How to Play Guitar

Learning to play guitar takes a lot of hard work and dedication but it can be very enjoyable and rewarding. The most important part of learning to play guitar is making sure that you practice on a daily basis, because practice makes perfect! If you are just getting started a good way to start picking up some guitar knowledge is to look up tabs of your favorite songs online. Guitar tabs are just notations of how a song is played, and everyone uses them to learn new songs. They are also good to know because it will allow you to write your own songs on paper so you don't forget once you are good enough to begin writing.

Learning songs will make learning the guitar much more enjoyable and will help build strength and dexterity in your fingers which is very important. For example, at first you may not be able to practice for very long because your fingers will take time to strengthen and get used to the motions. After a few months this should not be as much of a problem and you will be able to focus more on learning some music theory and chords, which will help you gain a better understanding of music and, thus, the guitar.

One thing to remember when starting out with guitar tabs is that you want to try some easy songs to start. If you try to learn "Stairway to Heaven" the first day you get your guitar, I'm sorry to say you are going to be disappointed! When I was learning to play as a beginner I would practice a lot of Green Day and Nirvana because they are fun to play and easy to learn. A lot of popular punk rock music is fairly easy to play, also. Once you have a few easier songs under your belt you can move on to something a little more challenging.

Although guitar tabs are a nice way to get started, they do have some drawbacks as well. For example, they do not give any indication of timing or how long you hold a note for, so you will need to listen to the song you are learning and focus on the guitar part in particular. After a while you will notice that you begin to listen to music in a very different way than you used to, and you will gain a greater appreciation for a lot of the music you listen to. Sometimes you might find yourself bored with a lot of the music you used to listen to so it is a good idea to check out new music and bands as much as possible. You should always try to listen to artists that play the type of music you want to play, because once you begin to really listen to the music you can learn a lot just by listening.

Are you looking for more resources to get started learning guitar? I have been playing for 10 years and am sharing all my knowledge! Get started learning how to play guitar right now!

Step 1

Consider buying a Tuner.

The "height" (top/bottom) is how high or low the sound is.

Tuners make playing sound better, but it'll also familiarize you with which string and fret combinations correspond with which notes. There should be one anywhere guitars or guitar music is sold. A useful mnemonic to remember the string arrangement is "Every BodyGets Dinner At Eight" (going from high E to low E) or "Eat AllDay Get Big Easy" (low to High). You should try to make up your own acronym, it will help you remember more easily. If you cannot afford a Tuner, you can also tune your guitar without one.

Step 2

Learn how to read guitar tabs.

Guitarists have their own system of music notation called guitar tablature, or "guitar tabs" for short. The basic idea is to look at the tab in the same way you look at your guitar; each line corresponds to a string, and each number tells you which fret to hold down when plucking that string.

E|-------------------------------------------------||

B|-------3---------3----------3--------------------||

G|---------2---------0--------0---------------2p0--||

D|-0-0------------------------0--0----0h2p0--------||

A|------------3-3-------------2---0p2-------0------||

E|-----------------------3-3--3--------------------||

Step 3

On the first fret

Place your fingers correctly on the frets.

Right-handed players use their left hand for fretting and use their right hand for picking. The frets are the metal strips that run perpendicular to the strings. You actually press your finger down between the metal strips, not on them. For example, if you're playing the third fret, you place your finger on the string between the second and third metal strip. Hold the string down firmly so that it only vibrates between your finger and your strumming hand. Do not forget that you must play on your fingertips and not on the soft part of your finger. This requires cutting your nails to avoid scratching the fretboard. Place your finger as close to the fret as possible to create a good sound.

• 

  C Major chord
  When you hold down multiple strings at once at different frets (to play chords), it can be a little tricky (especially if you have short, inflexible fingers). There are usually several different ways to position your fingers for the same chord, so research them and experiment to find which one feels most comfortable for you.
• Keep in mind that every time you move from one fret to another, the resulting pitch will be half a step higher or lower (i.e. "sharp" or "flat"). This is important for if you want to eventually read and play from sheet music.
• Some people find that placing the thumb in the middle of the back of the neck, not coming over the top, leads to better finger placement because it allows better reach and strength of the fingers on the frets. Ultimately, however, do what feels best for you.
• The important thing is to achieve a clean sound for each open chord when you are practicing. After you had placed all your fingers on the fretboard, play through each of the strings of the chords. Make sure that the strings that are supposed to ring all not muffled or muted. If the notes are not ringing out properly, find out why. Chances are that you are not pressing hard enough or parts of your fingers are touching that string which prevents it from sounding out clearly. Are any unused fingers touching strings?

Step 4

Strum with your other hand.

This can be the most difficult part to learn without having a teacher demonstrate. Strumming consists of downstrokes and upstrokes in various combinations. Count every beat and off-beat as "1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and..." (every "and" is an offbeat). Each beat and offbeat can be an upstroke, downstroke, or no stroke. No matter which direction you use, make an effort to sweep across all of the strings with even pressure and steady speed. You don't want to strum some strings a little harder than others, or start off fast then slow down as you get to the last few strings. The motion should come mostly from the wrist, not the forearm.

• You can do this with a pick or with your fingertips. There are various kinds of picks you can use, but beginners are usually advised to start with a thin pick, held between the thumb and the side of the index finger.
• Keep your arm going in a constant up-and-down motion, sticking with a rhythm whether or not you're actually strumming. This motion functions as a metronome for beginners. As you get better at strumming, you can tap your foot, bob your head, or jerk your knee like Elvis instead.

Step 5

Practice chords.

A chord is a group of notes that sound good together. The reason they sound good together lies in music theory, but for now, learning how to play a few key chords will suffice. Practice until you can move comfortably between them without losing your rhythm.

• The most commonly used chords in Western music are the major chords, which can be remembered with the word "CAGED". Click on any of the following links for specific instructions on how to play each chord:
  
  
• - C Major - A Major - G Major - E Major - D Major

Step 6

Learn to play some songs.

Start off with easier songs or your likely songs - ones with fewer chords in simpler arrangements. Listen to the song being played properly with guitar so you know what kind of sound and rhythm to aim for. Start off slow and speed up gradually, singing along (if applicable) to stick with the rhythm. As you master easier songs, move on to more complex pieces. Sweet Home Alabama by Lynyrd Skynyrd is an example of an easier song to start with. It's basically a repetition of the same three chords in the following order: D, C, G, D, C, G, D, C, G.

Some Tips To Newbie

• A good book about how to play the guitar can help you to learn or improve a particular skill or style.
• Although price is not a great indicator of quality, most very inexpensive guitars will have issues that can make play more difficult. For example, frets can be raised too high resulting in buzz as the string contacts them inappropriately. Or a neck that has excessive or too little curve. If possible, take an experienced guitarist with you when going to buy a guitar and make sure you play before you buy, get one that feels right for you.
• Most guitars have many hand-made parts, no matter what the price range. So, quality can vary between guitars of the same model. Once you decide on a particular model, be sure to inspect each guitar of that model in the store and choose the best one.
• Practice fingerpicking. Look up some fingerpicking patterns online, or, for bonus points, try to figure out the patterns of some of your favorite guitar songs.
• Find some song that you want to play and get the tab for that song, and practice that song. It makes it more interesting and easy to play guitar.
• Do consider different aspects of learning the guitar such as ear training and learning basic music theory. Good references can be found here at Jamaorama.