Guitar Beginners Guide

2010

Ranbir… The Fake

[email protected]

1/5/2010

Guitar Beginners Guide


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In the loving memory of my mother


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Acknowledgment cum Disclaimer

This is my first book “Guitar Beginners Guide”… and I have tried to write it as simple as I could…

I must say when you’ll read it you’d thank me for doing such thing… the content in this book is

the result of my search over the internet and also some additions by me, so I must tell you that

this book is only for information purpose and not for sale…

And if you get caught using this book as selling material… I demand 70% of the sales… ☺…

no kiddings…

And if you really like this book then keep forwarding it for there’ll be more guitar beginners,

who just don’t get what they want…

Don’t you keep sending me messages for I have things to do…

have fun… love your guitar and it’d love you…

Ranbir… The Fake


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BEFORE YOU BEGIN

Please go through these tips before you begin…

1. Improve Finger Dexterity

It is crucial that your left hand remains loose and free instead of hard and stiff whatever the chord

position be. A loose hand will be more adaptable than a stiff one. People who drink tea in those small

cups may have problem of sticky finger, usually pinkie. The loose the hand the better it will move…

2. Correct Hand Position

The left thumb should be supporting the back of the guitar neck instead of rising over the top of the

guitar reaching the strings. This helps in stretching your fingers for the Open G and F chords and the

critical barre chords...

3. Try all Permutations and Combinations

Make sure you are trying all possible combinations of changing the open chords. Start with the easy

ones like D to G chord or Emin to C chord. When you are comfortable with these, move on to tougher

ones like A to G chord or the ultimate one: G to F chord!

4. Right Way to Practice

This is the way you should go about practicing it: Play a chord four times a bar, then change to another

chord and play it four times a bar again, then come back to the previous chord. Do this till you are so

comfortable that you can change the chords without seeing your left hand! Of course, it will take time,

so be patient.

5. Avoid Barre Chords at the Start

When you are starting out, don’t try to change to barre chords or back. That would be a big

demotivator! First get used to the basic open chords, then go ahead with the barre chords.

6. Practice, Practice and More Practice!

All the tips above are useless if you don’t practice enough. By enough, I don’t mean 5 hours non-stop,

hell no! 30-60 minutes a day is more than sufficient. Just keep yourself motivated by whatever inspires

you and keep at it. You will get there in the end.

*Avoid playing movie songs at the beginning…☺ practice your fingers to know all notes first…

From: -www.abhinavsonkar.com


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Pick Your Guitar

First of all let’s see the types of guitars that are available in the market… electronic and

acoustic… it is good to start with the acoustic guitar and I suggest something that look like a

guitar on the bottom left side… if you have already purchased one… throw it out ☺ you know

am kidding right… acoustic guitar has either a O-shape hole or f-shape hole…both are good but

if you just starting the O-shape hole guitar is best idea…

Electronic

Acoustic


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Guitar Tuning

The most difficult task that a beginning guitarist faces is tuning the instrument. As it takes time

to develop a sense of pitch, I recommend that you use an electronic tuner at first. If you don't

have one, go get one. It is impossible to learn to play on an out of tune guitar. You can pick up

an electronic tuner for as little as Rs 250 or less and it will pay for itself before the end of this

first lesson. Make sure that the sales person shows you how to use it, and pay attention to what

they tell you. If the instructions don't make sense to you, DO NOT leave the store until you

understand EXACTLY how to use the tuner. If the sales person acts like they have something

better to do than educate you on how to tune the guitar, leave a complaint with the

management and go buy a tuner somewhere else. Playing in tune is THAT important!

If you don’t find any good tuner I tell you an easy way… To tune an acoustic guitar you will have

to practice Sa Re Ga Ma a little. And if you already know or have played Sa Re Ga Ma on

harmonium or casio then it’s just great… now watch the following figure very carefully, press

and hold the note Sa on the first string (thinnest) and play it with your right hand… ok now

listen carefully and match the tone with the sa playing on harmonium or any other instrument.

Ok it will take a little bit of time; you just have to tune only one (thinnest) string. And with the

help of above picture, rest of the strings you can tune with that one string.

You can also download a guitar tuning software from the internet.

Note: - Also note here that the thinnest and the thickest strings, both are same when played,

and if you play these strings without pressing any specific note, they will still play Sa… okay now

let’s talk western.

*Guitar tuning is mandatory


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Guitar Fretboard Notes

To begin our lessons I am going to use colors to represent notes on the guitar. (Onoz I am

colorblind☺)…Anyway Look below and notice the colors we will use to represent each note. A

note is a tone of a certain pitch which can be created in a number of different ways. For

example, if you were to push down a single key on the piano, you would be playing a note. To

play a note on the guitar, you would fret or push down on a string to create a tone of a certain

pitch. In this lesson, we will learn where each note is located on the guitar fretboard.

The image below illustrates a guitar fretboard and shows all the notes along the Low E string.

The low E string is the largest string and will be in red. The color for the strings will be slightly

different than the color for the notes. The high E string, is the thinnest string, look below.

C D E F G A B C

The notes and each color have been illustrated in the table above. We will use each of

these colors to represent each of these notes in our lessons. There will be twelve

different notes we need to learn on the guitar fretboard.

The 12 notes along the Low E string are: E F F# G G# A A# B C C# D D#

We will illustrate these notes and their placement on the Low E string. Looking at the

fretboard above and notice the 6 notes to the left of the guitar fretboard. These 6 notes

represent the 6 strings used on the guitar. These six strings when tuned, will be the Low E

string, A string, D string, G string, B string and the high E string.

Look at the image of the guitar fretboard above and notice the E note. This E note will

represent the Low E string when played open. If you picked the Low E string with out fretting

any note, you would be playing the E tone. Of course to create this E note, your guitar would

have to have the proper tuning.


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If you were to fret or push down on the Low E string on the first fret, you would be playing

the F note. The next note on the Low E string 2nd fret is the F# note. This is the (sharp symbol

#). To get a sharp note, we would move 1/2 step above the previous note. 1/2 step on the

guitar would be 1 fret. The E note will never be sharp. Look above and notice there is no E#

note.

As we move along the Low E string, we reach the G note. Look above and find theG note at the

3rd fret. As we move up 1/2 step or 1 fret on the low E string we will reach the G# note, 4th

fret.

Moving along the Low E string we reach the A note at the 5th fret. Moving to the next fret we

have the A# note.

At the 7th fret, we run into the B note. Find that B note and notice there is no B sharp note.

You will never have a B# note. We will learn more about this when we construct the major

scales in that chapter.

The next note at the 8th fret will be the C note. Then we would have the C#, D D# and finally

back to the E note again. I say again because on the guitar, every note repeats after 12 frets.

To prove this, look at the G note on the 3rd fret, you will find the G note repeated at the 15th

fret, 12 frets away from the 1st G note.

You can figure out each note on each of the six strings using the same process as we did

above. The image below will now show you how to find the notes on the A string. Look at the

image below. The first note will be the open A string in yellow. The next note on the A string

1st fret will be the A# note. Each note is figured out the same way we did on the Low E string.

Notice there is no B# or E#. There never will be a sharp for these two notes. Notice that the A

note is repeated after 12 frets. All the notes would repeat after 12 frets, this goes for every

string, scale and chord.

The image below shows all of the notes of the fretboard ascending. The first homework

assignment will ask you to fill in all the notes of the guitar fretboard ascending. It has already

been done for you, but it is a good idea to fill in the blank illustrations on lesson 1. This will be


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a great help in learning all the notes of the guitar and their placement. Use the illustration

below to help out. Then try to fill in one of the illustrations from memory.

Look at the image below. This image has all the notes of the guitar, but the A notes are circled.

Notice that some A notes have different colors. Playing each A note and its particular color will

sound the same tone. The yellow and green colored A notes are at a lower octave than the

yellow and blue A's. The yellow and blue A's are at a lower octave than the yellow and orange

A's. Play each A on the fretboard and compare to each other. Remember your guitar needs to

be in tune.

This illustration will eventually become second nature.

• It may help to make a copy of this illustration to complete your first assignment.

• Proceed to lesson 1

Good luck,

From the Fake


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Guitar Lesson 1

Guitar Fretboard and Strings

The image below is a picture of the guitar fretboard. To understand how this diagram works,

you need to hold the guitar out in front of you. The strings on the guitar should be directed

towards your face. This view should be the exact view that the image below depicts. Look at

the image below and visualize that the picture is your guitar facing you.

Each dot on the guitar fretboard represents the different frets on the guitar, look below. The

first dot is on the 3rd fret, the second dot is on the 5th fret, the third dot is on the 7th fret and

so on all the way up the fretboard. Most guitars will have these dots, but some may not.

E A D G B E. These are the 6 strings that make up the guitar. Notice the colors; each string has

its own color. These colors will be illustrated on some images to help learn the strings and with

placement of the notes to the particular string. Each string and color should be memorized.

You may have noticed that there are two E strings? One is the Low E which is the Red E and the

largest string, look above. The other E string is the High E string which is the thinnest string,

check that string out. Each string is at times referenced by number in our lessons. These

numbers are standard throughout the industry and they are as follows:

High E string

1st string

Thinnest

B string

2nd string

G string

3rd string

D string

4th string

A string

5th string

Low E string

6th string

Fattest


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You should now know what 6 strings E A D G B and E make up the guitar.It is vital to know

every note on the fretboard and that will be covered in the next lesson.

Guitar lesson Assignments:

• Fill a blank illustration of guitar fretboard, you can use pen and paper or whiteboard to

do that.

Good luck,

From the Fake


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Guitar Lesson 2

Learning the Guitar Fretboard and Strings

In our first homework assignment you were asked to fill in all the notes of the fretboard. Your

illustration should have looked something like the one below. Our illustration on the

homework did not have this many frets though.

In the next lesson we need to work on the open strings. Your guitar whether it is Spanish, Guild

acoustic, Les Paul, electric, old or new should have six strings. Each string like each key on the

piano has a particular purpose.

The Low E string or Fattest string when picked open (not fretting it) should sound the Low E

note or tone. However, that's only true if your guitar is properly tuned. You will need to read

up on tuning your guitar. Tuning is very important, so in this lesson we will cover the six

strings, their names and placement.

An open A tuning source has been included in the tuning chapter. You would use this source

to tune the A string. Then you would read up on tuning the remaining strings.

I would like for everyone to review the lessons covering the guitar fretboard and strings.


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• Read on tuning the guitar and attempt to tune your guitar. It does take time to learn

this.

• Memorize each string and placement.

• Look over the illustrations on the guitar fretboard and strings and see how and why they

are illustrated the way they are.

o Use the illustration below to fill in all of the notes on the Low E string.

o Use the illustration below to fill in all of the notes on the High E string.

o Once the notes are filled in, circle all of the A C D E and G notes. These are the

notes that make up the Am pentatonic scale. A few notes have been filled in to

get you started.

• Always use blank guitar fretboard illustrations to fill in the notes of each scale you are

working on.

Good luck,

From the Fake


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Guitar Lesson 3

Guitar Picking Exercises

Now that you're a little more familiar with the fretboard and know the strings, we can move

on to some picking exercises. A good idea is to get both hands working together. The picking

hand has to know what the fretting hand is doing. To get these two in sync, we need to do a

few exercises. When you alternate you’re picking down and up, this will help build up speed

and dexterity. One of the hardest things to learn on the guitar is how to properly pick each

note. The next couple lessons will be some of the most challenging and important to learn

and must be practiced every day.

Your first exercise is for your picking hand only. You will be starting with the Low E

String. Remember to alternate the pick down and then up. I personally use a pick, but some

musicians choose not to. However, there are some songs that I use my fingers to pick. In time

you will find your style. Some guitars may not have a pick guard, maybe a classical guitar, so

be careful with the pick if you use one. Once you become comfortable with these exercises,

start from the High E = thinnest string and work your way back up. Don't worry about fretting

the guitar; this is just for the picking hand. However, if you would like to fret notes, go for it.

In the next lesson we will do the exercises to build up the fretting hand.

The illustration below shows how I hold the pick. It takes time to get use to holding the pick,

but in time it will become more comfortable.

If you need to learn how to read tablature, you can go to that lesson first.

The letters below represent the picking motion, d equals pick down and u equals pick up.

Each letter is placed on the particular string you pick. Start on the Low E string which is the

largest string, on the illustration below, then move to the A string next.

d = down

u = up


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You will be picking each string only once on the first exercise.

E------------------------u---

B--------------------d-------

G----------------u----------

D------------d--------------

A -------u------------------

E --d-----------------------

Now you will be picking each string 2 times, each time you will alternate the picking motion

down then up. Once again you will start with the Low E string or largest string.

E---------------------------------d-u---

B---------------------------d-u---------

G---------------------d-u---------------

D---------------d-u---------------------

A --------d-u---------------------------

E --d-u---------------------------------

Now you will pick each string 3 times.

E---------------------------------------------u-d-u---

B-------------------------------------d-u-d-----------

G----------------------------u-d-u--------------------

D--------------------d-u-d----------------------------

A -----------u-d-u------------------------------------

E --d-u-d---------------------------------------------

Now you will pick each string 4 times.

E---------------------------------------------------------d-u-d-u---

B----------------------------------------------d-u-d-u--------------

G----------------------------------d-u-d-u--------------------------

D------------------------d-u-d-u------------------------------------

A -------------d-u-d-u----------------------------------------------

E --d-u-d-u---------------------------------------------------------


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• Tune your guitar

• Practice each picking exercise as much as possible. Remember to alternate the pick.

• Review the guitar fretboard chapter each day or until you have it memorized.

In the last lesson you were asked to fill in the notes of the Low and High E Strings. Your

illustration should look something like the one below. Notice that both E strings have the

same notes, located at the same frets. Notice how each note repeats after 12 frets.

In the last lesson you were also asked to tune your guitar. It's a good idea to always tune your

guitar while increasing the tension. Tuning the guitar is not an easy task and it will take some

time to learn. Don't let this discourage you. Every step along the way will need time to learn.

Each day you should practice something new. Always go back to the previous lessons and you

will notice how much you have actually learned. I believe everyone should own a guitar tuner.

They work great for both acoustic and electric.

Good Luck,

From The Fake


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Guitar Lesson 4

Picking exercises

Before we write our first original song, we need for our picking hand to get the fretting hand in

shape. To make things easier to understand each fretting finger will have a number assigned to

it.

1 = Index finger

2 = Middle finger

3 = Ring finger

4 = Pinkie

T = Thumb

Look above and check out each number and the finger that it represents. Hold your hand out

in front of you and count out each finger. This is one of the most important things to learn. You

will use these numbers to play scales, leads and chords.

In the last lesson we worked on some picking exercises with only the picking hand. Now we

need to put the fretting hand to work with the picking hand. These exercises will prepare you

for the scales ahead.

1 = Index finger

2 = Middle finger

3 = Ring finger

4 = Pinkie

T = Thumb

Look at the image above and notice the numbers on the Low E string. Then look at the image

above to the right and see what finger the number represents. In this exercise you will be

picking one note at a time. The first note is picked on the Low E string with your 1 finger at the

5th fret. The next note is played with your 2 finger Low E string 6th fret. Then the 3 finger 7th

fret and finally the 4th finger 8th fret .The Tablature or the example above have been

illustrated below.

----------------------------------------------------------5-6-7-8----

----------------------------------------------5-6-7-8----------------

------------------------------------5-6-7-8--------------------------

------------------------5-6-7-8--------------------------------------

-------------5-6-7-8-------------------------------------------------

-5-6-7-8-------------------------------------------------------------


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In the last lesson we learned how to alternate the picking hand. You will now alternate the

picking down then up while playing each of these 4 notes one at a time.

1 = Index finger

2 = Middle finger

3 = Ring finger

4 = Pinkie

T = Thumb

Look at the next illustration above and now you are picking the notes on the A string.

Remember to alternate your pick. Continue this exercise with all the strings in the same

fashion. When you become comfortable playing this, then start with the High E string and work

your way back up. This is illustrated below. Start with your 4 finger on the 8th fret and work

back up towards the Low E string.

--8-7-6-5-------------------------------------------------------------

-------------8-7-6-5--------------------------------------------------

------------------------8-7-6-5---------------------------------------

------------------------------------8-7-6-5---------------------------

-------------------------------------------------8-7-6-5--------------

-------------------------------------------------------------8-7-6-5--

When you get real comfortable, and then start at different frets all over the fretboard. Have

your illustrations with your notes filled out in front of you and check out the notes your

actually playing.



• Practice these finger exercises every day. This will build up strength in your hand.

• Review the finger exercise chapter.

• Review the Am pentatonic Chapter for the root note fret position.

Good Luck,

From The Fake


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Guitar lesson 5

A minor pentatonic scale and lead guitar

Now that you know how to pick each note and do a few exercises, it's time to learn scales. You

will use scales to play leads and build melodies. Once you get over this small hurdle, things will

really begin to fall into place. In our lessons, we will concentrate on the Am pentatonic scale

and the Key of C major. Once you learn these scales, others will be just a matter of moving to a

different location.

The Am pentatonic scale is a 5 note scale, that's what pentatonic means. The notes are A C D E

and G.

(The Little m after the A note above means the minor chord and we will learn more about that

later)

Look at the illustration Below. This illustration shows the Am pentatonic scale at its root note

5th fret.

1 = Index finger

2 = Middle finger

3 = Ring finger

4 = Pinkie

T = Thumb

Now it's time for you to go review the Am pentatonic scale at the root note fret position and

return here to lesson 5.

Once you review the Am pentatonic section you will need to do the assignments.

1. Use one illustration below to fill in the notes of the Am pentatonic scale root note fret

only.

2. Use one illustration below to fill in the fingers used to play the Am pentatonic scale root

note fret only.

Three notes have been filled in

for you to get started. Fill in the

remainder of the notes of the

Am pentatonic scale root note

fret.


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Two fingerings have been filled

in to get you started. Fill in the

rest of the fingerings used for

the Am pentatonic scale root

note fret.


• Once you finish this assignment you will need to review everything covered up to this

point.

• You should now know the six strings by name and placement on the guitar fretboard.

• You should know or be studying all the notes of the fret board including the Sharps (#).

• You should have each finger number memorized.

• You should be doing the fingering and picking exercises every day.

Good Luck,

From The Fake

From: -www.guitarsecrets.com

Note :- Guitar picking exercise require a lot of practice, instead of picking up fingers just

release them, because it will take a little effort in picking them and getting back down, but if

you just release it you can easily move it to the next note. And also note that you don’t have to

release the fingers that are on the same string… I mean if you have two notes 5, 6 on B String

that you want to play respectively like…5, 6, 5, 6… you just need to release your finger from 6

to play 5…you don’t have to do see saw with your fingers…okay you get my point… not try this

with all four notes…


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Sa Re Ga Ma Complete

From the above illustration you can get the idea of complete SA-RE-GA-Ma over

the fretboard. Keep practicing until you start seeing all ‘swar’ over the

fretboard…and am sure you will… when you are done practicing SA-RE-GA-Ma on

every string; try to pick close combinations like this one…

You can find more of that…

Guitar tuning is suggested again…

Okay so that’s all folks… enough for the first book… I am preparing the second

book till you learn this one…and as soon as it is complete I’ll post it over the

internet… till than keep it up

Best of Luck,

Ranbir… The Fake…


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Documents

Guitar Beginners Guide