrument.
I hope this article has helped. The best tip I can give you is to never give up. Keep playing every day and try not to get discouraged. Good guitar playing is not just about technique, it also comes from your heart. If you truly love playing guitar, and you are dedicated to getting better, then it is only a matter of time. Enjoy and God Bless!
By: Ralph Serpe
Saturday, December 13, 2008
Choosing a Guitar, Electric Guitar or Acoustic Guitar
What type of guitar do you want to own? Do you want an electric guitar, or do you want an acoustic guitar. The choice is obviously up to you. You will have to take a few things into consideration such as what type of sound are you looking for, ease of playing, and price. There are so many out there that you should easily be able to find what you are looking for.
So you want a guitar, and you are finally going to go out and try and find one. If you're on a budget then you might think that your buying options are limited. The truth is that you can probably find a better deal on discontinued models that have barely been used. There are a lot of these items laying around waiting to be sold either because the original owner upgraded, became disinterested, or just changed models.
High quality woods are more expensive and often difficult to find. This has led to the construction of low priced guitars made out of alternate wood varieties such as red cedar or mahogany. Low priced guitars can be found with laminated backs and solid wood tops. You can also find cheap acoustic guitars made out of non-wood materials such as plastic or graphite. Although it's a well accepted fact that the top, back, and sides made of solid wood are key factors in contributing to a guitar's pleasant sound, the use of cheap wood materials in acoustic guitars is becoming an acceptable alternative.
The 12 string acoustic guitar has different ways of altering the price between cheap and expensive. Much of the sound originates from the top and your more expensive guitars will feature a solid wood top to get the rich sound you are hoping for. The remainder of the guitar on more expensive models will also be made of solid wood. These methods contribute largely to the sounds produced by an acoustic guitar. Lower priced ones may use solid tops with laminated backs and sides. Acoustic guitars made for amateur guitarists are usually completely laminated. As high quality wood becomes more difficult to obtain guitars have resorted to use other acceptable materials such a plastic and graphite.
Because of the high price of new electric guitars many amateurs have chosen to buy a pre-owned model. Used electric guitars are sold when an owner decides to upgrade to a new model or has stopped playing. Usually the only thing that needs to be done with a used model is to replace the strings, as all other parts of the guitar should remain in good shape.
When you are planning on buying your guitar, don't compromise on quality. Try to find a good name brand used guitar that appears to be in good shape. In the long run you will be glad you did since the cheaper model will either run up a repair bill, or just end up being thrown away.
Be prepared with a guitar budget. Don't go out and buy a $5,000 used guitar because it's the same type of guitar Jimi Hendrix used. Find a quality used guitar that has a reasonable price. Don't go real low on a good name brand as there is more than likely something wrong with the guitar.
Try to find a guitar that is around 10 years old.. You’ll find some great bargains in this category in classified on websites like eBay. They have a section on vintage guitars that are pretty attractive pricewise. Take a look at the sellers feedback to make sure he is respectable and make a deal
So there you have it, now go out and find that guitar you are looking for, be it an electric guitar or an acoustic guitar. Practice and enjoy!
By: Dan H
So you want a guitar, and you are finally going to go out and try and find one. If you're on a budget then you might think that your buying options are limited. The truth is that you can probably find a better deal on discontinued models that have barely been used. There are a lot of these items laying around waiting to be sold either because the original owner upgraded, became disinterested, or just changed models.
High quality woods are more expensive and often difficult to find. This has led to the construction of low priced guitars made out of alternate wood varieties such as red cedar or mahogany. Low priced guitars can be found with laminated backs and solid wood tops. You can also find cheap acoustic guitars made out of non-wood materials such as plastic or graphite. Although it's a well accepted fact that the top, back, and sides made of solid wood are key factors in contributing to a guitar's pleasant sound, the use of cheap wood materials in acoustic guitars is becoming an acceptable alternative.
The 12 string acoustic guitar has different ways of altering the price between cheap and expensive. Much of the sound originates from the top and your more expensive guitars will feature a solid wood top to get the rich sound you are hoping for. The remainder of the guitar on more expensive models will also be made of solid wood. These methods contribute largely to the sounds produced by an acoustic guitar. Lower priced ones may use solid tops with laminated backs and sides. Acoustic guitars made for amateur guitarists are usually completely laminated. As high quality wood becomes more difficult to obtain guitars have resorted to use other acceptable materials such a plastic and graphite.
Because of the high price of new electric guitars many amateurs have chosen to buy a pre-owned model. Used electric guitars are sold when an owner decides to upgrade to a new model or has stopped playing. Usually the only thing that needs to be done with a used model is to replace the strings, as all other parts of the guitar should remain in good shape.
When you are planning on buying your guitar, don't compromise on quality. Try to find a good name brand used guitar that appears to be in good shape. In the long run you will be glad you did since the cheaper model will either run up a repair bill, or just end up being thrown away.
Be prepared with a guitar budget. Don't go out and buy a $5,000 used guitar because it's the same type of guitar Jimi Hendrix used. Find a quality used guitar that has a reasonable price. Don't go real low on a good name brand as there is more than likely something wrong with the guitar.
Try to find a guitar that is around 10 years old.. You’ll find some great bargains in this category in classified on websites like eBay. They have a section on vintage guitars that are pretty attractive pricewise. Take a look at the sellers feedback to make sure he is respectable and make a deal
So there you have it, now go out and find that guitar you are looking for, be it an electric guitar or an acoustic guitar. Practice and enjoy!
By: Dan H
Learn To Play Guitar - Pinch Harmonics And Making Your Guitar Scream
In this article I'll explain how to make your guitar squeal with Pinch Harmonics. A lot of guitarists have trouble learning how to do these, but it's really a simple technique.
I'm going to touch on all types of harmonics in an effort to explain how Pinch Harmonics work when your playing the guitar.
If your like me you like to add a little expression when playing your guitar, by adding some harmonics and pinch harmonics.
To get this started we're going to go into a little detail about how the guitar strings actually work. Now I'm not going to be all technical, as that's not who I am :o)
Basically the guitar string vibrates between the nut and the bridge. If you look closely you can see the string vibrating like a sine wave.
Natural harmonics happen at the spaces along the string where the "wave" stops and starts a new one. (Not technically correct but makes sense to me this way).
This normally happens just above the 5th fret, the 7th fret, and the 12th fret wires. If you take a minute in a well lit room you can see the spots where the vibration along the string actually seems to be stopped. When you lightly touch a ringing string on these points you will get a natural harmonic chime.
Tap harmonics are simply fretting a string and moving the natural harmonic spot up accordingly. For example: If you fret the Low E String at the 3rd fret and pluck the string, your "natural harmonics" would no longer be at the 5th, 7th, and 12th frets. You would Tap the string above the 8th, 10th, and 15th fret wire to sound the harmonic. Hence the name....Tap Harmonic.
Now..to the meat of this...the all powerful Pinch Harmonic!! I say all powerful just because I love the extra expression and sound you can get from them.
To do a Pinch Harmonic you basically "Pinch" the string between your Pick and the side of your thumb that's holding the pick.
This is the way I do them and have had excellent luck with this technique.
When you strike the string you let your thumb sound the harmonic you want. It takes a bit of trial and error to find the right areas above the pickups that sound the harmonics you want, but only a little.
The best way to learn the placement is to crank up your distortion (easier to sound them), and on put your fret hand on the Low E or A String on the 5th or 7th fret as if you were playing A note or D note.
Start with your pick in about the middle of the Neck and Bridge pickups and "Pinch" the string so that when your pick sounds it your thumb immediately touches the string. This should sound a Pinch Harmonic. The motion is similar to turning the ignition in a car, just not as drastic...it's a slight "Turn" or "Pinch" on the string.
You may have to move your hand slightly higher or lower on the string to find the "sweet spots". Keep trying different areas until you get it just right.
Once you've found the spots that give the sounds you want, make a mental note of where they are. When you move your fret hand higher or lower on the neck...the places you can hit the harmonics will move slightly. This falls in line with the way a Tap Harmonic works, so keep that in mind.
Keep practicing finding the "Sweet Spot" until you can do it each time you try. This part does take a little time and practice.
Just as a note: When you change to a different guitar, be prepared to relearn where the Pinch Harmonics sound. Every guitar I've played on has them in slightly different places. Differences in neck length, bridge placement, manufacturing tolerances all come into play.
So, that's all there is to it...Keep practicing till you get the feel for it, try adding bends and sound another one, you'll make that guitar scream like a wounded banshee in no time.
If you want to really increase your skill with Pinch harmonics after you get the feel for them, try practicing them with a clean sound. They can still be sounded and your accuracy will increase exponentially!!
By: Todd Arsenault
I'm going to touch on all types of harmonics in an effort to explain how Pinch Harmonics work when your playing the guitar.
If your like me you like to add a little expression when playing your guitar, by adding some harmonics and pinch harmonics.
To get this started we're going to go into a little detail about how the guitar strings actually work. Now I'm not going to be all technical, as that's not who I am :o)
Basically the guitar string vibrates between the nut and the bridge. If you look closely you can see the string vibrating like a sine wave.
Natural harmonics happen at the spaces along the string where the "wave" stops and starts a new one. (Not technically correct but makes sense to me this way).
This normally happens just above the 5th fret, the 7th fret, and the 12th fret wires. If you take a minute in a well lit room you can see the spots where the vibration along the string actually seems to be stopped. When you lightly touch a ringing string on these points you will get a natural harmonic chime.
Tap harmonics are simply fretting a string and moving the natural harmonic spot up accordingly. For example: If you fret the Low E String at the 3rd fret and pluck the string, your "natural harmonics" would no longer be at the 5th, 7th, and 12th frets. You would Tap the string above the 8th, 10th, and 15th fret wire to sound the harmonic. Hence the name....Tap Harmonic.
Now..to the meat of this...the all powerful Pinch Harmonic!! I say all powerful just because I love the extra expression and sound you can get from them.
To do a Pinch Harmonic you basically "Pinch" the string between your Pick and the side of your thumb that's holding the pick.
This is the way I do them and have had excellent luck with this technique.
When you strike the string you let your thumb sound the harmonic you want. It takes a bit of trial and error to find the right areas above the pickups that sound the harmonics you want, but only a little.
The best way to learn the placement is to crank up your distortion (easier to sound them), and on put your fret hand on the Low E or A String on the 5th or 7th fret as if you were playing A note or D note.
Start with your pick in about the middle of the Neck and Bridge pickups and "Pinch" the string so that when your pick sounds it your thumb immediately touches the string. This should sound a Pinch Harmonic. The motion is similar to turning the ignition in a car, just not as drastic...it's a slight "Turn" or "Pinch" on the string.
You may have to move your hand slightly higher or lower on the string to find the "sweet spots". Keep trying different areas until you get it just right.
Once you've found the spots that give the sounds you want, make a mental note of where they are. When you move your fret hand higher or lower on the neck...the places you can hit the harmonics will move slightly. This falls in line with the way a Tap Harmonic works, so keep that in mind.
Keep practicing finding the "Sweet Spot" until you can do it each time you try. This part does take a little time and practice.
Just as a note: When you change to a different guitar, be prepared to relearn where the Pinch Harmonics sound. Every guitar I've played on has them in slightly different places. Differences in neck length, bridge placement, manufacturing tolerances all come into play.
So, that's all there is to it...Keep practicing till you get the feel for it, try adding bends and sound another one, you'll make that guitar scream like a wounded banshee in no time.
If you want to really increase your skill with Pinch harmonics after you get the feel for them, try practicing them with a clean sound. They can still be sounded and your accuracy will increase exponentially!!
By: Todd Arsenault
Jamorama-the Ultimate Guitar Learning Kit
Jamorama is the ultimate kit for guitar learning. This specially designed kit lets you learn all the things you need to learn about guitars. This kit teaches you to use your hearing to get you to the stage where you can play any song that you wish to play. It gives fluency to your guitar playing ability. Well-known songs are used to guide the learner from the start. The songs are broken down into small pieces, so each part is easy to be played individually. Then the parts are put together to get a whole song. This method also saves your valuable time and money. It gives you the freedom to choose the time of your lesson. The pace of your practice also depends on you. It’s you who choose to go fast or slow.
The use of boring lessons, drills, and exercises you will be stuck backwards with very little improvements. There is no need to use any other guitar guide after you have used Jamorama.
There are two high quality books with the package. These books will take you to journey to reach the expert level of guitarists. There are ample videos for you to learn from. These 148 video lessons give you the step-by-step details of guitar playing. The videos are specially made with the help of the professionals. It was also recorded and edited by the professionals. These videos are made specially keeping in mind the fact that these have to be easy and simple and mostly effective. You have to see the movements of the hands. You can’t get an idea of a guitar stroke by reading a book. You need to see how the hand moves. You need to hear the sound of the guitar to know the actual sound. Which chords sound in what way, you can’t tell without hearing the sounds. These videos enable the features of seeing and listening. The Jamorama invites people to learn to play guitar flawlessly and smoothly in a very short time.
To make learning more effective, Jamorama has computer games to aid learning. It has a revolutionary game where you have to find out various guitar chords. It is a fun way to learn and recognize chords and their sounds. The game is named “GuitEarIt!” JaydeMusica,it is another fun game. It is designed as such to help you learn to read music. This is also included with the Jamorama.
There are 26 jam tracks to jam along. These tracks cover almost all the musical styles including rock, jazz, dance, country, hip-hop etc.
There are also lessons on ways to perform great guitar skills. The hard-won information from the creator is formatted into simple and easy structure. You can learn all of these whenever you want.
The guitar learning techniques are developed specially by psychologists from universities. This method helps you remember lessons and chords in one-third of time spent compared with other methods.
There are many more options and advantages of Jamorama. If you are trying to learn or interested in learning how to play guitar, the best option for you to choose Jamorama.
By: Wouter Van Dyck
The use of boring lessons, drills, and exercises you will be stuck backwards with very little improvements. There is no need to use any other guitar guide after you have used Jamorama.
There are two high quality books with the package. These books will take you to journey to reach the expert level of guitarists. There are ample videos for you to learn from. These 148 video lessons give you the step-by-step details of guitar playing. The videos are specially made with the help of the professionals. It was also recorded and edited by the professionals. These videos are made specially keeping in mind the fact that these have to be easy and simple and mostly effective. You have to see the movements of the hands. You can’t get an idea of a guitar stroke by reading a book. You need to see how the hand moves. You need to hear the sound of the guitar to know the actual sound. Which chords sound in what way, you can’t tell without hearing the sounds. These videos enable the features of seeing and listening. The Jamorama invites people to learn to play guitar flawlessly and smoothly in a very short time.
To make learning more effective, Jamorama has computer games to aid learning. It has a revolutionary game where you have to find out various guitar chords. It is a fun way to learn and recognize chords and their sounds. The game is named “GuitEarIt!” JaydeMusica,it is another fun game. It is designed as such to help you learn to read music. This is also included with the Jamorama.
There are 26 jam tracks to jam along. These tracks cover almost all the musical styles including rock, jazz, dance, country, hip-hop etc.
There are also lessons on ways to perform great guitar skills. The hard-won information from the creator is formatted into simple and easy structure. You can learn all of these whenever you want.
The guitar learning techniques are developed specially by psychologists from universities. This method helps you remember lessons and chords in one-third of time spent compared with other methods.
There are many more options and advantages of Jamorama. If you are trying to learn or interested in learning how to play guitar, the best option for you to choose Jamorama.
By: Wouter Van Dyck
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