How to play the six-string guitar. How to quickly learn to play the guitar: practical tips

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

Much more often, people want to learn how 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 or three months, you can easily learn the basic chords and ways of playing.

Do not give up, even if you already had a bad experience. Talent is only a tenth of success. Much more important is determination and regular practice.

What you need

1. Guitar.
2. Wish. It is even more important than the instrument itself.
3. Time for practice. It's easy for you too if the desire is strong enough. Especially since 30 minutes a day is enough for you.
4. Teaching aids. There are no problems with them at all: you can buy a tutorial in a bookstore, watch video tutorials on YouTube, and find chords on the Internet.

As you can see, nothing supernatural.

Choosing and buying a guitar

We assume that you have the desire and time. It remains to acquire the tool. They say any guitar will do for a beginner, but that's not true. When the strings hit the frets and cut into the fingers, and the guitar does not hold the tuning, there can be no question 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 go well 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). It is believed that classical guitars are more suitable for beginners because of 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. Yes, and the nylon strings themselves are softer than metal ones, so they do not dig into the fingertips so much and fill the corns less.

On the other hand, if the performance of classical compositions is not included in your plans, it is better to take a dreadnought right away. Such a guitar sounds louder and more sonorous due to metal strings, and it is more convenient to take chords on a narrower fretboard. Again, when playing on metal strings, the fingers will roughen 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 the training.

When you go shopping for a guitar, take a friend with you who knows how to play: each instrument has a lot of little things that a beginner may simply not notice. Choose a guitar not only for its appearance, but also for its convenience. Pay attention to the possibility of adjusting the neck, the mechanism of the tuning pegs, the strings.

Acquaintance with the guitar

The tool is bought (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 deck. A neck is attached to it, ending with a head with pegs: with the help of them, the strings are pulled.

The fretboard is divided into frets by metal frets, against which the strings are pressed to extract the 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.

Guitar tuning

Before you try to play, the guitar needs to be tuned. Don't worry, even a beginner can do it. And without this skill, you won't be able to play.

By tuner

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

Fifth fret

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

According to the rules, the first string should be tuned to the note E, using the 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, and even more so if you just study, then the first string can be tuned arbitrarily, approximately picking up its tension. All others are configured like this:

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

It sounds complicated, but it's actually quite simple. 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 weaken it, and then pull the open first one and gradually rotate the second peg until the sound of both strings merges into one tone. That's all.

Trying to play

Finally, we got to the most interesting - the actual game. It seems that there is nothing complicated. Know yourself to press the strings with your left hand and hit them with your right: you have seen it a million times and probably tried it yourself. Why doesn't it work then? Strings rattle, fingertips burn, and joints get tired and numb.

It's all about the experience that comes with practice.

Take your guitar and sit on the edge of a chair or sofa with your legs crossed or your left foot on a low stand, such as a stack of books. So the tool will not rest against the chair and move off the leg.

The right hand should be relaxed, and the hand should not be crooked. The left grip covers the neck, but the thumb is always parallel to the frets. It is also not necessary to squeeze the bar that there is strength, otherwise the brush will quickly get tired.

You already know that fret numbering starts at the headstock, and strings start at the thinnest, bottom. Try playing random notes by pressing the first string with your index finger at different frets. Try to press the string all the way down to keep it clear. It will not be easy, but over time the technique will work out.

Try playing other strings, and also connect 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.

The classic "Grasshopper sat in the grass":

"Smoke on the Water" by Deep Purple:

Intro to "Iron Man" Black Sabbath:

Melody from the movie "Boomer":

The Imperial March from Star Wars:

Take some time to play one string. Bring your actions to automatism and achieve the coordinated work of both hands. Practice until the melodies sound smooth and clear, without stops or hesitation.

During this time, the fingers will get used to the loads, which means that it will be possible to move on to more complex things.

Playing chords

The next step you have to climb is playing chords. It's much more difficult than single-string melodies, but don't get discouraged. By learning the chords, you can already play full-fledged songs.

The principle here is the same, but it will be necessary to press not one string, but several at once: usually three, less often two or four. There are many chords. However, for the performance of most songs, only five or seven are enough. To begin with, let's learn three main, so-called thieves' chords: Am, Dm, E.

All chords are indicated 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 designation, 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-em" (Am) or "G major" (G).

Chord diagrams are called fingerings. They draw a neck with strings. The frets are signed with Roman numerals. Arabic designate the strings and - in circles - the fingers with which you should 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 get back to our thieves' chords. Here are their applications:

To play the 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 according to the same principle: we look at which frets and which strings need to be pressed.

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

With the first two difficulties should not arise, but the third is slightly different from the previous ones. It uses barre - a technique when all the strings on one fret are clamped with the index finger. Barre chords are a little more difficult than open chords, but with practice you'll get the hang of them.

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

You can also search the Internet for any other songs that you like (for example, by searching for "louboutin chords"). If unfamiliar chords come across in the selection, you can try to find another one or just learn something new.

Fight and bust

There are two ways of sound extraction: busting and fighting. Some songs are played only by strumming or only by fighting, others by both ways. The chords used are the same, the only difference is whether you finger the strings or hit them.

There are a huge number of busts, as well as fights. And in different songs they are, of course, different. Usually, in the analysis, along with the chords, it is indicated which sorting or fight should be played.

Let's take a look at some of the most common examples. The rest you will learn along the way.

What's next

Now that you've learned the basics, learned the chords, and got your hands dirty, the main thing is to keep practicing. Fingers will hurt and tangle when transposing chords, and strings won't always sound.

Never stop and just keep playing. Every day you will get 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 not let you despair:

1. Always use multiple sources of information to fill in possible gaps and inaccuracies from one teacher to another.
2. Play every day: Regular exercise will give you confidence. Remember that talent is only a tenth of success, everything else is practice.
3. Once you learn a couple of songs and can sing them with ease, be sure to invite your friends over and play for them. Listeners will help develop and point out shortcomings.

It's famously to take guitar chords, to be the center of attention of any company - many people dream of this. How to learn to play the guitar, how difficult and long is the process, can you do it yourself?

Where to begin?

To begin with, decide for what purpose you want to learn how to play the guitar? If you intend to become a professional musician, then you cannot do without serious and long preparation. Then you have a direct road to a music school or private lessons with a good teacher.

But, most likely, you just dream of learning how to play your favorite tunes, as they say, for the soul - to please your friends at gatherings and parties.

Then you will have to master the basics of guitar science on your own. There are good old printed tutorials, there are also more modern options - video lessons, master classes on the Internet offering guitar chords for popular songs for beginners, as well as online guitar schools.

Look through the different options and choose the one that suits you better - a detailed step-by-step guide that is clear and accessible.

The course of study you choose should focus on beginners and build on the principle from simple to complex.

How to choose a guitar

You can rent an instrument from a friend, but it's better to have your own. Experienced guitarists advise: to learn how to play the guitar, start with its classical version. Although some game masters recommend acoustics.

Nylon strings are suitable for beginners - they are easier to press with untrained fingers and there will be less inevitable pain. You will switch to metal strings when you have already mastered the playing technique a little. The sound from them is brighter, louder and more expressive. You need to take the thinnest, designed for acoustic guitar.

How to learn to play the guitar - learning steps

First you need to learn the basic things:

• correct fit - on the edge of the chair, without bending your back, substituting a chair under your left leg;

• the ability to hold a musical instrument;

• the ability to relax the right hand and freely own it;

• proper possession of the left hand, which will cover the neck (the thumb is always held parallel to the frets, they should not press hard on the neck).

Strings and fret numbers

Learn the strings and fret numbers on the guitar. Start doing exercises, for example: take the first string of the third fret with the first finger of your left hand, hook the string with your right thumb to extract sound.

Do the same on the other string and the other fret. At first, the fingers will hurt, but you will have to be patient.

Learning chords

Learn the chords that are the basis of any melody, all songs are built on them. Learn basic major and minor chords.

Simple melodies

When you have learned a few chords, try to practice them on simple songs: “A grasshopper sat in the grass”, “A pack of cigarettes”, “Gypsy”, a melody from the movie “Boomer”.

Fixing chords on songs is much more interesting than just repeating them mechanically. You should feel inspired and rewarded by your first guitar skills.

Reading tablature and fingerings

Learn to read tablature and fingering. Tablature is used to record music. You should master Guitar Pro, a notation editor that is designed to create, edit and listen to guitar tablature and sheet music.

Fingerings are diagrams showing the location of the fingers on the frets and strings of the guitar. Fingering helps to understand the picture of a piece of music and learn it faster.

Busts and barre

Learn open chords, basic guitar strumming and picking, barre chords. If the training is successful, you develop the technique of playing, improve the types of accompaniment, the art of improvisation can become a further stage.

Music theory

The basics of guitar mastery have been mastered and this is quite enough for you - then musical theory, in general, is not required. But if you want to improve your skills, then knowledge of notes, intervals, tempo and rhythm does not hurt.

The ability to play the guitar will not come by itself. It will take patience, perseverance and daily practice. Some will get it faster, some will have to spend more effort. The main thing is not to despair when something does not work out, but to train your skills.

To learn how to play a popular instrument, how much time per day is it better to devote to classes?

At the beginning of training, during the first month, you can study for half an hour, but no less. Then - for an hour, one and a half - depending on how much free time you have.

After 3 months of hard work, you will be able to demonstrate simple melodies to your friends, but these will only be the first steps (using some chords, simple enumeration).

Experienced guitarists say that it takes about a year for most people to master the guitar at the most elementary level.

In addition, how soon you can learn to play the guitar depends on your musical abilities, the presence or absence of training - those who know how to play the piano will master the guitar faster than those who start from scratch.

If you are planning a more serious level of play, then you need patience and persistent training. This process will take from two years or more, depending on what heights of guitar skill you are striving for. You can hardly do without classes with professional teachers.


It is useful, when learning to play the guitar, to train the muscle memory of the hands. You can do this while watching TV or chatting with a friend, practicing chords and hand positions, especially the left hand (it is more difficult to train).

You are lucky if you have a friend or a good acquaintance from whom you can learn the skill of playing an instrument. Meet him at least once a week, just watch his technique, try to play together.

Learned a few tunes - play to your friends, let them appreciate, criticize, if necessary, and you will have an incentive to move on.

Complex tricks of the game may not be useful to you. Don't waste time learning them, better train the basic skills that you will use when playing the guitar.

Learn to play along with the metronome to feel the tempo and rhythm of the music. The metronome will teach you how to control the movement of your hands and how to play the sound at the right time.

Do not be upset by the first failures and do not force things. Haste is absolutely useless if you seriously decide to learn how to play the guitar. Learn the game at your own pace, no need to move on to more complex things if you have not mastered simple tricks enough.

Step by step, patiently and persistently - this is your path to success. But at the same time, do not forget that learning to play the guitar should be fun.

Although the process is not easy and is accompanied by failures and disappointments (temporary, of course!), But you should like it. Otherwise, why all this work and experience?!

Most people are capable of learning to play the guitar on their own, although many beginners give up too quickly. Often, beginners quit playing, explaining this by lack of time or pain in their fingers. And the problem is that they just don't practice enough. This page may not give you more time to practice, but it will show you how to successfully become a reasonably good guitarist without spending expensive textbooks.

Steps

Search the Internet and select the appropriate instructions. There are hundreds of websites on the Internet offering free lessons, many of which are very well designed and can be applied to your daily practice. There you will find comprehensive answers to your questions.

Learn to distinguish a good musician from a bad one. If you can play as well as your favorite musician after a few weeks, try emulating a more skilled musician.

Learn the tool. Learn the names and functions of guitar parts. Understand their interaction to extract sounds. Understand how sound is produced by the guitar, how string tension affects sound. The half hour spent on this basic understanding will be repaid many times over in the course of your practice and play.

Learn to play chords in different positions. There are 10 different hand positions on the fretboard in which you can play a C chord. Start with a pure C chord, but the more ways you learn how to play a chord, the more flexibility you will have in moving from one chord to the next. It may also come in handy if you decide to try composing music.

Practice daily (at least 5 days a week) for at least half an hour. If you want to learn fast, you must fill your brain with guitar. This includes ear training to understand the pitch and intonation of sounds, comfortable positioning of your body (including legs, back, shoulders and hand position), right hand technique for sound production, and left hand technique for sound control. The most important thing is to train the muscle memory of the hands on the bar.

Practice chords and hand positions without sound while watching TV or talking to a friend. Left hand muscle memory training is much more difficult than right hand muscle memory training (except for string picking). You don't have to use your right hand at all, just play with your left hand many different chords. TV or conversation will help you avoid looking at your hands too often. But when you're learning chords, you need to be careful about the position of your fingers and hand so that muscle memory retains the correct position. Over time, look at your fingers less often, but still check the placement of the hand. Gradually, your confidence in the correct setting will grow, and you will not have to look at your hands so often.

Build up calluses on your fingertips. It hurts. But as soon as the calluses appear, the pain you once felt will disappear. The more you practice, the faster it will happen. There are callus builders you can buy.

Learn barre chords along with open chords. Don't skip barre chords though they are harder to play. As with building up calluses, playing barre chords becomes easier as you practice. The playing of barre chords depends almost entirely on the strength of the left hand.

Exercise your left arm muscles by repeatedly squeezing a tennis ball or similar object for 5 minutes several times a day. (Be careful, this can lead to overvoltage).

Allow yourself to be upset. It's unavoidable. This is fine. A chord that you've been trying to play clean for days or weeks will eventually sound clear and beautiful. Keep working on it. Repeat until you're sure the chord sounds great.

Practice. Practice. Practice. "Practice makes perfection." And it's not just grandmother's tales. Practicing, fight for quality. If you practice carelessly, you will perpetuate bad habits forever. A better aphorism might actually be "Practice makes consistency." Just as athletes spin their kettlebells by focusing on a particular part of the body, you can play passages by focusing on various aspects - tone, fluidity, speed, accuracy. By focusing on different aspects of the music separately, you can improve your skills and improve your playing!

Play along with the CD the songs you like. A CD player is a great device for practicing music because it's easy to rewind a CD and repeat even very small parts of a song.

Start playing songs. There are two ways to record music for the guitar. One notation technique is called sheet music and the other is called tablature. Find articles online. The ability to read both ways of writing is extremely valuable.

Play different types of guitar. Start learning bass, play classical guitar, play tenor guitar, play electric guitar. You will be familiar with the sounds of various guitars.

1. Enjoy your new guitar playing skills!

   • If you have a friend who is an experienced guitarist, try meeting him once a week to play together. Even though he or she plays a lot better, you'll only save the time it usually takes to learn guitar by simply playing next to him, watching him play, and learning from him.
   • Explore a few ways to test the slenderness of your game. It may take time to develop an ear for music.
   • Pay a little more for a good guitar. If you're thinking about buying your first guitar but aren't sure if you'll enjoy playing it or have the time to practice, buy an inexpensive guitar. If you decide to keep learning, it will be possible to buy a more expensive guitar within your budget. But make sure it's not too cheap. Some guitars can cause you to lose your enjoyment of playing. It is very important to consider the distance between the strings and the fretboard. If the strings are far from the fretboard, then to get a good sound, you have to press the strings harder, which will lead to pain and frustration.
   • Use nylon strings until your fingers are stiff enough to use regular steel strings as they are lighter on your fingers.
   • Instead of practicing longer and less often, try to practice for a short time but often. In doing so, your brain will be able to memorize chords and melodies faster. It will also keep your fingers safe when you start playing the guitar.
   • Don't be too hard on yourself if you don't understand chords. Remember, this is your first time. Just take your time and learn slowly. You will acquire skills one way or another.
   • Try to change the strings regularly - once a month if you practice regularly every day. You will be amazed at the improvement in sound.
   • If you're looking for an alternative to online courses or want to find more sources for learning guitar, the public library also has a great selection of guitar books.
   • Collect tablature of different guitarists. You'll find free tablature online on the first page of search results with a 99 percent chance. Type the title of the song, the name of the musician, and the words "guitar tablature" in the search box. You will have a wide choice regardless of the genre. If you like them, then you can play them.
   • If you have an audio editor - GarageBand or , then you can select only part of the song to study. It helps a lot.
   • It's easy to learn the basics of guitar playing with the help of the above. If you encounter serious difficulties, then you will need the experience and knowledge of a professional teacher. This page is in no way suggesting that the tutors are useless. This page is just to help you get started.
   • If you are left-handed, you must choose your guitar especially carefully. A left-handed guitar will be more natural to you and may be the right choice. However, if you can force yourself to learn right-handed guitar, you will have a lot more choice and be able to swap guitars with other guitarists. You don't have to mentally flip the image of the chord to fit your fretboard. After all, both hands should be doing a fairly precise job. You need to avoid choosing one type so that you don't regret your choice.
   • Try using video guitar lessons on TocarGuitar websites. YouTube, Songsterr and ultimate Guitar.
   • Make notes about how you feel and how well you play each time you practice. If you practice daily, you will notice a big difference every day.
   • Choose songs to practice strategically. This resource will teach you how to do it Nobsguitar Newsletter. Most of the ways involve striving for some use of technique and theory from one song to another. Choose parts that you love and can play, and parts that challenge your playing skills.
   • Try to keep notes of your exercises to track your progress. Because you can't tell the immediate difference, you can find amazing gains that you've made in a fairly short period of time.
   • Try to accompany someone singing or playing. This will help develop your technique, rhythm and ear. If you work with other guitarists, try to avoid simple copying.

   Warnings

   • Play the many different guitars you can find at major guitar specialty stores before buying. There are hundreds of guitars in these major stores and you can choose the one that suits you best. Don't let pushy salespeople put pressure on you to buy something when you don't have a choice. Don't get too embarrassed when playing in front of people.
   • Never install steel strings on a classical guitar. Classical guitars will not match the tension of steel strings. The strings are bent or will break the neck, soundboard, or fretboard. The hulls are built differently and are not interchangeable. You can use nylon strings on an acoustic guitar, but the sound will sound softer, less shiny, and more subdued.
   • Feel free to play in front of other, more experienced guitarists. They were once at your level, and most of them remember what it was like. They also love to share and showcase their playing to up-and-coming musicians.
   • Watch the angle of your left wrist. Since you are self-taught, you will not have a teacher telling you that you are holding your wrist incorrectly. If you bend it too much, you can seriously injure yourself. Keep it straight! If you're unsure, show your technique to someone experienced and ask about proper wrist placement.
   • To prevent your hand from getting hurt, control your calluses. Sand your fingertips several times a week. Polishing and buffing your calluses is important. Over time, the outermost layer of skin will begin to separate. Be sure to polish the calluses then, or the string may get stuck in the open recess of the callus when the chord changes.
   • Buy an electric guitar tuner. You'll save a lot of string sets and be careful when tuning, especially the first string.
   • Playing the guitar can hurt your fingers. You can put some ice in a bowl of water and soak your fingertips for a minute, or just pour cold water over them. This will prevent blisters and hasten the growth of calluses. Wait a while after soaking before playing.

By practicing, you gain experience. If you have started playing the guitar, you will need to learn the skills and habits that you will adhere to throughout the time you play the guitar. If you start with the right habits and practice, you'll be on the right track playing different styles, all kinds of songs and chords. If not, then you can stop in progress quite quickly, so it will become much more difficult to improve skills. You must learn the right habits and effective practices. With practice, you can learn comfortable, balanced fundamentals combined with fun drills, and develop effective methods that you will follow throughout the routine of playing practice. See Step 1 for more information.

Steps

Part 1

Find a comfortable chair where you can comfortably hold your guitar and play it properly. Stools, benches or other hard chairs are ideal for this. That is, anything that you can sit on with a straight back and good posture will do. There are upholstered chairs made specifically for playing the guitar and you can buy them in guitar shops, but ordinary kitchen chairs will also work.

• Try not to use a chair that has handles, because you will have very little room to put your guitar on. This can make you uncomfortable holding the guitar, leading to bad habits becoming ingrained. Don't sit on the couch, bean bag, or anything you can fall into. For proper fundamentals, position is a very important element.

1. Hold your guitar correctly. If you're right-handed, hold the guitar so that your right hand drops about halfway between the sound hole and the bridge, and support the guitar's neck with your left hand.

   • Hold the guitar close to the body, with the thinnest string on the bottom and the thickest string on top. Hold the back of the guitar so that it touches your stomach and chest and leans on the supporting leg on the side of the hand with which you will pluck the strings. The bar should be pointing up at approximately a 45 degree angle.
   • Hold the bar with the thumb and forefinger of your left hand. You should be able to smoothly move your left hand up and down the neck of the guitar without having to hold it up, allowing the guitar to rest comfortably on your foot and right elbow. If you have a need to support the guitar with your left hand, then you are holding it incorrectly.

2. Hold the mediator correctly. The position of the pick can be a source of frustration for beginner guitarists. To make sure you're building the right skills and comfortable with your instrument, you need to practice holding the pick correctly.

   • To hold the pick correctly, turn the hand (dominant or which you write) with the palm parallel to the stomach. Curl all fingers towards the palm and grasp the pick with the tops of your index and thumb.
   • There should be no more than two centimeters of plane sticking out of your hand. If you hold the pick by the tip, it will lead to a lot of breakdowns and bad habits.

Part 2

1. Practice playing chords. You must train yourself to play correctly and cleanly, without empty string strikes. The chords should be played in an even tone, without loud or soft jumps. Practice moving from chord to chord as smoothly and smoothly as possible.

   • Start by forming the first position of the chords. The first position of the chords is played between the first and third frets, usually including many open strings. You can play most pop, country and rock songs on a few basic 1st position chords.
   • Common first position chords for beginners include: G chord, D chord, Am chord, C chord, E chord, A chord, and F chord.

2. Practice playing barre chords. These are powerful fifth chords that are played with the same finger position on different frets of the guitar. It is possible to form a G chord in the first position or by forming a barre in the third fret. This is quite difficult for a beginner, because such chords require a wide fingering, but are great for rock and punk songs.

   Practice hitting the beat. One of the most often overlooked and important things to become a good guitarist is to play on time. It's great if you can play the "Black Dog" solo at breakneck speed, but can you play it slowly and with feeling? Chord practice forces you to play the notes you see, not the notes you can play. Developing a sense of rhythm in your playing will make you a better guitarist.

   Play scales. If you take lessons you will probably be provided with sheet music for the scales, while if you study from books you will need to find the scales and practice them yourself. Mel Bay's books and other resources for learning to play the guitar have been available for decades, while sheet music and exercises are now available online.

   • The pentatonic scale is a common key for rock guitarists. It consists of five notes per chord and is often referred to as the "blues scale" and is the basis for many types of music. Practice it in every key.
   • Learning different scales and ways of playing is a great way to improve your playing, allowing you to maneuver the guitar, but it's not the most fun thing to do. Take a scale and try to turn it into a guitar solo. To make the scale more fun, try varying it by playing at different tempos once you get the basics down.

3. Learn some songs to make the practice more enjoyable. Pick a few songs you'd like to learn and start picking up different sections using sheet music, tablature, or picking up by ear. Try to learn the songs in their entirety, not just one chord or sequence of chords. Practice playing the different parts of the song together to be able to play from start to finish, so you'll learn combinatory and staying power. It's harder than it looks.

   • For beginners, folk and country songs are the best and easiest to learn. Try playing the chords of Johnny Cash's "Folsom Prison Blues" which is quite fun and easy. You can also try "Tom Dooley", "Long Black Veil" or even "Mary Had a Little Lamb". Pick up a simple nursery rhyme to learn from. It is likely that it will not include more than three chords: G, C, and D major.
   • For an intermediate level guitarist, songs that use unusual chords or an unusual rhythm are suitable to learn more complex styles. Try learning songs that are out of your listening range to force yourself to explore new areas. If you love the classical, try learning Nirvana's "Lithium" because it's an amazingly complex chord and melodic structure. Rock guitarists may try to learn Beethoven's Für Elise to get familiar with a new style. All guitarists should learn how to play "Stairway to Heaven" so you can say that you've made it as a guitarist.
   • For advanced guitarists, it is better to choose compositionally complex material that will let you learn new technologies in the desired musical genre. Metal players must master the complex harmonies of Opeth, country players must learn the patented style of Merl Travis, and rock guitarists can spend a lifetime slicing through Jerry Garcia's psychedelic explorations.

4. Make fun the main principle of learning. Make a deal with yourself: learn a new song or riff of your choice, or practice something from a tutorial. It's good to talk to your teacher, if you have one, about the songs you'd like to learn, so that you don't spend all your time learning Nirvana songs and what your teacher has to offer is of no interest to you. Most teachers will be happy to teach you whatever you want.

   Use your ears and eyes. Many of the world's greatest guitarists have learned to play by ear by listening to the same song over and over again, slowly picking up different passages on their own. Learning to play by ear is an equally effective and important tool for learning to play the guitar. Listen to your favorite tunes until you can pick up the tricks and techniques that guitarists use.

Part 3

Practice for at least 20-40 minutes a day. To develop endurance and preserve muscle memory, you need to build your time so that you practice in the region of 30 minutes a day.

• As you become more proficient and the skin on your fingers becomes rougher, allowing you to play more comfortably, you should find a happy medium to practice. 30 minutes is enough time to progress and work on a significant amount of material, but not so long that it bores you.

1. Practice at least 5 times a week. Finger roughness and dexterity are an important part of guitar playing. This is very important for consistent practice several times a week. Otherwise, you will go back every time you pick up a tool.

   • Try to allocate a set amount of time for practice each day. This could be right after you get home from work or school, or right after lunch. Let it be a habit that you set aside every day for a certain amount of time, and let it take 30 to 40 minutes.
   • If you rarely practice, this will lead to pain in the fingertips again and again. It will be much easier to play the guitar if you practice often. This will happen both because of the absence of pain in the fingertips, and because you will get used to playing, reading notes and tablature.

2. Start your session with a regular warm-up. Every time you pick up a guitar, sit properly in your chair, hold the guitar and pick correctly, and do some exercises for at least 3-5 minutes to warm up your fingers. Selecting even four notes on each of the first four frets of each string, from low E to high E, is a common finger warming exercise.

   • A general warm-up usually involves choosing a particular pattern of playing up and down the neck of the guitar. It doesn't have to be the most melodic pattern, but your fingers should be able to do it easily. You can develop this warm-up yourself or learn what you like from a guitar tutorial.
   • Anything repetitive can be acceptable for a warm-up. Run up and down the strings playing scales or play your favorite Clapton. Whatever you play, play it up and down several times until your fingers feel free and comfortable. Then you are ready to practice.

3. Balance learning skills with some fun exercise. In every workout, it's important to have an equal balance of things you want to do and things you have to do. Want to practice the "Smells Like Teen Spirit" solo? Go ahead, but force yourself to go through the scales first. Focus on something interesting for the second part of the workout to give yourself something to look forward to.

4. Always keep moving forward and challenge yourself. This will always give you the opportunity to progress in the game, and your skill will begin to rise to another level. In fact, many guitarists, even after five years of playing the guitar, are no better than after the first five months due to lack of progress. To practice effectively, you need to cover more tricks when you're learning a new song, mastering a new style, or challenging a skill you've already learned in order to avoid monotony.

   • Learned to play the solo from Led Zeppelin's "Black Dog"? Record the song in a new arrangement or try to play it in reverse. Play all solos, never playing the root. Add some tricks to force yourself to improvise and improve.

5. Practice and learn from other guitarists because it is very difficult to learn to play an instrument completely on your own. It is not necessary to pay for private lessons, but at the same time there is no substitute for playing with other people, because this is the only way to learn something first hand. This is a great way to practice. Adviсe

   • Don't get discouraged if you make mistakes. Remember that everyone makes mistakes; even the greatest guitarists make mistakes, and there is no guarantee that these mistakes won't happen if you follow the steps above.
   • If you want to be able to play real songs on the guitar, you can search the Internet for them by their names and then try to find them in tablature. If you don't know how to play chords, try to find how to play them online.
   • Once you gain experience, you should try to learn tablature. This will be of great help, because once you know how to read them, you will be able to read the most famous songs, since in the books most of them are written using tablature.
   • If you play songs in parallel with their real sound, it can give you real pleasure to practice playing the guitar. Playing along to a song you enjoy will have an emotionally positive impact on your practice.
   • Don't cut corners. Learn to play as close to the original as possible. Search YouTube for tutorials and acoustic versions of the original. If you can't name a song before you start singing it (at least a well-written song), it's not right.
   • If necessary, you can use an ottoman for legs, which costs about $20 - $40. The leg will be higher, in a more comfortable position than if it just hangs from the chair you are sitting on. If you're tall enough, you may feel more comfortable without a footstool, because if you choose to use it, and you're already very tall, your foot will be in front of your face; very uncomfortable position.
   • If you don't want to spend money on a footstool, you can use a small box or a very small chair that you can put your foot on.

   Warnings

   • Don't turn the volume on the metronome or guitar amp too loud or you risk hearing damage.
   • Take frequent breaks from playing the guitar so you don't strain your hand, fingers, and eyes.

Having set ourselves the goal of learning something new for ourselves, we often run into the same question: where to start? The same problem arises for a person who decides to learn to play the guitar on his own. Our article will tell you how to learn the basics of playing the guitar from scratch at home and quite quickly.

Most importantly, below is the easiest and fastest way to learn how to play the guitar. Here we will not offer you to study notes and theory. Only practice!

1. Guitar. First of all, you will need the guitar itself. But do not rush to spend money. If there is an opportunity to borrow a guitar from friends, then by all means use it. Suddenly you don't like it? You will always have time to buy a guitar, but it is very problematic to sell an inexpensive instrument. But if you are still burning with the desire to become a great guitarist, then this article will help you with choosing a guitar: How to choose an acoustic guitar?
2. Setting. For a guitar to please you and your neighbors with its sound, it must always be in tune. Therefore, you need to learn how to configure it yourself. The process is not particularly difficult and is well described in almost any tutorial. On the Internet, you can find an online tuner. If you have a microphone in your computer, then it is very easy to tune each string to the corresponding note with it. If not, then it doesn't matter: look for a tuner online that produces the sound of each string. It is very easy to tune your instrument according to the sounding string.
3. Correct posture, hand position. Please pay SPECIAL attention to proper posture and hand placement. This is very important, because the wrong game will not only hinder your progress in the future, but can also cause overwork, muscle clamping and other unpleasant "sores". There are many materials on the Internet with photos and videos on hand placement and landing. But ideally, it is better to take 2-3 lessons from a professional guitarist. No matter how hard you try yourself, you can see it from the outside. A good professional will easily detect all your mistakes in the bud, which will have a beneficial effect on learning in the future. Proper seating is a big trump card for future progress.
   In general, there are 2 types of landing: classic and fatal. Each type of landing has its pros and cons, we will not describe them here. With the setting of the hands it is easier - there are several unshakable rules that will help you easily clamp the strings, play with a fight and bust.
   As for sound extraction, it is worth paying special attention to the right hand. Proper sound production is a necessary condition for the purity of your music. There are many exercises for the right hand in the tutorials. First, perform them separately, only with your right hand. Then - together with the left, changing chords. This will develop hand coordination. As a result, it will not be difficult for you to play the rhythm with your right hand and hold the chords with your left.
4. chords. Now that the guitar is in tune, you can start learning the chords. They are in all tutorials and on the Internet. Start with simple ones like Am, Em, Dm, etc. After learning a few chords, try changing them. For example, Am to Dm, etc. A quick change of chords is practiced as follows: take 2 chords and move from one to another within one minute: Am-Dm-Am-Dm... And so on for a minute. At first it will be hard, the fingers, like wooden ones, will reluctantly look for the right place on the frets. But after a few days of stable practice at home, you will feel progress.
5. Right hand technique. If you are not an ardent fan of the electric guitar, then at first forget about the pick. You need to master the finger technique. There are 2 options for playing with the right hand: fight and bust. Accordingly, there are different types of combat and different searches. Mastering them yourself will not be difficult, it's a matter of time.
6. Songs. So, we have a minimum set of knowledge and skills. What's next? The simplest thing is to move on to practicing chords, fighting and plucking on songs. Find some easy songs you like and play them. Slow songs are performed by brute force, fast songs are performed by battle. At first, it will be difficult to remember the chords and rearrange the fingers in time. However, this skill develops quite quickly. And in a few weeks, it will not be difficult for you to play more than half of the repertoire of the average "access" guitarist. Yes, and don't try to sing on the guitar right away. And don't be upset if you can't sing and play at the same time - we all went through this stage :) To begin with, work out the accompaniment to automatism and only then start singing along.
7. Performance of compositions. How to learn guitar compositions? Learning musical notation requires serious effort and time. An easier option is to play by tablature. These are schematic images that show which string to press on which fret. To date, there are many computer programs that represent music in the form of tablature. The most popular is Guitar Pro. Download some simple tablature and practice. This will allow you to learn new tricks of the game and rise to the next level.

   So, how to learn to play the guitar from scratch on your own and at home? Of course, the path described in this article is not the only correct one. If you already have some musical experience behind you, or have an irresistible desire to thoroughly approach the issue, then you can immediately start learning from theory. Learn notes, scales, modes, and how it all applies to the guitar. However, a person who picks up an instrument for the first time from such an abundance of theoretical information will most likely lose any desire to continue playing music. I want to learn the basics right away.

   Creative success to you!