Learn Acoustic Guitar – 7 Ways to Practice guitar effectively

It makes no sense to spend a lot of time practicing to learn acoustic guitar if you’re all over the place and playing things that do not get you closer to your goals of becoming a better guitarist. Here are 7 methods to practice effectively and take your acoustic guitar playing to a whole new level:

1) Always follow a plan.  You didn’t go to school and just kind of “wing it”.  The nice people that taught you how to read and write and do arithmetic had a plan or a curriculum for you.  To become an excellent guitarist you need to develop a plan to follow, master it and then modify it so it challenges you and keeps you moving forward.
2) Never put off practicing.  To learn acoustic guitar you’ve got to practice and the more you practice, the better you’ll get.  When you set up your plan, you most likely set specific times to practice.  Never assume you’ll “get around to it” because most people will never come back to it and will have missed their session for the day.  Make it a habit to just get into your practice time when you’re supposed to.
3) Don’t limit yourself to one genre of music.  A rock guitarist can learn an awful lot by checking out what great players in other genres are doing.  Learning a few jazz or country licks will really spice up your playing.
4) Do have a great place to practice.  While it doesn’t have to be anything fancy, it should be comfortable enough to allow you to practice in peace and quiet.  It also needs to have the proper tools like a music stand and light, a metronome, a stool or something to sit on and a TV and DVD player if you’re learning from a DVD program.  Avoid the TV unless it is being used to learn from.
5) Change up your curriculum.  This is not boot camp and it needs to be fun.  Some people do not enjoy learning and memorizing scales and modes so it’s nice to slip in some fun break time playing in between the more tedious tasks just make sure to get back on track after a short break.
6) Warm up your hands.  Many people overlook this when learning to play the guitar but it’s very important.  There are light hand stretched you can do before you ever touch the guitar that will limber up your hands and get blood flowing to the finger tips.
7) Share your skills.  The best way to learn acoustic guitar is to teach as it tests what you do know.  You can either hook up with another guitarist once in a while or you can even give lessons to someone else.  This will make it very clear what you do and do not know and you can adjust your learning from there.

If you want to learn Acoustic Guitar and play like a pro – check this out!

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Hints for Buying a Second Hand Guitar

Often cheaper than a new guitar and just as ready to rock out, a secondhand guitar could be the perfect addition to your collection or the perfect thing to start you off, but how do you know that your potential purchase isn’t a potential dud?

The truth is that some fantastic guitars, while expensive when new, are relatively cheap secondhand. Sometimes you can find a custom or a limited edition guitar that someone is selling quickly for the cash and you can often get a real bargain if you know what you are looking for. It really pays to do the research before thinking about buying a second hand guitar as some sellers will push their price up to cash in, especially if they know they are selling to a beginner who may not know much about guitars.

So, as a beginner who may not know much about guitars, what should you look for when inspecting a secondhand guitar?

Let’s just say that you have found a secondhand guitar in the musical instrument section of the weekly classifieds and you are quite keen to go and take a look at it. Below is a list of hints that will help you when inspecting the guitar and talking to the seller:

When talking to the seller, ask them the following:

• The make and model of the guitar – It is best if you can do some research on the guitar model to find out the asking price elsewhere, both new and used, and whether or not other people are experiencing problems with it.

• About the condition of the guitar – If they are honest, the seller may tell you about any damage that is undetectable upon rough inspection.
• How long they have had the guitar – If they have had it for a long time, they should have a good knowledge of its history of use, repairs and maintenance etc. If they are not forthcoming with that sort of information, they may be trying to pull one over you.

When inspecting the guitar, check the following:

• The overall condition – Look the guitar over and make note of any obvious damage – guitars often take a bit of wear and tear and if its just small scrapes and scratches then the guitar will probably be fine. Look for rust also , not on the strings, but on the hardware that is holding the strings and the pickups. If there is any rust in these places… run! It’s not worth it. What good is a guitar that may fall apart on you in the near future? Trust me – leave it alone.
• The neck of the guitar – the neck is really important. Here are some areas to look at:
• Make sure that the neck is not warped or out of shape in any way.
• Check the area where the neck joins to the body of the guitar – look for cracks where it may have been broken in the past.
• Check the action – Action is a word that describes how close the strings are to the fret board starting at the head of the guitar all the way down to the bridge. It is preferable to have the strings very close to the fret board as to make it easier to press them down (not so close that they are touching of course). If the strings are nice and close to the fret board all the way along, you would say that the guitar has a good action. Pictured right is a guitar with poor action. Notice that the strings sit quite far off the fret board. Guitars with poor action are harder to play and don’t sound very good. You can fix the action on your guitar by taking it to a guitar technician, but it will cost you between $20 and $50.

• In the same fashion, check the area where the neck joins the head of the guitar.

• The Intonation of the strings. Intonation is a word that describes the accuracy of each individual note that the guitar can produce on any string. If the intonation is correct, every note on the guitar will be the correct pitch – If it is out, the guitar will be impossible to tune and it will sound horrible. To roughly check the intonation, play the E shape barre chord on each fret of the guitar. As you move towards the bridge of the guitar, you should hear the chord keeping its pitch – if not, the intonation is out and you will need to get a guitar technician to work on the problem.
• If the guitar you are looking at is an electric, you must plug it in and see how it sounds through an amp. Ask the seller if you can play it through your amp and if you don’t have one, ask someone if you can borrow theirs. Try the following when testing an electric guitar through an amp:
• Turn the amp up to a fair volume level and then play with the volume and tone controls by turning them to full and then back to zero. Test the pickup selector by flicking its switch back and forth. Carefully listen to any sounds that are being made while doing these things. You are looking for scratchy sounds or clicks that might indicate old or worn electrics.
• Strum a single chord and while the chord is ringing start playing with the controls like before, still listening for scratches or clicks or any other nasty sounds. Guitar technicians can fix these problems and most guitars need to be done about once every 5 – 10 years. Just be aware of this fact or you could find yourself spending more money than you first intended.
• Check the sound of the guitar – Before you buy, you want to know that the guitar sounds like it should? Once you have tested the guitar sound, go to a music store and ask to play on a new model of that guitar. If at all possible, use a similar amplifier to the one that you tested the second hand guitar on, and see if you notice any BIG differences. There is a simple rule that I like to follow: If you’re not happy with the guitar sound… Don’t buy it!

The most important thing to remember when shopping for any guitar is… Don’t shop impulsively. A guitar is a major purchase and you want to get the right one. Leave yourself time to go away and think about the purchase. If you have doubts when checking out a guitar, you are probably better to leave it and hold out for something that better suits you.

If you are new to the guitar and a little worried about testing guitar in public – don’t worry. It is important to remember that you are not there to showcase your playing ability – you are there to discern whether your proposed buy is a good deal or not so just go for it.

If you are still worried, take an experienced guitarist along with you when you are looking at a possible purchase. See if you can persuade a teacher or a friend – most musicians love to help newbies. Not only will they be able to offer helpful advice – they will be good moral support when it’s time to pick up the guitar and test it out in public.

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Which Guitar to learn on?

There are three main types of guitar that you will encounter. They are: Classical Acoustic Acoustic Electric Chances are that if you have asked someone if you can use their guitar for a while, it would probably be an old classical acoustic guitar or maybe a steel string acoustic. These guitars are excellent to learn on because electric guitars require things like leads, amps, speakers and power. With acoustic guitars you only need a pick. The other great thing about acoustic guitars is that you can’t turn them up loud. When you are learning it is probably better to play on a guitar that isn’t going too be loud, only loud enough so your ears can hear your errors and your good performances. If you don’t know which types of guitar you want to play on, ask yourself, ‘what kind of music do I want to play?’ Pick a song that you like for its guitar sound. Listen to the guitar sounds and only the guitar sounds. Are they clean, soft sounds? Or are they harsh, heavy or distorted? Generally, acoustic guitars are softer and cleaner. Distorted, heavy sounds come from electric guitars that are plugged into amplifiers and effects units. Can you hear individual notes being picked or are the strings being strummed hard? The harder you play, the thicker your strings need to be. You need to know what style you want to play. OK you have found a style of music that you like. Try and find out what the band video for that song is and watch it. There will probably be a section in there where the band is playing. In this part, look at the guitarist. Is he/she playing on an electric guitar or an acoustic guitar? What brand is it? What style? If you know the exact guitar from the video, you can ask to play on it at your local guitar shop to see if it suits you. People play guitar for many different reasons. You need to understand what it is that you want to get out of the guitar. To discover your tastes in guitar music, listening to different styles and genres. Ask musicians at music shops about what kind of guitars different bands use, or ask them what kind of amps/effects those artists use to get that sound. The answers don’t have to be exact because they will get you thinking about what you need to buy to achieve the sound you are after. For more information on achieving different guitar sounds, see our articles on basic guitar effects and guitar manufacturers and guitar models. This FREE course is brought to you by Jamorama – The Ultimate Guitar Learning Kit

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Play Learn Guitar

Author: Mark Andrews

To play, learn guitar is perhaps one of the most rewarding hobbies, pasttimes that you could take up.

Playing guitar, learn to play guitar well and not only could it give you years of great pleasure but could even with enough practice, send you on your way into a new found career which will give you everything that you desire out of life.

The great beauty of learning to play guitar is the sheer number of options open to you.  Perhaps no other musical instrument in the world is able to offer such an incredible diversity of sound, capturing just about every possible human mood and emotion as the violao, as it was traditionally know as.

The guitar, violao has been around for at least 5000 years, one can only imagine the mindboggling number of beautiful songs and sounds that have been created by the guitar in that span of time.

The guitar also give you a great number of choices, there is the classical guitar, the acoustic guitar, the electric guitar to name just three, each with their own unique sound.

Some famous brands of guitar include Gibson, Epiphone, Yamaha, listed in order of expensive guitar, middle of the range guitar and for a guitar on a budget suitable for a begginner, the Yamaha guitar.

Guitar styles and looks also vary a great deal, it is simply amazing the sheer number of guitar styles that you can choose from, truly there is a guitar suitable for everyone, no matter your gender, age or guitar playing experience.

Guitar prices range from just a few dollars to many hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Typically, for the guitar beginner, you don’t have to spend a great deal of money to buy a guitar suitable for your needs, anything from $20-25 upwards should do it, depending on where you buy a guitar from.  It pays to ask around your family and friends plus your work colleagues.

Learning to play guitar does take time, as with anything, learning to play the guitar does have it’s own learning curve.  The main things to remember are that persistence does pay off, so if you have the patience to learn the guitar, the dividend, payoff for you will be not only giving huge amounts of enjoyment to yourself but also maybe, to thousands of other people around you, throughout the course of your life.  One of the great beauties of the guitar is that it can literally be played anywhere and it’s a great conversation ice breaker, when meeting up with other people perhaps for the first time.

Indeed, you can bet your bottom dollar that many a great lifetime friendship has started off by simply playing a guitar song in front of other people, guitar jamming together.

So why not pick up a guitar today and start a life of guitar music guaranteed to bring you years of pleasure and huge amounts of enjoyment?

About the Author:

Mark is the owner of Play-Learn-Guitar.com http://Play-Learn-Guitar.com – A great little website all about learning to play the guitar.

If you like this article and would like to use it anywhere online, please feel free to do so, we only ask that you link the article with a link at your site to Play-Learn-Guitar.com http://Play-Learn-Guitar.com – thank you!

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Author: Phil Donahoe

Most people think learning guitar is difficult. Well not true, learning guitar is always easier than most people think. Learning guitar is often like yoga for the fingers, as they learn to stretch and even grow a little differently. The key to learning guitar is practice. Perhaps the most frustrating aspect of first learning guitar is that it is seemingly impossible to play anything that actually sounds good and most people get frustrated and leave it at that. Once you get that first “good” tune from the playing the guitar it acts as a trigger for more enthusiasm and encouragement that you are seeing success from your endeavors. When you have that first guitar success it is a great feeling to have. One thing to remember is that learning guitar is a passion for each and every one of us and is something that takes a long time to master.

A guitar is primarily a rhythm instrument, meaning you can make good music with just a handful of chords and a couple of scales. Above all, the most important thing is to make sure that playing the instrument is something you actually enjoy, or no matter how much you put into it, you won’t ever get anywhere. It is undeniably the most popular instrument in our country at this time. For only a small amount more you can get a quality instrument.

Learning Guitar: Getting Started

I have found that learning to play guitar is like many other activities it takes practice and perseverance. A person can get along fine these days by learning a few chords and knowing how to read tab, right. That should be the first guitar goal and that alone will unlock many doors to guitar progression. The best and easiest path to becoming a competent guitar player is by learning some chords and then applying them to learning the rhythm parts of songs that you hear and enjoy. Guitar players often spend hours learning new chords and practicing them over and over again. Almost anyone can learn to play the guitar if they put their heart into learning, in addition to putting in a substantial amount of effort and passion. Although many prefer to take lessons, which can be very expensive, learning to playing guitar by purchasing guitar courses online is also a very realistic option.

Choosing an Acoustic Guitar

If you are looking to choose an acoustic guitar as your learning guitar then I would recommend the following:

- Taylor, moderately priced

- Dean, some good deals available

- Gibson, expensive, but you get your money’s worth in terms of quality

Acoustic guitars may be more expensive up front but then again you won’t need an amplifier. I often recommend learning acoustic first, and then moving to electric, but it doesn’t really matter what you start on and is often a matter of taste. An acoustic guitar is generally used by learners because it produces a cleaner sound and the chords crisper as a result. Some people consider it harder to play on an acoustic because you have to “push” harder, and when you take an electric guitar in your hands after that, you’ll see how it is easier.

Choosing an Electric Guitar

If you are looking to learn guitar by starting with an electric guitar I would recommend the following makes:

- Ibanez, great starters and very attractive prices

- Gibson, same as acoustic, expensive but worth it

- Fender, moderately priced, but if you don’t want to pay full price you can go with Squire

If you decide to start with an electric guitar, then you’ll want to purchase a practice amp too. You can usually pick up a reasonably high quality practice amp for around $50-$100. If you buy an electric guitar first, it will be great fun learning to do power chords and noisy solos, but when you reach certain level where you want to start using more complex chords and arrangements, it’s time to knuckle down to practice chords and progressions as if it was an acoustic. One advantage of learning guitar with an electric guitar as opposed to acoustic guitars is that you can practice silently by using headphones.

Conclusion

Learning guitar is about repetition, repetition, repetition and if you have time, repetition. Once you have those chords and scales burned into your muscle memory playing guitar is very relaxing. One major aspect of learning guitar is that of confidence and getting to that first goal and persevering is a must. Also some people find it difficult initially teaching the left hand the chords and fingering but again, this comes down to practice. The first thing to understand is that learning guitar is something that takes a long time. The most important thing to keep in mind while learning guitar is never give up and you will succeed.

About the Author:

Would you like to learn guitar starting today? Would you like to find out which online guitar course can make you a guitar god as well as impress your friends and family? Then take a look at the best guitar courses online at http://www.learningguitarreview.com and start learning the right way now!

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com – Learn Guitar Today, No Excuses!

Author: Rajinderpal Singh

Every newbie guitar player faces the following question: “What’s the absolute best way for me to learn guitar?” Should you should learn it yourself or hire a professional? Which guitar courses are recommended most often? What about those Internet based guitar training sites?

These are all valid questions because how you learn to play the guitar is just as important as what you learn to play. Teaching yourself how to play might work just fine if you’ve got a good ear and some previous exposure to music theory or proficiency on another instrument.

If you are a “newbie” to playing any instrument,it would be a good idea to get a teacher — or — join an online program where you can interact with several teachers as well as fellow students. In fact, I would recommend finding at least one ‘mentor’ or a ‘study buddy’ to learn with even if you lean towards teaching yourself.

Why?

In short, you learn more and make more progress faster than you would in isolation because you’ll be exposed to alternative ways of thinking about your approach to the guitar. Other players can share tips and techniques you have never seen before, as well as help you overcome a problem area that they’ve already mastered.

Ultimately, though, the question of how to learn guitar is up to you and your choice should be guided by consideration of your own unique situation. The following list of questions should help you make a solid decision:

1. How much can I afford to spend on lessons, books, etc, and how much am I willing to invest to get started?

2. How do I learn best? For example, can you pick up concepts easily just by reading about them, or do you prefer to have audio and video demonstrations you can follow along with?

3. Am I looking to learn a specific style of guitar such as Classical, Blues or Jazz? You’ll still need to learn basic music theory for any style of music, but you might want to look for instruction that focuses on teaching the theory in one of these contexts.

4. How much time can I allocate to practice? This is very important if you’re considering on hiring a guitar teacher. Most teachers will require you to master a lesson before moving on to the next one.

You’ll still be paying for those lessons even when you aren’t making much progress. So, if you’re strapped for time, I recommend investing in a home-study or online couse. This will give you a 24/7 access to the information you need away from your regular guitar lessons.

5. How ‘good’ of a player do I want to be? If guitar is just a hobby for you, then you’ll likely do well with just about any method of instruction. If you want to go pro or start a band, though, you should learn from as many different sources as possible.

About the Author:

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Article Source: ArticlesBase.com – How to Learn Guitar: Finding the Right Method for You

Author: Christopher Buckley

Although the electric guitar has originated in blues music, it is rock that gave its popularity. With rock music, the electric guitar became a massively expressive instrument. All guitar lessons have to touch on rock as well, but if you want to learn to play rock guitar, there are special modules you can take up. These modules focus almost exclusively on rock music.

The things you will be taught when you learn to play rock guitar can be roughly spread into three modules: first lessons, where you will learn the basics about playing the guitar, electric guitar improver and power chords.

First Lessons

These lessons are mostly for beginners. If you have some knowledge about playing the guitar, you may skip some of these. This is up to your teacher to decide.

However, if you’re holding a guitar for the first time, this is where your teacher will usually start. You will be taught the fundamentals about playing a guitar in general and playing rock guitar in particular. You will learn the basics about rock lead guitar and power chords. After these first lessons, you will have some idea on how to play classic rock guitar. If you get these right, you are on your way to actually playing rock guitar.

Electric Guitar Improver

In the next lessons, you will probably be taught various rock techniques, such as sliding, string-bending, pull-offs, vibrato and hammer-ons. These tips will enable you to play some fairly good rock solos. You will also learn about scales and chords that will help you start making up your own music.

There might be a lot of blues references within these lessons. Going through all these will help you understand the relation between blues and rocks, which is essential if you want to learn to play rock guitar like a pro.

Power Chords

Power chords are two or three string distorted sounding chords used in some of the most popular rock songs of all times. You will learn to play several rock songs during the first few lessons of this module. Afterwards you will be very familiar with the fretboard and surprise yourself with the sounds you will be able to play.

If you seriously want to learn to play rock guitar, don’t get frustrated or discouraged if you’re not playing the way you would like to at the beginning. If you enjoy playing, the progress will come at some point. Find a guitar teacher you communicate well with, design a workable schedule to practice and, most importantly, try to have fun while you’re learning.

About the Author:
Christopher Buckley is owner of one of the internet’s largest guitar learning resources.
To find out more about learning rock guitar, visit Learn Guitar Blog

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com – Learn To Play Rock Guitar