The Parts of a Guitar Guitar Diagrams

The parts of a guitar. It seems like most people look at a guitar and would say "Gee whiz a guitar."

That's really all they need to know.

The serious guitar student needs to know more about guitars because it will be their tool that they will use to make music.

Knowing the parts and their function will help you make sure you are getting the best possible sound that you get.

When you know how to get the best possible sound out of your guitar, it will open up the possibilities that you have pictured for yourself as a guitarist.

The Parts of a guitar - Acoustic and Electric Guitar. What do they have in common?

1. Strings - Yes all working guitars have strings.

The number of strings they have can vary. The more strings the more sonic possibilities.

Most guitars have 6 strings. Some have more. We will stick with 6 for right now.

2.Bodies - The body holds everything together.

Each part is somehow attached to the body of the guitar.

Electric or acoustic, the vibration and resonance of the wood structure of the body effects the sound of the guitar.

Better wood and craftsmanship makes a tremendous difference in sound quality.

3. Necks - The neck of the guitar is where the action happens.

The neck not only holds the strings but the tuners, nut, frets and fretboard.

The neck it where all the notes played are fingered, tapped and sounded in various ways.

The design and material of the neck also has a dramatic effect on sound and the play-ability of the whole guitar.

4. Head -The head holds the tuners. The design of the head determines the placement and design of the tuners also.

5. The nut - The nut of the guitar holds the strings in place on the neck.

The material the nut is made of affects the sound of the guitar and it can be made of a variety of materials from fossilized mammoth bone to plastic. (Bone is better.)

6. Some way to make the sound louder - The acoustic has a resonance chamber and the electric has pickups.

7. The Bridge - The Bridge is where the strings are attached to the body at the other end.

The way that the bridge is attached affects the sustain (How long the notes sound.) and sound quality of the guitar.

Now let's find out what each type of guitar has for parts.

Click on the Graphics below to see a diagramof the parts of a guitar for each type of guitar

The Parts of an Electric Guitar So that's what that does!

The parts of an electric guitar together let the viewer know that the are indeed looking at

a guitar. So far so good.

An electric guitar really doesn't give that much of a clue as to how revolutionary this invention really is.

A electric guitar is innocent enough looking but when plugged in it is a completely different animal.

Can a acoustic guitar completely drown out the crowd in a full stadium with volume so loud that most of the people could come out with permanent damage to their hearing?

I don't think so.

The parts of an electric guitar that make it electric make that possible.

List of the Parts of an Electric Guitar.

1. The Head

The Head of the guitar Is the flat part of wood at the end the neck that holds the tuners.

The size and shape determine the arrangement and kind of tuner and to a certain extent the sustain of notes due to the way the neck vibrates.

2. The tuners

The tuners are located on the head of the guitar.

The shape and size of the head determines the placement and arrangement of the tuners.

They are usually arranged with either 6 on one side or 3 on one side and 3 on the other.

There are other arrangements too but not too many.

3. The string retainers

String retainers are mostly found on guitars like the Fender Stratocaster.

They are there to keep the tension on the string and keep it from popping out of place.

4. Truss adjustment

The truss adjustment adjusts the curve of the neck to keep the strings from buzzing and to adjust the height of the strings.

If your a beginner and don't want to mess up your guitar, I would suggest that you have a knowledgeable friend that has done it dozens of times or a good guitar tech take care of that for you if you need it.

Worth the money.

5. The nut

The nut is a piece of skinny plastic or bone that has slots in it to hold each individual string.

The nut makes a difference in the sound and play-ability of a guitar.

The slots have to be cut properly at the right depth to keep the strings at the proper height above the frets to keep them from making buzzing sounds and to make the guitar easier to play.

6. The neck

The neck is the long piece of wood that projects from the body and holds the fretboard, the frets, the nut, head and tuners.

Inside the neck is a truss rod that keeps the neck adjusted to the right curve so that everything works well.

7. The Frets

The frets are pieces of skinny metal that run across the fretboard at regular spacing determined by the length of the neck.

When a chord or note is fretted, you push the string up against it with your fingers. That shortens the length that the string vibrates and raises the pitch to the note of that place on the fretboard.

8. Fret Markers

Fret markers are on the fretboard. They are usually a dot or other shape. They are there to help you figure out where you are on the fretboard.

After you have been playing for awhile they become a subconscious marker that helps you know where you are without even thinking about it.

9. Fretboard

The fretboard is the top part of the neck that holds the frets and the fret markers.

The notes of the fretboard are all laid out according to the tuning in evenly space intervals so that the notes are always in the same spots with the same tuning.

The fretboard itself is usually made of wood.

It is sometimes called the fingerboard.

10. The strings

A regular guitar has six stings.

They go from skinny to fat. The exact size is the guitar owners choice.

When going from one size set of strings to another the guitar might need to be set up by a guitar tech because of the various ways that the strings affect the guitar.

Here's a example: I once got a wild hair and decided I wanted fat strings on one of my guitars.

Well the neck didn't take the tension of the new strings too well and the curve turned extreme.

I could not play the guitar until I put the old size strings back on.

It's really your choice as to the size of the strings. Just be ready to take the guitar in and have it setup again.

11. The Body

This is one of the differences of the parts of an electric guitar compared to a acoustic.

Acoustics are all hollow.

Most electric guitars have solid wood bodies.

Some have semi hollow bodies with a solid piece of wood going down the middle to keep it from howling with feedback.

Some are hollow bodies meant for low volume situations or some other way to keep the feedback down.

12. The Pick guard

Pick guards are there to keep the pick from scratching the body but that is not all that they do.

On a guitar like a Fender Stratocaster they have all the electronics mounted to them.

13, Pickups

The pickups are the parts of an electric guitar that make it a electric guitar.

The pickups are electronic components that sense the movement of a string and convert it to a small electric signal that is sent down the cord and into a amplifier. There are many different types of pickups. Each with their own sound.

You can completely change the sound of a electric guitar by changing the pickups.

14. The pickup selector

The pickup selector switches on and off the pickups in the electric guitar equipped with more than one pickup. This changes the sound coming from the guitar.

15. Volume and Tone Controls

These controls do exactly what they are named.

These parts of an electric guitar turn the volume up and down and change the amount of treble. That's it.

16. The bridge

The Bridge of the electric guitar is where the strings are anchored at the other end of the guitar.

This is one of the parts of an electric guitar that serves multiple purposes.

Not only does it anchor the strings, it is also where the intonation of the guitar is set.

The intonation is adjusted by moving the parts called saddle.

The saddle can move back and forth with a adjustment screw and that is how the intonation is set. This adjustment insures that the tuning is accurate all the way up and down the fretboard.

17. The strap button

The strap button is where you hook up your guitar strap.

The best kind of strap button is a locking strap button. This keeps your strap locked into place and secure.

18. The output jack.

Note: the output jack is labeled input on the picture, (oops).

The output jack is where the signal from the pickups goes out to the amplifier.

19. The tremolo bar (whammy Bar)

The tremolo bar is one of the parts of an electric guitar that can be used for special effects of raising and lowering the pitch of the notes.

This is also called a vibrato bar.

Click the image above to check out the parts of a acoustic guitar.

The Parts of an Acoustic Guitar.

This lesson is about the individual parts of an acoustic guitar.

Even though I list eleven parts, it is not just the parts that make the guitar.

The choices that the guitar builder makes in material and the patient, skilled craftsmanship is what make a truly amazing acoustic guitar.

The basic parts of an acoustic guitar are the same on all acoustic guitars.

1. The Acoustic Guitar Head

The head of the guitar is the flat platform like area at the end of the neck.

The head is used as a placement area for the tuners.

The shape of the head determines the layout of the tuners. Some guitars have six tuners on one side and other might have 3 on each side.

The shape of the head can effect the tone of the guitar because of the way it vibrates.

The angle at which the head is attached to the end of the neck will affect the sustain (how long a note sounds) and will determine if the guitar needs string retainer since it affects the tension of the strings going over the nut.

A guitar head attached at a angle is much more prone towards breakage if the guitar falls off the stand.

2. The Tuners on a Acoustic Guitar

The tuners on a acoustic guitar adjust the pitch up and down to the desired tuning.

There are quite a few designs of tuners. The better the quality of the tuners, the better it does its job to keep the guitar in tune.

In case you have a guitar that you somehow came into and the tuners are not all that great and it goes out of tune easily, ask your guitar tech what his opinion is on the whole guitar.

Good tuners are not overly expensive but if its a cheap guitar you might want to get some new strings (which help with sound and tuning stability) and save your money for a quality guitar.

3. The Nut on a Acoustic Guitar

The nut is a skinny piece of hard white or black material with slots in it where the strings cross.

It sits between the head and the fretboard.

The nut guides and keeps the strings in place, controls how high the strings are over the fretboard and it is a anchor and transmitter of vibration to the neck of the guitar.

The nut can affect the tone of the guitar. It really is a matter of personal taste on this one, but most agree that a good quality bone nut sounds really good on a acoustic guitar.

4. The neck of an acoustic guitar

The neck of the acoustic guitar is the long thin piece of wood between the head and body.

It holds the head, nut, fretboard, and frets.

The quality of wood, shape and connection of the neck to the body affect the sound of the guitar. It also determines if the neck will stay put and not warp or twist.

The shape of the neck will make the guitar easier or harder to play , which is a matter of personal preference.

Thicker necks will transmit sound in a different way than a thin one. If you can get your hand around it, they sound better.

5. Acoustic Guitar Strings

The strings of an acoustic guitar are different than electric guitars.

There are a couple of different types of acoustic guitars.

Classical guitars have nylon strings and regular acoustic guitars have metal strings.

The thickness and composition of the strings make a big difference in sound.

If you know what kind of sound you want ask a knowledgeable guitar tech. They might be able to point you in the right direction on that.

Sometimes a famous guitarist that you admire might have their own signature strings and that might help but the type of guitar they use will figure in on that one.

6. The Frets on a Acoustic Guitar

The frets are the parts of an acoustic guitar that are the metal strips that run across the fretboard.

You place your fingers behind them and press down while striking the string to produce a note.

The frets should be level and smooth on the edges to keep the guitar strings from making buzzing sounds and cutting your fingers on the edges.

7. Acoustic Guitar Fret Markers

The fret markers are the parts of an acoustic guitar that do not do anything but let you know where you are on the fretboard.

When you play for a while they help you to play all over the fretboard without getting lost.

8. The Body of the Acoustic Guitar

The body is hard to miss. It's the biggest of the parts of an acoustic guitar.

It is the resonance chamber where the sound bounces around inside and comes out the sound hole.

They type of wood, design and craftsmanship make the difference in the sound.

If designed right the body amplify the sound of the guitar by setting the whole guitar vibrating in a way that hopefully sounds good.

9. The Acoustic Guitar Sound Hole

The sound hole is where the sound comes out and where you lose your pick if your not careful.

10. The Acoustic Guitar Bridge

The bridge is where the strings are anchored to the body.

Vibration is transferred through the bridge and vibrates the body to produce the tone that is unique to the guitar.

11. Acoustic Guitar Bridge Pins

The bridge pin are one of the stranger parts of an acoustic guitar to me.

What they do is hold and anchor the sting in the bridge of the guitar.

Out of all the parts of an acoustic guitar These things can be trickiest when you change strings.

The best advice I have on this is experiment and talk to your guitar tech if you have a problem with them.

I have had mine pop out quite a few times. You have to get the ball end of the strings wedged under the pin just right.

Very frustrating. But worth the effort.

Now you know about the main parts of the acoustic guitar.Each one contributes to the sound that makes each guitar unique.

How to learn guitar fast.

You want to learn to how to learn guitar fast as possible.

Nobody can blame you on that one. Time is short here on planet earth. So if you want to make serious progress you have to know what your destination is.

First of all, what is your definition of being able to play guitar?

For all I know you might be thinking of anything from strumming a few chords to becoming a virtuoso guitar player like Yngwie Malsteen or Steve Vai.

Both of these goals is obtainable because someone has already done it. If it wasn't nobody would have done it at all.

Both of those goals take much different paths, once you get down the road apiece.

Before you can make progress you have to take the brakes off.

What slows a guitar student down?

Several things come to mind about stuff that can slow you down. Here is my list of the top reasons.

1. Confusion - Where to start? What to do next? Aimlessly wandering without a clue. Find a good lesson course and follow it . End of confusion.

2. Weak fingers and hands. Hands and fingers in great shape point the way to progress. Check out this page for some great ideas on how to keep your hands in great shape.

3. Discouragement with progress.

4. The wrong kind of guitar and equipment.

5. Sore fingers.

6. Not enough time.

7. Shyness and lack of self confidence.

8. Lack of discipline.

9. Not feeling well.

10. Long fingernails on the fretting hand.

11. Not investing in learning tools such as metronomes and helpful software.

12. Moving too fast before the fundamentals are internalized.

13. Putting yourself down.

14 A messed up guitar that is not set up properly.

15. Distractions from any source.

How to learn guitar Fast - Things that speed up progress

Start with the end in mind - Your Goal.

1. Set a goal. Make a plan.

Old advice but how many really follow it?

What do you want to play and how well do you want to play it?

Write it down. Review it daily.

2. Make a plan - How are you going to learn it? Ask questions of people that have done it before you. Study the masters and purchase the best instruction you can find.

Start with a general study of the basics such as chords, strumming and rhythm and then move onto specialized courses that will teach you the style you want to learn.

3. Want to know how to learn guitar fast? Put in the time. Follow that plan. The more time you can put in everyday on things that count towards you goal, the faster you learn to play guitar.

No way around this learning guitar takes concentrated effort, Nobody falls out of bed and can just play guitar.

So how do you do that? Cut off the junk. TV, partying, goofing around with friends.

Sounds like I'm telling you to be a hermit. That's about right.

Ask Eddie Van Halen. When he was learning, that's about all he did.

While his friends were chasing women, he was learning guitar.

Quantum physics - How to learn guitar fast by changing the results by expecting success.

4. Develop a burning desire. Nothing comes to you. You have to go after it.

How do you do that? When you are not learning guitar, visualize how great it's going to be to be amazing on guitar.

While you are learning guitar, visualize successfully learning that hard stuff you are working on.

Listen to your heroes play guitar and imagine you doing the same thing.

Youtube is a great source of videos for inspiration.

5. Keep your hands in great shape. Hand exercises and stretching on and off the guitar will build the strength needed to make rapid progress possible.

6. Keep your calluses built up! Taking too much time off from the guitar will make your hard earned calluses go away. All that pain from building them up again will slow you down.

7. Make sure you have the action and setup on the guitar set for easy playing. Strings that are too high off the fretboard will make playing much harder. Thick strings are hard on hands. consider a light gauge set of strings.

8. Trim those fingernails on your fretting hand. Keeping your nails properly trimmed will save allot of time.

9. Eat well, get enough sleep and stay in shape. If you want to know how to learn guitar fast, mental and physical energy are your most important assets. If you fall asleep while doing the grunt work, such as learning scales,your progress will suffer greatly.

10. Invest wisely in tools such as a high quality metronome,tuner and software to slow down tough to learn stuff such as solo exercises. If you want to know how to learn guitar fast, these items can really, really speed your progress

11. Want to know a secret on how to learn guitar fast?Never put yourself down.

Some of the most famous guitar players out there will tell you that they did not come by it naturally.

What does this have to do with learning how to play guitar fast?

Its 90% mental. Encourage yourself. Record your progress. Reward yourself.

12. Conquer shyness by knowing how you look and sound when you play.

Use a video camera of some kind that is easy to use and record your progress.

Perfect your act Before taking it to the people.

I hope you enjoyed this page on how to learn guitar fast.

Bottom line: By putting more time in and at the same time more of you and your concentration and determination, you will vastly speed your progress on the guitar.

To your rapid progress and success

How to Increase Finger Dexterity From your Guitar Guide

If you're interested in building your finger dexterity for guitar playing, here's a great exercise that will help you.

Difficulty Level: Hard    Time Required: 20 minutes

Here's How:

1. Choose a starting note on the sixth string. For now, choose A (fifth fret). 2. Apply this principle: play starting note, play the note up a tone(two frets), then down

a semitone(one fret) from the second note. Repeat the process for two full octaves.

3. Restriction: never use the the same finger to play two notes in a row.

4. Restriction: never move your fretting hand out of your starting position.

5. Notes on the fourth and fifth frets will be played by first finger only. Notes on sixth fret will be played by second finger only. Notes on seventh fret will be played by third

finger only. Notes on eighth and ninth frets will be played by fourth finger only.

6. Be sure to use alternate picking for the duration of the exercise.

7. When you've played a full two octave pattern, play it backwards (down two frets, up one fret) until you've reached your starting note again.

Tips:

1. Here is documentation for the exercise starting on the fifth fret. Bracketed notes indicate which finger to use in fretting the note. 5/6(1) 7/6(3) 6/6(2) 8/6(4) 7/6(3) 4/5(1) 8/6(4) 5/5(1) 9/6(4) 6/5(2) 5/5(1) 7/5(3) 6/5(2) 8/5(4) 7/5(3) 4/4(1) 8/5(4) 5/4(1) 9/5(4) 6/4(2) 5/4(1) 7/4(3) 6/4(2) 8/4(4) 7/4(3) 4/3(1) 8/4(4) 5/3(1) 9/4(4) 6/3(2) 5/3(1) 7/3(3) 6/3(2) 8/3(4) 7/3(3) 5/2(1) 8/3(4) 6/2(2) 5/2(1) 7/2(3) 6/2(2) 8/2(4) 7/2(3) 4/1(1) 8/2(4)

5/1(1)

Guitar Finger ExercisesA home gym for your hands.

Guitar finger exercises | Guitar Practice for strong, Fast Hands

Did you know that effective finger exercises can be one of the keys to your success and

spectacular playing ability?

Have your fingers ever not cooperated? Bar chords hard to form and hold? Guitar fingerpicking not as fast and accurate as you think it should be?

Guitar finger exercises can help. They have helped my finger strength, flexibility and speed tremendously.

Maybe your hands gave out on you 20 minutes into your 4 hour practice session?

How do professionals practice huge amounts of practice a day?

Are they super-human? Maybe.

Most likely they have a program of effective guitar finger exercises. One thing I can almost guarantee their hands are in great shape.

Another thing I'm almost sure of - they have probably had their share of repetitive stress injuries. Sometimes that how it works, people have to learn the hard way.

If you want to play for all of your life, get and stay in top physical shape. That usually takes a regular schedule of guitar finger exercises, proper practice techniques, nutrition and rest from workouts for recovery.

I'll give the following advice for guitar finger exercises and any other physical exercise routine.

Make sure you consult your doctors on anything I suggest here and do not start any exercise program without your medical doctors consent.

So what are the objectives that we should be seeking with a program of guitar finger exercises? -

1. To build strong hands and fingers and speed your progress while learning how to play guitar.

2.To increase your guitar fingerpicking abilities,

3. Strengthen your hands and fingers to improve your technique by improving your abilty to form chords, building flexibility and dexterity confidence while playing the guitar.

4.Strong pain free hands with the agility, speed, control and endurance to play the things we want to play and continue to practice and improve continually.

So what your needing is strong finger independence which is the ability to isolate the movements of one finger at a time while keeping the others as still as possible. A effective regular program of guitar finger exercises can vastly speed your progress.

5. Finger strength and endurance. By exercising and strengthening the gripping muscles for holding chords and the extensor muscles of the hand for the ability to move quickly over the fretboard.

This is needed for gripping bar chords as well as open chords and fingerpicking.

Guitar finger exercises 1 -Alternating picking and fretting hand speed

The first speed and strength exercise seems simple and is but Increase the speed gradually and take your time with the transition to upward stroke when you reverse directions.

Using upward strokes as well as downward strokes leads to a versatility in your picking helping you change directions with finesse.

Directions for guitar speed and finger strength exercise 1 - start on any fret on the 6th or fattest string. The numbers are for your fingers. 1,2,3 and 4. When you get to your 4Th finger (pinky) switch to your first finger on the next string. Start with a down, up alternate picking pattern.

When you run out of strings and you come to your 4Th finger change directions using a upward stroke to start your alternate picking. Continue with a up, down alternate picking pattern.

Practice Tips:

1. Be patient with yourself. Slow and relaxed hand movements will speed you towards you end results of finger and hand strength speed and accuracy.

2. Concentrate on small movements of the pick. Almost a rotating movement of the tip of the pick.

3. Use palm muting to keep the strings under control while you are learning accuracy.

4. Get the movement down first and then use the metronome at a slow tempo and then increase the tempo as you gain confidence and accuracy.

Metronome by BestMetronome.com

Guitar finger exercises 2 - Hammer on and Pull offs for finger and hand strength and endurance

The hammer on and pull offs for this exercise are simple.

Tips for this exercise:

1. Start out slow and work up to your target speeds.

2. Keep the first finger planted and hammer on the next 3 fingers.Which is simple slamming the finger down on the next fret to sound the note on that fret.

3 Keeping the first finger planted pull off on the 3 fingers that did the initial hammer on movement.

4. Start at any fret that you are comfortable with and try to cover the entire fretboard.

Guitar finger exercises 3 - Trills on all four fingers - Plyometric finger exercises for speed, strength and dexterity.

This is one of the most effective things you can do to improve the seed and dexterity of your fingers.

Directions for Exercise 3: Your index finger is number 1. Keep it planted on the fret you have decided to start on. It does not have to be fret 1, it can be any fret that you like.

With fingers 1,2,3 one at a time - rapidly hammer on and pull off to sound the two notes in a rapid trill.

When you are finished with all the fingers on one string move over one string and do it again.

This exercise is really effective, but don't overdo if your hands start to hurt take a break.

Guitar finger exercises 4 - Basic sweep picking movements for speed

This exercise is very enjoyable when done with a metronome. Gliding between strings adds to finesse and skill.

Directions for exercise 4: Pretty simple stuff. Just pick straight down smoothly while fretting the strings. Don't pause between strings.

Guitar finger exercises 5 - String skipping with alternating picking for finger control and speed.

String skipping exercise builds your brain to hand connection so you don't have to think so much about where you are with your picking.

You go through several steps to get to a place where you don't have to think about what you are doing so much on a guitar.

1. Start out with absolute concentration on every move picking and fingering. Get to the place where it no longer feels awkward.

2. When you no longer feel awkward start to use the metronome at a slow pace and speed it up slowly.

3 Reinforce over a few days to ingrain it into your nervous system.

4. Do it long enough and people will think your a natural because it will feel natural to you.

Here are some great sources of information and and some great hand exercise equipment I've used and a few finger exercises to help get the job done.

1. A good stretching, exercise and massage program for your hands, wrists and forearms.

Quick hands with the dexterity needed to move quickly over the fretboard are going to have to have amazing flexibility and strength. Stretching each finger carefully through its range of movement.

Here are some simple stretches for the fingers. Proceed with caution.

Gently stretch the fingers out by grasping the finger and apply a easy stretch outward and through its range.

Stretch between the fingers with your other hand in between each set of fingers.

stretch the thumb out away from the hand and repeat until a good stretch is felt.

A good daily hand stretching program will help keep your hands supple and fluid.

I recommend one called Healthy Hands by Martin Grey. I have this program and it is the only one that I have been able to find.

He is a massage therapist that specializes in this area.It has some great isometric exercises, stretches, and a very thorough massage routine.

2. Chinese Exercise Balls - Greg Irwin of Hand health unlimited has a great video that show not only exercises but shows how they are made and some of history behind them.

These provide great guitar finger exercises for developing hand, finger and forearm dexterity, coordination and speed. There are many ways to use them. They are fun to use and after you get used to them , you can work with them while your doing other things like watching television.

They are excellent for gaining coordination and fine movement in your fingers wrists and hands.

3. Gripmaster Pro - The Gripmaster Pro provides effective exercises for strengthen individual fingers and overall hand finger and forearm strength. They come in different tensions so pick one that is right for you

If you just leave it around where you normally watch television it makes it easy to get a hand workout and gain hand strength.

4. Finger Weights - These slide onto your fingers and provide resistance hand exercise while you go about practicing your guitar. Increasing hand, fingers and forearm strength.

I've got to admit I was skeptical about these at first, but was surprised when they actually made a difference that I could notice.

They do take some getting used to. They pinched the heck out of my fingers but I found that if you move them around just a little bit that goes away. but I have found them to be a great help, and they are great to use in the Finger fitness Program.

5. Dynaflex Pro Sports Gyro Wrist Exerciser - These work the wrists and hand, fingers and forearm strength.

These are for closing grip strength and grip. They also work the wrists and forearms.

These can really give a great workout - just keep close track of the included string used to start the ball rotating.It's a great piece of hand exercise equipment.

It can be started by hand but I haven't mastered the technique yet. But I'm getting there.

6. Flextend Glove - These are for rehabilitation of carpal tunnel syndrome and numerous other repetitive stress injuries. Many people are saying they are getting good results.

I don't know too much about that. I've never experienced carpel tunnel syndrome or anything like that. - I use mine to exercise the extensors muscles in my hands as a preventative and to build strength and speed in hand, fingers and forearms.

Around 15 finger exercises from one outstanding tool.

I like them. They are probably what I consider towards the top results producing tools that I have. I feel I'm getting great results with the exercises.

They are not inexpensive at $80 a pair but if it helps a person avoid a $20,000 carpel tunnel operation that might fail, hey that what I consider a good investment.

Sleep and regular physical exercise is also a good idea for most people unless they are in really bad shape. Plenty of good fresh water, eating healthy food and keeping your stress level down will help maintain the enthusiasm and energy levels needed for some kick butt guitar.

Get out into nature and take care of yourself. Take a break every once in awhile from the guitar so you will look forward to getting back to it.

Shake your hands out frequently, move your fingertips quickly in the air. This keeps them loose, relaxed and ready to play guitar.

So in summary if you want results, in your tone and ease of playing a regular program of daily guitar finger exercises is the way to go.

Make sure you check out these related webpages on this site.

1.Guitar speed training. - Check out these techniques for gaining amazing speed.

2.Changing guitar strings. - How does the weight and type of string affect how you play?

3. Guitar practice motivation - Making serious progress on the guitar along with a program of effective guitar finger exercises takes willpower and motivation. Do you have it?

Return home from Guitar Finger Exercises

Guitar practice routine Schedule it.

Your habits make your life. Your daily guitar practice routine is a habit that can make your abilities as a guitarist grow amazingly fast or take years and not make any considerable progress at all.

It doesn't happen by itself. You have to schedule your practice time.

Practice does not make perfect. I can practice slamming my foot in a door. This will not make me a better guitarist. Seems pretty obvious doesn't it?

In the same way practicing the wrong thing or the same thing that you already know over and over will not make you a better guitarist. That does not lead to progress in your guitar playing abilities.

In order to make progress you need a effective, synergistic routine schedule leading to your next goal as a guitarist.

Guitar practice routine schedule - How to practice guitar effectively.

The perfect guitar practice routine schedule should contain the proper ratio of:

1. Exercises for hand strength and flexibility

2. General knowledge of and building of skills in fundamentals,

3. Review of fundamentals

4. Learning of new techniques and practice of those new skills so that they become second nature.

5. Building of your song repertoire.

6. Jamming.

7. Performance.

Guitar Practice Routine Schedule - suggested areas of concentration explained.

Guitar practice tips.

1. Exercises for hand strength and flexibility

This should be scheduled as part of your warm up routine.

Playing guitar has been described as being a finger acrobat. The finger flexibility and strength of a great guitar like Steve Vai is truly remarkable.

For every other activity that takes that much dexterity there is usually a very vigorous workout routine that goes along with the activity or sport.

What is usually recommended for guitarists? Fretboard exercises.

While that is helpful there are several ways to get the hands in addition to those to get your hands in top condition.

I own and highly recommend several very helpful pieces of hand workout equipment and several courses on the subject.

Have they made a difference? Yes I am very satisfied with the results.

Quicker fingers,faster playing, more endurance, more accuracy, less pain. Ya It's worth it.

I have a webpage on this site that covers that area. I highly recommend having a regular hand workout routine. Here is the link to that page.

2. General knowledge of and building of skills in fundamentals

Any guitar practice routine should include not only learning but practicing those fundamentals till you are unconsciously competent in those skills.

Chuck Berry knew what he was talking about. Johnny B. Goode could play a guitar like ringing a bell So can Chuck. So should you.

The sign of a true master is effortless performance.

1. Correct Posture and Technique

2. Basic knowledge of the guitar and how it works and how to tune it.

3. Chords - Basic chord shapes and how they work up and down the neck.

4. Fretboard knowledge. Know where the notes are on any string location on the guitar. Within seconds so you can use the knowledge on the spot.

5. Scales and modes - These you learn as you go on. The pentatonic and blues scales are the easiest place to start.

3. Review of fundamentals

If you don't use it - You will lose it.

Schedule review time every day.

You have probably seen at least one movie where the coach gets totally digusted with his team and has them out on the field or the ice practicing fundamentals till they lose their lunch.

Don't let it get to that point. Just review them enough to stay sharp.

Its not unusual for jazz players that are really good to practice scales for 4 hours a day. Now that's dedication

Fretboard knowledge is very important to keep sharp too.

I'm not saying that is how much to practice scales but it wouldn't hurt in the beginning.

Once you get them down just do a review every once in awhile and stay sharp.

4. Learning of new techniques and practice of those new skills so that they become second nature.

This is a list of the important techniques that you should be practicing everyday. One or two at a time. Include them in your schedule everyday and practice them till you can do them in your sleep.

Alternate Picking

Bending

Double Stops

Finger Picking

Hammer-ons

Harmonics - Pinch

Harmonics - Natural

Hybrid Picking

Legato

Palm Muting

Pull-offs

Strumming

Sweep Picking

Tapping

Vibrato

5. Building of your song repertoire.

All the scales, finger exercises and techniques in the world will not impress anyone until they are put to work in a song.

That means the complete song. A riff or two is not enough.Lots of people do that.

The way Paul McCartney joined the Beatles is that he knew Twenty Flight Rock all the way through - the complete song. Check out this video.

So if it worked for him - it could work for you. Right?

Shoot for a nice round number of songs - how about 60?

6. Jamming

So once you get a technique or riff down now its time to have some fun with it. Practice using it and make it your own by playing with a recording or drum machine.

What do you need to jam? Well there is a couple of ways to go.

1. Backing tracks - rhythm, drums and backing music.

2. Record your own rhythm and chord changes.

3. Use a drum machine.

7. Performance

Performance as a guitar practice routine?

Yes, you need to practice in front of a audience of some kind.

Time to take it to the world.

Now the World might just be your cat. Just don't count on the cat to hang around if it's a electric guitar.

Seriously you need to get in front of people. No substitute. Your family is a good place to start, maybe.

Ya, you can start there but they will probably be too nice. You need to get in front of somebody that is going to give some feedback.

Just don't put your pearls before swine too fast. Try for some constructive feedback from someone who has done this before.

You could go see the guys or gals at the music store and ask for their opinion. It's good to make friends with them.

Find some guitar players that are better than you and ask their opinion.

Finally find yourself a band and go for it. Yes, that is still part of a guitar practice routine.

Actually guitar is a lifestyle. You have to live it.

Take it to the world.

How to read guitar tabs - Guitar tabulature made simple

Wondering how to read guitar tabs and make sense of what you are seeing?

First of all why guitar tabs for beginners? Well there must be a good reason beginners should learn how to read guitar tab, but it took me quite a while to understand.

One good reason is that regular music notation takes a ton of effort, struggle, toil and frustration to master. Most beginning guitarists just want to make music as quickly as possible. Chances are you are thinking that way too. So somewhere in prehistory, way back when somebody came up with guitar tablature.

Ok first thing, this website is about how to get a edge on the competition while learning guitar. The same goes with how to read guitar tabs. I'm gonna give you what I have learned about how to read guitar tabs and actually understanding what it is that it is trying to say.

Guitar tab is somewhat like a paint by numbers system. You look at the tab and put your fingers where it says to put them. Sounds easy enough Right? In theory. What the challenge is, is to make it sound like the music you are trying to make. Timing, rhythm, attitude is not included.

Here's the secret to how to read guitar tabs.

First of all - in order to make tab sound anything like what it should sound like you should have a exact imprint of that song, lick or riff in your mind.

This is accomplished by listening to the original piece over and over so that your whole body and mind has picked the groove of the piece you want to play. I'm serious, listen to the piece over and over through a good playback system until you know you've got it.

Next step: This one requires software. I use a slow down program. A program - and there are just a couple out there to slow down the music and even cut out parts for you so you can learn them a bite-size bit at a time. Slow them down up to 50% or more, learn it and then raise the speed up a little at a time till you can play it consistently at full speed. This is the way to do it. This is a tool that can give you the advantage that I mentioned earlier.

OK since this is really like learning to read a whole different language you start with the basics and progress onto harder things as you go along.

1. Guitar tab staff - Strings and fret numbers. The top is at the bottom for this one. Your thinnest string is pictured on the top so when you place your hand in position on the guitar neck, your fingers wrap around the guitar neck at the first string so your fingers will be right in place to follow along with the tab.

2.Repeat signs - in guitar notation repeat signs are there to let you know that you repeat that section of notes. How many times depends on the song.

3. Hammer ons - one of the standards in guitar technique is the hammer on. It means that the next note or notes up the guitar neck ate sounded by hitting it with the end of your finger sharply.

4. pull offs. The pull off is another standard guitar technique that is accomplished by pulling the finger on the upper note down in a plucking motion with the fretting hand while the lower note is fretted by another finger.

5. Slides - These sound really cool if done right. A slide is simply sliding your finger from one fret to another after plucking the string.

6. Chords - Chords are a group of notes that are sounded by a single or series of up or down strokes with your strummin

7. Picking directions - either up or down strumming or picking of the individual notes or chords. Work at being good at picking or strumming in both directions to make your your music to flow.

8.Harmonics - In this case Natural harmonics can add harp-like tones to your music.

9. Bends - Used in Rock, Country and Blues mostly, Bends add attitude to your music in a good way.

10. Vibrato - Another guitar technique for adding great sounds to your music. It is a wiggling of the string up and down to vary the pitch up and down.

I hope you enjoyed this page on how to read guitar tabs.

Be patient with yourself and keep at it. It will pay off.

"Sometimes you want to give up the guitar, you'll hate the guitar. But if you stick with it, you're gonna be rewarded." Jimi Hendrix

Be sure to check out the following related page on this website.

1. Blues guitar chords -

Great place to get started with guitar tabs or just guitar in general. Satisfying results are fast with these.

Return home from how to read guitar tabs.

Guitar Playing Basics Easy steps to fast results.

"A journey of a thousand miles begins at the spot under one's feet."Chinese philosopher Laozi

Guitar playing basics are the fundamental groundwork for a lifetime of steps towards guitar mastery.

Guitar playing basics can be learned in a relatively short period of time. With concentrated effort you can be playing for your pleasure and entertaining others in around 6 months.

Mastering the guitar on the other hand can take years. Please don't let that discourage you.

We all have the same 24 hours a day and time, I guarantee time will go by no matter if you sitting in front of a TV or practicing your guitar. One is just more productive than the other and diligent effort will lead to skills you will have for a lifetime.

What are the guitar playing basics that form the foundation to successfully learn to play the guitar?

1. Choosing the right guitar and equipment. - It goes without saying that in order to get a job done you need the proper tools.

Some decisions need to be made before you even lay a hand on a guitar.

Begin with the end in mind. What kind of music do you want to ultimately play? I say ultimately because nobody arrives the same day they start. But in order to play the type of music that you want to play the proper type of guitar makes all the difference.

You have two basic choices.

A. Acoustic - These are for many types of music but they all have one thing in common - you don't need a amp. You can amplify them but you don't have to.

Folks songs, worship songs, acoustic blues, and bluegrass finger picking styles all use acoustic guitars.

B. Electric guitar - These can be used for all styles but are usually associated with the harder styles of music such as Rock and Roll, metal and jazz.

You'll need a amplifier - and this choice also depends on what type of music you would enjoy playing the most.

Alright isn't this guitar PLAYING Basics?

Yes it is so let's get down to it.

The experts in any area are so good at the basics, they hardly even think about it anymore. They make it look as Chuck Berry says, "He could play a guitar like ringing a bell."

This goes for the ladies too

It is called unconscious competence.

If you recognize the steps to unconscious competence you'll be less likely to become discouraged along the path to mastering the guitar.

Here are the steps.

1. Unconscious incompetence - This person does not even know what they don't know about guitar playing basics. Blank slate just starting out. You might be in this position right now. We all go through this stage.

2. Conscious incompetence - This person becomes aware of the basic guitar playing skills and gets a idea of how far they must go to acquire those basic skills.The successful guitarist makes a commitment right now to do whatever it takes to master these skills.

3. Conscious competence - This guitarist knows the basics and can play these reliably at will. No problem but they still have to think about what they are doing. This take lots of practice on the fundamentals to get to this point.

4. Unconscious competence - This is when guitar playing is as easy as opening a door by turning a door knob.

How do you get to this point? Practice. Intelligent practice. More practice.

Seriously, All guitar virtuoso's have had a period of time where they practiced 8 - 10 hours a day. That's why they are so good. Period.

Here is a example of someone that has reached that point a long time ago.

Guitar Playing Basics Step One -> Rhythm Guitar

1. Parts of the guitar - Just like you need to know which pedal is the gas and which pedal is the brakes, you can't play the guitar without knowing the parts.

2.Learn to tune your guitar - Unless you have a personal roadie at this point you next have to know how to tune you guitar so it sounds the way it is suppose to.

You have two basic choices here.

A.Tune by ear.

B.tune with the aid of a electronic tuner.

Big time saving tip here - use a tuner. It will save you hours of frustration. You can learn to tune by ear later, which I highly recommend.Click here to find out how and why.

3. Learn the basic open chords and progressions -Most people start out playing simple songs. The basic open chords are the ones to start with.

A chord progression, moving from one chord to another and back again, along with strumming patterns are what music are made of.

Thousands of hit songs have been written using only the basic chords. You can find my page on learning the basic chords here.

4. Learn the notes on the fretboard - This is important to get started on right away because it makes progress on the guitar so much easier later on when progressing to more complex stuff on the guitar. Scales, chord construction and making sense of modes and intervals that come later when you really start to get into the stuff that make a pro, a pro.

Don't worry about that stuff right now just make the commitment to memorize the notes on the fretboard so you can instantaneously know where you are.

Believe it or not many guitarists go for a long time maybe even years before they learn the notes on the guitar. Why? Because learning the fretboard notes can be hard when done the way most people are taught to do it.

I've come up with a system that makes it so much easier it's ridiculous.

You can find the system to learn the fretboard notes quickly here.

Guitar Playing Basics Step Two -> Blues Basics

The Blues are the basis of most rock and roll and a major part of other styles like country and jazz.

Believe me learn basic blues guitar is a major step to other music.

Once you've got this down you are ready for major progress into whatever area of music you want to go.

I have a whole section of this website dedicated to learning the blues -right here.

I wish you success in your journey playing guitar

How to Learn Guitar Chords

This lesson is on how to learn guitar chords. Every beginning guitar student that I ever

met wonders the same thing. How do I learn all those chords?

Good news! You don't have to learn hundreds of chords to play guitar. all you need to start out on guitar is 8-10 easy chords. That's it. Really.

Playing guitar is a whole different world. It's like nothing else out there that is ever asked of someone to do with their hands.

The easiest way to think about it is that you now have to turn each finger into tight rope acrobats.

Tips on How to Learn Guitar Chords

1. If you can use a electric guitar with light strings to start out. This will be so much easier on your fingertips that its another world. Believe me be as kind to your fingers as possible.

If you do not want or have a electric guitar. Have your guitar tech install some very light strings on your acoustic guitar and have the action set to as low as humanly possible without the guitar buzzing.

The action of a guitar is how high the strings are above the fretboard. The lower it is without buzzing, the easier it will be to learn to play chords.

2. Have the guitar set up to be as easy for a beginner as possible.

Learning guitar is tough enough already so be kind to yourself and have a pro set it up for you.3. Picture your end goal to be a great guitar player. The mind moves towards what it wants and will help by commuicating what is needed to the fingers to make it happen.

4. Cast all thoughts out of your mind if they are not of total success. Dogged determination - That's what it takes.

5. Make up your mind to work through finger tip soreness.Fingertip soreness is just part of the price you have to pay when you learn how to play guitar chords.

It doesn't last more than a few days if you are careful to stop just before you get a blister.

6. Work on chords 3 at a time. Easy three chord progressions for guitar are the way to go. You can play hundreds of songs with just three chords.

How to Learn Guitar Chords as quickly as possible.

This page is a jump off point to other pages of specific information on how to learn guitar chords.Keep reading and then go onto the links that lead to pages with more below.

How to learn guitar chords - step by step.

1. Choose a three chord progression that you can play one of your favorite songs with.

If you can't think of one right now start off with a G C D chord progression as that seems to be one of the most common ones out there. 2. Pick out the simplest form of the chords that you can find. This will having you sound good asap because there is less to think about.

3. Gently place your fingers down where the chord diagram showsand apply pressure by tightening your fingers down and pulling back slightly with your fretting hand arm.

Not too hard - not too soft. Just enough to make the notes sound clearly when you strum the guitar.

5. If the notes are buzzing or dead Move your fingers around to where they do sound clearly. Keeping the first section of the finger vertical and rotating it to make it more parallel to the string usually helps.

6. When you get it and it sounds right practice slowly removing your fingers and putting them back to sound the chord. Make sure your fingers are relaxed as you move to grab the chord again.

The reason why you stay relaxed as you move away from and then back to the chord is that you are training your nervous system to move your hand as effectively as posible.

You want to program in relaxed movement.

7. When you have learned the first chord move on to the second.Do not at this point try to move between the two chords. Learn them one at a time.

8. When you have the second one sounding good move onto the third and learn it.

How to learn to move between chord in the progression.

At this point you should have the three chords in the progression sounding good.

Here is where you learn to move between chords.

This is where the finger acrobatics start.

To move between chords start at the first chord and raise your fingers off the fretboard, move your fingers into the shape of the next chord in the air, staying relaxed and land on the next chord.

Then go from the second back to the first. Back and forth.

When you have mastered moving from the first to the second chord continue onto learn the movement between the second and third chord.

At this point you master the moves between all three.

Using the metronome to master chord progressions

Practice with the metronome is the next step and last step to learn how to play guitar chords.

Start slow like as slow as it gets, move between all three of the chords the way you learned them and slowly increase the speed until you are satisfied.

Metronome by BestMetronome.com

That's it - You have learned how to learn guitar chords.

It's the same for all chords, rinse and repeat.

Your ready to move on and play your first song.

Basic Guitar Chord Progressions

Guitar chord progressions are what make music flow and make sense to the listener.

The order of the chords can create emotions. The type of chord adding what some call color.

Light hearted music uses most major chord and music with a heavier mood use the minor chords.

Example of a simple I IV V chord progression

Along with many other types of chords you can span the whole range of emotions.

That's what music ideally does - move us emotionally .

Don't Worry!This site doesn't go into a bunch of music theory.

Just enough to explain this.

This site is about easy ways to get you playing guitar fast. So with that in mind, I decided not to go into theory very much at all. Just enough to give you a running start.

There are excellent resources out there that do a much better job than I could here. so with this in mind lets get on with it.

Basic Chord Progressions Explained Simply.

What is a chord progression?

A chord progression is a movement of chords taken from the notes in a scale in a key of your choice or the choice of the songwriter.

When we talk about the roman numerals, they symbolize the placement of a chord we are talking in the order that they are in the scale, in any key.

The I IV and V chords are usually major.

The ii iii vi vii chords are usually minor

Typical chords in any key.

The movement between chords cause a sense of either tension or relief when people hear them.

The amount of tension in a chord progressions can be visualized on the chord ladder.

How high you climb up the ladder and then fall down to the tonic (that's the one chord) determines the amount of relief from the force of gravity or tension.

So you can move up and down and inbetween the rungs to create the flow of the song till you decide to release the tension and go back to the tonic chord. Ta daaaaaah!

Chord Ladder in Fifths

Chord Substitutions in Chord Progressions.

This chord ladder shows the chord substitutions.

These chords can be substituted for the others because they share a majority of notes.

That seven should be diminished.

Its your pick, experiment and have fun.

Progressions of the hitmakers

What basic chord progression has made more fortunes, stars and hits than any other?

I IV V

one four five.

Three Chord Progressions for Guitar

When you mention three chord progressions for guitar to most people they probably think that it really can't be that simple.

It's really that simple - as simple as "I-IV-V".

The "I-IV-V" chord sequence that is. Otherwise known as a 3 chord progression.

Just try telling Johnny Cash that it can't be that simple.

Yea, I know he's dead but he is still around. Just look in any music store or online.

Just what is ole Johnny telling us?

Whole careers can be and have been based on three chord progressions for guitar.

A simple 3 chord sequence of the most basic chords in existence.

Buddy Holly, The Beatles, The Kinks, Bob Dylan, Rolling Stones, Elvis Presley, Neil Young and so many more its flat amazing.

Yours could be too.

All you need to know are 3 chords, "I-IV-V" .

So what are these Three chord progressions all about and where do they come from?

They come from the major scale. The 1,4,5 or "I-IV-V" chords of the major scales. Why the 1,4,5 or "I-IV-V" Chords?

I don't know. Probably because they sound great together.

More than one famous musician will tell you. "If it sounds right, it is right."

I hope that is good enough for right now because most people just want to get on with it and play some music.

If your want to learn the music theory behind it there are plenty of places you can learn that. More power to you, I encourage it.

Rock and roll was based on grabbing a guitar and figuring out what sounded good together and it has pretty much worked.

Download these three chord progressions for guitar "I-IV-V" as a free PDF Here!

I've Included in each graphic a scale that show exactly how the 1, 4, 5 or "I-IV-V" chords were determined.

(Note -Since quite a few people hated Roman numerals in school the graphic shows 1, 4, 5 on the major scale.)

"Louie,Louie" and "Wild thing".

First up is the famous 3 chord progression for Louie, Louie.

Wild thing is also a great song to play with this A, D, E chord sequence.

This is a "I-IV-V" 3 chord progression in the key of "A"

Once you get the Chord changes down, try it distortion pedal and apply a tasteful amount of grind.

The second 3 chord progression is the C, F, G - "I-IV-V" chord progression.

So who has used a C,F,G chord sequence?

How about Elvis Presley? Hound Dog.

Next up is the D,G,A chord sequence. Well who has used that?

Man who hasn't? Blue suede shoes (Elvis Presley)

The three chord 3 chord "I-IV-V" progression in the key of "E" - E, A, B was good enough for Bruce Springsteen to get so bloody rich he could kick back on royalties the rest of his life. Born to Run

Last but certainly not the last one you can learn. (you can figure out three chord progressions for guitar for any chord on the scale)is the G, C, D progression.

It worked really well for Lynyrd Skynyrd “Sweet Home Alabama”

Man, I don't know about you but I look at how simple these songs are and how famous they are, just think how simple it would be to write a hit song of your own.

Go for it! - It's as simple as 1 4 5 .

Fun and Easy Three Chord Guitar Songs.

Three chord guitar songs for guitar3 Chord power chord progressions for rock explained.

Where would we be without three chord guitar songs? Many of the most famous songs in the world are formed by only three chord progressions for guitar.

These are really easy songs to learn.

This is where it gets fun. These 3 chord guitar songs are easy to learn. Songs that can serve both as beginner guitar songs and songs for someone who has been playing for years.

Buddy Holly, Elvis Presley, The Beatles, Johnny Cash and countless others did not come to the attention of the world with complex songs. No, many of the songs just had raw emotion and attitude going for them and the voice and personality of the singers that sang them.

3 chord progressions every guitarist should know.

Ok what are these 3 chords that have launched thousands of songs?

Mostly the "I-IV-V" chords that I mentioned in my blues chords page. Simple straight forward nothing complex or hard to learn. There might be some variations and maybe even some 4 chords songs that use mostly the basic three chord progression with a altered chorus. Nothing you can't handle.

Quite a few of these songs are based on power chords. These are strong aggressive chords that are easy to form and use.

Here are a list of the most common three chord progressions for guitar. Print out the chord chart on this site and just strum and practice so that you can move smoothly and accurately between the 3 chords.

The key to learning chord changes is to move slowly between the chords with your fingers as relaxed as possible. This keeps the muscle tension out of the muscle memory.

Strength and flexibility are important - see my exercise pages for effective techniques that will speed your progress tremendously.

Three chord progressions for guitar - Easy "I-IV-V" songs with 3 chords

C: C-F-G7

C power chord progression : C5-F5-G5

G: G-C-D7

G power chord progression : G5-C5-D5

D: D-G-A7

D power chord progression : D5-G5-A5

A: A-D-E7

A power chord progression : A5-D5-E5

E: E-A-B7

E power chord progression : E5-A5-B5

F: F-Bb-C7

F power chord progression : F5-Bb5-C5

My suggestion on these is to find the original songs that you enjoy and play recordings so you can play along. Why? It's easier to learn to play it so it sounds right that way.

In order to prove that you can really play the guitar a guitarist should be building their repertoire.

A selection of three chord guitar songs that you can play at a moments notice. Playing along with the originals will hone your skills.

There are thousands of three chord songs - buy a selection of books with three chord guitar songs. Take my advice buy the ones with the play along CD's.

Chord progression practice tip

Practice changing from one chord to the other in these progressions with a metronome or a drum machine. Practice these enough and you will be ready for any 3 three chord guitar song.

Metronome by BestMetronome.com

Write your own songs

Once you get these three chord progressions for guitar under your fingers there is no reason why you couldn't write your own songs. Give it a try.

I like to say don't try to impress, just be impressive.

Be sure to check out the following related pages on this website

1.Blues guitar chords -

A great way to make music fast. Easy blues.

2. Free printable chord chart - Easy chords to keep in front of you while you learn.

3.How to read guitar tabs - Tabs are the language of guitar. Here's how to read them.

How to play rhythm guitar and why it is so important.

Think of any great guitarist and you will also find a great rhythm guitarist.

What exactly is rhythm guitar? The Groove.

How to play rhythm guitar? Learn to get into the groove. Grooves are recurring rhythmic and harmonic vehicular patterns that propel you down the path of music.

What does that have to do with rhythm guitar? The rhythm guitar along with bass and drums is a major component of the groove.

It is either the sailboat or the freight train that the lead guitar rides on. Remember grade school? Wooden blocks for rhythm? Some kid playing a catchy tune over that with a kazoo?

Same Idea only you use different patterns of chords and notes instead of smacking blocks together.

So why learn how to play rhythm guitar?

1. It is vital to your development as a skilled guitarist in demand.

2. It's one heck of allot of fun.

3. You can save a ton of money and frustration recording your own backing tracks to learn and play solo guitar.

4. Face it - the singer of the group gets most the attention and rhythm guitar is easier to sing over than lead.

5. If your a guy Chicks dig a great guitar player. Learning how to play rhythm guitar will send you on your way.

6. If your a girl a secure guy that isn't flaky will dig it too.

Rhythm Guitars -What kind do you need?

The only real choices here that can help you learn hot to play rhythm guitar are these:

1. The type of guitar, acoustic or electric.

2. The type of music

3. The ease of chording and riffing which has to do with:

4. Personal preferences in the shape of the neck.

There are no hard rules just personal preferences and choices which is a personal expression of the guitarists art.

Here's a couple of suggestions on finding your sound.

1. Start with observing artists that you enjoy and take note of what they are using to make their sound. Aim for that.

2.Go to a guitar store that will actually let you try out a few guitars or has a salesperson that will demonstrate the different guitars for you.

3. Find the type of guitar that feels like its been your best friend for the last 35 years even if your only 16. Good buddies, fishing buddies, a friend you can talk to.

By this I mean it just feels in your hands like this is the one. The weight, the layout of the controls, the tension of the strings, the shape of the neck.

A few personal choices to help you decide.

Like I said above, your choice of a guitar to learn how to play rhythm guitar is both a personal choice and a artistic statement. Your choice might be totally different than mine,

but just to give you a place to start in case you need it, here is what I would choose for the following types of music.

Blues rhythm guitar - acoustic - Gibson acoustic blues king.

Blues rock rhythm guitar - electric - Gibson or Epiphone Les Paul reissue. Fender Telecaster and Stratocaster.

Rock rhythm guitar - Gibson ES 335 or Gibson Les Paul or Epiphone Dot or Les Paul.

Country Rhythm guitar - Gretsch Country Gentleman or G5122DC Electromatic Double Cutaway Hollow Body.

So how hard is rhythm guitar to learn?

It can be as simple as strumming on muted strings or it can go right into the most complex jazz chord progressions. Your choice.

Every style of music has it's own rhythm guitar grooves.

Rock, Blues, Jazz, Country, Your name it.

Oh man, where do I start?

It matters where you want to end up.

Choose the type of music you want to play and learn the rhythms of that music. That will keep you busy.

How to play rhythm guitar - The importance of drum machines to learning rhythm guitar.

One of the most important tools that you can have to learn how to play rhythm guitar besides your guitar is a drum machine.

Important tip: You can't do everything yourself.

A good drum machine will help instill a sense of rhythm into your nervous system so that after awhile you become one with the beat.

Being able to keep the beat is a vital part of learning how to play rhythm guitar. Essential. A drum machine is the best way I know to do it.

Fortunately drum machines are more affordable and easier to get than ever.

They not only come as stand alone units but build right into quite a few effects units. Ask you music sales person to demo a few for you. Get the best unit you can afford.

Oh yea, you can use a metronome but they are not nearly as fun.

Rhythm Guitar Chord Progressions

I am going to keep the part simple. Each song that you can play will have what is known as a chord progression. A group of chords from the major scale. These chords will sound right played one ofter the other.

A simple way to start on rhythm guitar is with what is know as the 1 4 5 progression. Baby steps.

More to come soon - Basic blues rhythms, chord progressions and beats.

Links to useful websites.

Alesis Drum Machines

Guitar Fretboard NotesMental Map Secrets - Step 1

Guitar Fretboard diagram for fast learningMaster fretboard notes the easy way.

Welcome to part one of my guitar fretboard memorization system.

I'm sure you probably know some of the reasons why knowing the notes on fretboard is important to your skill set as a guitarist. But just in case you think it might be a option, let me assure you it can be one of the most helpful things you can do for your progress as a guitarist.

This is a typical fretboard - Dots on the guitar neck give reference points to guide you and help you know where you are on the fretboard layout

Accurate guitar soloing is dependent on knowing where you are on the fretboard. It is worth your time to learn the notes on guitar fretboardSure there are ways to make it sound like you knew what you were doing but if you are totally wrong about where you are on the fretboard it will sound terrible.

Chord construction - all chords are movable around the fretboard, if you know your chord shapes then you can just move to where the right root note is for that particular chord.

Scales are the basic building blocks of music and just like chords they are movable up and down the guitar fretboard. Find the root note on the neck of your guitar and you are ready for that lick or riff that you practiced, just in another key.

If you have trained your ears properly, which is a whole new subject, you will be able to move straight to the correct position to crank into the lead you know you are ready for.

Just being able to go straight to the notes on the fretboard you are hearing while playing with a band is one of the important reasons that memorizing the fretboard is important.

Being ready in just that sort of situation can mean the difference between getting a gig in a band or being passed up.

The musical alphabet on guitar is made up from the first seven letters of the alphabet and then repeats.

A, B, C, D, E, F, G and then A again.

In between some of the notes are ‘Sharps’ ( # ) and ‘flats’ ( b )So if you see a C# it is known as a “C Sharp”Example: Db is a “D flat” - C# is a "C sharp".

All the notes have sharps and flats except for BC and EF

Here is the complete musical alphabet:A, A#/Bb, B, C, C#/Db, D, D#/Eb, E, F, F#/Gb, G, G#/Ab, A

If you are going up the scale you have sharps and if you are going down you have flats.

They are really the same note but change names with the direction.

Guitar Fretboard Layout

The following fretboard charts show the layout of the notes on the guitar fretboard.

These are fretboard maps to help you understand the layout of the notes on the guitar neck and help you memorize the fretboard.

Don't stop with these! - I have a complete program for memorizing the notes on a guitar fretboard easily and quickly right below these diagrams.

Easy system for Memorizing Fretboard Notes

For the most part, if your a little like me at all, having a guitar book or teacher tell you that you have to memorize the fretboard is intimidating to say the least.

I paid $35 dollars for a system to memorize the guitar fretboard and it did not work for me. This one is yours for free.

I was totally frustrated trying to learn the notes on the fretboard, so I bought a program that was suppose to teach me it in a hour. HA! What a waste of time and

money.

So I've put together a diagram chart system for learning the fretboard notes easily.

My system does not take a hour. It takes more but it is much faster than anything I have seen.

First here are some tips for learning the notes on the fretboard

1.Remember knowledge & effort = results. While this system is fast compared to other methods it does take some time. Put in 15 minutes a day till you have it down cold.

2. Use a tuner to check your progress - this will tell you how well you are doing. Immediate feedback will build confidence.

3. keep a journal of your progress.

4. take one step at a time and reward your self for progress.

Lets give it a go..

I've based my memory technique for the notes on guitar fretboard on a concept call chunking. Large groups of letters or numbers are easier to memorize by putting together small groups from the large.

245687 or 24 56 87, the second set of numbers, though the same, should be easier to remember.

Let me explain...For an example in a major scale - C D EF G A BC

Fretboard notes

BC and EF are only one fret or semitone away from each other while the others are two frets or a whole tone apart.

So by learning the location of BC and EF first, the rest of the notes are easier to visualize and memorize.

Take one chart at a time, use as much time as it takes to completely internalize the note locations and it should be much easier.

Because of the heavy graphics I will present my system in several parts

Guitar fretboard diagram memorization system part one.....

Instructions for part one: Use the following diagrams to practice locating notes BC two strings at a time until you can go right to

them.

Fretboard memorization system - step 1

There are 6 steps to this Guitar fretboard memorization system

Tip..... Print this page on learning the notes on guitar fretboard out and keep it in front of you as much as possible.

1. Learn the fretboard notes step one 2. Learn the fretboard notes step two

3. Learn the fretboard notes step three

4. Learn the fretboard notes step four

5. Learn the fretboard notes step five

6. Learn the fretboard notes step six

Guitar Fretboard NotesMental Map Secrets - Step 1

Guitar Fretboard diagram for fast learningMaster fretboard notes the easy way.

Welcome to part one of my guitar fretboard memorization system.

I'm sure you probably know some of the reasons why knowing the notes on fretboard is important to your skill set as a guitarist. But just in case you think it might be a option, let me assure you it can be one of the most helpful things you can do for your progress as a guitarist.

This is a typical fretboard - Dots on the guitar neck give reference points to guide you and help you know where you are on the fretboard layout

Accurate guitar soloing is dependent on knowing where you are on the fretboard. It is worth your time to learn the notes on guitar fretboardSure there are ways to make it sound like you knew what you were doing but if you are totally wrong about where you are on the fretboard it will sound terrible.

Chord construction - all chords are movable around the fretboard, if you know your chord shapes then you can just move to where the right root note is for that particular chord.

Scales are the basic building blocks of music and just like chords they are movable up and down the guitar fretboard. Find the root note on the neck of your guitar and you are ready for that lick or riff that you practiced, just in another key.

If you have trained your ears properly, which is a whole new subject, you will be able to move straight to the correct position to crank into the lead you know you are ready for.

Just being able to go straight to the notes on the fretboard you are hearing while playing with a band is one of the important reasons that memorizing the fretboard is important.

Being ready in just that sort of situation can mean the difference between getting a gig in a band or being passed up.

The musical alphabet on guitar is made up from the first seven letters of the alphabet and then repeats.

A, B, C, D, E, F, G and then A again.

In between some of the notes are ‘Sharps’ ( # ) and ‘flats’ ( b )So if you see a C# it is known as a “C Sharp”Example: Db is a “D flat” - C# is a "C sharp".

All the notes have sharps and flats except for BC and EF

Here is the complete musical alphabet:A, A#/Bb, B, C, C#/Db, D, D#/Eb, E, F, F#/Gb, G, G#/Ab, A

If you are going up the scale you have sharps and if you are going down you have flats.

They are really the same note but change names with the direction.

Guitar Fretboard Layout

The following fretboard charts show the layout of the notes on the guitar fretboard.

These are fretboard maps to help you understand the layout of the notes on the guitar neck and help you memorize the fretboard.

Don't stop with these! - I have a complete program for memorizing the notes on a guitar fretboard easily and quickly right below these diagrams.

Easy system for Memorizing Fretboard Notes

For the most part, if your a little like me at all, having a guitar book or teacher tell you that you have to memorize the fretboard is intimidating to say the least.

I paid $35 dollars for a system to memorize the guitar fretboard and it did not work for me. This one is yours for free.

I was totally frustrated trying to learn the notes on the fretboard, so I bought a program that was suppose to teach me it in a hour. HA! What a waste of time and

money.

So I've put together a diagram chart system for learning the fretboard notes easily.

My system does not take a hour. It takes more but it is much faster than anything I have seen.

First here are some tips for learning the notes on the fretboard

1.Remember knowledge & effort = results. While this system is fast compared to other methods it does take some time. Put in 15 minutes a day till you have it down cold.

2. Use a tuner to check your progress - this will tell you how well you are doing. Immediate feedback will build confidence.

3. keep a journal of your progress.

4. take one step at a time and reward your self for progress.

Lets give it a go..

I've based my memory technique for the notes on guitar fretboard on a concept call chunking. Large groups of letters or numbers are easier to memorize by putting together small groups from the large.

245687 or 24 56 87, the second set of numbers, though the same, should be easier to remember.

Let me explain...For an example in a major scale - C D EF G A BC

Fretboard notes

BC and EF are only one fret or semitone away from each other while the others are two frets or a whole tone apart.

So by learning the location of BC and EF first, the rest of the notes are easier to visualize and memorize.

Take one chart at a time, use as much time as it takes to completely internalize the note locations and it should be much easier.

Because of the heavy graphics I will present my system in several parts

Guitar fretboard diagram memorization system part one.....

Instructions for part one: Use the following diagrams to practice locating notes BC two strings at a time until you can go right to

them.

Fretboard memorization system - step 1

There are 6 steps to this Guitar fretboard memorization system

Tip..... Print this page on learning the notes on guitar fretboard out and keep it in front of you as much as possible.

1. Learn the fretboard notes step one 2. Learn the fretboard notes step two

3. Learn the fretboard notes step three

4. Learn the fretboard notes step four

5. Learn the fretboard notes step five

6. Learn the fretboard notes step six

Guitar Fretboard NotesMental Map Secrets - Step2

Guitar Fretboard diagram for fast learningMaster fretboard notes the easy way.

Welcome to part two of my fretboard chart method. My fretboard diagram system for

memorizing the fretboard notes.

If you arrived here first jump on back to part one (it's in the navigation bar as fretboard chart) and have a go at it.

The fretboard memorization system I've put together should be very easy for you to memorize the fretboard notes in a very short period of time.

It might even seem a little too easy so be sure to review the system often.

1. Learn the fretboard notes step one 2. Learn the fretboard notes step two

3. Learn the fretboard notes step three

4. Learn the fretboard notes step four

5. Learn the fretboard notes step five

6. Learn the fretboard notes step six

You should find it easier than most methods of fretboard memorization.

Either way be sure to review all the diagrams frequently over the next few weeks. I'll be adding more surprises to the website that I hope you will find useful and the system even easier to memorize.

Guitar notes memorization system - step 2

Step two is memorizing the EF note cluster on all 6 strings.

Take each guitar fretboard chart and learn the notes on two strings at a time thoroughly before moving on.

Think of the downward edge of these graphics as the fat 6th sting is pointing at your stomach with the head of the guitar ( tuning pegs) towards your left hand. If your left handed you'll know what to do to make it right.

Ok the EF clusters on the 1st and 6th strings are really easy to memorize. Open string and the first fret for EF at the top of the neck and they repeat themselves at the 12th fret which is the octave of the open string.

Take your time and memorize each diagram thoroughly before moving on to Guitar fretboard mastery Step Three.

Tip: print this page and keep it in front of you as much as possible.

Be sure to check out the following related webpages on this site.

1.Blues guitar chords - Blues is the basis of Rock and Roll, country, Rockabilly and probably allot of other stuff. How could you use it? Blues rhythm instruction.

2. Blues guitar scales - Ever wanted to crank out a rocking blues solo? Blues soloing made extremely easy.

3. How to read guitar tabs - How does a person get good at reading tab?

Guitar Fretboard NotesMental Map Secrets - Step 4

Guitar Fretboard diagram for fast learningMaster fretboard notes the easy way.

Welcome to step three of my guitar fretboard notes memorization system.

If you have been following the steps of the system, you should be pleased with your progress and the fretboard should be becoming like a good friend. If you need to review here's the links

1. Learn the fretboard step one 2. Learn the fretboard step two

3. Learn the fretboard step three

4. Learn the fretboard step four

5. Learn the fretboard step five

6. Learn the fretboard step six

Memorizing the fretboard notes is something most people take a very long time to do. If you have been diligent to review the fretboard diagram chartsyou will probably amaze a few people with your progress.

Here is a tip to speed your progress: If you visualize the fretboard notes and their placement away from your guitar and emotionalize the certainty of your knowledge, your subconscious mind will pick up on it much faster.

Your knowledge of the fretboard should become as easy as opening a door or as Chuck Berry says "just like ringing a bell".

Guitar fretboard memorization system - step 3

Instructions for step three:

If you have spent some time on the charts steps one and two, congratulations you've already done most of the work for step three.

Take a good look at the next three fretboard diagrams and get a good feel for the spacing between cluster BC and EF.

Three frets between BC and EF.

Five frets between EF and BC.

The most natural thing is for a person to want to have a skill now.

I know I do.

Remember most people take a very long time to finally memorize the fretboard notes.

Take one step at a time and you should be able to have your fretboard knowledge down quickly.

"Repetition is the mother of learning. Tom Hopkins " review each fretboard diagram during your day.

Stay at it.

Only a couple of more steps.

TIP: print this page and keep it in front of you as much as possible.

See you at Step Four...

Guitar Fretboard NotesMental Map Secrets - Step 4

Guitar Fretboard diagram for fast learningMaster fretboard notes the easy way.

Welcome to step four of my fretboard memorization system.

I hope you have been enjoying my fretboard chart system and are making great progress.

If you came to this page first, this is what this system is all about.It was more or less developed out of the sheer frustration that I experienced finding a system to memorize the notes on the fretboard.

I paid good money for information on how to learn the fretboard quickly and easily but found that it was just too awkward to use on a ordinary basis.

So I developed this guitar fretboard chart system because I could see the need for a fast easy way to memorize the fretboard.

So why is it important? Progress in soloing, your understanding of chord construction, and knowing where to go next for a scale will depend on a easy natural knowledge of the notes on the fretboard.

If you need to review or start from the beginning ( a very good place to start) here are the links to each step.

1. Learn the fretboard step one 2. Learn the fretboard step two

3. Learn the fretboard step three

4. Learn the fretboard step four

5. Learn the fretboard step five

6. Learn the fretboard step six

In this step we'll be putting together the fretboard notes that do not come in Pairs. A and D for the BC clusters in this step.

If you have applied diligence to your study of each diagram you should be pleased with your progress.

If you have gotten distracted, now is a good time to make the commitment to be a no compromise guitarist.

I will be listing a few very helpful pieces of guitar fretboard memorization software that I have tried out and found to be of top quality.

The whole idea being to train the nervous system for instant recognition of notes while jamming and improvising.

Instructions for step four....

Take one fretboard chart at a time and try it out on your guitar.

A great way to check to see if you correct is to use a electric guitar tuner to check if you are on the right notes.

Be sure and have your guitar tuned properly for the best results.

TIP: print this page and keep it in front of you as much as possible.

fretboard diagram | fretboard notes

Return to home page from Guitar Fretboard.

Guitar Fretboard NotesMental Map Secrets - Step 5

Welcome to step five of my Guitar fretboard memorization system.

This is step 5Here are the links to my diagram chart system if you need to review.

1. Learn the fretboard step one 2. Learn the fretboard step two

3. Learn the fretboard step three

4. Learn the fretboard step four

5. Learn the fretboard step five

6. Learn the fretboard step six

Only a couple more steps towards having all the Guitar fretboard notes memorized. If all this seems to be coming to fast slow down and take your time. One of the keys to learn something fast is to take it slow and repeat your learning until it is automatic.

If you've arrived here and are wondering what this is all about, this is step five of a guitar fretboard memorization system that I developed out of frustration when all I could find were confusing methods did not work for me.

Is is based on a memory technique called chunking - memorizing a large amount of info by taking small chunks of it at a time.

Important reasons for memorizing the fretboard down cold are the ability to know exactly where you are for faster soloing, chord construction concepts will be much easier to figure out and you will probably make a few people jealous because you are so good at it. (you could let them know about this website - maybe :)

Remember most guitarists take years to learn the fretboard notes, if it takes a few weeks you'll be far ahead of most. ( it shouldn't take that long but repetition is the mother of learning.)

Keep your goal ( instant identification of any note on the fretboard) in mind and keep at it.

I will be posting pdf files on the website for you to down load and if you print it onto card stock they will make great review cards for you to take with you.

A great way to keep you skills up is take a small backpack guitar with you to practice the fretboard diagram system in odd moments, whatever they may be, waiting in the car etc.

Guitar fretboard memorization system - step 5.

Instructions for step 5:

Take one chart at a time memorize it completely and reinforce that with knowledge from the previous cards.

TIP: print this page and keep it in front of you as much as possible.

Be sure to check out these related pages on this website.1.Blues guitar scales - Do you know the basis of a really great solo is most of the time a blues scale? This is a fast and easy way to learn them.

2.Blues guitar chords - The basis of Rock and Roll is the blues. Learn basic blues rhythm easily and quickly.

3. How to read guitar tabs - Here's how to read tabs explained in a easy to understand way.

fretboard diagram | fretboard notes

Return home from guitar fretboard.

Guitar Fretboard NotesMental Map Secrets - Step 6

Guitar Fretboard diagram for fast learningMaster fretboard notes the easy way.

Welcome to step Six of my Guitar fretboard diagram memorization system.

This is the final step of the fretboard chart system.

If you need to review a diagram or two, here are the links.

1. Learn the fretboard step one 2. Learn the fretboard step two

3. Learn the fretboard step three

4. Learn the fretboard step four

5. Learn the fretboard step five

6. Learn the fretboard step six

I am assuming you have a basic knowledge of music theory.

If you don't here's the short version of what you need to know.

Sharps and flats are between the natural notes and they are called either a sharp or a flat according to which way you are headed on the fretboard.

For example if I am headed towards A backwards from B It would be a Bb (flat).So it would be B, B flat and then A.

If I was headed forward towards B from A it would be a A# (sharp). So it would be A, A sharp, B.

So in this step fill mentally fill in the blanks.

A --- A#/Bb --- BC --- C#/Db --- D --- EF --- F#/Gb --- G

If you have been following the fretboard chart system you have may have noticed that all we have learned are the natural notes and not the sharps and the flats.

Guitar fretboard memorization system - step 6

Instructions for step 6:

This is where you come in.

In between the notes go ahead and fill them in using your imagination.

Memorize each chart referring to your guitar as you work along. Using a tuner if you have it for easy reverence and to check your accuracy.

Get a feel for the spacing in between the natural notes.

That's all there is to it.

That's my fretboard diagram system, I hope It works for you. Its probably the easiest I've seen.

Now it's a matter of building your reflexes with some guitar speed trainingand start moving to each note quickly and without too much thought. I find that going from a note to the chord corresponding to that note is a good way to check accuracy also.

Or maybe go from a note do a major scale from there and then to a chord.

Mix it up, have fun.

I will be listing some great software for memorizing the guitar fretboard even better, which I have found helps build those reflexes for quicker, effortless playing.

Tip: print this page and keep it in front of you as much as possible.

Guitar Recording Software

Too many things to learn?

Learning guitar recording software when you should be learning guitar?

One common quality of great guitarists is that they put many, many of hours practicing

and just playing their guitars. Makes sense doesn't it?

How many hours? - I've heard of 8 hour days being pretty common for top notch guitarists in their first learning phases.

Research has shown that to become a world class expert at any skill takes 3 hours a day for ten years - or 6 for five years etc.

I don't know about you but that many hours can be hard to find during a day. What a guitarist needs is way to make recording fast and easy.

One of the key to obtaining your goals is to notice the results you are achieving and adjust your course.

Recording yourself playing guitar is a good way to notice your results.

Guitar recording software can be really tough to learn.

I've tried using my computer for just that - bought computer audio interfaces - books on recording - microphones and software.

I've found that it can take many frustrating hours just trying to figure out what the heck to do with it all. Hours that could be spent practicing.

I just want to play my guitar and get better at it. If I wanted to be a recording engineer I would have gone to school to do just that. Probably would have to put in 3 hours a day for ten years. Guitar recording software like protools can take months to learn.

So how does one simplify the process?

Well any way you look at it you have to have a way to get your guitar signal into either your computer or a standalone device. So it's not just not just software that you need. You also need a computer interface.

Each one of the suggestions following have their own way of doing that.

Here are some great tools to do just that.

1. Field recorder. These are straight forward. these are good for acoustic guitar (this is a link to acoustic guitar reviews) or electric guitar. Or electric guitar recording. No need to line microphone up just so. They are designed to pick up anything you hear in the room. Hit the button and record. Unlike a specialized guitar recorder, you can use them for other things that you would like to record.

2. Line 6 spider jam. I have the spider jam amplifier and I use it all the time, it has a built in multitrack looping recorder with a drum machine, I like it, it sounds good and all you have to do is push a button or two to get going.

3.Line 6 Guitarport with Riffworks. - This a very versatile interface with really great electric guitar recording software. It works with either a stealth plug interface or one of the great products from Line 6, such as a POD XT.

4. Vox Jamvox. - The Vox Jamvox is a complete recording solution for guitar. The interface includes microphone jacks, usb connection for your computer, headphone jacks and some really great software. If I didn't already have a spider Jam this would be my choice.

5. Line 6 Backtrack with microphone. - This is a CD quality recorder that has a guitar input that records as you play. Captures everything you play sing or hear with a button to mark the best stuff for easy recall.

If you are serious now about Learning guitar recording software and are willing to learn Cubase and Protools are the software of choice nowadays. Go for it if you are really serious you'll be wanting professional quality recording someday anyway. (Prepare for a big learning curve.)

Be sure to check out the following related pages on this website.

1. Guitar finger exercises -

Having strong fingers will help you make progress and that is great for keeping your motivation up.

2. Guitar practice motivation - Stay focused, positive and make progress.

Links to useful websites

Line 6

Guitar Fretboard Notes Chart

A better understanding of how the fretboard notes work

The guitar fretboard notes as confusing as they appear to a new guitar student actually have some logic to them. Surprised? I was.

Thats what this page will be all about. The logic behind the Guitar fretboard notes.

Complete Fretboard Note ChartThese are all the notes on the guitar fretboard.

all notes repeat after the 12th fret

Complete Fretboard Sharp Notes ChartThese are all the notes on the guitar fretboard.

all notes repeat after the 12th fret

Complete Fretboard FlatNotes ChartThese are all the flat notes on the guitar fretboard.

all notes repeat after the 12th fret

So where do we start? Music theory. Now before you scream and run off let me explain that I hate this stuff too. It seems like there are a bunch of egghead music experts out there that

want to make this stuff hard so that most people will feel totally inadequate and not even try. It makes their job easier.

Such is life in the big jungle. the bigger smarter caveman takes the food from the whimpy caveman and tells him he's dumb and he believes it.

Don't believe it.

This is the the Musical Alphabet: In Western music, there are 12 different notes that can be played. They are:

A | A# | B | C | C# | D | D# | E | F | F# | G | G#

When you get to G# you go back to A only this starts the next octave. and this just continues until it gets so high that your brain explodes and then, well it just doesn't really matter after that does it?

Why the guitar is normally tuned EADGBE

The way that the guitar neck is set up is that all the notes are under or within one fret of being under the four fingers of the hand.

Take a look at the following graphics. In the first four frets and in the open strings are two octaves of all the notes of the musical alphabet.

Go ahead and follow the arrows on your guitar and you'll see what I'm talking about.

So thats the first four frets of the guitar fretboard notes.

What about the rest? Same day, different frets. Only this time you'll have to make a shift to reach all the notes. One fret up and then slide down for the other notes.

Guitar fretboard notes in two octaves starting from the fifth fret.

This pattern of notes would be the same no matter where you start on the neck. Pretty simple eh?

This makes a great warm up exercise and really helps make those finger shifts automatic.

.

Ok I hope your still with me.

So how about going all the way down the string?

Here's how you do it. it'd the same for each string.

Just start at the note for the open string.

Remember sharp notes going up, flat notes going down.

Have Fun!

Pentatonic guitar scalesHow to learn to solo fast.

The pentatonic guitar scales. If there is one piece of wisdom I can give you on learning to play the Blues or Rock guitar is that learning these scales and getting them under your

fingers is the quickest way to sound impressive on a guitar.

In this lesson you will learn to play the pentatonic guitar scales and I will show you how to move around and up and down the guitar neck and put together some great sounding solos.

How to learn the guitar pentatonic scales

The guitar pentatonic scales are pretty easy to learn.

How to read this tabluture

A C D etc. are the notes atarting on the 5Th fret of the fretboard in regular tuning.

1 4 1 etc. suggested fingering, you can use what feels natural to you

A Pentatonic minor Scale Pattern 1 (A C D E G)

A C D E G A C D E G A C1 4 1 3 1 3 1 3 1 4 1 4-------------------------------5--8----------------------------------------5--8----------------------------------------5--7----------------------------------------5--7----------------------------------------5--7----------------------------------------5--8---------------------------------------------

They lay neatly under the four fingers of your hand.

The best way to learn these is to follow the tab below starting on box number one.

Take two strings at a time starting at the largest string which at the fifth fret is a A Note and get the feel for that. So your only taking four notes at a time. Then move onto the next two strings and then onto the next two.

When you get the feel for that combine the first four strings, that would be the next 8 notes and when you have that, move over two strings and combine the the next four strings. Then finally move over two more strings and combine pattern for the next four strings.

When you have that down move on and play the whole box.

When you are confident that you have the box pattern under your fingers, get out your metronome and start at a very slow speed and work your way up in speed until you are up to about 120 bpm.

The next step would be a drum machine and then onto some backing tracks in the key of A.

This will teach you the second pattern of the guitar pentatonic scales.

Keep in mind that the second pattern goes right under the first and the top part of it is the bottom of part 1.

A Pentatonic minor Scale Pattern 2 (C D E G A)

C D E G A C D E G A C D2 4 1 4 1 4 1 3 2 4 2 4-----------------------------------8--10--------------------------------------8--10---------------------------------------7--9---------------------------------------7--10--------------------------------------7--10--------------------------------------8--10--------------------------------------------

The third pattern of the pentatonic guitar scales goes next.Just concentrate for now getting it under your fingers. When you go back and repeat box 2 and then box 3 after that you will be able to see how they hook together.

A Pentatonic minor Scale Pattern 3 (D E G A C)

D E G A C D E G A C D E1 3 1 3 1 3 1 4 1 4 1 3----------------------------------------10--12------------------------------------10--13-------------------------------------9--12-------------------------------------10--12------------------------------------10--12------------------------------------10--12-------------------------------------------

This will teach you the fourth box pattern of the pentatonic guitar scales.Go back to pattern 3 and play this one right afterward and you'll be able to see how they fit together.

A Pentatonic minor Scale Pattern 4 (E G A C D)

E G A C D E G A C D E G1 4 1 4 1 3 1 3 2 4 1 4-----------------------------------------12--15------------------------------------13--15------------------------------------12--14------------------------------------12--14------------------------------------12--15------------------------------------12--15-------------------------------------------

Guitar pentatonic scales pattern number 5.

When you have this one down you have memorized the whole fretboard in the pentatonic scale. Congratulations!

A Pentatonic minor Scale Pattern 5 (G A C D E)

G A C D E G A C D E G A2 4 1 4 1 4 1 4 2 4 2 4-----------------------------------------15--17------------------------------------15--17------------------------------------14--17------------------------------------14--17------------------------------------15--17------------------------------------15--17-------------------------------------------

Use the metronome to make it yours.

Start slow and gradually increase the speed.

Metronome by BestMetronome.com

So now what? Solo. Fire up a backing track in the key of A and go for it.

Here is a tip on how to sound better when you solo.

Before you go to bed and first thing when you get up in the morning put on the best blues or rock guitarist video that you can find on youtube or somewhere else on the internet. Get it into your head and it will come out your hands.

The guitar is not only learned - it is absorbed.

Pentatonic Guitar Scales

Beginner guitar scales Pentatonic Scale pattern 1

Pentatonic Scale Patterns Five simple note patterns to help you sound good quicker than

anything else could.

Which scales do you need to learn first?

Beginner guitar scales. Wow where do you start? There are a ton of scales that you can learn on a guitar.

Can I clue you in? It's not that hard. Pentatonic scale patterns.

You only need 5 simple patterns to start really ripping up and down the guitar neck in no time. Well it might take a couple of weeks.

Consider this - Most guitar players don't sound good at anything for about a year or so. Longer most of the time.

Take my advice start here. You will be glad when you see smiles instead of those faces people usually make when a beginner plays anything.

Here are the links to all of the lessons on the beginner scales

Beginner Scales one

Beginner Scales Two

Beginner Scales Three

Beginner Scales Four

Beginner Scales Five

Alright are you ready?Beginner Guitar Scales worth learning. Pentatonic Scale Pattern 1

Get this guitar pentatonic scale pattern box 1 under your fingers

Practice it until you can play it while your sleeping. Really.

|---------------------------5--8-8--5--------------------------||----------------------5--8-----------8--5---------------------||-----------------5--7---------------------7--5----------------||------------5--7-------------------------------7--5-----------||-------5--7-----------------------------------------7--5------||--5--8---------------------------------------------------5--8-|

OK, now I can hear you saying,"What the heck do I do with that?"

Well, Now its time to get out the metronome.

If you don't have a metronome don't worry, Here is a free one you can use.

Metronome by BestMetronome.com

Beginner guitar scales - Pentatonic scale pattern 1 - How to make it sound good.

How to make a boring scale into a master piece.

A scale when played one note after another sounds like - you guessed it. A scale. Boring........ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ.

You, yes, you have to add your guts, gristle and attitude, along with some simple guitar techniques to the mix to make, Wahla... music.

How do you do that?

My best advice is listen to some serious blues players like BB King or Buddy Guy. Right before going to bed so it soaks into your subconscious.

Add some simple guitar techniques to your scales along with some attitude.

What kind of techniques? Blend in the following techniques and you'll have folks thinking your a genius at guitar in a short period of time.

All of these techniques are well worth your time to practice until they become second nature.

1. Bends

2. Vibrato

3. Hammer-ons

4. Pull offs

More to come soon.

You can find out about each one of these techniques - Here.

Links to useful websites

Gosk - Guitar scales

Beginner guitar scales Pentatonic Scale pattern 1

Pentatonic Scale Patterns Five simple note patterns to help you sound good quicker than

anything else could.

Which scales do you need to learn first?

Beginner guitar scales. Wow where do you start? There are a ton of scales that you can learn on a guitar.

Can I clue you in? It's not that hard. Pentatonic scale patterns.

You only need 5 simple patterns to start really ripping up and down the guitar neck in no time. Well it might take a couple of weeks.

Consider this - Most guitar players don't sound good at anything for about a year or so. Longer most of the time.

Take my advice start here. You will be glad when you see smiles instead of those faces people usually make when a beginner plays anything.

Here are the links to all of the lessons on the beginner scales

Beginner Scales one

Beginner Scales Two

Beginner Scales Three

Beginner Scales Four

Beginner Scales Five

Alright are you ready?Beginner Guitar Scales worth learning. Pentatonic Scale Pattern 1

Get this guitar pentatonic scale pattern box 1 under your fingers

Practice it until you can play it while your sleeping. Really.

|---------------------------5--8-8--5--------------------------||----------------------5--8-----------8--5---------------------||-----------------5--7---------------------7--5----------------||------------5--7-------------------------------7--5-----------||-------5--7-----------------------------------------7--5------||--5--8---------------------------------------------------5--8-|

OK, now I can hear you saying,"What the heck do I do with that?"

Well, Now its time to get out the metronome.

If you don't have a metronome don't worry, Here is a free one you can use.

Metronome by BestMetronome.com

Beginner guitar scales - Pentatonic scale pattern 1 - How to make it sound good.

How to make a boring scale into a master piece.

A scale when played one note after another sounds like - you guessed it. A scale. Boring........ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ.

You, yes, you have to add your guts, gristle and attitude, along with some simple guitar techniques to the mix to make, Wahla... music.

How do you do that?

My best advice is listen to some serious blues players like BB King or Buddy Guy. Right before going to bed so it soaks into your subconscious.

Add some simple guitar techniques to your scales along with some attitude.

What kind of techniques? Blend in the following techniques and you'll have folks thinking your a genius at guitar in a short period of time.

All of these techniques are well worth your time to practice until they become second nature.

1. Bends

2. Vibrato

3. Hammer-ons

4. Pull offs

More to come soon.

You can find out about each one of these techniques - Here.

Links to useful websites

Gosk - Guitar scales

Beginner Guitar Scales Pentatonic Scale Patterns Box 2

Step Two to Guitar Solo mastery | Pentatonic Pattern TwoBeginner guitar scales are the first step to mastering solo

guitar.

Why is solo guitar so popular with players and audiences?

Well Ted Nugent puts it this way it is one of - " the sonic warfare elements".

The 5 Pentatonic Scale Patterns - Revisited

The pentatonic scale is simple, beginner simple. Only 5 notes arranged in easy to remember beginner guitar scales.

Yet it is the basic foundation of the Blues, Rock and Roll and a whole bunch of other types of music.

I think that's a great reason to start with the pentatonic scale patterns as opposed to the hundreds of other scale patterns that you could start with. Why complicate your life?

The pentatonic scale is the fastest way to sounding really good.

If you arrived here first welcome - Click here to start with Box 1 here.

Here are the links to all of the lessons on the beginner scales

Beginner Scales one

Beginner Scales Two

Beginner Scales Three

Beginner Scales Four

Beginner Scales Five

Pentatonic Scale Patterns - Box 2.Progress marches on.

|-------------------------------8-10-10-8--------------------------||-------------------------8-10-------------10-8--------------------||--------------------7-9-------------------------9-7---------------||--------------7-10----------------------------------10-7----------||--------7-10---------------------------------------------10-7-----||--8-10--------------------------------------------------------10-8|

To really get these patterns into your long term memory, there is no substitute for practice.

This practice can take many forms.

First you want to just get the guitar scale patterns down so that you know what they are and what they look and feel like.

They need to be in your muscle memory.

Go slowly at first memorize how the pattern look and feel without any metronome or drum machine.

At this point they would be a distraction.

As soon as you know the pattern get out the metronome.

Set it at a slow speed and spent some time working at it.

Speed it up when it gets to be too easy.

This is a great metronome to use Just for that.

Metronome by BestMetronome.com

Now it's time to use a backing track in A or a drum machine.Jam until it feels like second nature.

Here is the graphic and tab for pattern one to review and compare with pattern two.

|---------------------------5--8-8--5--------------------------||----------------------5--8-----------8--5---------------------||-----------------5--7---------------------7--5----------------||------------5--7-------------------------------7--5-----------||-------5--7-----------------------------------------7--5------||--5--8---------------------------------------------------5--8-|

See you at beginner scales - pentatonic scale patterns box 3 soon.

Links to useful websites

Gosk - Guitar Scales

Return home - from Beginner Guitar Scales

Beginner guitar scalesPentatonic scales for beginners

pattern/ Box 3

Beginner guitar scales

How do you master solo guitar as fast as possible? Do this.

The most effective beginner guitar scales for mastering solo guitar are the pentatonic scales.

Bold statement yet the history of Rock and Roll and the Blues will back me up. Without argument.

That most likely means that if you are a beginning guitar student looking for a way to sound good fast. You are in the right place.

If you arrived here first, Welcome but its probably not the best place to start.That's alright, we like you anyway.

Check out the following link to take you to step one / box one of the beginner guitar scales lessons.

Beginner guitar scales - Part one - The adventure begins.....

Here are the links to all of the lessons on the beginner scales

Beginner Scales one

Beginner Scales Two

Beginner Scales Three

Beginner Scales Four

Beginner Scales Five

This lesson covers box or pattern 3 of the pentatonic scale.

I find that the key of A is a very versatile one to work with.

Once you learn them is the key of A, it's just a slight adjustment up or down the neck to change to whichever key that you need or want to play in.

This link will take you to the fastest way to learn the fretboard so you can freely move these patterns up and down to whatever key you wish to play in.

|------------------------------10-12-12-10--------------------------------||------------------------10-13-------------13-10--------------------------||-------------------9-12-------------------------12-9---------------------||-------------10-12-----------------------------------12-10---------------||-------10-12-----------------------------------------------12--10--------||-10-12------------------------------------------------------------12-10--|

When you feel that you have pattern 3 under your fingers use the metronome to bring up your speed slowly.

Metronome by BestMetronome.com

Here is pattern two of the pentatonic scale so you can see how they fit together on the fretboard

|-------------------------------8-10-10-8--------------------------||-------------------------8-10-------------10-8--------------------||--------------------7-9-------------------------9-7---------------||--------------7-10----------------------------------10-7----------||--------7-10---------------------------------------------10-7-----||--8-10--------------------------------------------------------10-8|

Congratulations on your progress - your more than halfway through the most important scale patterns in the history of rock and roll and the blues.Don't stop!

Along with the beginner scales, a great beginning practice schedule should include daily guitar finger exercises and a stretching program to keep you limber and your hands strong.

The exercise program I have outlined on this site has done a world of good for my guitar skills.

Strength and flexibility is usually not talked about too much when the subject of learning guitar comes up.

I believe it is vital to give you the edge over other players.

A horse can win a race by mere inches.

A complete hand and finger exercise program can do the same for a guitarist.

To sum up This lesson.

1.You have learned the 3rd pentatonic scale box and how to combine it with pattern number 2.

2. You have had a chance to practice the two patterns with the metronome and make it part of you.

3. You have learned about the importance of a regular finger and hand strengthening routine and how it can give you the edge over other guitarists.

Congratulations - it's time to move on to Beginner guitar scales pattern / box 4. coming soon!

Links to useful websites

Gosk - Guitar Scales

Beginner Guitar ScalesPentatonic Scales for Beginners Pattern /

Box 4

The Beginner guitar scales. Welcome to lesson 4.Your almost done. Two more scales to learn.

In this lesson we will learn pattern / box 4 of the pentatonic scale.

We will also review pattern / box 3 and see how they fit together.

If you arrived here first - Welcome, I'm glad your here but its probably not the best place to start on beginning scales.

This link will take you to lesson one. Thank you!

Here are the links to all of the lessons on the beginner scales

Beginner Scales one

Beginner Scales Two

Beginner Scales Three

Beginner Scales Four

Beginner Scales Five

Why are these pentatonic scales the best beginner guitar scales?

1. They are easy to learn.

2. They are fun to play solos.

3. They sound great.

4. They are used for thousands of songs.

5. They are the basic structure of both the blues and rock and roll.

6. You can sound great fast!

How to learn this scale fast.

1. Use the graphic and tab to learn the scale and practice till it feels completely natural.

2. Use the metronome to get up to the speed that you feel best about.

Start slow and raise the speed slowly.

If you start messing up, your moving too fast. Slow it down a bit and try again.

3. Next step Drum machine or backing track in the key of A to improvise over and make it your own.

|-------------------------------12-15-15-12-------------------------------------||-------------------------13-15-------------15-13-------------------------------||-------------------12-14-------------------------14-12-------------------------||-------------12-14-------------------------------------15-12-------------------||-------12-15-------------------------------------------------15-12-------------||-12-15-------------------------------------------------------------15-12-------|

Metronome by BestMetronome.com

Now let's see how beginning guitar scale number 4 fits together with number 3

Take a look at the top of pattern 4.

What you should notice that it's the same as the bottom of pattern number 3.

It's the same notes. They share those notes and that is where they run together for playing solo's.

Extra credit - Learn to move seamlessly between the two and use them to improvise over a backing track.

In this lesson on the beginner guitar scales you learned the 4Th pattern of the Pentatonic scale in the key of A.

You have also learned how 3 and 4 fit together.

Moving between the boxes is a big step towards seamless solo guitar.

Be sure to review these scales frequently so they become part of who you are.

Congratulations on your progress - your one scale away from mastering the most important scale patterns in the history of rock and roll and the blues.Don't stop!

Links to useful websites

Gosk - Guitar scales

Beginner Guitar ScalesPentatonic Scales for Beginners

Pattern Box 5

Welcome to Beginner Guitar Scales Lesson 5

Your almost done yet just beginning.

The beginner guitar scales are one of the most important feathers in the cap of guitar mastery there are.

You have not wasted your time.

The first efforts while learning guitar might seem slow, awkward and crude, but they start the ball of guitar mastery rolling in your favor. If you arrived here first - Welcome! Glad you made it but this page is probably not the best place to start. Follow this link to Beginner guitar scales part one.

Here are the links to all of the lessons on the beginner scales

Beginner Scales one

Beginner Scales Two

Beginner Scales Three

Beginner Scales Four

Beginner Scales Five

In this Lesson you will learn the last of the 5 pentatonic guitar scale patterns.

Plus the one small addition that is the key to Blues and Rock guitar.

Step by step lesson on how to master the pentatonic guitar scale pattern Box 5

1. Play along with the graphic and tab until the pattern feels natural to you.

2. Once the pattern feels natural to you and you don't have to consult the tab anymore you are ready to move onto the metronome.

Set the metronome at a slow speed with relaxed hands. - Maybe even slower than what seems natural. You are training your nervous system and gaining muscle memory at this stage.

3. Slowly build up the speed small steps at a time until you are going too fast and making mistakes. At this point you want to reduce the speed a little bit and get it down first before moving on.

4 When you feel that you are fast enough, use a drum machine or a backing track to improvise over. Have fun and get to the place where you sound good.

5. Record yourself. Play it back and listen. Record again and again till you like what you are hearing.

|---------------------3-5-5-3-----------------------||-----------------3-5---------5-3-------------------||-------------2-5-----------------5-2---------------||---------2-5-------------------------5-2-----------||-----3-5---------------------------------5-3-------||-3-5-----------------------------------------5-3---|

Overview of how the 5 box patterns fit together.

Ok. So now you might take a look at the patterns all laid out together.

Notice that the beginner guitar scales neatly fit together until you get to box five.

What is up with that? Precisely.

Pattern or box five can fit not only on the bottom of pattern 4 but it also fits on the top of pattern 1.

The pentatonic scale patterns repeat.1, 2, 3, 4, 5.

5, 4, 3, 2, 1.

Bottom and top.

After you get to box 5, you start all over again with box 1

I know I haven't got a graphic for box 5 stuck to the bottom of box 4.

It does fit. Look at the bottom of box 4 and you'll see its the top of box 5.

The bottom notes of pattern 5 are also the top of box 1. Kinda cool eh?

Congratulations! You have finished the last lesson on the Beginner guitar scales.

1. You have learned pattern 5 of the pentatonic guitar.

2. You have learned to connect them together to travel up and down the fretboards in your own guitar solos.

3.What you have not learned is the simple addition I was talking about at the first of this page.

What is the small addition to the pentatonic scale that is the key to Blues and Rock guitar?

Click here to learn about the blues notes - Pentatonic blues scales.

Links to useful websites.

Gosk - Guitar scales

Guitar techniquesThe more you have...

The more guitar techniques you have mastered the more weaponry you have at your

fingertips to set yourself apart as a guitarist to be reckoned with.

I'll give you a couple of examples. Ever heard of a guy named Jimi Hendrix? Eddie Van Halen? Doyle Dykes? Dimebag Darrell?

What do these guys have in common? - certainly not the type of music that they play.

Give up?

They have spent their time, paid their dues to master the guitar methods they need (or needed) to play their music, and it is not ordinary at all.

They reached the level called extraordinary. Virtuoso.

These are masters of their craft.

Now one persons music is not for everyone. But the point is, in the area of music that they play each one is a master.

So which guitar techniques do you need to master?

It depends not only on the type of music you want to or need to play but also what type of guitar you are playing.

Electric guitar technique are sometimes different than a acoustic guitar.

Same thing with the type of music you are playing. Each type takes the mastery of specific techniques.

Each technique produces a different sound which is the essence of the type of music produced from the technique.

So here's a short explanation of some of the more common guitar techniques and the type of music each one could be applied to.

Guitar strumming patterns -

Strumming is just that - Gliding the pick or fingers across the strings in the rhythm of the song you are playing.

This sounds simple but the rhythm patterns are different for each song and strumming can be a study all to itself. Complexity or simplicity of your strumming pattern make the song.

Alternate Picking technique-

Alternate picking is a up down picking motion on the strings to increase your speed and smoothness. Alternate picking exercises are worth including as a regular part of your guitar practice routine.

Finger Picking or fingerstyle -

When I think of finger picking I think of country music. Each note is played by a individual finger. Alternating bass can be combined with the melody.

Combined with left hand techniques, finger style is one of the most impressive techniques you can master.

Sweep picking technique -

Sweep picking is using a either straight up or down motion across all the notes in the arpeggio or pattern that you are playing.This can be combined with legato techniques such as hammer ons and pull offs.

Sweep picking along with all the other guitar techniques can be mixed up and used together. Whatever works to make your music.

Hybrid Picking -

Hybrid picking is using not only a regular pick but using the free fingers of the right hand to pick individual strings. This can be used on all kinds of music and just depends on the creativity and skill of the guitarist.

Bending

Bending the strings can take ordinary music and make it great.It can be used as both a acoustic and electric guitar technique.

The effect is produced by using two or more fingers of the left hand and bending the string while plucking the string with the left. The amount of bend determines the raising of the pitch.

Used in rock, blues and about everything else. Bending is a somewhat intuitive skill that takes practice but once you got it, it has you.

Guitar vibrato -

Vibrato is used to give feel and emotion to your playing. That is when it works best. Use emotion to put your strings in motion.

You produce vibrato by using your wrist and fingers to wiggle the string and make the the pitch wobble.

Hammer-ons

A hammer on is a legato technique that is produced when you sound a note by striking down on the string with your finger. The vibration comes from the force of your finger hitting the string and it helps to turn up the amp if you are using it as a electric guitar technique.

Guitar pull offs

A guitar pull off is a left hand legato technique on the fretboard. One note is held down on a fret above on the same string. The note is sounded with a plucking motion with the finger below the other. So that one note is sounded with the pluck and then you hear the note above it.

This is a cool technique to combine with hammer ons, slides etc.

Guitar tapping technique -

Tapping was brought into the world of Rock music by Eddie Van Halen.

To say it took the guitar world by storm would be a understatement.

The Technique is achieved by a combination of a tapping and plucking on the fretboard combined with hammer ons and pull offs.

The effect is dramatic and makes the player sound almost superhuman in speed.

Pinch harmonics

Pinch harmonics are cool. You can make your guitar sing or squeal like a other worldly machine.

Pinch harmonics are produced when a string is barely touched with the edge of a finger or thumb after it has been struck with a pick or fingernail.

What happens is that the base note is muted somewhat and the overtones are what you hear.

This works best on as a electric guitar technique with a good tube amp that has the gain cranked. Lotsa to work with.

The gain ups the overtones and this produces the effect you are looking for.

Natural harmonics -

Natural harmonics are a really classy acoustic guitar technique.

These are easy to learn they are produced by barely touching a open string that has just been struck with a finger or pick.

This kills the original core note and sounds the overtones in a bell like chime.

Doyle Dykes is a master of this technique.

Palm muting techniques -

Palm muting is a very important method of laying your picking hand lightly across the strings to mute or partially mute some or all of the strings.

This makes your guitar more of a percussion instrument. Used in all styles either as a acoustic or electric guitar technique. Well there you go some very important guitar technique descriptions - vital tools in your toolbox as a guitarist.

Tuning Your Guitar

How to quit wasting time and start playing instead of tuning.

How tuning your guitar with a electronic guitar tuner can make your life much easier, save a ton of time, train your ears and help you sound better than ever.

Every beginning guitarist encounters it - frustration with learning to tune your

guitar before practice or performance.

Tuning your guitar doesn't have to be that hard.... When a beginner is taught that tuning by ear is the right way to go, it can waste their practice time and lead to discouragement.

Being out of tune can not only make you sound like you don't know what you are doing, it can throw off your ear training and make improvisation much harder.

Until recently tuning your guitar by ear has been taught as the way to get the job done.

Tuning to a pitch pipe or piano is pretty much a guessing game.

Why? because untrained ears have nothing solid to work with.

With the use of electronic guitar tuners - you can be sure that your guitar is tuned properly and your guitar is sounding its best.

With a reliable reference point from a tuner you can also be sure that the note you are hearing is really the note you should be tuning your guitar to.

This gives you a advantage for training your ears. I believe in investing in equipment I can grow with. If your going to spend money you might as well make it count.

Playing guitar can be a lifelong hobby or a full time profession. Anything you can do to make the job of staying in tune easier and more accurate is worth investing in. The money spent on a great tuner can make a big difference in your sound and training your ears for accuracy.

I have found what I believe are great choices for tuning your guitar. Electronic guitar tuners are showing up in all kinds of guitar gear. Amps such as the Line 6 Spider Jam, effect boxes such as the Digitech RP series, you can even have them built into your guitar, N-Tune is currently the only one of its kind available for electric guitars.

What types of tuners are available for tuning your guitar?

There are quite a few choices in electronic guitar tuners out there and I don't think of that choice as which one will do everything, but which one is right for what I am doing and where I am.

For example I'm not going to bring my Peterson Strobostomp (a $200 unit) to a friends house for a jam session, but my little Planet waves SOS tuner is great.

Tuners built into effects and amps - These are really great but they can be tricky to use. Reading them can be tough though not all of them are bad. Having another tuner to check how they work can help you get used to them.

Digitch RP series multi effects are great and they have a tuner built in.

As does the Line 6 Spider line of amps which I highly recommend.

Strobe Tuners - - What I consider to be The gold standard of tuners- none are more accurate, fast or as versatile. These are easy to use, well worth the money.

I recommend the Peterson Strobostomp because of its extreme accuracy, versatility and ease of use. If a tuner can be sexy, this one is.

These are very easy to use, its a pedal tuner, you choose your setting, I like the sweetened tuning for guitar, make sure your plugged in, pluck the string and turn the tuning peg until the display stops moving.

Chromatic tuners - - These electronic guitar tuners are designed to tune your guitar to any note in the chromatic scale. There are many to choose from. The

Boss TU-2 is a great choice in a pedal tuner. It's a proven workhorse thats been on the market for years. Its very durable and can take it.

A very portable and inexpensive choice is the

Korg CA-30 Chromatic Tuner. Hard to beat the price and your can stick it in your guitar case or pocket.

For acoustic guitars without built in tuners - Contact guitar tuners -Small portable electronic guitar tuners designed to make tuning a acoustic guitar, fast and easy. You clamp these onto the head of your guitar, watch the display and tune each string to pitch.

The Intellitouch PT1 tuner is very versatile and convenient. These are clamped to the head of the guitar and pick up the vibrations to give you a accurate readout and quick tuning.

N-Tune On Board Chromatic Electric Guitar Tuner.

- These are installed directly into your electric guitar. I can't think of what could be handier than these. You can find their homepage here at http://www.ntune.com/.

Robotic tuners - These are amazing! Plug it in, set the dial pluck the string and this tuner does the work for you. Only one brand to choose from - String master.

Planet waves SOS tuner Use it like a guitar pick, set the dial pluck the string, adjust your tuning key and watch the string until it stops moving, then you are in tune. This is a very handy tool, designed for standard tuning. Easy to carry with you, easy to use once you get used to it and inexpensive.

Peterson Strobosoft software strobe tuner I've tried to use other tuner software without much success. I recommend the Peterson Strobosoft tuner hands down. This is a software tuner you won't outgrow.

I've dedicated a separate page to tuning each of the following types of guitar..

Be sure to check out these related pages before you leave..

Electric guitar tuning - Here I discuss the importance of proper tuning for the electric guitar and solutions to some common problems your might encounter. Tuning your guitar with a electronic guitar tuner is your best choice whether you choose standard tuning, alternate tuning or drop D tuning.

Acoustic guitar tuning - Tuning correctly and keeping it in tune is the goal. Here's some tips and recommendations for electronic tuners.

There you go - the above links will take you to pages with more detail for tuning your guitar with electronic guitar tuners.

Electric Guitar TuningFast and Accurate

Electric Guitar Tuning. How to get it right and keep it right.

Why is precise guitar tuning so critical to your sound?

Guitar tuning problems can wreck your sound. Any inconsistency in your electric

guitar tuning become a problem when it is amplified and then you add distortion, harmonics and the overtones of your electric guitar interact in ways that make you sound, well crummy.

Being out of tune is obvious to some people with a good ear and may simply make other people wonder why they are uncomfortable with your sound.

The problem is that electric guitar tuning in general has always been a challenge because any stringed instrument is almost impossible to get absolutely perfect all the way up and down the neck. Close but hardly ever perfect.

Its taken hundreds of years for the worlds best musical ears to get it them to where it is almost right and its still not perfect.

There is a detailed explanation for it but I'm not going to get into that because it's complicated and I don't understand it either.

Advances have been made to improve results. State of the art electronic tuners, advances in tuning machine design, bridge design, graphite nuts, compensated nuts, tuning systems and locking tuners have made guitar tuning more precise and closer to the ideal of a perfectly tuned guitar that stays in tune.

The first step is buying electric guitars that are high in quality and will be a joy to play instead of a burden to endure because its just a bad design or the components are not a good enough quality to give you the tools to work so you can stay in tune.

Inferior components like cheap tuning machines that don't work quite right or a bridge design that makes intonation difficult are out there on guitars that look great appearance wise.

Guitar nuts that are not cut right can mess you up too by binding and causing the string to slip and let out a pinging sound suddenly. This can be solved sometimes with a bit of graphite or nut lube in the nut slot but if the nut is not cut right it will still be a problem.

Any guitar you buy should be evaluated by a good guitar tech to make sure you are not making a mistake buying it.

Most of the time this will not be a problem, if its a quality guitar.

Electric guitar tuning depends on having a guitar in good shape to start with. Take my word for it, I've made a few mistakes in this area.

Listen to your guitar tech, returning a bad guitar is worth it if they say the guitar you picked is not the best it could be.

Especially if you dropped a large amount of money on the thing. If the problem is not your fault most of the online guitar stores will pay postage.

Most of the time, no matter how good the guitar is, it probably needs a setup (setting the action, intonation, neck adjustment and making sure the frets are level to make it play right and set it up to your personal playing preferences.

By the way leveling frets is very expensive and is in my opinion a good reason to send a guitar back to the store that you bought it at if it is not perfect.

If you are in love with that particular guitar, fret leveling is around $200.

So your most likely going seeing your guitar tech for a setup, have him or her check it carefully. Its a investment in the enjoyment of your guitar to make sure everything is right. Ok, you've got a great guitar. Good start. What can you do to get it in tune fast and keep it in tune as long as possible?

Electric Guitar tuning tips.

These are some ways to improve your guitars ability to hold itself in tune longer.

1. Good fresh strings properly installed and stretched. Dirty old, stretched out strings just don't respond the way a good string should.

2. Locking tuners - easily installed, makes changing strings a breeze and they stay in tune better. The ease of restringing your guitar and tuning stability are what make these worth buying. Make sure you are buying the right ones, or have your guitar tech get them for you.

3. Consider a heavier gauge sting as your fingers get stronger. They stay in tune better.(proceed with caution neck adjustments may be necessary)

4. Talk to your guitar tech about the advanced bridge designsthat are out there. They can improve tuning stability.

5. If you get a ping or pop sound and suddenly go out of tune when you tuning try some graphite on the nut, if that doesn't work see your guitar tech. They can make sure your nut slots are cut right so they don't bind or install a graphite nut for you.

Once you've got your tuning stability where you want it, a electronic tuner will help get your guitar in tune fast.

Here's what I recommend.

1. For onstage work a good rack tuner is easy to use and accurate. I recommend a Korg DTR-2000 Rackmount Digital Tuner for their long list of features, versatility and ease of use.

2. If you prefer a pedal tuner - the Boss TU-2 is a proven workhorse.

They are designed for versatility and they are tough. There are various alternate tunings so its good to have a tuner that can handle the job. This was my first electric guitar tuning choice.

3. The Peterson strobostomp is a strobe tuner in a stomp pedal and is my top choice for being extremely accurate versatile and just downright impressive to anyone watching you tune. They also have special sweetened tuning that really bring out the best sounds in a guitar. A noticeable difference in sound.

4. Planet waves desktop strobe tuner 15 times more accurate than ordinary tuners. Electric guitar tuning at its finest. Allot of fun to use

5. Planet waves S.O.S. strobe tuner. A strobe tuner a little bit bigger than a guitar pick. I like mine.

You just turn the dial to the string you want to tune, beam the light on it and tune it till the string stops moving. This one is easy to take with you and is accurate.

6. Tuner software - The Peterson Strobosoft suite. Very impressive in versatily and accuracy. Great for computer based guitar workstations.

There you go - tune it up and let's make some music...

Links to useful websites

Boss Tu-2 tuner for electric guitar

Peterson strobostomp tuner

N tune on board tuner

Acoustic Guitar TuningStart playing instead of tuning

When your guitar is out of tune, you sound lousy.

Acoustic guitar tuning can be hard until your ears are experienced - They may be your worst enemy when it comes to tuning properly.

Yes, acoustic guitar tuning can be very hard when you are just learning, but it is best that you work at getting good at it.

Have you ever seen a guitar player that is really good tune their guitar while they are playing? Impressive isn't it?

They don't do that just to be impressive, it is much easier to solo when your guitar is telling your ears how you are doing and that takes a guitar that is in tune. Acoustic guitar tuning requires a accurate starting point or you really don't know close you are to being in tune.

A great tool for acoustic guitar tuning is a electronic keyboard. they are accurate and they stay accurate.Trouble is they don't fit in your guitar case too well.There are places on the internet that have online tuners. They are completely useless while you are at a park or at a place with no access.

Learning to tune by ear can be the one of the biggest wastes of time for a

beginning guitar student.

Learning to tune a guitar properly takes serious time - time that you could use to develop your playing abilities.

Please don't get me wrong, its very important to learn to tune you guitar by ear, just don't let it slow down your progress as you learn.

Your job as a guitarist is that of a entertainer and that means you need to put people at ease and make them feel good.

A guitar that is properly set up and tuned, along with your hard earned playing skill, will make your performance shine.

The problem is that acoustic guitar tuning in general has always been a challenge because any stringed instrument is almost impossible to get absolutely perfect all the way up and down the neck.

This along with untrained inexperienced ears can make a beginner or even a experienced player extremely frustrated.

Great stuff has happened to improve accuracy and speed. Tuning has been made so much easier with state of the art electronic tuners.

They have made acoustic guitar tuning easier and more precise than ever.

The first step that a person can take is to buy a quality guitar that will stay in tune in the first place.

Acoustic guitar tuning can be a troublesome to say the least with a guitar that has problems and is incapable of staying in tune. Guitar tuning on a quality instrument will make your job much more easy.

Any guitar you buy should be evaluated by a good guitar tech to make sure you are not making a mistake buying it. Take my word for it. I've made a few mistakes.

Listen to them, a trip to the package carrier is worth it if they say something is seriously wrong.

It doesn't happen very often but better to be safe and make sure it's right. If the problem is not your fault, most of the online guitar stores will pay postage.

A quick checkup should not cost much.

I highly recommend getting a good setup also, it can make a good guitar play so much more of a pleasure to play and to tune properly. Ok, you've got a great guitar. Good start.

What can you do to get it in tune fast and keep it in tune as long as possible?

There are ways to improve your guitars tuning and its ability to hold itself in tune longer.

Here are some guitar tuning< tips.

1. Good fresh strings properly installed and stretched will make tuning your guitar easier. Old strings start causing trouble with tuning because of dirt, rust and wear.

2. Locking tuners if available for your guitar, can be easily installed. They make changing strings a breeze and they stay in tune better. For those who know guitars, they are very impressive.

3. A little bit of graphite under the strings at the nut. Makes strings slide instead of bind.

4. Consider heavier gauge strings as your fingers get stronger. They stay in tune better if properly installed. Installing heavier strings may require a setup and nut filing. So be careful what you ask for.

5. If you get a ping or pop sound and suddenly go out of tune when you tuning try some graphite on the nut, if that doesn't work see your guitar tech. They can make sure your nut slots are cut right so they don't bind.

Once you've got your guitars tuning stability where you want it, a electronic tuner will help get your guitar in

tune fast.

Here's what I recommend for tuning your guitars.

1. Buy a acoustic guitar with a tuner already built in. This is what I have on mine. It is accurate and very handy. You just push a button and tune up. You can't lose this tuner unless you lose your guitar, it's always there for you.

2. Intellitouch PT1 Tuner - This tuner clamps to the head of your guitar, has a easy to read display and is good for use in noisy surroundings. These are perfect for acoustic guitar tuning. They fit right in your case.

3. Peterson StroboFlip VS-F Virtual Strobe Tuner - This is my top choice for acoustic electric guitars because of the extreme accuracy, versatility - for alternate tunings, twelve string tunings, specialsweetened tunings that can really make a guitar of any kind sound absolutely amazing.

4. Planet waves desktop strobe tuner - 15 times more accurate than ordinary tuners. These have great accuracy. Very easy to use. For acoustic electric and electric guitars.

5. Planet waves S.O.S. strobe tuner.- A strobe tuner a little bit bigger than a guitar pick. I like mine. You just turn the dial to the string you want to tune, beam the light on it and tune it till the string stops moving. (where did I put that thing?)

Acoustic Electric guitar? Here's the tuners I recommend.

1. For onstage work A good rack tuner is easy to use and accurate. I recommend a Korg DTR-2000 for their versatility and ease of use.

2. If you prefer a chromatic pedal tuner - the Boss TU-2 is a proven workhorse.Fairly portable and very durable.

3. The Peterson Strobostomp is a strobe tuner in a stomp pedal and is my top choice for being extremely accurate versatile and just downright impressive to anyone watching you tune. They also have special sweetened tuning that really bring out the best sounds in a guitar. A noticeable difference in sound quality.

4. Planet Wave S.O.S. Tuner. A strobe tuner a little bit bigger than a guitar pick. I like mine. You just turn the dial to the string you want to tune, beam the light on it and tune it till the string stops moving. (where did I put that thing?)

5. Tuner software -The Peterson Strobosoft suite. Very impressive in versatility and accuracy. Great for computer based guitar workstations.

There you go - Cutting edge tools for acoustic guitar tuning. Let's make some music...

Be sure to check out the related pages from this website listed below.

1.Restringing a acoustic guitar

Can a new set of strings make a difference in tuning your guitar?

2.Best acoustic guitar amplifier - Lots of choices for acoustic guitar amplifiers - here's what to look for in a great sounding reliable amp.

Free Printable Guitar Chord Chart

Downloadable guitar chord chart - Make it yours - Free PDF download here

Free printable guitar chord chart of basic guitar chords

Looking for a free printable guitar chord chart to help you learn guitar chords? You have

arrived at a good place Grasshopper.

A good beginner guitar chord chart to learn basic guitar chords is a great place to start but will lead to frustration if it is believed to be the end of your journey. Why because chords by themselves are like words - you need several of them in the right order to make a sentence or in this case a song.

Finding and using a free printable guitar chord chart is very helpful but what is even more helpful is learning to use them in chord progressions.

I will list some easy chord progressions that use basic guitar chords after this downloadable guitar chord chart.

If you are looking for a acoustic guitar chord chart or electric guitar chords these will work to start out on.

Free printable guitar chord chart. - To save this chart right click the image as save it to your computer for future reference or get it as a pdf file.

The following basic guitar chords on this free printable guitar chord chart are sometimes referred to as cowboy chords.

Mainly because they are the basis of probably thousands of songsbeginning with some simple yippy ti yi ya songs from the 1930's and before all the way up to and beyond Jimi Hendrix doing Wild Thing at the Monterrey Pop Festival.

Downloadable guitar chord chart here.

Free online guitar chord chart

I once heard of a famous and very talented guitarist that learned his chords by going through a book of several hundred chord shapes once a day as fast as he could.

So I bought the same book, and went though the chord shapes once a day for a couple of months.

Well I did get really good at most of those chords but found out I did not have the least bit of knowledge on how to use them in anything that sounded like a song.

Get these Basic guitar chords down and you'll have a great start.

The best way that I found to learn new chords is first to realize, if you are a beginning guitarist is that it hurts to grow calluses. Everyone goes through it.

Now to get the basic guitar chords down put one finger down at a time and check for buzzing, if it buzzes it's not right. Make small adjustments in your finger placement so that it works.

Now once you have got to the place where the chord is not buzzing, raise your fingers off the fretboard and place them slowly into place, Keep doing that until you are confident that your can grab a chord quickly.

You are building memory in your nervous system and that works best if you move slowly and as relaxed as you can.

As soon as you get one chord down, go onto the next chord in the chord progression until you get them all.

After that turn on your metronome and move between the chords. Rinse and repeat until you know the chord progression.

Here's some simple chord progressions to learn. Just use any rhythm that feels good to you. Refer to the free printable guitar chord chart.

First learn to make each basic guitar chord sound right and then practice slow changes between them two at a time. Use a metronome at first when you are able to change between them without it.

Practice them until they feel smooth and natural to you. Use them to make up a simple song if you like.

If you have a drum machine practice with different rhythms. It's amazing what different rhythms will do for a song.

C | F | G | C

D | G | A | D

G | C | D | G

A | D | E | A

C | Dm | G | C

D | Em | A | D

G | Am | D | G

So go ahead use the free printable guitar chord chart, memorize and learn each basic guitar chord so that it is a automatic reflex you can use without thinking.

Be patient with yourself. I've found what seems to be impossible is possible if you take your movements very slow and relaxed at first and then speed up slowly until they are a lightening fast reflex.

Have a great time with these, This is only the very beginning. These may seem very simple but remember, hundreds of hits songs where made from only three chords.

Wait there's more, I've got a whole bunch of guitar chord charts and more on the way!

The secret to Bar Chord Mastery -Check out this Page on how to master Bar chords.

Here's a blues guitar chord chart and how to use them for some great blues rhythm stuff.

Left handed? I've got you covered. Left hand guitar chords chart.

Power Chords - The basis of Rock and Roll, The Blues and who know what else. Guitar Power chord chart.

1. Guitar finger exercises. Fast easy exercises to build strong hands. A major step towards guitar mastery of smooth accurate chord changes.

2. Blues guitar chords Learn to play the blues rhythm. This is the basis of Rock and Roll - Don't miss out.

3. Blues guitar scales Simple scales patterns - easy to learn and a easy way to sound very impressive playing solo over the chords you have just learned to play.

4. How to read guitar tabs. learn how to read chords in the language of guitarists - tab.

Guitar Speed Training Techniques

metronomes and drum machines...

Guitar speed training... Ever wonder how the guitar greats developed such amazing speed?

Metronomes can make allot of people go into a deep sleep in no time at all. Myself

included.

Guitar speed training depends on them. What's the solution to the monotony?

If you want to play fast guitar and learn to shred it takes consistent practice. Falling asleep is not going to make it.

It really helps to get enough sleep and keep yourself in excellent physical shape. Learning guitar takes energy and concentration. Take care of yourself!

If used correctly a metronome is a key tool to building blinding speed.

A metronome is a essential little tool used by musicians for more years than I know about. The problem is with them is the monotonous tick tick tick can get old very fast and one thing your practice sessions don't need to be are boring.

Now I am not saying metronomes don't have their place, they do. Many of the well known guitar greats have sharpened their skills to a amazing level with just such a machine, and they are a time tested way to drill for extreme speed.

I find that a metronome is the best way to get a lick, scale, arpeggio or chord change happening smoothly. Gaining speed by starting slowly and building up to certain level with beats in between beats.

When I feel my speed is up to where it should be, then moving onto the drum machine. A great way to get the feel for putting it into a performance.

If you can make your practice more exciting why not?

That's what a drum machine can do for you and your guitar speed training.

The right drum machine can change that boredom into a "Where in the world did the last two hours go?", jam session.

Recommended metronomes

1. Peterson Bodybeat - This is a unique metronome designed to help the user internalize the rhythm pattern so they can concentrate on making music instead of watching and listening to a metronome. You clip the vibrating unit to wherever you are most comfortable with it, set the beat pattern and do your thing.

2. korg MA30 digital metronome - This little blue box has been the best investment of $30 I have ever made. Easy to use with a variety of beats to make things interesting.

Recommended dedicated drum machines

1. Boss Dr Rhythm DR-880 - A top of the line drum machine with guitar effects processor built in. Quite a bit of money but for what it does and how it can help a person, well worth the money.

2. Alesis SR-18 digital drum machine - At around $250 This is an amazing machine with drums bass percussion and if you want to get involved with programming, you can put together almost everything you'll need for your own complete songs.

3. Alesis SR-16 digital drum machine - One of the most popular drum machines ever made. Inexpensive, reliable and versatile.

4. Line 6 Spiderjam this is a great practice amp with amazing capabilities including drums

For guitar speed training, metronomes and drum machines along with the proper playing techniques for speed are in my opinion and in the opinion of some of the worlds best players the only way to go.

Be sure and check out these related webpages on this site.

1.Guitar finger exercises -

Strength, speed, power. How can you get strong hands fast?

2. Blues guitar scales - Need something to get fast at? Here's how to really impress your audience and do it in less time than most people realize.

3.Blues guitar chords - How to do the boogie woogie all night long.

Looking for a goodGuitar power chords chart?

When I decided to put together a guitar power chords chart, I knew that you were

probably looking for more than just a chart. You probably want to get to making music with a solid rock sound as fast as possible. Am I on the right track? I hope so.

But, just in case your just looking for a free guitar power chords chart here's one for you. But please keep reading.

The key to making music with power chords instead of just knowing a bunch of random chords is right below this chart.

Lets get to it.

Guitar Power Chords Chart

Downloadable guitar power chords chart with power chord progressions Make it yours - Downloadable PDF Here!

Right click to save.

Power chords - why do they have that name? Well the best explanation probably comes from listening to them. Preferablythrough a large 100 watt tube powered stack turned all the way up. (protect your ears!) You could even get a good explanation with it turned only to 7.

A power chord is the most powerful full sounding chord that can come out of a guitar. That's why they are called power chords.

They can be rightly claimed to be the basis of most of the Rock and Blues songs out there.

Is it easy to play power chords? Yes, Very. If there is a perfect place to start sounding really good on a guitar, it would be power chords.

Power chords usually use one, two or at the most three fingers - and that's for the most advanced ones out there.I hope to include some video in the near future to show how really easy this stuff is.

If your not acquainted with reading tab yet - here is my page on how to do just that.

Ok, Lets get to the meat. I've used the basic one, four, five chord progression to give you something that is actually music. These are the basis for thousands of songs. Use them wisely and never underestimate the power of them.

And speaking of meat you can get a good meaty sound out of these by using the meaty part of your picking hand to partially mute the strings while hitting them with your pick.

First up - open power chords. Get this - your gonna have to use one finger on these. I know its tough but you can handle it.

Open guitar power chord tab

Next guitar power chords chart - movable power chords. Brace yourself - your gonna have to use two fingers on these. You can do it.

What you need the same pattern or progression works anywhere up and down the first and seconds strings. Anywhere you can put a finger on a fret.

The name of chord is the note that your first finger is on. (if you don't know the names of the notes on the fingerboard I've got a great tutorial on this website. Check it out. )

Start with the first chord move to the second and then the third and you have the one, four five progression that I talked about earlier. (simple stuff)

Movable Guitar power chord tab

Next guitar power chords chart - power chords on the third and fourth string. Same idea - the name of the chord is the name of the note that your first finger is on. (Learn that fretboard - I've got a easy method to learn it on this site.) These have a higher pitch to them. Experiment and have fun. I'll be adding more - Check back soon.

guitar power chord tab

Wait! You came here for chord charts. Click on the thunbnails below for more.

Effortless Bar chords?Check out the secret to make bar chords much much easier to play.

Downloadable, printable Bar chord chart.

Just Beginning? Welcome aboard!

This Downloadable and printable Beginners guitar chords chart will help you start out right.

The Blues, an amazing way to easily sound great on guitar.Downloadable and printable Blues guitar chord chart.

To all my left handed friends out there in guitar land.A free downloadable, printable Left hand guitar chord chart

Be sure to check out the following pages related to the free guitar power chords chart on this website.

1. Blues guitar chords - How these simple chords and chord progressions can have you sounding good fast.

2. Blues guitar scales - A good blues solo goes great over a power chord progression. Here's the 5 simple patterns you need to make it happen.

How to Improve Finger-Strength for Guitar

This has to be one of the most common problems that comes up when I speak with beginner guitar players, and students – how can they increase their finger strength to play well, and to play longer?

First off, it’s truly unbelievable how many people choose to ignore the importance of warming-up before playing. Warming up is essential because of so many reasons. It gets blood flowing to your hands, for starters. It allows you to loosen up and play the guitar in a better way, and it also helps you avoid stress and health-related problems in the long run. But perhaps most importantly (and relevant to the matter at hand), warm-up helps parts of your body used during guitar-play stronger.

Playing the guitar, especially for long lengths of time, requires your fingers to be strong, flexible, quick in their movement, and dexterous in order to have better coordination.

Before playing start off with a warm-up of all the muscles, tendons and joints, most notably those in your fingers. Develop a proper warm-up regime for the purpose, and stretch out your arms, fingers, legs and your back. Use this simple guide for the purpose.

One simple exercise is simply closing and opening your hands a few times. Clench your fingers into tight fists and open, repeat a few times. Following this, open your hand and stretch out your fingers for at least a few seconds. In a similar pattern rotate your wrists quickly in a clockwise-anticlockwise motion.

This should be followed by stretching your fingers. Just like any muscle before exercising, your finger and hand muscles will need to be stretched out if you want them to perform properly. Not only will this make your hands more flexible and gain strength over a period of time, it will also help you avoid any stress-related issues or pain in the longer run.

In order to stretch your finger, place the tip of your fingers on the edge of a table (or a flat surface), and arch your hand upwards while keeping your fingertips firmly in place on the table. Repeat at least a few times. Alternatively, interlock the fingers of both your hands, make sure that the Dorsal side of your hand (your wrist and the knuckles) are facing your head. Move your fingers away from your face in an outward position, while keeping the fingers interlocked. After doing this a couple of times, close your fingers in order to create a fist and repeat the process as necessary.

Stretching is important because at times, you’ll really need to stretch your fingers in order to hit some of those chords during guitar-play. Simple stuff like crossing your fingers, making a ‘Vulcan’ sign and making a finger stack (by putting your fingers on top of one another) are some great, simple exercises.

An exercise intended to help you with hand strength involves holding and squeezing a tennis or a rubber ball. Take a tennis/rubber ball, hold it on your hand and squeeze repeatedly. Alternatively, squeeze and hold and count till 10 before releasing. Alternative between both exercises and repeat each exercise 10 times.

In addition, you’ll also need to work on increasing your finger span, as some chords will require a wider span, from your thumb to the pinkie. Stretch out your hand by forcing your fingers as far apart as you can, and do this for both your hands. Furthermore, using one hand, hold the thumb of your other hand and pull it out until you feel it stretch, keep holding it for a couple of second before you release it. Then do the same with the pinkie by stretching and holding it out to the side and keeping it held till the count of ten. You can do this with all your fingers, one at a time, for both your hands.

Once you start playing, play a trill using your index and little fingers, Fret with your ring finger and trill with your fourth finger, using rapid hammer-ons and pull-offs. Use a metronome and start slowly and ensure that you stay in time. Build up on your speed when you feel like the current speed is getting easy; that is a clear sign that your finger strength is building. Make this little exercise a part of your guitar playing, as it will increase the strength of your fingers.

Another rather simple exercise to increase finger and muscle strength and flexibility is using a rubber band to stretch your fingers. Place your fingers inside a rubber band and spread them apart to stretch it as much as possible. Close fingers to release, rinse and repeat at least 10 times or so.

There are some fantastic guitar exercises and warm-up exercises available out there (especially on the internet), that should help you immensely with improving your finger strength, make your fingers much more flexible and increase and enhance your strength and playability. Guitar courses such as GuitarTricks actually start lessons off with warm-up exercises, and include exercises aimed at improving finger strength and dexterity.

Remember, it is important for your fingers to be flexible and nimble in order to be able to hit tricky or difficult chords, as well as move quickly up and down the fretboard. Above all, dexterous, quick, loose fingers will allow you to play what you want to and truly become the sort of guitar player you desire to be, without causing any hindrance to your guitar playing. And perhaps even more importantly, warming up and loosening your muscles is a healthy practice that will prevent and health-related issues, RSI or other strain-related injuries in the long run.

7-Step Method of Increasing Guitar Playing Speed

Most new guitarists tend to think that speed is all that there is to it, when it comes to good guitar-play and being a good guitarist. Nothing can be further from the truth. There are a lot of aspects which determine good guitar-playing skills and define what makes a good guitar player.

However speed remains an important aspect of playing the axe, and comes with its advantages. For starters, the ability to increase your playing speed enhances your whole style of play, and loosens you up. You become more dexterous, flexible and playing difficult chords becomes easy. Above all, you will be able to hit notes that you were previously incapable of hitting. And what a feeling that is!

But it’s not easy. You’ll have to put in some serious hard work, and most importantly, you’ll have to remember that other aspects involved in good guitar play as just as important as increasing your speed. Also, the old adage ‘practice makes perfect’ applies here!

Here are a few things (5, to be exact) that you can do in order to enhance your guitar playing speed:

1. Practice Slow

It seems that just about everyone out there is obsessed with playing fast. As soon as they hold the guitar, most people, bar a few, want to play as fast as they can. This is a very wrong approach to take. Go slow first. Work on becoming a better guitarist by working on the basics, making sure that you nail each and every one of them in the process. Work on your technique, fingering and posture so that you don’t end up becoming a sloppy guitar player. Be patient and start off slow, building up speed in the process. A

metronome will be immensely useful here! Don’t play fast until you can play notes and chords correctly. It is important to walk before you run!

2. Alternate Picking

Alternate picking – one of the most common techniques to improve playing speed – involves holding the pick between your index finger and the thumb, with the pointy-end facing the strings and using alternate down-up strokes to pluck the strings in order to play the guitar. The first note would be a downstroke, the second up, the third down and so on and so forth. Instead of plucking every string in a downwards direction, you instead alternate between up and down strokes, enabling you to gain some speed.

3. Relax

Any tension or uneasiness will adversely affect your playing speed. This usually happens when you try playing very fast, which causes your fingers, wrists and arms to get more tense, reducing your playing speed in the process. The solution is to stretch, warm-up and above all, loosen up before playing and try your best to relax during playing. Avoid forcing or exerting yourself to play too quickly, as this too will cause tension. Instead play as fast as you can without really pushing it. Start off slowly, and build up speed as your progress. If you do get tense during playing, take it down a couple of notches and slow down.

4. Metronome

A metronome will be your best friend when it comes to increasing your playing speeds! It will help you with your playing speed by allowing you to practice at a certain speed and maintain tempo while playing the guitar. It will also allow you to determine and increase your playing speed during every practice session. Metronomes can be bought from a guitar store, an online store that sells guitar accessories, or you can even access one on the internet, or download it for your iPhone/iPad or other cellular device.

5. Video

From my experience, a great way of increasing your playing speed, as well as improving other aspects about your guitar-playing, is to film yourself doing it. This will allow you to be able to do an analysis on your technique and document your progress. You don’t even need expensive equipment to do so, your cellphone camera or laptop’s webcam would do just fine. The camera should be focused the guitar and your hand position. In all probability, you will end up seeing things you would’ve never noticed otherwise.

6. Practice

Be regular with your practice sessions, as increasing your speed will probably take a while – weeks or months even. Take time out in order to exclusively work on your guitar speed, by reserving a fraction of your total practice time for this.

7. Patience

As one of the greatest musicians of our era Bryan Adams once said: “Learn the art of patience. Apply discipline to your thoughts when they become anxious over the outcome of a goal. Impatience breeds anxiety, fear and discouragement.” Being patient is vital to your success, and expecting to see results overnight (or in a couple of days) is simply being unrealistic.

Guitar and Repetitive Strain Injury

As a guitar player who’s had his fair share of injuries over the years, I cannot stress more on the importance of adopting safe and healthy guitar-playing practices.

One of the most common health-related problems associated with guitar-playing, is Repetitive Strain Injury, or RSI.

According to Wikipedia, RSI is a musculoskeletal or nervous system injury that is caused by repetitive tasks, exertion, pressing against hard surfaces for too long, or being in awkward (unnatural) positions for too long. For instance clicking on the mouse button or typing on a computer keyboard for extended periods of time is one of the most common causes of RSI, however playing a musical instrument such as the guitar for large amounts of time can also cause RSI, as well as other conditions such as Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.

This is mostly due to the fact that repetitive movement of the fretting and picking hands, and sitting or standing up in awkward positions for a long period of time can cause harm and damage to the body. Musicians and guitarists, therefore, are extremely susceptible to RSI.

Stress-related injuries, such as RSI can usually go from being mildly painful and/or uncomfortable, to extremely painful. I’ve seen the careers of promising musicians come to abrupt ends because of such injuries.

Playing the guitar is not supposed to be painful. As a musician and a guitarist, embracing safe and healthy methods can help prevent RSI or any other adverse effects to your health and general well-being. Not only will this allow you to have a long career doing what your love and making some good music, it will allow you to remain in the best shape that you can quite possibly be.

Preventing RSI

A few important point on how RSI and injuries associated with guitar-play can be avoided:

1. Building endurance and strength will help you with your guitar-play in the long run. It is important to be in good shape physically in order to be a good guitar player. One of the aspects is finger and wrist strength. Squeezing a tennis ball, for instance, helps build finger strength – an invaluable asset when it comes to picking, fretting, hitting difficult chords, and generally good guitar-play.

2. Make it a habit to warm-up before playing the guitar. Never skip on warming up, and make it a point to include a good, comprehensive yet short warm-up regime in your guitar-playing routine. Warming-up prevents injuries in the short as well as the long run. This is precisely why athletes warm up before exerting themselves physically. As hard to believe as it might be, your body is also exerted in a similar way when playing the guitar. Stretching your arms, fingers, and limbs before playing, and doing a little warm-up on the guitar is how I usually kick things off. My warm up song is Metallica’s One.

3. Relax your body. Unnecessary tension puts more pressure on your body, which means that at the end of the day, you could end up with sore joints, and in the long run, it might even translate to stress-related injuries.  Whether you’re practicing, jamming, or playing with your band or doing a gig, relax your body. Alternatively, practice playing something slow to release the tension. If it becomes painful or if at any point playing the guitar hurts, it is recommended to seek professional help and consult a doctor/physiotherapist/chiropractor immediately.

4. Putting the guitar at the right height when playing it is also extremely important. For instance playing a guitar that is too low increases the chance of an injury (and besides, it looks pretty bad too). Generally speaking, playing the guitar high-up generally tends to be comfortable, although (once again) it shouldn’t be placed too high up. Make sure that your wrists are straight when playing the guitar at whatever height you want to.

5. One of the most common causes of RSI is improper wrist positioning and hand position. It is very important to keep your wrists straight at all times. For instance if your fretting hand is not positioned properly – because the placement of the thumb is high and as a result you have to bend your wrist to fret – it can cause more tension in your fretting hand and exposure to such tension for a long period of time will almost always end up in a stress-related injury. Sort this out by looking at your wrist and try to straighten your fretting hand’s wrists as much as possible.

6. In general, avoid anchoring any part of your hand or your arm to the guitar for a very long period of time, as this causes friction and hence tension in your muscles – something that can be harmful in the long run. If you think that this is a problem, it is highly recommended that you ditch your current method of picking and learn a new one.

7. During a performance or when you take the stage, it is vital to not strain yourself. If you feel uncomfortable, if any part of your body feels uncomfortable and if you feel that you’re pushing yourself to perform, stop immediately. Whether it’s a cramp, or if a certain part of your body hurts, it is necessary to take a break right then and there. In addition, don’t be nervous – nerves are known to cause tension. Be confident and at ease. Enjoy your performance instead, and channel that confidence in your guitar-play as well.

8. Experiment during practice sessions, because that’s what those sessions are for right? Practice or jam sessions are a time where a musicians or a guitarist can assess his limitations. Don’t push yourself during the performance. It will only cause you to have unnecessary tension – something that you could certainly do without when playing live!

Safe and healthy guitar-playing practices are vital to your health. When a person is young, he can tend to be careless about all this, however injury rears its ugly head sooner or later, especially if you’re not careful about RSI. Your aim is to be at your best physically and in top shape 20 or 30 years down the road, and play the guitar for a long time. Safe habits and practices will allow you to do just that.

Making the abovementioned habits a part of your routine will significantly reduce the risk of common repetitive strain injuries, most commonly associated with guitar-playing. Not only will these prolong your career as a musician, it will also ensure that your technique and general guitar-play remains at optimal levels. It never ceases to amaze me how the likes of Angus Young, well into his 50s, has continued to play the guitar and perform on stage all these years - perhaps the biggest proof that safe and health-friendly guitar-playing habits do pay off in the long run!

If you are concerned about RSI or if you think that twitch or cramp might be concerning, consult a physiotherapist or a chiropractor immediately.

Things To Do and Things Required for Effective Guitar Practice

Before jamming or setting about with your next practice session on the guitar, it is important to go in fully prepared. This means that your practicing environment should be comfortable and you should have easy access to certain things.

For starters, ensure that the environment you practice in is very comfortable. Unless you’re playing with a band, you will in all likelihood need a comfortable place to sit down a practice. Find a suitable, flat chair, without arms (duh!). It should be a comfortable chair with good ergonomics so that it doesn’t have any ill effects on your health in the long run.

Also remember to follow some of the pre-playing best practices in order to ensure that not only you get the best out of your playing-sessions, but also so that you remain in good shape for many years.

For instance, take regular and periodic breaks between your playing sessions. Don’t practice for more than 15-20 minutes at a stretch because it is unadvised to sit down in one place for extended periods of time. Go for a 15-5 approach: a 5 minute break (stand up and walk around a bit) after every 15 minutes of play. Use a timer/stop-watch or a clock to keep a track of time, as well as your practice sessions and when to take breaks.

Also make sure that you stretch and warm-up properly before starting your practice sessions. Stretching and warming up your fingers, arms and wrists ensures that RSI and other health-related issues don’t pop up.

Also invest in a music stand, preferably with an adjustable stand, rather than using the bed, the floor or some other surface to put your notes and sheet music on. You could also use a tablet or an iPad for this purpose. Load up any one of the million apps available on the iPad which let you download and/or view music notes, chords, etc.

Always keep a notebook (and something to write with) handy. As you’ll find out, a notebook will let you keep a track of your practice sessions, jot down any breakthroughs, thoughts or ideas that pop up in your head during the practice. A good alternative to the notebook would be something like an iPad (equipped with your favorite note-taking app).

Along with your axe-of-choice, your amp, a tuner (important!) and all the equipment, I strongly recommend that you practice with a metronome. Not only will it allow you to keep it right as far as the timing’s concerned, it will also improve your playing speed and make your sessions more efficient.

One thing that has really helped me improve my technique and guitar-play over the years is recording all my playing and practice sessions. You could go for an audio-only recording setup by simply using a mic, an audio recorder (or a similar device), or your cellphone. Or you could do what I do and invest in a camcorder with a stand and record your sessions on video. This has numerous advantages: you can watch yourself play, hear what you play, and look at and change aspects which might need work. Also, you can look at your posture while playing and make any changes or corrections to it, if required.

You playing are should always be well-lit and have proper lighting levels. For instance I find practicing close to a window with ample natural light coming in to be the best. Doing so will not cause any strin on your eyes.

And speaking of the playing environment, practice in a place with peace and quiet, preferably away from noise or away from where people are. Turn off your cellphone (or put it on silent) and switch off your laptop’s notifications as well. This will allow you to have a distraction-free playing environment and allow you to fully concentrate on your playing sessions.

Recently, I’ve discovered that the iPad can make a musicians life immensely easy. Of course, we didn’t have tablets or such gadgets 6 or 7 years back, but now that these have become so easily accessible, and most importantly have all sorts of apps on them, they’ve become immense tools for guitarists and musicians. The iPad has a huge library of apps, which means that there’s guaranteed to be something available for just about any and every musician and guitarists out there. For instance, there are tons of notes, chords, tuning and metronome apps available on the iPad. In addition, guitar lessons, tips, tricks and stuff is also widely available. The Apple App Store has a separate section on music, so do check that out.

Remember to cut down on distractions, keeping cellphone off, stay away from computer and Facebook at all costs, and make your practice environment as comfortable as possible.

Work on your aural (ear training). This LearnGuitar.org article should help with that. As the article says, the difference between a casual guitar-player and a musician is aural training, which just about sums it up just perfectly.

Tips, Tricks and Ways of Boosting Your Guitar (and Music) Creativity

Creativity is one of the most important assets that you could have as a guitarist, a musician or a song-writer.

But creativity is something that comes and goes with time. At times, making any sort of headway and progress with your guitar playing or song writing because sometimes, you can be devoid of all creativity and inspiration.

You could play for hours on end, but make little or no progress. You could even end up getting immensely frustrated and dropping out.  

If you’ve experienced something similar, or are just looking for ways to boost your creativity, here are some solutions:

1. Take a break. Take a couple of week, or maybe even a month off from playing or practicing the guitar. Pack it and put it away somewhere. Only resume once you have a strong urge and motivation to pick up and play the instrument once more (yes, it will happen!). Once that happens, you’ll return with a fresh perspective and increased levels of motivation, which means you’ll automatically be more creative. Taking a break from your music, and the guitar might just be the thing you were looking for all along!

2. Listen to all sorts of music. All artists, all genres, all kinds of records, the whole deal. Doing so might just be the inspiration and the creativity boost that you were looking for all along!

3. Play all kinds of music. Don’t be afraid to experiment, or step out of your comfort zone. If you’re predominantly a rock guitarist, or a county guitarist, try your hand at playing a bit of reggae, folk or jazz. Do something completely different, it’ll help you freshen things up. Playing something completely different might be the caffeine your brain needed all along.

4. Learn and play Violin and Piano pieces on the guitar. Create a piano or Learn chords or melody for the piano part and arrange it on the guitar. Similarly, take a violin piece, such as Mozart piece, and arrange it for the guitar. These sound brilliant on the guitar, they can have an amazing bearing on your technique, and above all, can provide you with some much-need inspiration and allow you to be creative by doing something totally different and untraditional.

5. Assess your Passions. One of the best, most proven ways boosting your creativity is to find ways of improving your passion. Perhaps your source of inspiration could be something that is close to you, or something you hold dear. For instance, a lot of musicians tend to find inspiration on topics of love, family, wealth and money, etc. Looking at things close to your heart and close to you, things that inspire you will allow you to channel that inspiration into your music.

6. Step out of the house. Go on a long road trip, a vacation, simply hit the beach, the park, or go on a trek or a hike. Move out of the place where you usually practice. People tend to find inspiration when they’re close to nature, or away from their usual surroundings – getting exposed to new people, cultures, languages, and maybe even music can be a great source of inspiration and might just be the thing that gets those creative juices flowing.

7. Jam with friends, a band or a group of musicians. This is personally my favorite method of finding inspiration and getting some much needed creativity-boost. I find that whenever I’m playing with another guitarist, or jamming with a band, ideas are thrown around, people tend to share stuff with one another and there is energy in the room. Inspiration and ways of being creative are easy to come by, especially when you’re in the company of fellow musicians.

8. Watch gigs, performances, and concerts of your favorite guitar player or artist(s). Trust me when I say this – nothing can provide you with greater inspiration, motivation and creativeness than watching your favorite artist ‘do his thing.’ Search online, look on Youtube, or pick up a DVD. Depending on who you look up to as your source of inspiration, there should be plenty of material for you to watch.

9. Enroll for an online guitar course. Learning the guitar online, or simply honing your skills online is easy, and can be a great way of finding sources of inspiration. GuitarTricks.com, for instance, is an absolutely fantastic resource for all guitarists out there. The best thing about GuitarTricks is that they have something for everyone. So even if you’re an experienced, professional guitarist who’s been practicing and playing the instrument for many years, chances are that they’ll have something for you. Their database of lessons is huge. I won't go into a lot of details, but you can check out this great review of GuitarTricks instead.

10. Use Tom Hess’s 5-pronged topic-approach. Tom Hess, one of the biggest names in the industry, recommends a 5-pronged approach to playing the guitar to boost creativity. First off, he recommends writing an instrumental music piece (sans words/lyrics, and just music), because according to him, most artists and guitarists rely too much on words to express what they want to. His 5-point approach involves (a) choosing a topic – preferably something that you want to express through your music, (b) writing it down, (c) dividing it into sections, (d) figure out how the 7 different elements of music (rhythm, harmony, melody, texture, form, timbre, dynamics) can each be used to express your chosen topic through music, and finally (e) think of where the climax in your chosen topic is (for example it could be a kickass guitar solo), and how you build up to the climax through the parts that precede it. Hess recommends writing this down on paper, before writing the actual music for your composition.

Cleaning Your Guitar’s Fretboard

With the passage of time, certain parts of your guitar will start getting dirty. This is quite natural because of wear-and-tear, environmental effects (such as dust, pollution and humidity), and above all, usage (your own body sweat, oils and maybe even a bit of saliva!).

As a result, there might be a buildup around the frets, which means that you end up with a tacky, sticky fretboard.

Not only can this buildup affect your ability to play the guitar properly, it can also cause permanent damage to your guitar, creating cracks or chips in the fretboard, damaging the wood of the neck. Playing on an unclean guitar can also pose some health issues and concerns, because an unclean guitar is unhygienic.

Therefore, it is essential to properly clean your fretboard and the frets, because it protects your guitar from long-term damage, protects the wood of your fretboard, and most importantly, a clean guitar won’t affect your performance in any way whatsoever, allowing you to play the guitar like you want to, and have an instrument that plays and sounds good.

And let’s not forget, a clean guitar also looks good!

Often times, people focus on spending as much time as possible playing the guitar, while neglecting the fact that the instrument also needs regular clean-ups and maintenance. While there is absolutely nothing wrong with making the most of your time by playing the guitar, it is equally important to keep a clean and well-maintained instrument.

Fretboards should be cleaned and maintained on a regular basis. The process is pretty simple and straightforward.

First off, take off the strings from the fretboard. Be very careful when doing this, so as to not scratch the finish of your fretboard. Don’t be alarmed if you find large amount of dirt and dust buildups on the neck and the fretboard. And make sure that the strings are not present at the place you’ll be working in, since string ends and especially cut string ends can be sharp and can damage your guitar’s finish.

Properly wipe down the fretboard using a soft, clean and dry cloth. Most of the dirt and dust should come off easily, without a lot of trouble. However most of the dirt, grease and gunk buildup will most likely be a whole lot stickier, and hence much harder to remove.

Some of the tools that I personally recommend using are as follows:

1.       Toothpick: Yes, the good old toothpick! Use one of those sturdy wooden or plastic toothpicks to scrape off the dirt, especially the dirt and grease that builds up and sticks to the sides of the frets. Toothpick won’t damage your fingerboard, and will provide you with a precision tool, like a metal blade for instance, but with little to now chances of damaging your guitar.

2.       Plastic credit cards: Another relatively safe method to remove the dirt – without the fear of damaging your guitar – would be to use plastic credit cards. Credit cards can also be used with toothpicks, and can easily scrape of dirt and gunk from areas where cloth or rags might not be so effective – such as the place where the fret meets the neck.

3.       Steel wool: Get the finest, most softest wool available (000 grade). This is essential because hard wool will most definitely damage the polish and finish of your guitar. When using wool with polish (more on that in a bit), do it in a parallel motion to the frets, and not across, as this will help get rid of the gunk and grease residue easily. All steel-wool residue should be removed, or it will end up getting attracted to the pickup magnets. It would be a good idea to tape up the pickups prior to doing this.

4.       Knives, metal blades, or steel rulers: Strong not recommended, unless you have some really tough-ass stains or residue to remove! When using these, it is essential to be careful about your own personal safety and the wood or finish of the fretboard. If you do decide to go this route, be extremely gentle and careful.

No matter which of these methods you use, it is extremely important to proceed with caution, and be as careful as possible. Above all, never rush things, and take your time with it. Be gentle when using steel wool, metal blades or knives so that the finish remains unaffected.

Two important things to consider and remember:

First off, fingerboards are made up of different kinds of wood types. Some might be easy to clean, while the others could be a downright pain-in-the-behind!

For instance, maple fingerboard usually come with a factory applied layer of lacquer, which means that it is much more resistant to grease or dirt buildup and hence wouldn’t require a lot of cleaning or frequent maintenance.

Ebony and rosewood fretboard and untreated fretboard types, and will hence require oil and product applications in order to maintain the wood. It is recommended to do so at least once-a-year, however that depends on how much you play and use the guitar.

Secondly, there are many polishes and maintenance products available in the market. You have two choices here: lemon-oil or furniture-oil. Lemon-oil products are actually harmful to the wood of your guitar, contrary to popular belief. Besides, these sealants also come with heavy waxes, silicone and other harmful chemicals.

It is instead recommended to buy furniture-oils and furniture application products. These products contain mineral oils, and don’t come with any silicon, waxes or chemicals.

These mineral oils – which are also available as separate products – contain petroleum distillates and other chemicals that are completely harmless to guitar woods. They are therefore much better than products that might contain waxes or other byproducts that are harmful to the guitar wood, its finish and can clog up fretboard rather than cleaning it up.

Oils should be applied only once you’ve thoroughly cleaned up you fretboard using the abovementioned methods, and should never be used excessively. Use only a very small amount. Wipe off the oil using a clean and dry soft cloth. These oils will help preserve the wood of your guitar, and their finish. Sweetwater has a great range of guitar maintenance accessories which might be worth checking out.

After you’re done, put on the strings again, use a tuner to tune and properly intonate your guitar once more and you should be good to go once again! What you’ll end up with is a clean, good-looking fretboard which accentuates the look of your guitar. Good luck!

Additional Read: If you're looking for a complete guitar maintenance guide, LearnGuitar.org has you covered!

10 Guitar Playing Tips for Success!

Becoming a successful guitarist is a lot of hard work, sweat, dedication and perseverance. But in the end, it’s almost always worth it! You could end up becoming the greatest rock star since Slash, tour the world for a living, and release a countless number of multi-platinum records, putting your name in all sorts of record books once and for all!

But what exactly does it take to reach those sorts of stellar levels of success?

1. Setting Goals

Yes, believe it or not, setting goals is the first thing that you should do today, RIGHT NOW in fact, in order to become the sort of guitarist and the sort of artist that you aspire to be. Too many people wander aimlessly when learning the guitar, and end up becoming just another mediocre musician, with ordinary skills, and wonder why they’re stuck with mediocrity. It is because they don’t have any tangible short-term and long-term goals. In addition, read up on this article for tips on setting goals.

2. Reaching Goals

Setting goals is one thing, taking consistent action to actually achieve those goals is a completely different, yet an equally important task as well. If you’ve set short term goals, it is important to be able to determine what tangible steps you can take in order to achieve those goals. Write them down, map them in fact so that you can see the complete picture.

3. Enjoy the Process

Once you’ve set your goals, you can now begin practicing your guitar and be on your way to becoming the next biggest guitar-playing sensation in the world. In order to do that, you’ll be doing a lot of practicing and a lot of guitar playing. It is important to enjoy the process, in order to be able to make the most out of it and in order to be able to work towards your goals. Relish the process, and take it on with enthusiasm. Remember that you’re in this for the long haul (Slash didn’t become Slash overnight, neither did Malmsteen!), might as well enjoy it! Besides, you should never do anything that you don’t enjoy doing; if you don’t enjoy playing the guitar, my advice: quit right now.

4. Keep Yourself Focused and Motivated

A goal-oriented approach to learning the guitar has several merits, some of which have been quite evident in the examples above. Another one of the merits of setting goals is that it gives you the ability to remain focused in your guitar practicing exploits. Having short-term or –day-to-day/weekly goals, for instance, will give you the motivation you need to go all the way. But perhaps most importantly, focus and motivation will ensure that you are light years ahead of your competition, and that you make some real progress. Here’s a personal tip: there is no alternative to the motivation and encouragement that you get from a teacher!

5. Turn Frustrations and Achievements into a Source of Motivation

Both achievements as well as frustrations will be an equal part of the process, that is learning how to play the guitar. Use these to keep yourself motivated, in the short haul, and the long run. Accomplishments, triumphs, failures and disappointments should spur you on.

6. Play In a Band

Finding a band to play with is probably the easiest thing you’ll do, especially if you’re in a high-school, college or even if you work somewhere. Look around your neighborhood to see if someone’s willing to jam with you, put up notices in and around your neighborhood. Or look on Craigslist. Here's a Wikihow article with tips on how to join a band. Playing in a band is immensely fun, it keeps you motivated, gives you a reason to practice daily, and most importantly, you learn new things from other musicians when you play in a band! With the passage of time, you will see a significant, noticeable different in your playing. Above all, you'll be in the company of better musicians.

7. Take Responsibility

As soon as you realize that everything – your progress, your development, your success and your failure depend on you, and that you alone are responsible for everything you do, you will instantly experience a paradigm shift, and notice a significant improvement in your attitude in terms of playing the guitar. Putting the blame on someone else’s shoulders is ill-advised and one of the worst things you can do.

8. Learn

Always try to learn something new, because there is always something new to learn. This becomes easy if you’re enrolled in a guitar-learning program, or are learning to play the instrument somewhere. Having an attitude that allows you to seek new things to learn will get you places!

9. Listen

Listening and the ability to really be able to ‘listen’ is an important part of a guitar player’s learning toolkit. Listen to as much music you can, and don’t restrict yourself to certain genres or types of music. As a musicians, exposure to as many types of music as possible will be hugely beneficial.

10. Teach Someone

As a person who’s been playing the guitar for a good part of the decade now. If there’s one thing I’m most certain of, it’s that the best way of learning something, and the best way of making sure that you are the best at what you do, is to teach it (and this applies to everything in life!). As they say, “to teach is to learn.” Teaching the guitar to someone allows you to step out of your comfort zone, because questions are asked of you, questions that you need to know the answer to. Plus teaching is one of the best, most effective ways of practicing the guitar

Guitar Finger Exercise #1 This is a simple exercise that can be performed without a guitar, but you do need a tennis ball. It

improves overall hand strength.

Taking your tennis ball, hold it in your left hand. Squeeze and hold for the count of ten, then release.

Repeat ten times, working up to three sets of 15. After each set, switch hands.

Guitar Finger Exercise #2

While at school...

This is a good one to do while you're sitting through a really boring lecture. Place your hands flat on

the table, then lift them up so they rest on your finger tips. Your wrist should be straight. One at a

time, practice picking up your fingers and setting them back down. Try different patterns. For

example

1,2,3,4...

1,3,2,4...

1,4,3,2...

1 = index

2 = middle

3 = ring

4 = pinkie

And so on. Make up your own patterns. Once you can start moving faster, try doing both hands at

once.

This exercise will improve your sense of rhythm and the ability of your fingers to move separately.

You can also try this exercise on your guitar. Just put one finger on each fret and strum in an up and

down pattern as you change fingers.

Guitar Finger Exercise #3

Stretching

Sometimes, you really have to stretch to get some of those

chords. There are some simple ways to increase flexibility. One is just to practice crossing your

fingers. Not just the first two, but also your ring and pinkie. Try to get them to cross without using

your other hand.

Also, try making the vulcan sign. Sounds silly, but it will extend your reach.

Lastly, try making a finger stack. Index on the bottom, with the middle on top of that, ring on top of

that, and pinkie on top.

Increase Finger Span

Some of the chords you need to reach can require a wider

span from your thumb to your pinkie. With time, you can stretch this out to where you need it to be.

Take your thumb and pull it out until you feel a stretch - you should not feel any pain. Hold for the

count of ten, then release. Now take your pinkie and stretch it out to the side, holding for the count of

ten.

If you're somewhere where you have a flat table edge, you can use that to stretch both at once.

Place your hand on the table as in the picture. Push against the table for the count of ten. If you can't

get your fingers out that far yet, work on the stretches outlined in the previous paragraphs.

Guitar Lessons In person guitar lessons can be expensive, and hard to schedule. If you're really serious about taking

your guitar playing to the next level, check on this online course. Compared to paid guitar lessons,

it's a real money saver. You can find it here at Guitar Lessons.

Finger Dexterity

One thing that makes a guitar player great  is good finger dexterity and clean sounding notes. It is important as a beginning or intermediate guitarist to practice techniques that will increase finger dexterity. I will share some techniques I have used and still use today to improve finger speed and dexterity. 

Here is a real basic finger exercise. It can be a little tedious, but be sure play every note clean and in even time. Play it slowly, your cheating yourself if you rip through it haphazardly. The purpose is to strengthen your fingers and you'll have to start slowly to do that. Speed up after you can play it well. Play this all the way up and down the neck. 

E||-----------------|-----------------|----------------|B||-----------------|-----------------|----------------|G||-----------------|-----------------|----------------|D||-----------------|-----------------|--1---2---3---4-|A||-----------------|--1---2---3---4--|----------------|E||--1---2---3---4--|-----------------|----------------|

-----------------|-----------------|--1---2---3---4--||-----------------|--1---2---3---4--|-----------------||--1---2---3---4--|-----------------|-----------------||-----------------|-----------------|-----------------||-----------------|-----------------|-----------------||-----------------|-----------------|-----------------||

This next exercise is similar, only in a different pattern. Be sure to use all four fingers and watch out for fret buzz, that annoying buzzing sound that occurs when playing notes sloppily.  

E||--1---4---2---3--|-----------------|----------------|B||-----------------|--1---4---2---3--|----------------|G||-----------------|-----------------|--1---4---2---3-|D||-----------------|-----------------|----------------|A||-----------------|-----------------|----------------|E||-----------------|-----------------|----------------|

-----------------|-----------------|------------------||-----------------|-----------------|------------------||-----------------|-----------------|------------------||--1---4---2---3--|-----------------|------------------||-----------------|--1---4---2---3--|------------------||-----------------|-----------------|--1---4---2---3---||

Here is a simple riff I made for you to practice over and over, up and down the fretboard. You can make up your own as well.  

E||-----------------|-----------------|----------------|B||-----------------|-----------------|----------------|G||----------6---7--|--9---7---6------|----------6---7-|

D||--7---9----------|--------------9--|--7---9---------|A||-----------------|-----------------|----------------|E||-----------------|-----------------|----------------|

---------------||---------------||--9---7---6----||---------------||---------------||---------------||

After you get these down, keep playing them. Play them while you're walking around the house, on the web, watching TV or eating. Gradually play these faster as you get better at them. 

Once you have built up your finger dexterity you can now start attacking scales and modes. Shown below is a simple mode.  

E||-----------------------|-----------------------|B||-----------------------|-----------------------|G||-----------------------|------------12---14----|D||-----------------12----|--14---15--------------|A||--12---14---15---------|-----------------------|E||-----------------------|-----------------------|

-----------------12----|--13---15----||--12---13---15---------|-------------||-----------------------|-------------||-----------------------|-------------||-----------------------|-------------||-----------------------|-------------||

Now lets take the mode and 'play it out'. Notice the pattern used. You can apply this to any and all scales and modes. This works excellent for building speed and dexterity.  

E||-----------------------|-----------------------|B||-----------------------|-----------------------|G||-----------------------|-----------------------|D||-----------------12----|------------12----14---|A||--12---14---15---------|--14---15--------------|E||-----------------------|-----------------------|

--------------------------|--------------------------|--------------------------|--------------------------|--------------------------|--------------------12----|--------12----14----15----|--12----14----15----------|--15----------------------|--------------------------|--------------------------|--------------------------|

--------------------------|--------------------------|--------------------------|--------------------12----|--------------12----14----|--------12----14----------|--14----15----------------|--15----------------------|--------------------------|--------------------------|--------------------------|--------------------------|

--------------------------|--------------------------|--------------12----13----|--------12----13----15----|--12----14----------------|--14----------------------|--------------------------|--------------------------|--------------------------|--------------------------|--------------------------|--------------------------|

--------------------12----|--------------12----13----|--12----13----15----------|--13----15----------------|--------------------------|--------------------------|--------------------------|--------------------------|--------------------------|--------------------------|--------------------------|--------------------------|

--------12----13----15----||--15----------------------||--------------------------||--------------------------||--------------------------||--------------------------||

You can also play this backwards. I like to play this while warming up my fingers. Always be sure to warm up your fingers before you begin a long jam session. Warm up with these exercises listed above, or with some scales. I have heard that some guitarists will massage their hands and run them under luke-warm water before playing to loosen up their fingers. Personally, I think that's a little extreme but you should try it and see if it works for you.  

Not all guitarists are concerned with speed and clean sounding notes. Some are just happy with having a sloppy style, and that's fine. But basic exercises like these should be practiced by all guitarists, even the sloppy ones; because they will reap great benefits if done correctly. 

 

The Lesson

Start by playing the frets as shown below in Example 1 - with your fingers all in adjacent frets. Try and keep your fingers lined up with the frets, not at an angle.

Once you are cool with that it is time to try and stretch out your finger 4 to reach up an extra fret, Ex 2.

Then onto Ex.3 where you will stretch your first finger back.

Lastly you try and stretch out both your finger 1 and 4 out - which makes a BIG stretch.

If you can do it ok - then start moving the whole exercise down the fingerboard - because the frets get further apart it will work your stretch more and more.

Check out the video below and then get stretching!!

7th fret 8th fret 9th fret 10th fret 11th fret 12 fret

Ex. 1 finger 1 finger 2 finger 3 finger 4

Ex. 2 finger 1 finger 2 finger 3 finger 4

Ex. 3 finger 1 finger 2 finger 3 finger 4

Ex. 4 finger 1 finger 2 finger 3 finger 4

 

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Why Do Guitar Finger Exercises?

          As everyone finds out when they start learning guitar, learning the notes and chords is only

half the battle. Getting your fingers to do what you want them to is the other half. Of course this is

the reason you need to practice every day. But just practicing chords and the songs you're trying to

learn is not enough. You need to be exercising your fingers to improve their coordination and

flexibility. There are literally hundreds of different guitar finger exercises that can be done. I will show

you two great exercises that every beginner should incorporate into their practice sessions. By

making some guitar finger exercises part of your practice routine you will be surprised how much it

helps improve all aspects of your guitar playing.

Tab for Guitar Finger Exercise #1

Guitar Finger Exercise #1

How To Use Guitar Finger Exercise #1

This first exercise is the most basic but it's still one that I use to warm up every time before I play. If

you are not familiar with guitar tab, here is what the above diagram is telling you. The six horizontal

lines represent the six strings of the guitar. The bottom line is the sixth, or fattest string on the guitar.

The numbers represent your fingers.

1= Index finger

2= Middle finger

3= Ring finger

4= Little finger

This exercise can be done anywhere on the fret board but I will use the fifth fret as the starting point

for this explanation. Start at the fifth fret, on the sixth string with your first finger, then play the sixth

fret on the sixth string with your second finger. Now the seventh fret with your third finger, and then

the eighth fret on the sixth string with your little finger. You then repeat this on the fifth string and

then the fourth string and so on.

Below is a video of this guitar finger exercise being done starting at the fifth fret.

This exercise should be done on all six strings and then back down again. To make this a really

good workout, after you go up and back down then move up one fret and repeat the whole thing.

You can do this all the way up the fretboard.

I suggest that you also use alternating picking when doing this. If you are unfamiliar with this term it

just means to alternate between up strokes and down strokes. Do this exercise as slow as you have

to to maintain an even tempo and making sure that each note is been played clearly.