Home

Marshall Sirus asked:




Learning to play a musical instrument like the guitar is extremely rewarding, whether you just play for your own enjoyment or want to play to entertain others or become a professional musician or form a band playing guitar is great fun.

Anyone can learn to play with the right guitar instructions, no matter what your age or current musical ability everyone has the potential to be a guitar player. Some people are able to teach themselves but to be able to learn the guitar quickly you need some good instructions.

Instructions for how to play the guitar can be costly if you choose private professional tuition but there are plenty of ways to learn on the internet and from books. Whatever guitar course or learning to play book you choose teaching yourself is very rewarding but you need to choose the best method for learning guitar if you are going to pick it up quickly. From a good set of guitar instructions you will learn how to hold and tune the guitar, different methods of how to pluck or strum the strings correctly and also how to read guitar tabs.

When you can find your way around the guitar smoothly and you can read tabs you can learn to play ANY song you want. Once you master the basics of guitar you can play any guitar and any style from spanish guitar, classical guitar, metal string acoustic or an electric lead guitar. There are some different techniques to learn for each of these but the chords and tabs remain the same.

The large number of online courses and software for learning to play the guitar can make it confusing…. i mean which ones work best, and what is the quickest method for learning. Plenty of tips are available from various websites dedicated to guitar playing and there are some great tips to be found on Youtube.

When it comes to purchasing an online or downloadable course there are a few things you should ask before you buy like:

What exactly is included in the course?

Are the lessons from a professional guitar player and teacher?

Are there plenty of testimonials from satisfied students?

If you find a course that is from a good professional player and qualified teacher, and it covers all aspects of playing the guitar from learning to hold the guitar correctly, learning to tune the guitar, chords, different methods of strumming, plucking etc and how to read guitar tab, then as long as there are plenty of happy students already then you should be able to learn the guitar quickly from that course and will get alot of satisfaction from learning to play.

Fred asked:


This is really just out of curiosity that me and a friend have been wondering. Not such as taking a bass pickup and slapping it on a guitar. More like taking a guitar and adding a bass bridge, or nut made for guitar string but with only four slots like a bass, and then stringing in only four strings. I love playion guitar more, but i love bass guitar tone. Im just wondering if this could be a good idea, bad idea, or could go either way.

famousriffs asked:

MORE FREE VIDS at www.famousriffs.com. LIFETIME MEMBERSHIP OFFER

Peter Bussey asked:




One of the first challenges faced by the advancing guitar player is learning a core group of basic guitar chords. Why is it so important to learn these basic chords? Chords form the backbone of most rock and pop songs, and provide the harmonic accompaniment to the melody and instrumental solos.



Rhythm guitar based on basic chords provides many of the most memorable rock riffs… think AC/DC’s “Back in Black” or The Who’s “Won’t Get Fooled Again”. What’s really amazing is that by learning no more than 10 to 15 basic guitar chords, you will be equipped to play thousands of rock and pop songs!

First let’s establish the definition of a chord. A chord is three or more different musical notes played together. In the case of the guitar, this means that at least three strings are strummed or plucked simultaneously to sound three or more notes. Since the guitar has six strings, the maximum numbers of notes in a guitar chord is six. All chords can be placed in one of three groups based on the musical structure of the chord: Major, Minor, or Seventh. Each of these chord groups has its own “sound” or “feel”. Major chords sound stable and complete. Minor chords can evoke a more somber or pensive mood, and Seventh chords are jazzy and somewhat incomplete sounding.

There is no standard list of “basic guitar chords” that every one agrees to. However, there is general agreement that there is a list of somewhere between 8 and 18 basic guitar chords (open string) that every guitarist must know cold. These chords are used in all musical styles from rock and pop to country, jazz, and classical. No matter where you are on your guitar-playing path, you should take the time to learn and master the basic chords. Getting these right will ensure you have the basic tools and skills to learn many songs and increase your playing enjoyment.

So what are the basic guitar chords? Our basic stable includes the major and minor chords from four common musical keys, A,G,C, and D. They are played as “open chords”, that is at least one string in the chord is not fretted (pressed down with a finger). Open chords are easier to learn and play than more advanced chords such as Barre chords, or complex chords further up the guitar neck. Our list of basic major and minor chords is:

A Major (or A), A Minor (or Am), C, D, Dm, E, Em, F, G

These chords can be best learned as chord “families” (by key) that can be combined into great-sounding chord sequences that make up lots of popular songs. Using this chord family approach is much more interesting and useful than just memorizing a bunch of chords in random order!

These chords grouped by chord family (key) are as follows:

A Family (Key of A): A, D, E

D Family (Key of D): D, Em, G, A

G Family (Key of G): G, Am, C, D, Em

C Family (Key of C): C, Dm, Em, F, G


Tips for Learning the Basic Chords:

1. Pick a Chord Family and master it. This will give you quick success and let you play great sounding progressions right away.


2. Use a Guitar Chord Chart as a reference tool. A chord chart shows each chord as an easy to read “chord diagram” with exact finger positions. See this example of a chart of basic guitar chords.

3. Find the chords and lyrics for an easy song that is based on the chord family so you can apply your skills. Many great songs are based on only three chords!

4. Ensure each string sounds right. Take care to make sure that each string is sounding clearly, and that only the strings that should be played are played.

5. Practice, practice, practice! Every day, practice continually change from one chord to another until you can do it rapidly. Learn the chord families one at a time.

6. Master all the basic chords first. Only then move on to Barre chords and other more complex chords. First things first!

7. Expand with 7th chords. As a next step you can easily expand on your basic chord knowledge by adding 7th and minor 7th chords based on the nine basic major and minor chords.

8. Have fun using your new skills! Enjoy your musical ability by applying it to learning a small set of 5-10 songs you know really well and can confidently play at any time.

Copyright 2005 Peter Bussey of http://www.guitar-players-toolbox.com

This article can be reprinted freely online, as long as the entire article and the resource box are included.

Candis Reade asked:




If you were to conduct a Google search for “free guitar lessons” or “free guitar tutors” you would find a multitude of websites making you various promises about how they can teach you to play guitar “in no time.” Although these claims are not entirely true, free guitar lessons can be useful if you use them on a regular basis and practice on your own. The content and lessons on free instructional guitar websites and DVDs are usually created and taught by professionals, and they’ll cost you hundreds, even thousands of dollars less than in-person lessons.

Most of us have very busy lives; jobs, school, kids, friends, sports and hobbies are part of most of our days. If you were to schedule an in-person guitar lesson and then have to skip it because something came up, your instructor would be annoyed and would most likely charge you for the full amount of the class. If you take free guitar lessons on a DVD or online instead, you don’t have to worry about annoyed instructors or bills for classes you didn’t attend. You can sit down a take a class when it works best for your schedule, and it won’t cost you a thing. In fact, you could even take a lesson while on vacation or traveling for business.

Another problem with taking a guitar lesson with a real instructor is that sometimes you don’t have time to practice in between lessons. When you show up for your next lesson, your instructor will be disappointed, you will be embarrassed and you will end up paying for the same lesson you took the week before because you didn’t get a chance to practice what you were taught. When you’re taking free guitar lessons online, there is no one to ridicule you or make you feel embarrassed for not practicing. You can also repeat any lesson you want for no charge.

Free lessons also allow you to move as slowly or as quickly as you want. With free guitar lessons, there is no actual instructor to dictate the speed at which you should learn things. If you’re getting the hang of it very quickly, you can skip lessons, and if you’re having a hard time you can slow down, pause between instructions or even go back. If you’re feeling frustrated or burnt out you could even take a month long break from your free guitar lessons without having to explain yourself to an instructor.

One of the only negatives to taking free guitar lessons opposed to in-person instructor led lessons is that if you have a question you may feel like you don’t know who to ask. However, you have a number of options. Try going to a local concert at a small venue and chatting up the musicians after the show. Once you introduce yourself, they’ll be happy to share any advice they can with a struggling new guitarist. You can also peruse a guitar player’s forum for similar questions or post a question of your own. Musicians are generally a tight knit group who love to share tips and help each other out.

Thomas Morva asked:




A guitar tab is a system of notations, letters, symbols and other visual representations – instead of the traditional musical notation. Guitar tabs give directions to the player as to how to play a musical piece through a diagram of strings of the guitar.

Tablature consists of a diagram of strings of the guitar with finger positions indicated by numbers corresponding to the appropriate frets and sometimes with the numerical representations of the fingers. Guitar tabs are very important for those who are enthusiasts and are keen on learning new tunes and technicalities of guitar and especially those songs which have extensive guitar uses, both plucking and other types of fingering as well as lead parts.

A bass guitar is slightly different in shape from other guitars (rhythm guitar, classical guitar, Hawaiian guitar, etc.) A bass guitar is used for complementing and filling up the sound in an orchestration or a band and it goes in tune and rhythm with the drums and percussion. A bass guitar’s neck or fret board is much longer than the fret boards of any other guitars and it has four strings called the bass strings.

Nowadays tablatures, guitar tabs in particular, have vertical lines which represent the strings of the guitar (no matter what kind of guitar it is) horizontal lines for the frets, and dots signifying the position of the figures. In the case of a bass guitar there will only be four horizontal lines signifying the four strings of the bass guitar. A bass guitar can never be played with a spectrum (an object used to strum the strings of the guitar). Instead, it is played with figures just by plucking. Therefore, a bass guitar tablature is different from those of the rhythm or the classical guitars.

Gloria asked:


I am planning to take guitar lessons for 45 minutes per lesson a week but don’t know how many lessons I should take in all as in not taking any more lessons. I know it all depends on the person’s learning abilities and on the lessons but I want to know a precise amount of lessons to take because they are a little pricey.

Dean James asked:




Guitars are the number one played instruments in the world, even more than the drums. There are a few different kind of guitars available that all sound vastly different. Acoustic guitar lessons are the most common because acoustic guitars are the most inexpensive to get a hold of. Because of this, you can get Acoustic guitar lessons online. Most of the instruction is done through video, which is perfect because then when it comes time to practice lessons, no one will be there to tell you that you are doing it wrong and you can play them over and over if necessary.

When getting online instruction, they can show you how to read all the charts and music so that you know that you are doing it right. You can learn all the chords, riffs and rhythms so that you can have fun with it and learn the way that is best for you. There will be nobody around to tell you to do it a different way, and you can even learn from some of the world’s leaders in acoustic guitar. How awesome would that be to learn from someone that has mastered it all.

When learning to play the acoustic, please believe that your fingers are going to be sore! There is no way around it, practice makes perfect, and practice means sore fingers. Often times, you may play until your fingers bleed until you develop callouses on your fingers from excessive play. The slower you play, the faster you will learn.

Acoustic guitar is the easiest one to learn because you can use it for any kind of music, and any genre. They are fairly light weight so they are easy to carry around and because they are inexpensive, it makes them easy to acquire. Most people prefer the acoustic because of it’s look and it’s natural woody sound. Unlike a metal, electric guitar, it doesn’t sound man made. The acoustic is by far the best one to practice on because it is so easily accessible.

Brian Bonsell asked:




You are wondering how to learn to play the guitar; you can easily pick up this instrument with some basic steps. Please understand that to become an expert will take time but with the following steps and a decent online course you will soon be enjoying your favourite tunes.

1. You can’t Buy Skill – Don’t get caught up in having the best or most expensive guitar. No matter how much you spend you will still need to practice to become proficient. A more expensive amp for example will not improve your sound if you don’t know how to play to begin with.

2. Check your Action: Ensure the distance between the fingerboard and the underside of the string is appropriate for your fingers. Any reputable guitar shop will assist in this.

3. K.I.S.S – Keep It Simple Silly. Start with basic chords. Save the more complex chords for later. If you try and get too complicated to fast you will get frustrated and quit. There are many great songs that are comprised of simple chords.

4. Rhythm is Key: To have a consistent flow you need to keep the beat in the beginning, use a metronome or even your foot to keep pace.

5. Simple Songs – To keep from getting frustrated and to build your confidence limit yourself to 2 chord songs, as you become more proficient then you can work your way up to more difficult pieces.

By utilizing these 5 basic steps you will discover how to learn to play the guitar quickly and with far less frustration than without. The guitar is a fun to play and with a little patience you will master this melodic instrument in no time.

mooning27 asked:


Besides taking private lessons.. What is the most effective tool to learn to play guitar? I am interested in bass guitar, but reg. guitar is just fine. Any tools out there, as rosetta-stone is to learn foreign language, what is most effective tool for learning guitar?