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How To Play A Guitar Blog

It's all about how to play a guitar! Including free guitar lessons for beginners, acoustic guitar playing, rock guitar lessons and many more helpful tips for aspiring guitarists.

If you're new here and you like what you see, please feel free to subscribe to this Blog: right-click on the orange RSS button ( see the buttons to the left), then copy and paste the URL into your RSS reader.

New articles are being added on a regular basis-- so check back whenever you need some new inspiration for learning to play the guitar!

Dave

Paint By Numbers Guitar Scale?

Having trouble understanding guitar scales? If you can already strum chords to songs and are attempting to expand into playing some lead guitar, you have probably seen and heard a LOT about scales.

Not to mention "magical" methods, etc.

It can be overwhelming and confusing at the beginning. Especially on the Internet!!( I know there's some irony here somewhere…;-)

While it's true that knowing which notes you are on is of extreme importance -- particularly for those intermediate and long time players who are spinning there wheels on the same old tired licks and cliches, it CAN be a bit much for the aspiring novice lead player.

All the guitar scale charts on this site are labelled as Roots ( in red) or 3rd, 4ths, 5ths etc. If you have no basic music theory to stand on it's not gonna help you.

Does that mean you can't reach your goal of playing lead guitar? No! If you pay attention to each and every note when you play and INTERNALIZE the sounds and do this on a consistent basis, you will learn what you need.

At some point, you'll take another look at theory and it'll probably make much more sense to you. So for now, just play and LISTEN. My top tip would be to record your practice sessions. Don't analyze too much. Your brain will automatically filter out the good stuff from the bad stuff over time.

Click here to go to my Facebook page for a beginning lead guitar video tutorial. It's as close to a "paint by numbers" guitar scale for those of you starting out with lead guitar as I can come up with. It's a jumping-off point if you will.

You could also get to the video by clicking on the Facebook "visit my page" icon on the right column of this page.

Hope it helps! Keep on picking and grinning :-)

Which Strings to Strum?

Are you uncertain about which string to start at in order to strum guitar chords?

If so, you may also be wondering how many strings to hit while you are strumming.

Each chord is unique. Some chords will require you to use 6 strings. Some will be 5. Some 4. It's important to know which string to start at. This is the lowest sounding note.

Also, you don't necessarily need to strum ALL the strings in a chord all the time!

If you'd like to see a video where I demonstrate these ideas, simply click on my Facebook "visit my page" button to the right. It'll take you to my Facebook page where the caption says "Do you know which strings to strum on your chords?"

Best of luck with it and let me know how you're doing!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!!

I've had some questions recently from readers who are a little unsure about all the graphics and diagrams used to explain things on guitar.

I don't blame them! I know because I have to draw the darned things all the time ;-)

In a nutshell, here's what we are looking at:

Guitar chord diagrams for guitar chords.

Scale diagrams for guitar scales.

Guitar tab -- or Tab -- to notate songs, riffs and musical ideas.

There you have it. You simply need to be aware of which lines represent the strings and which lines represent the frets. Dots are where you put your fingers. The numbers inside the dots have to do with music theory. The red dots are roots and define which note is the fundamental sound of the chord or scale.

Tab is a little different. The horizontal lines represent your guitar strings and the numbers represent which fret on the string to press down on. Read it like English -- from left to right. In other words, the notes are played in the order they are written. The permalink at the bottom of this post will connect you to an intro lesson where I explain a bit more about guitar tab.

If you don't understand it right now, don't worry. Just learn to play and strum the basic guitar chords! The theoretical "understandings" will reveal themselves gradually to you as you continue to play guitar.

With guitar chord diagrams and scale diagrams, there are sometimes numbers BESIDE the dots. This is a suggestion as to which finger to use.

I'm looking forward to creating many more useful and in depth guitar lessons for you in the coming year!

Wishing you much happiness, health and prosperity in this New Year, Dave

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No Excuses

One of the biggest challenges to learning guitar is making the time to practice.

Despite what anyone say, you are teaching yourself. That's right. All learning is done on the guitar.

Lessons, videos etc. are only guidelines for you to follow. A map.

But you have to pick up your guitar and work things out. On an almost daily basis. For at least a few minutes. And if you really want to make guitar a part of your life you will.

"I'm too old."

"I'm too busy."

I'm too tired."

My life is too crazy."

"My guitar isn't good enough."

"I'm not talented or smart enough."

I'm not musically inclined."

These are not facts. They are excuses. All of them. I'm going to be writing about this area some more for a while. It's one of the most important. Staying motivated. Finding discipline. Find your inner teacher. Because without that, it doesn't matter how much information you have on playing the guitar. You can only get better by putting it into practice.

Don't Feel Like Practicing Today?

Do it anyways! Just do it. Once you start, you'll feel better. Don't believe me? Try it out. I'm not saying you'll necessarily be ready to turn cartwheels because you picked up your guitar to practice. But you'll have a strong sense of satisfaction.

That's how to improve. Good guitar players practice whether or not they feel like it. They don't wait for the inspiration to come. Inspiration doesn't come beforehand very often. It usually comes during.

Like right now. I didn't feel much like writing. I've been super busy with other music related projects. But I had a goal to post something helpful today. So I sat down and started punching out letters on my keyboard.

Now I'm in a flow of ideas and I feel better about myself. Of course there are times we need to rest and take breaks to recharge. There are times to spend with family, friends and loved ones. There are times for recreation. But stay true to your guitar playing dreams! Just because it may not earn you money doesn't mean it's not an important dimension to your life.

If you set the intention to get better at guitar, put that thought into action on a consistent basis. It doesn't have to be perfect. Somedays you may only manage to strum a couple of chords. Other days you may get a focused 20 or 30 minutes -- or even more. Don't let "perfection" block you from playing one or two chords.

Set small goals such as practicing everyday for 1 week. Even 30 seconds can count. A focused finding and playing one new chord for example. At the end of the week, rent a movie or take yourself to a restaurant you love. A small reward. You get the idea.

Brain research shows that an activity like guitar playing can become a "positive addiction" leading to creation of new neural pathways and better brain health. Let's get going!

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Struggling With Bar (barre) Chords?

If you are -- and specifically the F major barre chord, the following tips should help your practice (and frustration)!

Accept that it may take a few months of practicing to master bar chords.

Practice them consistently, but not "obsessively." Keep it loose, goose ;-)

Try using a capo at the 2nd fret.

Use light gauge strings.

Here's an exercise. Using your index finger only, bridge across the first 2 strings closest to the floor. Do this at fret 5. Once both notes are ringing clearly, add your 2nd finger ( remember, don't count your thumb) onto the 3rd string at fret 6.

Once the above sounds good at fret 5, move it down to fret 4. Start with only your index finger across the first 2 strings. Once that's good, add your 2nd finger to the 3rd string 5th fret. Once THAT'S good, move down to the 3rd fret. Start with only your index finger, etc.

Make sure that your wrists, elbows and shoulder are relatively straight. You shouldn't need to bend them in any unusual or forceful ways.

Have your thumb placed opposing your index finger. On the back of the guitar neck. Find a spot that feels "right" without moving your wrists or elbows into awkward positions.

Place your fingers fairly close and behind the fret wires. Not too far back.

After a few weeks, add your 3rd finger into the mix. Do yourself a favor and don't rush this process. Take your time with it.

That's about it. The number one tip? The learning is in the doing. Practice consistently, but not too much. It should be enjoyable effort :-) And of course, patience!

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Advertising Information and Disclosures

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Cool Amp Settings for Electric Guitar

This cool beginner guitar lesson gets you up to speed with what the basic knobs are. Find out the best amp settings for your style of electric guitar playing.

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Guitar Bar Chords and Free Online Video Guitar Lesson

Frustrated with guitar bar chords? These clear instructions include a free video guitar lesson that will heal any frustration you feel.

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How To Play Blues Guitar

How to play blues guitar is group of several free blues guitar lessons. Get some new ideas to spice up your blues!

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Teach Yourself Guitar

Tutorial to teach yourself guitar. This cool online guitar lesson includes printable guitar chord charts and a guitar video lesson.

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New Beginner Guitar Lesson Videos Added

Two new guitar lesson videos have been added to beginner lesson pages. Chord guitar lesson now has the lesson video as does teach yourself guitar.

If you've been struggling with learning basic guitar chords, these videos will make things clear. Of course, you'll still need to put in some quality time with your guitar ;-)

Stick with it! It is slow going for many in the beginning stages. You CAN do it. You can realize your dream of playing guitar. It just takes some dedication :-)

Cheers,
Dave

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