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Alternate picking is an important skill, because it gives you the opportunity to play faster than with just down picking. The fundamental idea is that if you are just doing down strokes, each time you bring the pick back up to stroke down again, you are missing an opportunity to hit the string again. In actual fact it is well-organized, because you have to move your hand less distance to hit the next note, and it can be an important differentiation between hitting the note on time and struggling to reach it.

As along with other guitar skills, it doesn’t sound even a little complicated until you actually try and do it. It will take some time to master it and get really fast. After doing it for a long time, you will start to notice that you are subconsciously deciding whether to alternate pick or not, depending on the underlying rhythm. In the end alternate picking allows you to play more efficiently and thus more rapidly.

Hold the pick in whichever method feels best for you. Only the top of your pick should be seen and touch the string, because when you pick you cover less distance and use less energy. Your movement should only come from your wrist, not from your whole arm, and it should be precise. There are lots of ways to practice alternate picking, but really it is something that you have to merge into your entire guitar playing. Being able to alternate pick at the right time is a very important step, and it is one of the barriers that separate good guitar players and people who just play guitar.

The technique has several advantages and some disadvantages, for the most part depending on the licks the guitarist is attempting to play. For example, during fast passages, alternate picking is essential in keeping the picking arm from tiring out. At very high tempos, alternate picking is virtually required, since techniques like down picking are made highly infeasible.

On the other hand, large arpeggios (especially those spanning more than one octave) are very tricky to play using pure alternate picking and almost not possible to play at great speeds, which is why many guitarists choose to employ sweep picking to play these arpeggios (e.g. K. K. Downing, Frank Gambale & Mario Parga). Similarly, some kinds of licks are easier when played using such specialized techniques as legato, economy picking (a hybrid of alternate and sweep picking) or tapping.

Regardless of some of the well-known disadvantages of the technique, some guitarists (such as Al Di Meola, Steve Morse) emphasize the near-exclusive use of alternate picking, even in situations where another technique would be easier, claiming that pure alternate picking leads to a more consistent sound and allows for greater control of tone.

Here is the catch that most beginners don’t realize when they start practicing this techniqe, in order to call the technique alternate picking you need to continuously alternate the picking direction regardless of string change or anything else. The cool thing it is that every note has a very clear definition, especially when playing fast runs, where in economy picking those sweep picked notes are “blended” thus creating a smoother sound which sometimes is not the best solution for a particular style of soloing.

Alternate Picking For Acoustic Guitar is a post from: Learn Acoustic Guitar

First, you need to work on guitar positioning. You can either use the classical position if you’re playing seriously or the casual position. I prefer to use the classical position because it’s more comfortable and easier to play with rather than using the casual position.

Every finger on our right hand has designated strings to pluck. Each finger needs to accurately pluck the assigned string. The thumb is assigned to the bass notes or bass strings or simply the E, A, and D keys. The index finger or pointer finger is assigned to G string, the middle finger is assigned to the B string, and lastly, the ring finger is assigned to the e string. The pinky is occasionally used to play high notes but it is up to you if you want to use it and if you feel like you need to.

Now that you need the assigned strings for each finger, all you need to do is practice it with an easy song that has a slow tempo. Practicing on plucking with a song that has slow tempo will help you improve on your plucking skills. Once you master the plucking technique, you’ll just realize that you are plucking the song without any trouble. However, if you skip this step and practiced on fast songs, I am definitely sure that you will have a lot of trouble and it will be very time consuming.

While practicing, also try to be accurate and clean in doing chords with your left hand so that the sound that will be produced will be relaxing and nice to hear. Also, when playing the bass notes, always try or let them ring so that the song that you’re playing will be nicer to hear. Otherwise it will sound dry and lacking.

When you think you are good enough and can pluck fast songs, you should go for it but expect that it will be harder to learn, so, an extra effort and patience is needed to learn properly.

by: A.J. Dean

Acoustic Guitar Lessons – How to Pluck is a post from: Learn Acoustic Guitar

There are five main things that you need to understand to learn in playing acoustic guitar.

Understand what acoustic guitar is and how it works.

Before you start learning the tabs and chords, you will have to understand first what are the basic parts of the guitar and its functions.  But let us discuss only the most important parts.

Tuning keys – These are located at the headstock and is used for tuning the guitar. This is the most sensitive part of the guitar and you should avoid touching it unless you are tuning the strings.

Bridge – This is located at the top portion of the guitar. This is where the head of the strings are fastened to be connected to the tuning keys.

Body -  The upper portion of the guitar body where the guitar rossette and sound hole is located.

Frets – These are spaces between the vertical “metallic lines” found at neck of the guitar. It is where you place your fingers and hand for the chords.

Strings – These are the flexible metallic wires which are fastened at the Bridge and the Tuning Keys. They are the one that produces the sound when strummed or plucked.

Understanding guitar tab

Guitar tabs are used in learning the guitar chords and reading guitar notes. They are very helpful to guitar players when they are are learning songs. Therefore, in order to effectively learn and read notes, you must first understand what guitar tab is.

To start with, guitar tabs consists of six lines, each representing a string of the guitar. Normally, the lines are laid out as if you are a right handed and you are playing the guitar. The vertical lines are the bars in the actual guitar and each bar is one measure.

There are still many lessons about guitar tabs. We will cover them later in our future articles. But at least you know what it is and how it is represented in the actual acoustic guitar.

Changing from one chord to another.

It is a common struggle for guitar students how to change one chord to another by quickly transferring their hand and finger position.

Smooth chord changes can be achieved by practice. Just know that it is not something that cannot be overcome. You can start by mastering the hand and finger position in each chord. If you get use to each positions, it will not be too difficult to quickly switch to another chord.

Secondly, practice your strumming. Strumming the guitar and getting the right beat for each song is quite difficult to do, especially that each song has different beat and different styles. But this again can be accomplished by consistent practice.

Even the professional guitarists try to learn the beat and styles of each song that they are playing. Once you get the beat and the style, all you have to do is to combine your skill of quick chord transition with the beat and style of strumming. Add a little grace in hand changes, and you'll have a smooth chord transition.

Basic strumming

As I mentioned earlier, learning how to strum is quite difficult to learn. But again, it is not something that can't be overcome. To enhance your skill on this, you can start by  learning the beat and style of each song. For beginners, a simple up and down strumming will do. After a week when you are used to up and down hand movement, add a little beat variation until you have mastered how to add some styles.

But the main secret of strumming better is listening to the music carefully. Putting yourself on the beat itself while slowly following it. One of the best ways to do this is with a friend teaching you how to play guitar.

Learning to play songs and putting it all together. 

You can now follow the beat and you can now change from one kind of strumming to another. You also have learned how to do chord transition smoothly. Now is the time to put it all together.

Choose simple songs first (slower ones). Those songs will be the first few songs that you will master. Try to add one song each week until you are used to slower tempo. Then as time goes by, add some faster tempo to your collection and so on and so forth.

Final thoughts

Playing acoustic guitar is a great hobby and skill to develop. It is something that is very useful and is a great way to  express yourself. Learning how to play guitar is not an easy task, but it is doable through practice.

Practice makes perfect. As you continue to practice, your skill level will continue to rise and will be refined. This may take a while to achieve, but you'll find out that you get better and better everytime you put your hands on the guitar and play.

How To Play Acoustic Guitar is a post from: Learn Acoustic Guitar

Sounds of Silence by Simon and Garfunkel
Sounds of Silence was written by Paul Simon in the aftermath of Pres. J.F. Kennedy's assassination. It became the second most popular hit in the US in 1965. The song was made popular by Simon and Garfunkel in 1960.

Knocking on Heavens Door by Bob Dylan
The Guns and Roses made a cover of this song and make it very popular but this was originally sung by Bob Dylan. This song is fun to play and simple as well.

Everything I Do by Bryan Adams
This is one of the most romantic songs that Bryan Adams made. This song is also appropriate for acoustic guitar since the original song uses acoustic guitar and Bryan Adams uses one during his live shows.

Now and Forever by Richard Marx
Richard Marx wrote this song for his wife, Cynthia Rhodes, when he realized that he had not written any song addressing their relationship. This is also suitable for acoustic not only because it has a slow tempo but also since the original recorded song recorded uses an acoustic guitar.

Heaven Knows by Rick Price
This song is a love song about waiting for the one you love to come back to your life which probably will make you wait forever. This is a song with slow tempo and easily be played with the regular chords. An acoustic guitar is more suited for this song if you want to play it with passion.

Brown Eyed Girl By Van Morrison
Brown Eyed Girl was first released in May 1967 under the album Blowin' Your Mind. This song became Van Morrison's signature song. It is so popular and still being aired on radios even until now. It is so popular that it was included in The 365 Top Selling Songs of the 20th Century by RIAA.  

Honestly by Harem Scarem
Honestly is a song by Canadian glam metal band named Harem Scarem. It is about a guy asking the girl if she’s still honestly loving him because he don’t know where did he go wrong and he still wanted to be with the girl he loves. The acoustic version of this song is more suitable with acoustic guitar than the original version which is rock in genre.

Love of a Lifetime by Firehouse
This song made by Firehouse is about finally found the love for the rest of his life and will stay forever in his heart. This song is easy to play with and is simple too.

I’m Yours by Jason Mraz
I’m yours by Jason Mraz is from the album “We sing. We Dance. We Steal Things.” and was released in the year of 2008. Although it has a fast tempo, this song is very jamming and easy yet simple to play.

The Lazy Song by Bruno Mars
This song is about not doing anything for the whole day. This has a fast tempo but it is a jamming song that can be played for fun and past time.

The Remedy by Jason Mraz
Jason Mraz wrote this song for a friend that is said to have a cancer. This has a fast tempo but is also fun to play and inspiring.

Best Acoustic Guitar Songs For Your First Practice is a post from: Learn Acoustic Guitar

Yamaha
Yamaha is a Corporation in Japan that has grown to become the world’s largest manufacturer of a full line of musical instrument. With the finest hand-selected woods and traditional craftsmanship together with subtle new construction finish and wood technology, Yamaha produces acoustic guitars which are both good in quality and producing sound.

Epiphone
Epiphone is an acoustic guitar company from Gibson Corporation. The sound quality of Epiphone guitars does not let Gibson’s name down, the price range has been kept to the lowest. It has rosewood fingerboard and bridge that lets the player feel more comfortable in playing.

Squire
Squire guitars are made by the Fender Company which is famously known for their electric guitars from Scottsdale, Arizona. Their acoustic guitar is very durable and made to suit for school music program students and beginners. With a good sound, this brand is well known to produce low priced guitar models such as SA100 and MA1.

Ibanez
Ibanez is considered to be one of the best selling electric guitars and bass guitar brands. But, they also make a quality acoustic guitar for acoustic guitar players. The V series has become really famous for beginners, making it one of the best acoustic guitar brands for beginners. Their guitar uses mahogany wood on the neck, and back and sides of the guitar. It also has a rosewood bridge and rosewood fretboard.

Gibson
Gibson has the biggest reputation in the music industry.  The fingerboard of their guitars has the highest grade rosewood which was personally inspected and qualified by Gibson’s team of skilled experts. Their acoustic guitars provide an extremely smooth and comfortable feeling for playing.

Samick
Samick is a Korean guitar manufacturing company, which is known first for building their own pianos using imported parts. The company is capable of manufacturing more than one million guitars per year. They have a acoustic guitar with good quality which produces an exceptional sound. The company sell its guitars under its own brand names including Abilene, Silvertone, Greg Bennett, and Samick.

Oscar Schmidt
Oscar Schmidt is a brand of Washburn Guitars. It has smooth fret end, precision low action and resonant sound quality. The best selling acoustic guitar of this brand are the OG2 and the OG3. Oscar Schmidt also produces other traditional stringed instruments like ukuleles and autoharps.

Taylor
Though Taylor guitars are one of the most expensive, they do provide an exceptional sound quality. They select the best wood to use so that the guitar will produce its best sound quality. Taylor Baby Spruce BT1 or Taylor Baby Mahogany BT2 is good for those who want fine tunes along with a good price.

Takamine
Takamine is a Japanese guitar manufacturing company, which has 50 years of history dedicated to innovating and improvement of guitars. Takamine guitars are expensive but the price is worth the sound.

Seagull
Seagull is a Canadian company that produces hand crafted acoustic guitars. It has solid top guitars which offer richer sound, wider dynamic range, and sound better as time passes by. The neck of the seagull guitar has either Silverleaf maple or Honduras mahogany. Silverleaf is less porous than mahogany which provides a very smooth feel but has a similar density. Some good guitars from the line up of Seagull are Original S6 Cedar, Entourage Rustic S6, and Entourage Rustic CW QI.

Best Acoustic Guitar Brands is a post from: Learn Acoustic Guitar

D# or Eb Major
Put your first finger on the first fret of the D string. Carefully put your second finger on the third fret of the G string then put your middle finger on the third fret of the e string and lastly put your ring finger on the fourth fret of the B string.

E Major
You need to put your first finger or your pointer on the first fret of the G string, and then put your middle finger on the second fret of A string, and lastly, put your ring finger on the second fret of D string.

F Major
The first finger is barred over the first fret, then put second finger or middle finger on the second fret of the G string, then put the ring finger at the third fret of the A string, and lastly, put your pinky on the third fret of the D string.

F# or Gb Major
You need to bar the second fret with your first finger covering all the strings from E to e. After that, simply put your middle finger on the third fret of the G string. Next one is to put your remaining fingers on the fourth frets of both A and D string.

G Major
Put your pointer finger on the second fret of the A string then put your middle finger on the third fret of the E string and then put either your ring finger or pinky on the third fret of the e string.

A Major
First you need to put your second finger or the middle finger on the second fret of the D string then carefully put your ring finger on the second fret of G string, and lastly, put your pinky on the second fret of the B string.

A# or Bb Major
Bar the first fret of A string to e string using your pointer finger. Then, put your second finger or the middle finger on the third fret of the D string then carefully put your ring finger on the third fret of G string, and lastly, put your pinky on the third fret of the B string.

B Major
Your first finger should be barred over the second fret starting from the A string down to e string. Then, put your need to put your second finger or the middle finger on the fourth fret of the D string then put your ring finger on the fourth fret of G string, and lastly, put your pinky on the fourth fret of the B string.

Below is a chord chart from www.io.com

Acoustic Guitar Chords is a post from: Learn Acoustic Guitar

1. Call a buddy that knows how to play acoustic guitar
Buddies are real life treasures. They can influence you with lots of things, passions, sports,  and even the way you think and your character. If you have a nice friend who can play the guitar, he can probably be a great help to you.

Going together with buddy who play guitar can give you a significant amount of benefits. First, your learning will be fun since the one teaching you is your friend. Learning is more interesting if it is fun. Secondly, you won’t be intimidated. There are occasions that it can be harder to learn especially if it is fear from your mentor that drives you. You feel like there’s really no room for flaws when you see them.

Third, you will not be under pressure. Pressure to learn gives you lots of stress. But if you are learning the guitar along with your friend, you get fun instead of pressure. Finally, it’s cost effective. Your friend will most probably coach you for free since he could be doing it for fun and not for business. You will learn so much from him while getting most of the fundamental lessons and sometimes, you will also learn the non-conventional method and creative lessons of playing acoustic guitar that you will not learn inside the music class.

2. Have a tutorial guide on-line.
You can get some good training instructions online. There are many guitar experts who give tutorials over the net. The good thing with these online training instructions is that, they’re less expensive than literally getting a music teacher or enrolling yourself to a music school.

Here are some notes you must bear in mind:

First, look for some real testimonials and browse what this guitar guide can offer. Bear in mind that if there are good online guides, there are also lousy tutorials out there. So, it’s better that you first investigate and find some good history about the material and the individuals who are offering it. In this way, you can avoid falling for another scam.

Online guitar lessons should include tab reading, guitar chord reading, sample guitar songs, video clips, and also electronic instructions. To put it briefly, it must provide an adequate of information for you to learn and practice.

Then look at the price. The value generally ranges from $35 – $70 a month, depending on the quality of the guides, and if they also give a CD or DVD. And if we are referring to a “monthly payment”, we’re talking about true course here, and not only just materials. If they give you a “live” acoustic guitar tutorial for that price, the better. It simply shows that they are really serious in assisting their customers.

3. Register yourself to a guitar school.
Lastly, if you have no buddy that can teach you how to play guitar, and granted that you don’t like on-line tutorials, then you can enroll yourself to a guitar class. It is like learning with the professionals, with individuals who are keeping a good reputation. It is usually the most expensive way to learn but this is more rewarding than the rest.

This will also give you some rewards. First, though you will be under pressure to learn, it will push you a little further beyond what you can do. This is very helpful especially if you are the type of person who can work under pressure.  Secondly, the instructions and lessons are much more systematic.

Third, the teachings are expected to be more professional and higher quality result can be expected. Since you are working with real individuals here, better outcome can be expected. And finally, there’ll be a larger opportunity and open door for you in the music industry. If you have a well known professional music teacher and your skill growth is promising, there is higher chance that you’ll be a part of bigger projects like concerts and program presentations. It is because you’re more exposed to world of professional music.

In the end, it is still your decision on what amount of accomplishment you desire to get. If you are dreaming to have a professional career in music, then go and enroll yourself to a music school. But if all you need is a simple pastime, fun learning, going with a buddy or getting an online guide and tutorial will do the job.

Three Good Ways To Learn Acoustic Guitar is a post from: Learn Acoustic Guitar

Here’s my arrangement of “Yesterday” by the Beatles. You can download it here: adrianholovaty.bandcamp.com

The Beatles’ “Yesterday,” instrumental acoustic guitar is a post from: Learn Acoustic Guitar

Metallica – Nothing Else Matters sample guitar lesson. Full lesson found at www.TotallyGuitars.com. Visit the site for free guitar lessons, TARGET program, forum, community, and contests.

Learn Metallica Nothing Else Matters acoustic guitar lesson is a post from: Learn Acoustic Guitar

itunes.apple.com www.cdbaby.com www.cdbaby.com Imagine ( John Lennon ) . Interpreted and performed by Igor Presnyakov www.igorpresnyakov.com

Imagine – Igor Presnyakov – acoustic guitar is a post from: Learn Acoustic Guitar