If you have a guitar, learn to play it. There are so many homes that have musical instruments that are never used. In this article I'll give you some steps you can follow if you want to learn to play guitar.
1. If you have not gotten a guitar yet now is a good time as any to buy one. You can find a good acoustic guitar that will cost you from $ 75 to $ 200.
A more professional model will cost from $ 250 and up. There are lots of acoustic guitar brands and models and I recommend that you go to your local music store and pick a guitar that fit your preferences as well as your budget.
2. Learn to play the basic chords. These are the so called "open chords" like open C, G, A, and D. As soon as you have mastered these basic chords, you will be able to play loads of different songs. So, how can I learn the basics? Here are some options:
– purchase a guitar course book for the beginner's level
– find a teacher
– find an online basic level guitar course
3. Learn to read tablature aka guitar tabs.
Guitar tablature is an image of the guitar neck marked with dots where you are invited to place your fingers to play a certain chord.When a chord change is needed a new image shows the new chord etc. Go to the internet and search for guitar tablature and you will find tablature for thousands of songs many of them for free.
4. Learn to play barre chords is the next step. Barre chords are chord "shapes" that can be moved up and down along the neck of the guitar. To learn barre chords you can
– buy a guitar book with these chords
– practice by playing these shapes and moving them up and down the neck.
– use guitar tabs of the actual piece of music you want to learn.
In many cases, Guitar tabs will also include a barre chord diagram.
5. Practice the right way. If you have a guitar, learn to play it, but learn it the right way. Especially as a beginner, You'll need to do give much time and patience to practicing.
Do it the right way the very first time you play it and do not get into a habit of practicing mistakes because then it will take you much longer than necessary to learn it.
Slow and thoughtful practice causes fast progress. Before you play read the tabs, listen to a good recording, try to hear the piece of music for your inner ear and try to figure out which movements you have to make it sound like you want. A great recording is also good to compare your progress with.
6. Learn to finger pick. This is a very common technique in very many songs and pieces for guitar so you need to practice this as well. Mastering finger picking takes time. By using the method of practicing described above you'll master it incredibly fast.
If you, after reading this are still interested and you have a guitar, learn to play it. If you do not have why do not you buy one?