Bionicle1800's Learn How to Play the Guitar in 16 Days Free Step By Step Tutorial!
http://img50.imageshack.us/img50/460...usticguita.jpg
Written by: bionicle1800
Proof Read by: J_Pizzle
Introduction
Welcome to the longest tutorial on Villavu that has nothing to do with SCAR, RuneScape, or even computers on that note! This tutorial is a tutorial on how to play a guitar. I will teach you over the course of thirty days, and please, the sections are called "Day 1", "Day 2" etc. for a reason. Do not, I repeat, do not do more then one lesson in a day, as they are split apart so you have time to practice, review, and ponder on what you have learned for that day.
For this tutorial, you will need an acoustic guitar. On your final day, you will need to make a recording for me to evaluate, and then I will give you a grade on how well you have progressed through this tutorial. Every five days (starting on day 4) will be a review day, as well as every five days (starting on day 5) there will be a song for you to learn, with instructions.
If you like this, use that blue check mark in the top right hand corner! You can also donate to my PayPal accout - L.-.0.-.l@hotmail.com - and help with my RuneScape membership funds for future scripts! Questions, comments or corrections, please don't hesitate to post below, I will have a look as soon as I can!
Well, we had better get started, so grab your guitar, and advance to Day 1!
Day 1
Today we will cover: - Musical Notes
- Parts of an Acoustic Guitar
- Finger Numbers
- String Notes
- Form
- Tuning
- Your First Cord
- Strumming
Musical Notes
In music, notes are different tones, each lettered. There are seven notes, A, B, C, D, E, F and G. Together they are called an 'octave'. If you want to go higher, then you just repeat. If you listen to the notes, a lower 'A' note sounds the same tone as a higher 'A' note. This is why the notes aren't lettered higher, just repeat.
Now, in between these notes are what are called sharps and flats. The symbol to show a sharp is '#' and the symbol to show a flat is '♭'. A sharp is a step higher then the note, and a flat is a step lower. In between notes A and B, there is A# and B♭, these are the same notes, but different names. If you don't understand it now, that's OK, you will in a minute.
Tones and semitones are a way of measuring the distance of pitch between notes. Between A and B, there is a whole tone, or two semitones. Remember, 1 tone = 2 semitones. So that means between A and A#/B♭, there is only one semitone.
IMPORTANT: between B and C, and also E and F, there are no sharps or flats! Can you guess what that means then? The step between B and C is only a semitone!
Parts of an Acoustic Guitar
Here is a picture of an acoustic guitar. All the parts I am going to explain are numbered, and will be explained below:
http://img410.imageshack.us/img410/6...ticguitar1.jpg
1: The neck. This is the long part sticking out from the rest of the guitar, and also where you put your left hand.
2: The head. This is the top of the guitar, where the tuning knobs(see below) are.
3: The tuning knobs. You use these to tune your strings to the right pitch.
4: Frets. You put your fingers on these to hold down the strings along the metal bar, AKA fret, to make a higher pitched sound. They are numbered, starting with 0 as an open string (meaning you don't push on a fret), 1 as the first fret, etc.
5: Sound hole. This is where the sound from the string echo's and is projected.
6: Pick guard. This is here so you don't accidentally scratch your guitar when picking.
7: Bridge. This is where your strings are held in. You can also place your hand here along the bottom of the string while picking it, to produce a muted sound.
8: Strings. Pretty self explanatory :p! 9: The body. This is the huge, fat part at the bottom of the guitar.
Finger Numbers
This section will be really small, but is really important. Your thumb isn't a finger. I can't stress this enough, NEVER use your thumb while playing guitar. It is just not a good idea. The finger beside your thumb is your 1st finger, your middle finger is your 2nd finger, the next finger is the 3rd finger, and your pinky is the 4th finger.
String Notes
Each string is numbered, and also is a note. The thickest one is the 'low E' string, or the sixth string. The next one down is the 'A' string, or the fifth string. Next, 'D' string, or fourth string. Next, 'G' string, or third string. Next 'B' string, or second string. Next, the last and the thinnest, 'high E' string, or the first string.
Now that was a lot, and I know it was all slammed together. Here are 2 easy ways of remembering.
1: Thinnest to thickest = 1 to 6.
2: The names, starting with the thickest: E, A, D, G, B, E.
A small little diddle to help you remember, Eddie Ate Dynamite, Good Bye Eddie.
Or,
Every Acid Dealer Gets Busted Eventually.
Form
This section, I will teach you how to hold your guitar, where to place your hands, and how to hold your pick.
First, I will give you step-by-step instruction on how to hold your guitar: - Take your guitar, and place it in your lap with the neck sticking out to the left.
- The sound hole should be facing outwards. SIT UP STRAIGHT
- There should be a grove on the body, on the side closest to the ground. Place your right thigh in that grove.
- Take your arm, and place the back side of your elbow on the bottom of the guitar body, and bring your hand over and place it on the bridge. Your hand should be perfectly in line with the strings.
- Make a 'thumbs up' with your left hand, but have your fingers about an inch and a half away from your palm.
- Take that hand and put the neck of the guitar in that space between your palm and your fingers, so that the fingers make a perfect 90 degree angle with the neck, and so that the flat side of the thumb is on the back of the guitar pointing towards the head of the guitar.
Pick time! :D: - Make an 'O' with your thumb and your first finger, but have your thumb overlap your finger by about an inch. (Probably smaller, since i have big hands :p).
- Slide your pick in between the overlap between your thumb and finger. Only your thumb and your first finger should be touching the pick!
- Take your other three fingers, and point them strait out, so that if you hold your arm out, they will be perfectly in line with your arm.
Here is a picture if you don't get it:
http://www.fretjam.com/images/sittingposition.jpg
Tuning
If you have a piano, then you can use that to tune. Hold the 'E' below middle C, and progress up to A, then D etc. If you don't have a piano, then head to the nearest guitar store, and pick up an electric tuner.
How to use an electric tuner: - Place your guitar in your lap
- Put the electric tuner on your knee
- Strum one string at a time. Usually you would start on low E and make your way down.
- On the tuner, depending on what brand it is, it will tell you the note and weather it is sharp or flat. If it displays the wrong note, then that string is horribly out of tune, and you will need to guess how sharp/flat it is.
- Sharp means the string is too high of a pitch
- Flat means the string is to low of a pitch
- Use the tuning knobs to put the guitar in tune, clockwise to make the pitch lower, and counterclockwise to make the pitch higher.
Your First Chord
Today, I am going to teach you an E minor chord. Now, if you are new to music, you are probably wondering what a 'minor' is. Simply put, there are two of these classes, minor and major. Major is generally happy, while minor is sad, or scary. E minor (Em) is the easiest chord you will ever learn. - Take your second finger (remember, that is the middle finger!) and place it on the fifth string, on the second fret.
- Make sure that finger isn't touching any other strings, as they will be muted!
- Take your third finger and place it on the fourth string, second fret.
- Take your pick, as I showed you above, and drag it across the strings (make sure you have a thin pick, otherwise you might break a string!).
- NOTE: When strumming chords, use the arm from the elbow down.
- The sound produced should sound kind of haunting. If it doesn't, then you did something wrong, or your guitar is out of tune.
Strumming
While reading this section, I want you to visit this website (click). This is called a 'metronome'. It keeps a beat. The numbers on the metronome are how many beats per minute you want, therefore, if you set it to 60, you will have one beat every second. When you strum cords, every beat will be a down stroke. In that matter, every half of a beat will be an up stroke.
Homework
- Memorize the notes of the strings and the parts of the guitar
- Tune your guitar yourself
- Practice strumming your Em cord at 60 BPM(beats per minute) first only down strokes
- Attempt some up strokes every half of a beat
Day 2
Today we will cover:
- Single String Picking
- Reading TABs (don't worry, this is simple)
- You're Second and Third Chords (Emajor, Gmajor)
Single String Picking
First of all, let's start with form. Remember yesterday when I showed you how to hold your pick? Hold it like that, but push the pick farther into your hand so that only about half a centimeter(1/5 of an inch) is poking out.
When you are picking on single strings, you can rest your hand below the bridge, so that you aren't touching any of the strings and muting them, and also so that you are in reach of all the six strings without moving your hand.
IMPORTANT: When you are picking single strings, make sure you ALWAYS pick up and down, as you can pick faster that way. This is called Alternating Picking(remember!). Now go to the metronome site (click) and set it to 80. (Bookmark this site please as hence forth, I will not be incorporating the link) Now, try picking an open high E string, up and down, in line with the metronome. After you have got it next to perfectly inline, move onward!
Reading TABs
Don't get all fussy and skip this section, because unlike what you may think, tabs are very easy. Here is an example:
JINGLE BELLS
PHP Code:
E|--0-0-0-----0-0-0-----0-3-----0--1-1-1-1-1-0-0-0-0-----0
B|--------------------------1-3----------------------3-3--
G|--------------------------------------------------------
D|--------------------------------------------------------
A|--------------------------------------------------------
E|--------------------------------------------------------
E|--3--0-0-0----0-0-0----0-3-----0---1-1-1-1-1-0-0-0-3-3-1
B|3--------------------------1-3--------------------------
G|--------------------------------------------------------
D|--------------------------------------------------------
A|--------------------------------------------------------
E|--------------------------------------------------------
E|---------------------------------------------------------
B|3-1------------------------------------------------------
G|---------------------------------------------------------
D|---------------------------------------------------------
A|---------------------------------------------------------
E|---------------------------------------------------------
(It isn't colorful like this normally, just [PHP] is the only tag that lines it up perfectly)
Now, for TABs, you have to have a good ear, because they don't tell you how long to hold the note.
0 means open, 1 means first fret, 2 means second fret, etc.
There are six lines in each bar, each representing one of the six strings. The first line is the first string (remember, the first string is the highest sounding string), the second line is the second string, third line is third string etc.
You're Second and Third Chords
First, I will start with Emajor. Here is a tab for Emajor, try to figure it out:
PHP Code:
E|--0------------------------------------------------------
B|--0------------------------------------------------------
G|--1------------------------------------------------------
D|--2------------------------------------------------------
A|--2------------------------------------------------------
E|--0------------------------------------------------------
This is just like Em, except it has your first finger on the third string, first fret as well.
Next, Gmajor:
PHP Code:
E|--3------------------------------------------------------
B|--0------------------------------------------------------
G|--0------------------------------------------------------
D|--0------------------------------------------------------
A|--2------------------------------------------------------
E|--3------------------------------------------------------
Use the second finger on the low E string, third fret, use the first finger on the A string, second fret, and use the fourth finger on the high E string, third fret.
Homework
- Practice alternating picking with the metronome (start with 80, make your way up to 184)
- Learn Jingle Bells
- Practice your three chords (Em, Emajor, Gmajor)
Day 3
Today we will cover:
- Power Chords (The Secret of Rock and Metal)
- Little Power Cord Tune
- Picking Exercise
- Two More Chords! (Cmajor, Dmajor)
Power Chords (The Secret of Rock and Metal)
This might hurt. It looks really simple, but it requires practice, and I remember learning about power chords, and how much my hand hurt after my guitar lesson.
Power chords are chords that are only on either two or three strings. They are not major or minor, they are mutual. I am going to start with two string power chords, but I will show you how to do three string power chords so if you are good with 2 string ones, then you can go further.
Two String
Here is an example of a two string power cord:
PHP Code:
E|---------------------------------------------------------
B|---------------------------------------------------------
G|---------------------------------------------------------
D|---------------------------------------------------------
A|--2------------------------------------------------------
E|--0------------------------------------------------------
This is an E power cord. You can also move it down a string to make it an A power cord:
PHP Code:
E|---------------------------------------------------------
B|---------------------------------------------------------
G|---------------------------------------------------------
D|--2------------------------------------------------------
A|--0------------------------------------------------------
E|---------------------------------------------------------
aaand over once more to make it a D power cord:
PHP Code:
E|---------------------------------------------------------
B|---------------------------------------------------------
G|--2------------------------------------------------------
D|--0------------------------------------------------------
A|---------------------------------------------------------
E|---------------------------------------------------------
This is usually where we stop on the strings, as further down they sound horrible.
Now, these are the lowest power chords, if you want to progress higher on the strings, you need to simply add an equal amount of frets on each side:
PHP Code:
E|---------------------------------------------------------
B|---------------------------------------------------------
G|---------4-----------------------------------------------
D|---------2------7----------------------------------------
A|--3-------------5----------------------------------------
E|--1------------------------------------------------------
Little Power Cord Tune
PHP Code:
E|---------------------------------------------------------
B|---------------------------------------------------------
G|-----------------2---------------------------------------
D|-----2-----1--2--4---------------------------------------
A|--2--0--2--3--4------------------------------------------
E|--0-----0------------------------------------------------
Go to the metronome site and try playing this at 40, with one note per beat.
Picking Exercise
Today, I am going to give you your first exercise that will help on your picking:
- Go to the metronome site and set it to 92
- Start your alternating picking with one stroke per beat
- After 16 strokes, start making it two strokes per beat
- After 8 strokes, start making it four strokes per beat (if you can't keep time that well, set the metronome for 184 and make it two strokes per beat)
- Repeat until perfection
Two More Chords!
Let's start with Cmajor, here is a tab for it:
PHP Code:
E|--0------------------------------------------------------
B|--1------------------------------------------------------
G|--0------------------------------------------------------
D|--2------------------------------------------------------
A|--3------------------------------------------------------
E|--X------------------------------------------------------
You're probably wondering what the 'X' is. Simple. It means you don't play that string.
The fingering for this cord is third finger on the fifth string, third fret, second finger on the fourth string, second fret, and first finger on the second string, first fret.
Now, let's learn Dmajor!
PHP Code:
E|--2------------------------------------------------------
B|--3------------------------------------------------------
G|--2------------------------------------------------------
D|--0------------------------------------------------------
A|--X------------------------------------------------------
E|--X------------------------------------------------------
Fingering is pretty easy, first finger on the third string, second fret, forth finger on the second string, third fret, and the third finger on the first string, second fret.
Homework
- Practice the Power Cord Tune
- Practice your picking exersise
- Practice your chords, Em, Emajor, Gmajor, Cmajor and Dmajor
Day 4 - Review Day!
Today we will cover:
- A New Cord (Amajor)
- Review Exercise
A New Cord
Time to learn your Amajor cord! This one is very simple, and shouldn't be too hard too learn on the review day:
PHP Code:
E|--0------------------------------------------------------
B|--2------------------------------------------------------
G|--2------------------------------------------------------
D|--2------------------------------------------------------
A|--0------------------------------------------------------
E|--X------------------------------------------------------
Fingering is real simple too; you can put your first finger across all of the three strings, on the second frets, or you can put your first finger on the fourth string, second fret, your second finger on the third string, second fret, and your third finger on the second string, second fret.
Review Exercise
PHP Code:
Cord|--E---Em----------G---------------A---D---C--------------
~
E---|--0---0-----------3---3---2---3---0---3---0--------------
B---|--0---0-----------0---------------3---2---1--------------
G---|--1---0-----------0---------------3---3---0--------------
D---|--2---2-------7---0---------------3---0---2--------------
A---|--2---2---4---5---2---------------0---X---3--------------
E---|--0---0---2-------3---------------X---X---X--------------
Homework
- Practice the Review Exercise!
- Go over chords Gmajor, Cmajor, Dmajor, Emajor and Amajor for tomorow
- Practice Em too!
Day 5 - Song Day!
Today we will cover:
American Pie!
PHP Code:
(---G----C--------G--------D------------G------------C)
"So bye-bye, Miss American Pie.Drove my Chevy to the levee but the"
(G---------D---------G-------C-------------------G-----------D)
"levee was dry, them good ole boys were drinkin' whiskey and Rye, singing"
(Em------------------------A-------Em------------------------D)
"this'll be the day that I die, This'll be the day that I die."
Homework
- Download American Pie and Play along with it