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How to Finger Pick a Guitar – Beginners’ Fingerstyle Guitar Lesson

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For years I ignored the hundreds of fingerstyle guitar lessons online as I trawled through Youtube looking for the best rock and blues guitar riffs to learn. I used to think that learning to finger pick guitar would be a total waste of time for me because I wasn’t a classical or folk guitarist.

My attitudes have changed somewhat over the years and I’m now a big fan of the technique and count many fingerpicking songs within my repertoire.

Why Learn Fingerpicking Guitar?

I love rocking out on my electric guitar with the distortion turned up to full and playing screaming solos at full volume. But sometimes I fancy a change, both in terms of giving my poor ears a rest and also to give myself a bit of a challenge.

That’s where I often put the pick down for a while and give the fingers of my right hand a bit of a workout with some intricate fingerstyle techniques. Actually, I sometimes use steel guitar finger picks like the ones that banjo players use, because my fingernails are quite short and I end up using the palp of my finger to pluck the strings, which gives a less distinct sound than using pinger picks. If you’re a classical guitarist, there are specialist plastic finger picks forthe classical guitar, which help to produce a great tone from the nylon strings. You can get away without them, but a lot of folks with shorter fingernails like the improved control and better sound that can be achieved by using finger picks.

Finger picking provides an interesting alternative to the normal guitar strumming patterns or basic riffing that I sometimes feel limited by when using a pick. And it really isn’t just for the classically trained amongst us, or even those with a folksy inclination. Just listen to the intro to a lot of Metallica music, or Led Zepplin – Stairway to Heaven anyone?

Fingerpicking Chords

Fingerstyle can and does bring some additional melodic interest to a song and can make quite a simple chord progression sound much more complex, and therefore more interesting from a musical point of view.

I would encourage you to give finger picking a try if you’ve not tried it before. And if you’ve tried it before but haven’t played in that style for a while, give it another try. I think you might be pleasantly surprised how enjoyable it is to play in that way.

Proper Fingerpicking Technique

One thing to bear in mind when playing your guitar in fingerstyle is that it is far easier to do if you stick to using certain fingers on certain strings.

Each of the picking fingers in the musical notation is given a specific letter, as follows.

Thumb – P
Index finger – I
Middle finger – M
Third finger – A
Little finger – rarely used becasue it is so much shorter than the other fingers.

Use your thumb for plucking the bass guitar strings (6th, 5th and 4th strings). Use your Index finger on the 3rd string, middle finger on the 2nd string and third finger on the 1st string.

Stick with these guidelines and you’ll find it relatively easy to play fingerstyle with just some rudimentary practice.

Go on, give it a try!

How to Play Guitar Chords – Minor Triads

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Minor triads have a much more mellow, some might say mournful, quality to them than their major triad cousins. The reasons why they sound sad when compared to major triads are complex and not fully understood (although theories abound on the subject), but I think it has a lot to do with social conditioning and cultural effects. We have all grown up watching Hollywood movies with amazing soundtracks that add to the mood of the film. Ever since I watched Bambi as a child, I’ve known (although during my early years, not consciously) that minor triads are associated with sad things. We’ve all got used to this association and have come to expect sad things to happen when “sad” music is played in the background of the films we watch. But anyway, I’m starting to wander away from the main point of this article…

The purpose of this article is to explain what minor guitar triads are and how to play them. Well, just like their major counterparts, they comprise just three different notes. All other guitar chords are based on the triads so the minor triads can be thought of as the basis of all minor chords. Even more complex minor chords are just minor triads with an extra note added here and there.

So, learn the minor triads in all the positions you can and you’ll be able to play any other chord just by applying a small adjustment here and there. Even if you’re not sure exactly how to tweak the triad to get the chord you’re after, you’ll probably be able to bluff your way through most songs just by playing the triad itself, particularly if the keyboards or other instrument are obliging enough to include the extra notes needed to give the character of the more complex chord that fits the song perfectly.

What Notes are in a Minor Triad?

The root note, the flattened third and the fifth notes of the major scale.

Simple as that!

Taking the key of C as the example, that would mean C, Eb and G. This is exactly the same as using the first, third and fifth notes from the minor scale.

Remember that when you play triads, you can include some of the notes more than once so that you’re using more (perhaps all) of the strings on the guitar and thereby achieving a much fuller and louder sound.

So that’s how to play minor triads on guitar in a nutshell. Learn them well, in multiple positions, and you’ll improve your playing and songwriting abilities enormously.

How to Hold A Guitar

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One of the first things you need to learn when you begin playing is how to hold a guitar properly. It might seem obvious how you hold it, unless you take your lead from Jimi Hendrix, in which case you might be forgiven for holding the guitar behind your head and plucking it with your teeth!

I suggest you follow a more conventional approach in your playing style, initially at least. There’s always the option to revisit your personal style at a later date once you’ve got the basics down pat.

The first decision you need to make is whether to sit like a classical musician with the guitar resting on your left leg, or whether you should go for the less formal method of placing it on your right leg. The correct way to hold a guitar, according to the classical approach, generally gives easier access to the frets for the left hand and does actually help encourage proper technique. Holing the guitar on your right leg is a more relaxed position and many people report that they find it easier to strum the guitar in this position.

It’s up to you which way you decide to go. I’d recommend that you experiment and then go with whatever seems to suit you better. Heck, you might find that you mix and match according to the musical genre or specific song that you’re playing.

There are a few things that you need to bear in mind when playing the guitar in order to ensure your technique is spot on. Good technique will help you avoid discomfort or injury while playing and will also give you the best chance of playing fluently and, if the need arises, quickly.

Ensure you press the string down immediately behind the fret and as close to the fret itself as possible. This minimises the force that you need to apply to hold the string in place without buzzing.

Ensure your thumb is always positioned at the centre of the back of the guitar neck. This allows your fingers to arch around and contact the strings at a more or less perpendicular angle.

When strumming, holding a guitar pick in your right hand, make sure you keep your right hand relaxed and keep most of the movement in the wrist. If you allow your wrist to lock, the movement has to come from your arm, which will make it more difficult to produce a consistent, tight rhythm. Sounds like a nit-picking point but you’d be surprised at how much difference it makes.

So there’s my few thoughts on how best to hold a guitar. If you follow those tips, I guarantee you’ll notice a difference in the quality of your playing.

Guitar Keys and Chords – An Explanation of Guitar Keys for Beginners

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Musicians are always banging on about “keys”. When they play a piece of music, it’s not sufficient just to say let’s play “Johnny B Goode”. No, they have to say they’ll play

it in the key of A, or if they really know their onions, the key of Bb, which is how Chuck Berry played the original.

So what’s the deal with keys, what are they for and how do we use them?

Well, the key of a song refers to its overall tonality and determines which scale will be used as the basis of the melody and which chords will fit naturally, and pleasingly,

into the arrangement of the song.

If you understand which chords go together, you’ll be able to work out the chord structure of a song much more easily because you will have a ready frame of reference to work

with. It will also help you to begin writing your own songs because you’ll have a starting point and a set of guidelines to follow.

Major Keys

In each major key, you’ve got three major chords that appear. Most songs or chord progressions will usually start with the tonic (or keynote) chord. This is just the chord

that has the same letter as the key. So for C major, the tonic chord is C itself.

In addition to these major chords, you’ll get minor chords appearing in major keys. This may sound a little counter-intuitive but if you try it, you’ll find that the effect is

pleasing.

If you’re playing in the key of C, you’ll find that C major, F major and G major fit nicely with D minor, E minor and A minor. This is a consequence of the notes that make up

the C major scale, which dovetail nicely with the notes that appear in the chords just mentioned.

There aren’t any rules about which chords can be combined, but if you use chords from the same key when you are composing you’ll find that they always sound good together.

Minor Keys

In each of the minor keys, there are three minor chords that go well together. They go together because they are closely related to one another and you’ll hear examples of

such chord progressions in a lot of music that will be familiar to you.

If we take the key of A minor as an example, the chords that are the most important are A minor, E minor and D minor. You should note that three major chords also appear in

each minor key. In this case they are C major, F major and G major.

All of the chords in the same key will sound pleasant when played together in any order, although for a nice chord progression it is usually best to start with the tonic

chord.

Have a go at coming up with your own chord progressions using the chords in a specific key as a guide to help you make selections that sound good together.

You’ll find it’s surprisingly easy if you stick to the same key.

Guitar Chords – What Are Triads?

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Woman sitting cross-legged playing the guitar

Photo by Ed Yourdon

As you navigate your way through the subject of guitar theory and begin to get on to the subject of learning to play guitar chords and how they are formed, you’ll quickly touch upon the concept of triads.

For years I never really got to grips with triads. I sort of understood what they were, but I didn’t take the time to fully master them and learn how to play them in multiple positions on the fretboard. I realise now that I was missing out and that if you want to become a proficient guitarist you need to be able to play triads on guitar in any position and to be able to do this without having to think too hard about it. Your goal should be to know your instrument so well that you can improvise these at will.

What Are Triads?

So what are triads then?

A triad is a chord that contains three different notes.

“Is that it?” I hear you ask. Well, yes actually – the triad is just about the most basic guitar chord there is (except maybe for the power chord). But for such a simple concept, there are still a lot of guitarists who aren’t able to formulate them without reference to a chord dictionary, one of the many guitar chord books available or other crutch.

It’s important to understand that all standard major chords are triads. And all other chords, no matter how elaborate, can be considered simply as variations or extensions of these basic guitar triads.

Knowing this, it is obvious then that a good knowledge of all of the major triads will provide a firm foundation for learning all the other chords of the guitar. If you want to learn guitar chords, don’t rely too heavily on that nice pull-out guitar triads chart that came free with the latest edition of your favourite guitar magazine. Sure, refer to it and learn from it, but try to work out the triads you’re practising without referring to the chart and you’ll find that the concepts will stick in your head better and you’ll be able to recall the correct finger positions more easily just from memory. It will be difficult and slow at first but it will pay off big time further down the line.

How to Play a Guitar Triad

Now you know that there are just three notes in a triad, it’s time to cover which three notes they need to be.

For a major triad, the first, third and fifth notes of the major scale make up the triad.

Using the key of C as our example, the notes would therefore be C, E and G. Simple! You can work out the notes of any major triad by selecting the first, third and fifth notes of the major scale that has the same starting note as the chord you’re creating.

But I have 6 strings to Play – Isn’t It A Waste Only To Play Three of Them?

Well, yes, it would be a waste if you only ever played three strings, and you’d be missing out on creating a fuller sound that utilising all 6 strings can give you.

The solution is to play some of the notes more than once, doubling up in this way gives a lot more oomph!

For example, the open E chord contains the notes E, B, E, G#, B, E. You can see from that description that E (the root note) is played three times, B (the fifth) is played twice and G# (the third) is played once. This does make for a good, full sound.

Advanced Triads

Now that you understand the concept of the triad, it’s time to really go to work and learn them inside out. Devise, learn and practise as many different fingerings of these little beauties as you possibly can.

Learning guitar chords in lots of different positions will give you flexibility to allow for smoother chord changes, variations in tone and will add interest to your music. Doing this will also help you become more familiar with your instrument and where the different notes are on the guitar. This will help to improve your improvisational skill and, believe it or not, your lead playing.

So off you go and practice these basic guitar chords; they really are the building blocks for all other chords and you should learn them well. And don’t stop until you can play any triad in any position with your eyes closed. And then practise some more!

Guitar Intervals – The Music Theory Building Blocks

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Guitar fretboard

Photo by Florin Gorgan

In my earlier article on guitar intervals I gave a quick overview of what they are and why we refer to them all the time in musical circles. The basic principle is very simple – at their heart, intervals simply express how far apart two notes are. This distance is measured in terms of tones and semitones (often also called whole and half steps).

Let’s take a look at some of the intervals that you’re likely to come across when playing the guitar.

Major Second

The interval in this case is simply the gap between the first and the second note of the major scale. So, for example, in the key of C, the major second interval is the gap between C and D.

If you play the major second a whole octave higher, this will give you the major 9th interval.

Major Third

The major 3rd is the interval from the 1st to the 3rd note of the major scale. So, using the key of C as the example again, this would be the interval between C and E.

The major third interval is very important because it defines the tonality of the chord you’re playing on the guitar. Whenever you play a chord containing the major third interval (from the root) it will always be a kind of major chord.

Minor Third

Lowering the major third by a semitone (or half step) turns it into a minor third. The minor third defines the tonality of the chord as a minor chord.

Perfect Fourth

This is – you guessed it – the interval from the first note in the major scale to the fourth note. Are you starting to notice a pattern here? I certainly hope so! Once again, in the key of C, this would be the distance from C to F. The perfect fourth gives quite a strong harmony when the two notes are played together, but fourths sound weak when compared to the next on the list…fifths.

The Perfect Fifth

This is the Big Daddy of all the intervals on guitar. It will come as no surprise by now that this interval is the gap between the first and the fifth notes in the major scale. I.e. from C to G in the key of C.

The harmony between the two notes of this interval is so strong that you can almost feel the resonance in your body when you play it. It is a very pleasing sound to hear and is very popular with heavy metal and rock guitarists who need a very strong harmony in order for their playing not to sound “muddy” through the heavy distortion effects that they employ. Perfect fifths keep things nice and crisp.

If you lower the fifth interval by half a step is turns into a diminished (or flattened) fifth.

Conversely, if you raise the perfect 5th by a semitone, it becomes an augmented (or sharpened) fifth.

These half steps may seem like trifling details to the uninitiated but they can make a profound difference to the music you’re playing.

Major Sixth

At the risk of becoming monotonous, this interval is the gap between – surprise, surprise – the first and sixth notes of the major scale (C to A in the key of C).

You can get the major sixth in both major and minor sixth chords. And in the same way as you can play the octave above the second interval to get a ninth chord, here you can play the octave above the sixth to get a 13th chord.

Major Seventh

Finally, the major seventh is the interval from the first to the seventh note on the major scale (no surprises there). The example for the key of C would be from C to B.

You’ll find the major seventh interval in major 7th chords. These types of chord are used quite a lot in blues music and Jimmy Page used them a lot during his Led Zeppelin days to great effect, too. Seventh chords sound great when played with chromatic variation (moving up and down by half a step) and add extra colour to your music.

Lowering the major seventh by half a step turns it into a minor seventh. This interval can be found in minor seventh and dominant seventh chords.

There is of course much more to intervals and the chords that they are used in than I have cover here, but I will return to them in the future to offer more insights and explain further.

In the meantime, you should practice playing them and see whether you can teach yourself to recognise each interval just from hearing it played to you. You can do this by identifying a song that you’re familiar with that contains the interval you want to learn. This makes it easier to identify the interval when you hear it because it is just part of the melody to one of your favourite songs.

An even better way to practice and train your ear to recognise different intervals is by using ear trainer software such as Pitch Master Pro – Ear Training Software. Click on the link to find out more!

Guitar Intervals Explained – Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About the Guitar Interval But Were Afraid to Ask

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Guitar Fretboard

Photo by Alexis Fam Photography

There is a lot of jargon – like guitar intervals – surrounding music, which can sometimes appear quite intimidating and frighten off people who are just beginning to learn guitar. A lot of us don’t have what you would call a proper classical training and many of us are pretty much teaching ourselves from books or using internet resources.

So when people start talking about intervals, triads, open chords, power chords and the like, it can all get a bit much. Well, don’t worry, we’ve all been through that period of not quite understanding what it is that the more experienced guitarists around us are talking about. And it’s fine to not understand something, provided you turn it into an opportunity to learn.

In this article I’ll be explaining what intervals are. This is an important thing to understand because it underpins everything else that you are likely to learn about the guitar.

What are Intervals on Guitar?

Intervals are not specific to the guitar (a guitar interval is exactly the same as an interval on any other instrument). They are a fundamental musical concept that is used to describe how far apart different notes are from each other. That’s it! Easy, no?

Things only get more complicated when you use the concept of the interval to describe more complex things like scales or chords.

Intervals in Chords

Chords are constructed by combining various different intervals and playing the notes at the same time. The name of the chord is usually taken from the biggest interval that is contained in the chord. There are certain intervals that have a very strong relationship such as the perfect fifth, much beloved of rock guitarists the world over because of its very strong resonant sound.

Other intervals can sound much less harmonious and can be used deliberately to create musical tension in a song. Jazz musicians love to do this – you might be familiar with that feeling of not knowing if there’s been some sort of mistake when listening to a jazz band play apparently dischordant combinations of notes, only to have the tension resolved by the appropriate chord being played before off they go again on a musical odyssey into the unknown.

Intervals in Scales

Scales are described by referring to the intervals that they utilise. each of the notes of a scale will (usually) be a whole tone or half a tone from the adjacent notes. One very common exception to this in the world of the guitar is the pentatonic scale, which is often referred to as the “Blues Scale“. The distance between the first (root) note of the pentatonic scale and the second note is a tone and a half; the same is true of the interval between the fourth and fifth notes of this scale.

So that’s it really – an interval describes how far apart two notes are in terms of pitch and is usually measured in tones or steps (one tone being the same as one step, both of which are equal to two frets on the fingerboard of the guitar).

For a more complicated and in depth description of intervals, check out my follow up article on Guitar Intervals.

Are You A “Feel” or “Technique” Guitarist?

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David Gilmour

David Gilmour. Photo by Elios.k

Yngwie Malmsteen

Yngwie Malmsteen. Photo by alterna2

Once you’ve been playing the guitar for a number of years, you’ll start to find your own style and habits. This is a good thing and shows that you’ve reached a level of maturity in your playing that comes with consistent practice.

In general, when I look around at the different guitarists I have known, or the famous guitarists I have observed over the years, I notice two broad categories of musician. This is of course a massive generalisation and oversimplification of the reality, but bear with me while I explain.

Musical Twiddly-Diddling

You see, at one extreme end of the spectrum you have those guitarists who are motivated by the competitive urge to dazzle their public with amazingly fast solos that set the stage on fire. These guitarists focus on technique and tend to do a lot of very fast “twiddly-diddly” picking or bi-manual work, which utilises both hands tapping on and pulling off the strings on the fretboard to create a rapid-fire series of notes that combine into a very impressive wall of noise. They often categorise themselves as “shred” guitarists and pride themselves in being able to play very fast. They are amazing to watch and listen to. But after a little while, I’m afraid that I find them, well, boring.

If I had to pick on one of them to give an example of what I think is wrong with this style of playing, I’d choose Yngwie Malmsteen. Watch his video below and you’ll notice that he makes a great show of how many different modes and arpeggios he’s about to play. He even calls it “Arpeggios From Hell”. He got that right – it’s all fine and dandy as an exercise, but I think it is too clinical and lacks emotion. Not what music should be about at all. And yes, it would be my idea of hell to be forced to listen to that nonsense for longer than 2 minutes forty-two seconds.

Anyway, have a listen and see what you think (try to ignore the bad hair and ludicrously tight trousers)…

See what I mean?

A True Guitar Hero

At the other end of the spectrum, you’ll find the “feel” guitarists. These guys are able to put so much emotion into so few notes using their guitars that it sends shivers down my spine whenever I listen to them. They place great store in precise intonation, emotionally loaded string bends and lead parts that often emulate the vocal part. I think that is one of the keys to the emotional content of their playing – it sounds quite like a vocal part. Examples of feel guitarists can be found in the blues masters such as B B King, and of course, one of the greatest feel players for my money – David Gilmour of Pink Floyd.

Listen to this masterful performance of the solo from Pink Floyd’s “Comfortably Numb” by David Gilmour and tell me you don’t feel the emotion coming through in his playing.

Who’s better?

Sorry Yngwie, it ain’t you. David plays a fraction of the notes that you do but his solo has way more impact.

So which are you, technique or feel? Let me know in the comments, and don’t forget to explain why.

Learn to Strum the Guitar – An Easy Exercise to Help You Learn Strumming Technique

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I’ve been asked to provide a bit more detail on how to practice strumming the guitar after my first article, “Learn to Play Guitar“, mentioned the importance of strumming correctly. So in this article I’ll take things a little further and give you a few tips, some strumming lessons if you will, that will help ensure you make the best use of your practice time.

Guitar Strum Techniques

I’ve already explained why I think it is very important for all guitarists to become proficient in the particular skills and techniques of rhythm guitar playing and how this can bring significant benefits to the rest of your playing. I will now give you some basic exercises aimed at improving this element of your technique.

Strumming the Guitar

First, a few things to bear in mind when strumming
1. Move from the wrist – the wrist joint is able to maintain a smoother, more consistent and relaxed strumming action than if you were to move from the elbow. This is because the elbow has to move the entire forearm to strum the guitar, which is much more work to do than simply moving the wrist and can lead to tiredness, which in turn makes the strumming action more awkward and less consistent. There is also something about the bio-mechanics of the wrist that allows you to bounce it back and forth across the strings, almost an elasticity in the joint that allows the returning movement to follow immediately and without significant effort to changing direction.
2. Ensure that you keep your wrist relaxed at all times. If your wrist is not relaxed you won’t be able to take advantage of the elasticity of the wrist joint mentioned above. You’ll also find that your muscles get tired more quickly and the motion will be less fluid.
3. Use a metronome to improve the consistency and accuracy of your strumming. This helps condition your muscles to maintain a steady rhythm which is vitally important in playing rhythm guitar.

Exercise in Strumming Guitar Chords

1. Start with the metronome on a fairly slow tempo so that you can easily keep up with the pace.
2. Don’t worry about changing chords, this exercise is all about the strumming so don’t give yourself anything else to think about.
3. Ensure you have the plectrum positioned correctly in your hand. This should be sticking out from your index finger only a very short distance (the shorter the better really) because otherwise you might find that it drags on the strings when you strum and might even cause you to drop it entirely.
4. Strum down 4 times keeping time with the metronome.
5. After the fourth strum, introduce a quick up-strum between the second and fourth beats.
6. Ensure the upwards strum is coming from the wrist, and only the wrist. It should effortlessly “bounce” back into position ready for the next down strum. Your wrist should experience a “weightless” feeling.
7. Keep practicing this until it feels entirely natural. Always focus on the wrist and ensure all movement is coming from the wrist rather than from your entire arm.
8. Once you’ve got the hang of this guitar strumming pattern, try introducing an upwards strum after every single down-strum. This is not something that you’ll hear often in a song but is a good practice exercise. Make sure you maintain fluency at all times, and keep in time with the click of that metronome.

If you feel confident with this technique, it’s time to mix things up a little with a few chord variations. Check out the lessons I have on learning guitar chords and incorporate those chords into your strumming practice.

Learn to Play Guitar

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…Like Jimi Hendrix.

Learn to play guitar like Jimi Hendrix

Photo by franela


It still surprises me how many guitarists concentrate on playing lead guitar to the detriment of their rhythm playing. The fact is that a good foundation in rhythm guitar will stand you in great stead for playing lead as well.

Learning From the Master

Just consider Jimi Hendrix as an example for a moment. He is widely renowned as one of the greatest guitarists that ever lived. He was a great innovator and pioneer of the many electronic effects that modern guitarists take for granted as a part of their pallette of musical textures and tones. He caught the attention of the masses with his flamboyant style and outrageous gimmicks like playing his guitar with his teeth and setting it alight (literally) on stage mid-performance. He also had a superb repertoire of licks and riffs that he was able to improvise around effortlessly.

And people are often distracted by all the hype and flashy showmanship that went hand in hand with the Jimi Hendrix way of doing things. But underneath it all, Hendrix was a highly accomplished rhythm guitarist who served his time on the back row of several bands laying down a solid musical bed for the lead members of the band to work over. His rhythm work was superb and the discipline of keeping precisely in time shone through in his lead guitar work later in his career as he worked the complex webs of licks and riffs in between the chords in his songs.

Learning to play Rhythm Guitar Helps You Play Lead Guitar, Too

So it’s worth bearing in mind that mastering rhythm guitar principles, such as how to strum a guitar is important for both rhythm and lead guitarists and the two shouldn’t really be thought of as separate disciplines but aspects of playing that any rounded guitarist should feel comfortable with.

What’s the most important technique in rhythm guitar? Well, I’d say that strumming is the most important, because without a solid strumming technique your playing will sound less fluid and more awkward.

The key thing to correct strumming is to keep a smooth and relaxed strumming action. You need to strum from the wrist, which makes it easier to maintain a smooth motion by keeping the wrist relaxed, loose and moving freely.

If the wrist is not completely relaxed, you’ll find that you have to move from the elbow, which will never move as freely as the wrist is able to. Moving from the elbow will cause a loss of smoothness and will prevent you from being able to play more complex rhythms.

Try working on your strumming as part of your regular guitar practice routine, you’ll be amazed at the improvements focusing on this aspect of your playing can bring, not just to the rhythm guitar side of your playing, but to every aspect of what you do on your instrument.

Basic Guitar Chords

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One of the first things I ever learned on a guitar was a short song made up of a few basic guitar chords. I can’t begin to tell you just how satisfying it felt to be able to play three simple chords on my guitar, which together produced the basis of “Wild Thing” by The Troggs. I can still remember the sense of satisfaction and the realisation that I could actually learn to play the guitar if I put in the practice.

In those days, before the internet, I couldn’t just hop onto the internet and learn guitar chords online from people across the other side of the world. Instead, I learned from friends and books. Just as good really – probably better to tell the truth because the stuff I learned was more tailored to my needs that a random search on the internt would be.

How to Learn Guitar Chords

Smiling guitarist playing a guitar chord

Photo by Woody Ellen

Basic chords are not very difficult to learn and you’ll be surprised at the results you can get after a fairly short period of practice. They form the backbone of all music and once you’ve got the hang of a few basic chord shapes you’re well on your way to being a fully-fledged guitarist.

The great thing about chords is that they last you a lifetime. Once you’ve put in the effort to learn guitar chords and got them under your belt, they are always there ready to be pulled out when you need them.

The best way to learn to play guitar chords is, of course, to put in consistent practice. There is no trick to learning them, you simply have to knuckle down and play them over and over again until they become second nature and you don’t even have to think about it when you play them. When you reach that stage of automatically putting your fingers in the right place without consciously thinking about it, you’ve cracked it. That is what you are aiming for.

You need good technique, and I’ll talk about that in future articles, but the main thing is a solid practice routine.

Types of Chords

There are 2 main types of chord – major and minor. Other types do exist but we can think of these as variations of the two main types.

When you come across chords written down, the notation is very simple. The generally accepted convention for writing chords is to use the capital letter representing each chord. The capital letter on its own is used for a major chord and a minor chord is identified by writing a lowercase “m” immediately after the capital letter.

For a full run down of chord diagrams, see this article on Learning Guitar Chords.

Major chords typically sound bright and confident, whereas minor chords sound more melancholic and sombre. The two types of chord are often used to change the mood of a musical piece to suit the effect the composer is trying to achieve.

What Should I learn first?

Diagram of the guitar chord, E Minor

E Minor

Well, The first chord I’d recommend any beginner should learn is E Minor (Em) because it’s just so simple to play. You only need to hold down 2 strings whilst playing all 6 of the strings and hey presto, an E minor chord!

In fact, I’d say that a lot of the basic chords are quite straightforward to play, in themselves. The difficulty that most beginners have is transitioning between the different chords, with the attendant finger gymnastics that is sometimes required.

Don’t worry about this for now, just make sure you’re comfortable holding down the 2 strings for an E minor chord and strumming evenly and consistently.

Get comfortable playing this single chord and then you can move on to learning to play guitar chords as part of a progression, and practising the transitions between them.

Best Way to Learn Guitar

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SECRETS OF LEARNING GUITAR REVEALED!

Do you want to play your favourite songs on the guitar but your fingers just won’t co-operate?

Do you find it difficult to work out songs just by listening to them?

I used to spend hours each week practising, trying to work out the chords for my favourite songs. Half the time I couldn’t even manage to get my guitar properly in tune to begin with.

And as for being able to play songs just by listening to them, well I used to feel like banging my head against the wall in frustration. It still hurts!

Instead of improving my playing, all I got to show for my efforts were callouses on my fingers.

I wish Jamorama had been around in those days because it gives you great results… and fast, even in the first few hours of the programme.

You see, Jamorama is a step-by-step guitar course that has been lovingly designed by an award-winning team of top guitar instructors that removes all of the guess work from your guitar practice. I think it is the best way to learn guitar available today.

Jamorama contains everything you need to take you from complete beginner to a competent guitarist in a matter of weeks.

I’ve been playing the guitar for 22 years and have tried every method of learning to play the guitar going, so I know what I’m talking about here. I’ve taught friends to play and have played in a number of different bands.

I began learning blues, rock and metal but am interested in all genres of guitar playing and enjoy playing everything and anything as long as it keeps me interested. A particular hobby of mine during my student days was working out how to play the chords and melody for the theme tunes of various children’s programmes.

I’m so glad that I learned to play the guitar because it has enriched my life in so many ways, and not just the obvious guitar-related ones…

For instance, a guitar is a great talking point and is a great way to meet people and make friends. I met my wife because of my guitar. She came over to speak to me because I had my guitar sitting next to me in the cafe. I never would have had the guts at that time to go over and speak to her so it was my guitar that got me noticed. We’ve been together ever since.

Here are some of the benefits that you could enjoy once you learn the guitar with Jamorama…

  • Once you’ve learned to play the guitar, you’ll be able to impress that special someone in your life. It’s a cliche but a serenade will often be the way to a girl’s heart. And yes, ladies, it can work on guys too!
  • These days I play guitar with the kids a lot. They love it when I fool around on the guitar for them. I think it makes them feel special, like I’m putting on a music show just for them… which of course I am.
  • I also sometimes get the guitar out for a good old sing song around the camp fire when we go out into the wilderness for some wild camping. There’s not much to do for entertainment out there so you have to make your own. With a guitar, you’ve got all you need for an evening’s merriment.
  • Playing the guitar is a great way to impress your friends. Ever wondered why some people are always the centre of attention? If you play the guitar you’ll find people will want to speak with you more. It seems that being a guitarist makes you a more interesting person in other people’s eyes.
  • “You hum it and I’ll play it.” Ever wanted to say that to someone? Well after playing Jamorama’s Ear Training game for a while, you’ll be able to.
  • And you can stop worrying about what to learn next. Jamorama gives you step by step instructions so you’ll never have to waste time trawling through useless videos on Youtube again. With all that time saved you’ll have more time available to spend with your family, getting fit or even just putting in more practice to become a better guitarist more quickly.
  • With Jamorama you can also learn at your own pace. Whether it’s 3 am or 5 pm you can get valuable instruction from the Jamorama team any time of the day or night. If you work nights or just happen to be a “night person” then Jamorama’s for you.
  • Practice in the comfort and privacy of your own home. Do you get embarrassed or flustered in front of a guitar teacher and your fingers just won’t do as they’re told? You won’t have this problem with Jamorama because all the course notes, videos and other materials are provided for you via your computer, without the need for any face-to-face tuition. And they’re available for instant download as soon as you’ve made the purchase.
  • Join a band!

    Maybe your local church band is down a guitarist? Get in God’s good books by filling the gap.

    Or maybe you just want groupies knocking down your dressing room door? In that case, join a rock band!

  • Why not follow the Jamorama course with your spouse or kids? It will give you a shared interest and bring you closer together through music.
  • Become a less stressed-out person. One of the advantages of playing the guitar is that it reduces stress. Stop your hair turning grey by learning the guitar!
  • Appreciate music more! This is something that isn’t immediately obvious until you’ve taken the trouble to learn to play an instrument. However, the musical knowledge you’ll gain from learning to play the guitar will enhance your understanding and enjoyment of music from the listener’s perspective too.
  • Write your own songs. If you’ve always fancied yourself as a songsmith, learning guitar with Jamorama will give you the skills you need to finally achieve this ambition.
  • Boost self confidence through music. It has been shown that people with low self-esteem can benefit from learning an instrument. The satisfaction that is gained from accomplishing this goal leads to greater awareness of a person’s inner potential which carries over to other aspects of daily life. This is especially true if the person performs in front of an audience.
  • Improve your brainpower, memory and communication skills. Mental ability and agility are improved by playing an instrument because of the stimulation the brain receives by memorising scales, chords etc. This also helps with multi-tasking. Playing the guitar is a great way to learn about problem solving, abstract reasoning and visualization as well as spatial relationships. The scientific community has shown that musicians have pronounced growth in certain areas of the brain including the primary motor cortex, the cerebellum and corpus callosum.
  • Have fun! This is the most important benefit of learning guitar with Jamorama. Playing the guitar is supposed to be fun, and Jamorama certainly make sure the learning experience is fun all the way. From the ear training and sight-reading games to the great professional sound tracks that you can jam along to, the whole experience is a joy. And it will have you playing your favourite songs sooner that you might expect.

Jamorama is the most popular guitar course online with over 200,000 students so far. Their website contains tons of testimonials from satisfied customers so it’s not just me who’s telling you it’s a great course, many people from all over the world have benefited from the learning materials and have found it so helpful that they took the trouble to say so.

What’s in the package then?

Well, with 250+Pages of Step-by-Step Lessons, 216 Chord Shapes, 148 High Quality Video Lessons, 8 Major Styles of Music and 55 Unique Strumming Patterns, 26 Professionally Recorded Jamtracks, Guitar Tab and access to the Jamorama Community Forums, you’d be forgiven for expecting a hefty price tag.

But no…

…Jamorama offers all of this for an excellent price of a single payment of $49.95. And that includes a 60-day, no questions, 100% Refund Guarantee, so you’ve got nothing to lose by trying it.

And that’s not all!

As a special bonus, you’ll get:

  • “Guitearit!”, an ear training game that will get you transcribing songs from the radio effortlessly.
  • “Jayde Music Pro”, a sight reading game that makes learning to read music fun.
  • “Guitar Tuner Pro” Software & “How to Tune Your Guitar” which teach you the most effective methods for tuning your guitar.
  • The Jamorama Metronome to improve your timing and control.
  • The Jamorama Chord Kit – a chord and riff kit.

      • The Jamorama course would be valued at $75.85 if you bought each item separately, and that’s without counting these bonuses. Compare that to $20 EVERY MONTH for a subscription guitar instruction website, or $250 a month for a professional tutor, and you can see the savings quickly mount up.

      At the time of writing this, the Jamorama team are having a sale. I’m not sure what the price goes back up to once the doors close on the sale, but you need to get in quick to take advantage of the great package they’re currently offering.

      Simply CLICK ON THIS LINK to go to the Jamorama website, where you’ll need to scroll down the page to the “BUY NOW”!” button. Click on that button and you’ll be redirected to a page operated by ClickBank, which is totally secure and will process your order once you’ve entered in your payment details.

      You’ll then have instant access to the training materials.

      So don’t spend any more time feeling frustrated with your progress. Get Jamorama and realise your true potential with the guitar. You’ll be glad you did.

      P.S. Don’t forget to buy now before the sale closes. The current price won’t last forever.

      P.P.S. Do remember that Jamorama offers a 60-Day 100% Refund if you’re not happy for any reason. You’ve got nothing to lose, so go ahead any buy it. If you find it’s not for you, you can always take the refund.

Teach Yourself Guitar! All You Need are Some Good Guitar Instructions and a Regular Guitar Practice Routine

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If you’ve not been classically trained (like I haven’t), the whole subject of music theory can seem like black magic, or at least that’s how it seemed to me when I first picked up a guitar.

I can remember sitting down with a group of friends in the very early days of my playing career and discussing guitar chords with them. A couple of them really seemed to know what they were talking about and they were explaining various musical concepts to the rest of us. I recall them saying things like,

“Of course, you can get away with playing an A chord without muting the 6th string because the chord contains an E anyway”

; and,

“Let’s switch to playing that riff in E because it’s much easier to reach the frets”.

Knowing what I know now, that all seems very obvious, but to a beginner, what I’ve just said above will probably make very little sense unless they’ve already studied music to some level. I just couldn’t get my head around how my friends knew all this musical theory and could recall it effortlessly. I was impressed.

But I’m Not A “Musical” Person

Until I began to teach myself guitar in earnest, I thought that I was not a “musical” person. I couldn’t sing (I still can’t carry a tune all that well), I certainly had no idea how to read music, guitar tablature or how to transcribe music by ear. My friends used to tease me whenever I tried to sing because I used to warble up and down trying to find the right note and by the time I did, the song would have moved on so I’d have to start the process again. The effect was something like a human swanny whistle that never settled on any recognisable note, nevermind the correct one.

Why am I telling you this? Because if I can learn to play guitar and understand music theory, you certainly can. In fact you can probably learn to play better than me if you put in the effort.

Music is a Skill – Any Skill Can be Learned

You see, the ability to play music and to write your own music is a skill like any other. Just like riding a bike or playing football, or becoming a carpenter, electrician or lawyer. Whatever your chosen metaphor, the concept is the same: get good tuition (or even some “Learn Guitar” Instructions in the form of a decent book – or website;))and practise hard and you will develop a skill with music that will allow you to have great fun and, if you are prepared to put in the hours with a coherent and regular guitar practice routine, people might even think you’re good enough to pay you for playing to them.

The Punk movement proved, once and for all, that you don’t need to be an accomplished musician in order to build up a large fan base, but it helps.

So don’t let anyone tell you that you’re not musical enough to learn the guitar. Most of all, don’t let yourself believe that nonsense.

Playing the guitar is a skill that anyone can learn if they put in the work. So get to the music store and buy yourself an axe, or if there’s one sitting in the corner of your bedroom, unloved and covered in dust, go and spend some time with it.

Practise little and often and you’ll be amazed at how quickly you improve.