Watching MTV and seeing The Edge, Slash, Kurt Cobain, Eric Clapton or other guitar artists may inspire a lot of people to say, “Wow that is so cool. I wish I could play the guitar too.” If you’ve ever found yourself thinking or saying the same thing but never actually did anything about it, it’s not too late. You can always pick up a guitar and start to learn. Here are some helpful bits of information to help you along the way:
Guitars
If you want to learn to play the guitar, you’re obviously going to need to have one. If you are a true novice you may not have the first idea about how to choose the right guitar for you. Here are a few things to keep in mind while searching for that perfect guitar.
- Type of Wood Used – Pay attention to the type of wood used for your guitar. Heavier varieties, such as mahogany, give more sustain than woods such as ash or alder. The biggest downside of guitars made of such heavy wood is that they are indeed heavier than other varieties and can take a toll on your back if you have to play standing up for long periods of time.
- Frets. Pay attention to the number of frets a prospective guitar has. Some come with either21, 22 or 24 frets. Guitars with 21 frets are more stable than the guitars with 24 frets, but if you dream of soloing on your guitar then 24 frets are more useful.
- Strings. Consider the type of strings being used on your guitar. If you like to play on low tunings, then you’ll need heavy gauge strings so that the strings don’t become too slack. If you solo a lot, then you’ll need lighter gauge strings such as 9′s, so that string bending becomes easier.
Songs
After choosing the right guitar for you, the next thing you need is to consider is selecting the right song to try to learn and play on your guitar. This should be a song you love and you are really familiar with. The song should be composed of three or four basic chords and preferably one that has a slow beat. This is one of the most important factors to learning guitar songs as it will help keep you motivated and inspired.
Instructional Materials
With a guitar and song in hand, the last thing you will need is a song book or a guitar guide that shows you the different chords. A chord is the sound you make by the placement of your fingers on the guitar. While the fingers of the non-dominant hand are positioned on the frets of the guitar, the dominant hand does the strumming to create the sound. You can buy a song book to show you the positioning of the fingers for different chords or you can search for the same information on the internet. There are many videos that show you how to position your fingers on the guitar to play the different chords.
Practice
In order to really learn to play the guitar, you need to dedicate time each week to practice. Ideally around 30 minutes of practice 3 to 5 days a week is great for beginners. Not only will regular practice ensure that your fingers are kept in the right condition for playing but you will train your ears too. If you have extra time one day but can’t make noise by actually playing the guitar, practice placing your fingers in the correct position for each chord. Even though you are just using the one hand, this is a valuable method of practice as it builds muscle memory and familiarity with the positions you need to know to play.
These are just a few tips to help you get started learning to play the guitar. Who knows? With a lot of patience, practice and dedication, maybe you’ll even get the chance to have your own videos shown on MTV someday too!
