Want to Learn How to Play Guitar? Here's What You Should Know

Have you always been interested in learning to play the guitar, but have never had the time to follow through with your intentions? Maybe the guitar is your favorite instrument, but you have never learned anything about music before? Perhaps you have been playing guitar for a little while, and are looking for new ways to take your playing to the next level? If any of this sounds familiar, then you should consider reading on! 

Learning an instrument can be one of the most enriching and fulfilling things that you can do in life. Learning an instrument has been proven to help with overall intelligence, and also with many other aspects of life. This article will seek to outline a few key things that you should know when attempting to learn guitar, in order to properly guide your learning experience. 

If you want to learn to play any musical instrument which relies on pitches, then you will need to eventually work on learning your scales. There are many different scale combinations in Western music, which is based on 12 tone equal temperament. If you play other styles of music, such as Hindustani music, then there are even more scales that make use of quarter tones. In western classical music, scales are made up of semi-tones, tones, and sometimes leaps of bigger intervals. By using different combinations of these notes, we can derive all the different types of scales used. Scales can also be derived from a ‘key center’, such as E major. E is the lowest note on a standard tuned guitar, so this is a good pace to start. 

Another integral part of learning to play the guitar is to learn all the different types of chords that you can play on the instrument. The guitar can be played as a solo instrument, or accompanist. If you are playing guitar in the accompanist role, then a huge part of playing is to be the chord backing for the other player(s). There are many different ways that you can play the same chord on a guitar, these are known as different inversions, voicings, or different positions. Different chords also have different harmonic functions. Major chords are generally what people consider to be ‘happy’ sounding chords, as opposed to minor, which sound ‘sad’ or ‘spooky’. There are some other different kinds of chords, such as dominant chords. These chords have more dissonance, which makes them feel like they want to resolve to a more stable chord, such as major or minor. 

If you truly want to get better at anything, then an incredibly important part of the process is to take lessons from somebody who is a real professional and has lots of experience in the field. This also holds true for learning the guitar. There is no shortage of qualified guitar teachers out there, so finding one is a great way to make sure you are learning the instrument correctly. Since many in-person music lessons have been canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic, experts recommend exploring guitar lessons online reviews in order to find a guitar teacher or program that will be able to help you out virtually. There is no reason to postpone learning guitar just because you can’t do in-person lessons. Now is the best time to learn an instrument since you will have more free time on your hands. 

In order to become truly proficient at any instrument, you need to work on the connection between your ears and your fingers. The best way to do this is by learning to play songs, solos, melodies, or basically anything by ear. This will allow you to learn a new piece of music, while also taking in all the finer nuances of a song or guitar solo. 

Hopefully, this article has been helpful and informative regarding a few things that you need to know when attempting to learn the guitar. By having access to the right information, then you will be able to make your experience learning guitar much more fruitful and less frustrating. BY breaking down larger concepts into small fundamentals, you will be able to quickly improve your playing, while also ensuring that you are developing in a well-rounded manner. Music is supposed to be fun, so you should always try and have as much fun as possible when playing the guitar, or any instrument. BY getting enjoyment out of practicing, you will not even notice the hours you spend perfecting your craft. You will never regret the time you spend learning an instrument, so get out there and start practicing!