Find a guitar with low action. The action is the distance from the strings to the neck of the guitar. A high action means you have to press down harder on the strings which can be painful and difficult for beginners. Finding a guitar with low action will make it easier and more comfortable to play. Always buy wooden acoustic guitars. Although you can sometimes find acoustic guitars that are made of composite material, their sound isn’t as good as classic wood acoustics. Avoid a ¾ size guitar, even if you or your hands seem very small. The sound this size of guitar creates is not as good as a full size, and with practice, even a very small person or child can play a full-sized guitar. If you are left-handed, be sure to purchase a special left-handed guitar. Otherwise, the strings will all be in reverse order for you. Don’t be afraid to use an old or used guitar instead of buying new. As long as the guitar is in good condition and makes a good sound, there is no problem playing a used instrument. Many people think they sound better, even. [1] X Research source
The neck of the guitar is the long narrow part of the guitar where you can find the strings. It is on the bottom, with the fingerboard (or sometimes called the fretboard) on top. The flat place you hold the strings to is the fingerboard. The headstock is the wooden piece at the end of the neck where the tuners are located. This is where the strings end. The fret wires are thin metal strips that go across the fingerboard. A fret is a space between two fret wires. The first fret is the one closest to the headstock, and they count up as you move towards the body of the guitar. The bridge is the small metal or plastic bit on the body of the guitar that the strings are attached to. Right next to the soundhole. This is where you begin if you need to put new strings on your guitar.
Note how the highest string, the thick E, is the 6th string. The strings on the guitar count upwards, meaning the bottom string (the thinnest one) is the 1st string.
To tune the guitar, twist the tuner knobs on the headboard. These work to make a string tighter or looser, which changes the sound. Always start tuning your guitar from the lowest note and work your way to the highest. Because the thicker a string is, the less likely it will go out of tune, you should always start with low-E. Buy an electric tuner to help you find the right notes. These work by listening to the sound a string makes and telling you if the note is flat or sharp. Without a tuner, you can tune your guitar using a piano or keyboard. These instruments stay in tune for many years and are a reliable way to match the tone. Play the same key on the piano as the string you are trying to tune, and twist the tuner until the plucked string makes the same sound as the piano key. Humming along may help.
Rest the guitar on your strumming knee. If you are right-handed, this will be your right knee. You may find it helpful to raise your toes off the ground a bit to get the guitar at the right height. Hold the neck of the guitar so that it rests on your thumb and your fingers wrap around to the top of the fingerboard. Keep your shoulders, elbows, and wrists relaxed. Your elbow should be in towards your body.
To play an A, put your finger on the 3rd string, 2nd fret. To play a B, put your finger on the 5th string, 2nd fret. To play a C, put your finger on the 5th string, 3rd fret. To play a D, put your finger on the 5th string, 5th fret. To play an E, put your finger on the 4th string, 2nd fret. To play an F, put your index finger on the 6th string, 1st fret. To play a G, put your finger on the 6th string, 3rd fret. Once you’ve memorized these crucial notes, work on memorizing the entire fretboard.
There are many different strumming patterns, but two of the most basic are running your hand back and forth over the strings at a fast pace or running them in one direction only. If you are playing a chord, don’t feel obligated to strum all of the strings. Instead, you can choose to strum only the strings which you need to play the chord. Don’t worry about getting your strumming pattern fixated until you can play chords accurately. It is better to be slow and strumming to start and play accurate chords, than to strum quickly but have your fingers in the wrong place or playing notes poorly. Plucking strings is when you pick at individual strings and is generally a little more difficult for beginners. Reserve plucking for a time after you’ve already developed basic strumming skills.
Check out this collection of 10 beginner songs on Wikihow. Search online for “guitar tabs” to get the music to play your favorite guitar songs. These will tell you the chord that needs to be played, and on some sites, you will be shown how to play that specific chord as well.
Play Lead Guitar Play Rhythm Guitar Play the Blues
