skip to main |
skip to sidebar
Holding the guitar
Seat yourself in an armless chair. Sit comfortably, with your back straight. Slouching can be hard on the back and may contribute to bad technique. Hold the guitar so the back of the instrument comes in contact with your stomach/chest, and the neck runs parallel to the floor.
When playing the guitar sitting down, the body of the guitar will rest on one of your legs. In most styles of guitar playing, the guitar will rest on the leg farthest away from the headstock. This means, a right-handed guitar player will typically rest the guitar on his/her right leg. Most classical players prefer to rest the guitar on the left knee with the neck angled slightly upward. It is usually helpful to raise the leg on which you rest the guitar slightly by resting it on a foot stool.
The fretting hand
The "fretting hand" is the hand closest to the neck of the guitar, when sitting in proper position. The thumb of your fretting hand should rest behind the neck of the guitar, with your fingers in a slightly curled position, poised above the strings. It is important to keep the fingers curled at the knuckles, with only the fingertips touching the fretboard.
Holding the pick
The pick should be held between the thumb and forefinger of the right hand, with just enough of the tip protruding to sweep smoothly across the strings. Hold the pick firmly to eliminate any movement. The strumming motion should come mostly from the wrist.
Two or more notes played simultaneously are referred to as chords. That doesn’t mean that you play only two or three notes on the guitar. Normally, you sweep the pick (strum) across all strings to be played in the chord. This concept will become a little more clear when we discuss basic music theory.
Chords are arranged in groups referred to as “Keys”. The root chord in the Key of G is G Major, the key taking it’s name from the root chord. (Illustration 8). This doesn’t mean that the G chord is used only in the Key of G. In the Key of D, for example, the root chord is D Major and the G becomes the sub-dominant Major.
I may go into chord theory, and the concept of keys a little later. For now, it will suffice to understand that the three primary chords in the Key of G are:
- G - Root (a major chord)
- C - Sub-Dominant (a major chord)
- D7- Dominant Seventh (a seventh chord)
Practice these three chords, independently, until you are sure of the fingering and all strings in the chord ring cleanly and clearly when you strum (sweep the pick across the strings in a single, smooth motion) the strings. Now practice making the changes from one chord to another quickly and smoothly. Vary the chord patterns. For example, to start, make the changes from G to C to D7. Then try going from G to D7 to C.
The concept of time will be examined more fully after you’ve learned these first chords (and your first song). For now, try this simple exercise. Finger a G chord. Be sure the strings ring cleanly. Count slowly and evenly from one to four, strumming the guitar as you count. Tap your foot in time to the count.
One—two—three—four,
One—two—three—four,
Now, try making the chord changes on the count of “one”
G One—two—three—four,
C Change—two—three—four,
D7 Change—two—three—four,
G Change—two—three—four
When you can make the chord changes smoothly and accurately, you may begin to practice the chords using an alternating bass style, substituting bass notes for the chords on the 1st and 3rd beat.
The chord diagrams in this book are a little more elaborate than those you’ll find in most music books (as opposed to instruction books). The reason for that is straight forward and simple. This is an instruction book; it is designed to provide the tools you need to learn to play the guitar.
The illustration is straight forward and should need no additional explanation.
Most music books, unless they are written specifically for guitar, will contain no chord diagrams, simply giving the chord name. Some may provide an icon sized diagram. But those little icons just remind you of the basic shape of the chord, not which finger goes where. If you’re serious about learning to play guitar, you won’t waste a whole lot of time looking at them.
For these reasons, it is important that you commit to memory both the name of the chord and the chord fingering. In a very short time, you’ll be able to picture a chord in your mind when you see or hear the chord name. And you’ll be surprised to find how quickly your fingers can find the proper position.
When properly tuned, the guitar produces a pleasant, harmonious sound. When out of tune, it sounds discordant and hard on the ears. For this reason, the first thing every student should learn is how to properly tune the instrument.
Relative tuning
In relative tuning each string is tuned relative to the string before it. Note that, although the strings are in tune with one another, it does not mean they are in concert pitch or in tune with other instruments.
As noted previously, the strings of the guitar are named after the note they produce when the guitar is tuned to concert pitch (standard tuning). Tighten the sixth string (E) until it produces a clean sound when plucked (no buzzing sound). Place your index finger behind the fifth fret on the sixth string. Use the machine heads to adjust the tension on the fifth string (A) until it produces the same note as the sixth string fingered at the fifth fret. Once the fifth string has been tuned, place the index finger behind the fifth fret of the fifth string and adjust the tension on the fourth string (D) until it produces the same note as the fifth string at the fifth fret.
Follow through for each string, as per the illustration. Note the one exception. When tuning the second string, finger the third string (G) behind the fourth fret.
Tuning to a piano
To tune the instrument exactly to concert pitch, you’ll need an electronic guitar tuner or some other tuning aid, such as pitch pipes, a piano or another guitar which you know to be tuned to concert pitch. The illustration shows the relationship between the piano keyboard and the strings of the guitar. Assuming the piano is in tune, just tune the guitar string to the corresponding note on the piano. For the record, middle “C” is usually located directly under the manufacturers logo or name on the piano.
Electronic tuners
The fastest (and easiest) way to tune a guitar is with an electronic tuner. There are many good models available and they are quite inexpensive. I’d recommend an investment in an electronic tuner. They’re small and fit nicely in most guitar cases or gig bags. And you really should tune your guitar each and every time you pick it up to practice.
There are six strings on the traditional acoustic guitar. Strings come in several different weights or “gauges” The gauge refers to the thickness of the string, in millimeters. You can get light, extra light, medium, etc.
Whether you use a light or heavy gauge string is largely a matter of personal preference. As a beginner, you’ll do just fine with a medium gauge string. As you progress in your study of the guitar and get into string bending and the like, you can always restring the guitar using a lighter gauge.
Whether you use a light or heavy gauge string, all six strings in the package will come in varying thickness. There are usually three heavy strings, which are wound with copper or bronze and three unwound steel strings (although, depending on the manufacturer, there may only be two plain, unwound steel strings). The heavier (thicker) the string, the less frequent the vibration is when the string is plucked. This will produce a sound of a lower pitch.
The strings are numbered on the guitar, starting from the string closest to the floor when you hold the guitar in a playing position. The strings are also given names, derived from the musical note that is produced when the guitar has been properly tuned. Strings on a guitar tuned to standard pitch would be named as follows:
1 = E, 2 = B, 3 = G, 4 = D, 5 = A, 6 = E
If you look at the diagram, you’ll get a better understanding of how the names and numbers are related. The heaviest, wound strings (E, A, D) are usually referred to as the bass strings because they produce the lowest sounding notes when the strings are plucked “open”. The bottom three (G, B, E) are called the treble strings.
Note: The numbers of the strings will remain the same no matter how the guitar is tuned. The names, on the other hand, will be different if you are using “Dropped D” tuning, for example, as opposed to standard pitch. This is not something you need to concern yourself with at this point.
The acoustic guitar comes in a variety of shapes and sizes; there are flat tops, arch tops, auditorium size, three-quarter size, dreadnaughts, cutaways, travel guitars, etc, etc, etc. You can buy plain old acoustic guitars, or electric-acoustic models that let you plug into an amplifier. And you can buy pick-ups that attach to your acoustic guitar, temporarily or permanently, that allow electronic amplification of the instrument.
There are six string models (the most popular) and twelve string models, which I prefer for folk music. You can get classical models which use nylon or “catgut” strings and standard models which use steel strings.
But they all have common elements. The instrument makes music by plucking or sweeping the strings with a guitar pick or your fingers. The strings are attached to the head stock via machine heads or “tuning pegs”, which allow you to adjust the tension on each string, thereby increasing or decreasing the pitch of any given string.
The strings are secured to the body of the guitar by bridge pins, and the “saddle” keeps the strings elevated the proper distance from the playing surface (fretboard) of the guitar for ease of playing. Acting in concert with the saddle is the “nut” which separates the fretboard from the headstock. The saddle and the nut also keep the strings the proper distance from one another.
The frets (thin metal strips) on the neck are placed with mathematical precision because musical theory is largely based on mathematical formulae.
The body of the guitar is hollow to allow for a measure of reverberation which helps amplify the sound produced by the guitar. The “sound hole” allows the sound to escape, filling the air with either music or noise, depending on your ability. Most steel string guitars will come with a pick guard. This thin plastic device is designed to protect the body of the guitar from damage due to the constant contact of the pick as you sweep (strum) the strings.
The “arch top” guitar has a few additional parts, a movable bridge, for example, and the strings are attached to the body using a metal tailpiece. The round or oval shaped sound hole is replaced by two “F” shaped holes and the surface of the body is slightly “arched”. I’ve provided no illustration or explanation for the arch top guitar, because, if you’re here you’re interested in folk and country music and likely have the more traditional dreadnaught or concert style guitar.
Either that, or you got lost and were too damn lazy to get out and find a better site. Anyway, your assignment for to-day, should you choose to accept it, is simply to take a good look at the instrument you’re probably holding as you read this and acquaint yourself with its various parts.
One of the things I learned in my instructor training classes many years ago, was when writing instruction, you never make any assumptions save one. Always assume the learner knows nothing; that way you don’t leave anything out. So this series of lessons will start with the essentials.
- Lesson 1 – Parts of the guitar
- Lesson 2 – Names, numbers of strings
- Lesson 3 – Tuning the guitar
- Lesson 4 – Reading chord diagrams
- Lesson 5 – First chords (G, C, D7)
As you are introduced to each new group of chords, you’ll be provided with some tips on how to best practice making chord changes smoothly and quickly. You’ll also be given a few practice songs, with lyrics and guitar chords and a midi file so that you can play along. The midi tracks will consist of a rhythm track (drums and bass) and a melody line done on a piano.
OK, it won’t actually be done on a piano, it’ll be done on a synthesizer, but it will sound like a piano. If it doesn’t sound like a piano, use you imagination. And, while I’m in the confessional, the drums and bass are also done on a synthesizer, so you’ll need a lot of imagination.
To get the most out of this instruction, be sure you master each group of chords, and the practice songs associated with them, before proceeding to the next grouping. Practice on a regular basis, about 30 to 40 minutes a day. If your fingers get sore (they will) or your hand begins to cramp, put the guitar away. You won’t learn anything if you’re in pain.
Tip of the day:
Do not practice until your fingers bleed. Bloody fingers make a mess of the strings and the fretboard.
Holding the guitar
