Saturday, 01 October, 2011 11:31 Written by Joshua
Many of you that subscribe to our newsletter have asked me how long it should take to learn to play guitar. My answer usually varies because, to tell you the truth, there is no set time limit. And of course, how do you determine when you think you have actually learned to play guitar?
While some think having learned guitar only includes being able to play a few simple songs. Others are speaking of being able to play professionally. Also, the amount of time it takes to learn to play the guitar varies depending on your learning style and the amount of time and dedication that you intend to commit to practice and the process of learning.
Wednesday, 04 May, 2011 05:51 Written by Joshua
It’s no secret that learning to play any instrument one of the first things you will naturally learn are scales. This is no different with guitar scales. If you get a good guitar scales chart and begin learning each scale you will find that you will begin learning the notes on the fret board more easily. This also sets you up in a good position to be able to play a lot of lead guitar riffs. By knowing how to play each scale and how the scales can be used for improvised solos, you will greatly broaden the range of your guitar playing skills.
There is no wrong place to start when it comes to learning guitar scales but I personally prefer to start with the major scales. The major scale is named after the root note in the scale and always follows the same pattern relative to that note. One whole step is equal to moving two frets up the neck on the guitar and a half step would be one fret. The pattern for the major guitar scale is:
Whole-Whole-Half-Whole-Whole-Whole-Half
You can follow this pattern from any root note in order to play all the major scales. To get you started with guitar scales today I have provided the tablature for each major scale A through G below. These are great patterns to practice on your guitar to improve speed and dexterity in your fingers. If you need help reading these, check out my post on how to read guitar tablature.
These are just the first position guitar scales for each key but they should get you going and give you something to work on for a while during your practice sessions. There are plenty of other places on the neck that you can play each guitar scale and there are also other types of scales such as minor scales and pentatonic guitar scales. As you continue on your journey to learn guitar you will begin to learn all of these as well and how they all fit together in music theory.
That’s it for this tutorial but keep checking back for more useful lessons that I will be publishing on a weekly basis. There will certainly be a few more on guitar scales and also a few on other interesting topics.
Thursday, 05 August, 2010 15:07 Written by Joshua
This Video Lesson Provided by TheGuitarLesson.com
The most basic maintenance that you will need to be able to do on your guitar is to change guitar strings. You might as well learn this now while you learn how to play guitar so that you can change your own guitar strings in the future. Strings do not last forever. They will break, or they will simply get old and dead sounding after a while. You can take your guitar to a local music store and for an expensive fee they would gladly change a string for you. But it is really not that difficult of a task once you get the hang of it, though it does take a bit of time to change guitar strings. The first time you change your strings may be a little frustrating but once you get the hang of it, you will wonder what all the fuss was about.
Sunday, 06 June, 2010 14:09 Written by Joshua
There are two sitting guitar playing positions for the guitar; classical and casual. Both positions are basically the same principle.
Standing Position
Standing might be a little easier than sitting while you learn how to play guitar. First, start by picking up the guitar of course since it is impossible to play without holding it. Next, adjust the guitar strap so that it is positioned around the middle of your body. Use your left hand in order to provide support for the neck of the guitar.
Sunday, 06 June, 2010 11:22 Written by Joshua
Tuning your guitar to itself with this method is one of the most important pieces of knowledge that you can gain when you learn how to play guitar. When tuning your guitar to itself you tune each string to another string on the guitar that is assumed to already be in the tune that you want it in. This means that you can tune a guitar without having to use a tuner. The only problem with this can be that your guitar might not end up in exact concert pitch. Since you start with the top string they may end up tuned relative to whatever the top string happens to beat the time of tuning. If the top string is out of tune then the rest of the guitar may sound alright when you are playing by yourself because it is all tuned relatively to the top string. However, if playing with a band or a recording it may not sound right because the top string was never exactly tuned to an E.
The first step when using this method is to get your fifth string in tune with your sixth string. Place a finger on your left hand on the fifth fret of the sixth string. The note being held down is the pitch that string five should be tuned to.Keep your finger in this position and play the sixth string. While letting that string ring play the fifth string. If it sounds exactly like the note on the sixth string, it is in tune. Otherwise you need to tune it. If it is higher, you need to tune down below the note on the sixth string and then bring it back up to match with the fifth fret note on the sixth string. If it is lower you need to tighten the string and bring the pitch back up to the fifth fret note on the sixth string. It may take you a while to match pitches exactly but the more practice you get at this the faster you will be able to do it.
