Strumming the Guitar Properly

There are many strumming techniques for the guitar. Some of them are hard to learn and even harder to perform. While there are others that are simple. There are so many strumming techniques for different styles of music. Jazz and country music each has its own technique for strumming.

The knowledge about strumming will usually come from the patterns that develop from his learning method. A good technique for strumming is needed to play the guitar effectively. There are a variety of methods that can be used to make sure that you are strumming your guitar properly.

To learn strumming like a pro you will need to learn the basics and patterns along with the correct way to strum up or strum down. There must be balance to the strumming for it to be done correctly.

There must be a steadiness to the strumming for it to be right. For instance a slow strum may be used as long as it is done correctly and with expertise. If the chords are difficult it will be easy for the strumming to become affected. You must not allow this to occur.

There are patterns that don't find it necessary for the player to change the pace. All that is required is a steady strum with a smooth pace moving in the same direction.

The player should be sure that his wrist is moving with the motion of the guitar and the strumming. The type of strum that is being used or the skill of the player does not affect this. Do not let the wrist become tight while strumming.

The skill set of the player will greatly affect the strumming that is being used. The guitar is also a factor in determining the pattern of strum. The wrist motion affects strumming and the pace of the stroke is governed by it.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/1256559

How To Strum A Guitar: A Beginner's Guitar Strumming Technique

Learning how to strum a guitar can be daunting when starting to learn the guitar, but here's a guitar strumming technique you can try out to make it easier.

Strumming is a series of down and up strokes. There are a variety of strum patterns that can be made with the down and up stroke. What makes the difference in each strum pattern for the guitar are the accents. An accent is when you emphasize a stroke by playing harder than the rest of the strokes. Placing accents in the right strokes will make up about 80% of your guitar strumming technique.

Before working on accents, you want the down and up strokes to be nice and even. The evenness of the strokes will ensure a really nice strum sound with the added accents. When practicing this, keep the strings from playing notes by lightly placing your non-strumming hand on the strings over the fingerboard. This will keep you from being distracted by the concoction of noise from the strings.

If your repetition of down and up strokes is even, move onto adding accents.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/5206669

How To Strum Electric Guitar

In most cases, students learn how to strum electric guitar using an acoustic model first. It's fair to say that acoustic guitars are generally less expensive than electric models and so they represent an easier and more affordable point of entry into the world of playing guitar. In essence, there is little difference in the strumming techniques involved and that is great news for anyone making the transition from acoustic to electric guitar.

While most guitar chords played on acoustic are classed either as 'open' or 'barre', on electric models we also have 'power chords'. If you are performing all down-strokes with your strumming then you only need to hit the 2 or 3 strings you are actually holding to produce the power chord itself. If you are strumming up and down across all six strings however you must employ something known as muting. This can be a tricky technique at first for most beginners to master but it is an essential one to learn.

The challenge is that although the chord is made up of only 2 or 3 strings, you want to strum all six strings and mute everything from sounding except the power chord. Most guitar players will generally block the 6th string from sounding with the use of their thumb while the lower strings below the power chord will be muted using the 1st finger. This is a delicate task but if you want to be able to play the kinds of songs you hear on Nirvana or Green Day records it's an essential strumming technique to master.

If you aren't able to do it in your first attempts don't give up... it's like that for everyone, even people with a lot of natural talent for guitar find it challenging. After a few weeks of daily practice you'll be surprised at just how well you can strum electric guitar and you'll be immediately rewarded with a whole host of new songs you can play.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/5035929

How to Strum a Guitar Using a Pick

First things first - how do you hold this pick thing? Although picks come in all shapes and sizes, they mostly work the same.

First, hold out your strumming hand like you're making a thumbs-up sign. You fingers curl in toward your palm. Your thumb is vertical.

With your fingers all curled in alongside one another, place the pick flat on the side of your index finger. The pointy end of the pick should be perpendicular to your fingertip, and the point of the pick should roughly line up with the bottom of your index fingernail.

Now, just bring your thumb down on top of the pick. The pick should stick out past your curled fingers a bit-you'll have to experiment to find the perfect spot for your pick. The less point you reveal beyond your fingers, the faster you'll be able to play. But, also, the more precise you'll have to be. When you're just starting out, try to find a middle place that feels stable.

Once you have a handle on your pick, you're ready to get strumming.
Hold your guitar like you normally do. Your strumming hand hangs down over the front of the guitar around the soundhole.

Strumming down feels a lot like your hand is falling. Begin your strum with the pick touching the lowest bass string, and then just let your hand fall and bring your pick across each of the six strings in succession. The sound will go from low to high.

Try this a few times. When you strum, keep your wrist more or less straight so that most of the strumming movement comes from higher up in your forearm near the elbow.

When the downward strum feels comfortable, it's time for you to try the upward strum on for size. Just do everything in reverse-begin on the highest pitched string (the 1st string in guitar parlance), and slowly but steadily bring your pick across each string in succession.

This time, you'll hear each string sound in turn from highest to lowest pitch.
When you are ready, it is time to apply your new found strumming technique to an actual song.

The key with strumming once you've got the basic technique down is to treat your strumming hand like a metronome. Maintain the steady down/up pulse in your hand no matter what. Even when you're not actually striking the strings, like when you're resting in side a measure or something, keep the feeling of down/up going. This will help you stay in time within the song.

Explore what it sounds like when you strum down and then up on every single beat.

Then, draw out more music by leaving out a downward or upward strum every once in a while. It's amazing how much interest you can create just by leaving out a downstroke within an otherwise steady stream of down strums and up strums.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/4968321

How to Strum a Guitar

Having a steady, consistent, smooth and relaxed strum, is the key to making beautiful music with your guitar.
Before you learn any chords, or learn any songs, you should familiarize yourself with the mechanics of strumming, so you can later focus on other things without worrying about strumming as much.

Proper Strumming Mechanics
The key to a good clean strum is a loose wrist and a controlled motion. The key to solid rhythm is an active controlled elbow. All motion should, ideally, originate from the elbow, not the wrist, when strumming. To practice this, put down your guitar, and strum the air gently, up and down, as though you were playing a guitar. Concentrate on keeping your wrist extremely loose and fluid, and originating all motion from your elbow. When, you strum downward, use your elbow to initiate the motion, when you start back up again, use your elbow. Allow your hand naturally with the motion of the forearm, as though you didn't have any muscles in your wrist at all.

Once you think you've got the hang of that motion, the next step is to apply it to your guitar. Pick up the guitar, make sure it is in tune, and make sure you are holding the guitar properly. If you like, use a pick, making sure to hold the pick properly as discussed in the previous lesson. Now, without forming any chords or doing anything at all with your left hand, give your guitar a nice clean downward strum using the technique you just practiced in the air. Feel how the strings naturally give way, and allow your wrist to move naturally slow down and allow your hand to gently respond to the force of hitting the string. Add a little speed and power, using your elbow, and you'll notice that you will form a nice clean strum. The less 'deep' your strum penetrates the strings (toward the body of the guitar), the smoother, lighter, and cleaner it will sound. Do this a couple of times, experimenting with different speeds and power levels.

Finally, try strumming upward a couple times, and then alternating. Once you feel comfortable, tap your feet to a steady beat and try to strum rhythmically to that beat, first using all downward motions, then alternating strums, first upward then downward.

Pick up the guitar for at least 5 minutes a day practicing this technique, while you are watching tv, until it becomes almost second nature. Then you are ready to start learning chords.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/7064095

Strumming Acoustic Guitar

The rhythm is the backbone to any song on guitar, regardless of what kind of music you play, be it rock, jazz, heavy metal or blues. The strumming is what dictates the rhythm of the song. Strumming acoustic guitar is one of the aspects of guitar playing that does not get the attention that it deserves. This is probably due to the fact that it seems so simple. The basic strum pattern of down up down up down up is simple, even though it takes a little practice to do it smoothly and keep good even timing. When starting out learning guitar all your focus is on learning how to play chords and learning the notes on the fretboard. While this is essential to learn, the art of good strumming techniques gets put on the back burner. Once you have learned a few basic chords, you will want to start learning different strum patterns and techniques.

Why is it important
The timing and strum patterns that you employ will provide the rhythm or timing of the song. For example, knowing just three basic chords like G, C, and D, you could use a simple down up down up strum pattern and you will have created a certain rhythm. Now if you use the same chord progression but use a different strum pattern, such as only strumming the chords on the down stroke, the song will have a different rhythm to it. So even though you are using the same three chords, it will sound completely different.

Strumming Patterns
There are numerous different strumming patterns that can be done on guitar. You can also change patterns for different parts of a song to keep it interesting. Learning different strumming patterns will open up a whole new world to your guitar playing. The most common pattern and the one everyone basically uses when they start out is a constant "down up down up" pattern. Even this pattern should be practiced to improve your timing. In your head, or even at loud when you are practicing, you should say " 1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and". 1 would be a down stroke, then "and" would be an up stroke, down on 2, up on "and" etc. You want to be able to do this with a nice even count. This will help all parts of your guitar playing sound better because in music, timing is everything.

The next pattern to try would be using only down strokes. Use the same count,1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and, but now only strum the strings on the down stroke,which would be the numbers. You will still use an up stroke on the "ands" but do not hit the guitar strings. Once you have these two strumming patterns down, you will have the ground work to start learning all sorts of different strum patterns. There are a lot of various techniques that can be applied to your strumming and a decent guitar program will teach you these. Strumming acoustic guitar is an art in itself, and practicing different patterns should be a part of your daily practice routine. You will be rewarded greatly.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/3256699

How to Play The Guitar Chords - 4 Simple Tips

Learning any new skill can be a daunting task and initially it can be quite difficult for novices. Learning to play a guitar is no exception. One of the trickier elements to playing is learning how to play the guitar chords, this is particularly tricky as it requires you to hold down numerous strings on different frets all at the same time while strumming them. At first you will get some pain in your fingers and hands and maybe even some small blisters but here are some tips that should help make the experience a little less daunting.

1. Start by learning the open chords. These tend to favoured by beginners as you only hold no more than three strings down at any one time so master these first.

2. Try and master one chord at a time obvious i know but you would be surprised how many people try and rush through. One of the best exercises that you can do is to place your fingers on the frets as if to play the chord and hold it momentarily. Now take your hand away and repeat the chord. Doing this will help the muscles in your hand remember and pretty soon the chord will become second nature to you.

3. At first it is important to be accurate rather than fast. As with anything new initially you will be slower, focus your attention on performing the chord correctly. Practice having your fingers in the right places and playing the chord clearly eventually you will be a lot faster.

4. Numerous novices encounter this problem at first. When they play a guitar chord it does not sound clear or it can rattle. The main reason for this is that the strings are not being held in place with enough force. Make sure your fingertips are the only part of your hand that touches the strings also be mindful that you are not accidentally touching other strings.

Guitar chords are an integral part of learning to play the guitar as they form such a big part of being able to play a tune. As with anything new "practice makes perfect" and playing guitar chords is no exception. You will see after some time you will be able to play the chords proficiently.

If you still have problems you may need some help, there are many great guitar courses online that will be able to show you how to play the guitar chords easily. They are full of information and video tutorials that will have you playing guitar chords in no time.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/5701753

Learning to Strum Acoustic Guitar For Beginners

When you first begin the journey of learning to play guitar there are two main facets which will immediately take up most of your time and practice. They are learning to strum and chords. When you put the those two broad elements together you will be playing guitar on a beginners level and well on your way to being able to perform songs or accompany yourself when singing. While learning chords is usually very well catered for in books and online, learning to strum can be harder to accomplish especially if it's something which does not come naturally to you.

For some reason it can be harder to find helpful information on how to strum guitar than how to play chords. This is not an ideal situation since both facets of playing are required in equal measure should you wish to move smoothly into playing songs. For this reason it's wise to ensure that any program or website includes adequate instruction on strumming a guitar before you commit to joining or buying the product. Often beginners find that they are good at chords but still unable to play songs simply because they neglected the subject of strumming patterns.

Strumming itself should be done in a very relaxed fashion with no tension or stress in the arm or wrist. It's a lazy motion which should feel easy and effortless. This in turn will produce a pleasing sound which is neither too loud nor too soft and one which will be enjoyable to listen to. Often beginners strum too hard and loud due to an excess of tension in their arm and as a result their playing sounds harsh and brittle.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/3660589

When You Are Truly Ready to Learn How to Play the Guitar

The guitar is possibly the most versatile instrument ever made. It is used in a wide range of music genres; from classical and folk to alternative rock and country music. Also, when it comes to contemporary popular music, most lead singers in bands are guitar players.

If you want to learn how to play the guitar, you will need patience, dedication and commitment. You must also prepare yourself for the physical effects of playing the guitar as well. For example, you may develop calluses on your fingers, from continued contact with the strings. Also, your hands may cramp a bit when you start learning the different chords, this is because they are not used to being in these new positions. Sometimes your shoulders may also become tired and uncomfortable as well.

You must always remember that whoever your guitar hero is they also had to start somewhere. Just like you they will have encountered finger calluses, hand and shoulder soreness and all the frustrations that come with them. You will understand the relevance of the saying "No pain, no gain" when you first begin learning how to play the guitar.

Before you begin learning how to play the guitar, you have to learn how to tune it. In order to create a good sound, your guitar needs to be tuned correctly. Firstly you should tune the lower E string, which is the bottom string. The next one is the A string (2nd from the bottom), D string (3rd from the bottom), G string (fourth from the bottom) and then B string (5th from the bottom). The last string to be tuned is the E string at the top. To make tuning your guitar strings easier you can use an electronic tuner; these are readily available from most music stores.

Alternatively you can pay to have your guitar tuned at a music store but tuning is a really useful and important skill that you should learn for yourself. Otherwise, you can end up paying out a fortune keeping your guitar tuned. Perhaps you could ask someone at a music store to show you the best way to tune your guitar. If you buy your guitar from the same shop they may show you tuning for free, or there may be a small fee. A useful skill worth learning it will ensure your guitar always produces the best sound.

When you have tuned your guitar, you can begin learning to read guitar tabs. These are lesson that can be found on the internet and show you how to correctly place your fingers on each string, hopefully lessening the pain that you may encounter. Next, try strumming the guitar using your other hand. Lastly, choose some practice songs that contain the least complicated chords to play, such as the chords C, G, and A.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/2026150

5 Tips in Mastering the Guitar

The guitar is definitely one of the most appealing musical instruments we want to learn. We have seen it from rock bands, from solo artist, young and old, from centuries ago until now, the guitar is one good instrument you can bring around and play your favorite music with.
 
If you just started with your guitar playing, or you may have started to learn a song or two and you want to progress to mastering the guitar and being a guitar master, here are some tips you may want to add to your learning process to master your skills with the guitar.
 
1. Pick the Right Guitar.
Picking the right guitar can be difficult especially if you do not know what to look for. This is especially true if you are just starting out with learning the instrument and you want to have your own so that you can practice. The sound of a guitar depends on its construction and it may vary from one guitar to another, even if they are of the same model. It is important to try them out then before finally purchasing the product. Check if the sound hits the notes and if it goes out of tune, try another one.
 
2. Learn How to Tune Your Guitar.  
Tuning your guitar is one important thing to do before playing. You need to be keen on the sound of the notes so you will know how to make the sound in tune with one another. Although you can readily buy a guitar tuner, it is good for you to tune your guitar manually so you will also know how to listen if it needs tuning in the future. You can check out some books that will help you in the steps to tuning your guitar and mastering the guitar tuning.
 
3. Know How to Use the Accessories.
You may have wondered those other accessories that guitar players are using along with their guitars. If you want to master guitar playing, you must know how to choose a pick and how to use one. In improving your guitar plucking, you may want to learn to use the pick and learn how to choose one that fits your playing style. If you like singing along while strumming your guitar but you don't quite hit the pitch, you can also change the key by using a guitar capo. It will also help you play difficult chords more easily.
 
4. Learn How to Read Guitar Tabs.
 If you want to bring your guitar playing skills to the next level, you should also learn to read guitar tabs or tablature. The basic in mastering the guitar is learning how to read guitar tabs will make you learn how to play your favorite songs by yourself. It will also make you better in terms of your playing, and this of course is the best way to learn to play music with your guitar.
 
5. Know Different Playing Techniques.
 Mastering the guitar is playing at different techniques. Do not simply settle with strumming the guitar. Know how to bend a note, how to produce a vibrato, how to play 'hammer ons' and 'pull offs'. You can actually find useful resources from books and learn from friends who are experienced in playing the guitar. In this way, you will maximize your potentials in guitar playing.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/2496873

Learn How to Play the Guitar Online - Basic Guitar Learning Tips

Time has proven that guitar is without any doubt the most versatile instrument ever played. It found its way in all music genres from jazz to heavy metal not to mention that many lead singers are usually guitar players also. If you want to learn how to play the guitar online, rest assured there are many online guitar learning courses available.

Playing guitar is not that hard but it requires a lot of commitment and patience from you. On the other side, you will also have to take into consideration all the physical effects that come with guitar playing.

The strumming of the strings will cause calluses on your fingers, until you get accustomed with the chords. Your hands might experience some cramps and your shoulders will have to deal with the heaviness of the guitar.

No one was born knowing how to play the guitar, everyone started somewhere. If you think that your guitar idol didn't had any finger calluses or shoulder fatigue you're wrong. They all had it. Pain is part of the game but if you really want to play guitar then you'll learn how to deal with all these problems.

The first step when learning how to play a guitar is to learn how to tune it because otherwise it will only produce bad sounds. You can do this manually or electronically because all music stores sell now electronic tuners.

At the bottom you find the lower E string and tune it. Next it comes the A string, the D string, the G string, the B string and the higher E string.

Also, you can pay one of the guys from the music store to tune your guitar at least until you learn how to do it yourself.

With a properly tuned guitar your can now learn the guitar tabs. The Internet is filled with online tutorials so you shouldn't have a problem finding one.

Each of your fingers should stay in a string in order to learn faster and experience less pain. After your fingers are in the right place, you should try to strum the guitar. Practice makes it perfect. Try simple chords like C, G and A and you will see how easy it is.
If you do all the above you should learn how to play guitar in no time. Practice all the time and maybe someday you will be the next Jimmy Hendrix.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/2122430

Guitar Playing Basics - Your First Steps in Learning the Guitar

The guitar is indeed one of the most popular musical instruments that many people want to learn to play. Not just because it is portable but it is also a convenient instrument to play your favorite songs while singing along with it. If you are interested, first start with some guitar playing basics.

- Familiarize your instrument. This is important if you want to learn the guitar. Of course, you need to learn how you can tune your guitar, what you need to do to make your instrument sound best and you must know the parts of the guitar to be able to understand other instructions in playing the guitar later.

- Learn the proper posture or position in playing the guitar. One of the guitar playing basics to keep in mind is to make sure you are learning the instrument right from the very beginning because playing errors may become a habit and they may be more difficult to get rid of later.

- Learn how to tune your guitar. This is also an important and basic thing to learn if you want to play the guitar well. Of course, you need to have an instrument that is in tune and sounds pleasing to the listeners. Although you can actually find some guitar tuners available for sale in the market, it is also an advantage to learn tuning the instrument. This will help you especially if you are traveling or you don't have access to a tuner.

-Familiarize notes, rests and chords. These are essential guitar playing basics. Start with the easiest to learn so you won't end up getting frustrated. Have your chord chart ready so you will learn accurately although it helps a lot to have a good friend who knows how to play the guitar or a good guitar tutorial book to guide your through the guitar playing basics.

- Learn to read tabs. If you want to learn the guitar fast, reading tabs or tablatures is a good tip. Most guitar players learn fast through tablatures. He tabs contain music notations that determine where to hold or pick. Learning the guitar tabs is also important as most guitarists share music through these notations. It is also a better and easier way to learn to play your favorite songs on the guitar without having to study notes.

- Practice strumming. Some beginners may be focused so much on the hand on the fret but not on the other hand that strums the strings. With this, their playing may end up sounding the same. Strumming may be easy to look at but you also have to devote time to learn this part. Aside from strumming, you can also do plucking or pick the string using a hard plastic accessory called a pick.

Learning the guitar playing basics well is indeed an important step in learning how to play the guitar. Even how desirous you are of learning how to play like a pro, it is very important to learn the basics well. This will help you achieve a finer and better guitar playing skills later on.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/3632503

Learn to Play the Guitar

If you ever wanted to learn to play the guitar, why not start to learn it now. Famous musicians and rock stars all had to start somewhere, right? No one was born with a guitar in their hands.

If you are serious about learning how to play the guitar like the pros, a good guide training is the way to go. Although some people have tried to learn this themselves, it would be a better idea to get some sort of a guide that will help you get started and on the right path to playing the guitar well.

In order for you to play the guitar, there are about 4 things that you must master first. The 4 things are:
1. The Chords
2. Tuning
3. Picking
4. Strumming

When you play the guitar, you will be either strumming the guitar or picking the strings. When you first start, don't try to do both. Take your time and master the first step. Doing this is like when you teach your child how to play baseball. You first teach them how to catch the ball with a glove. Once they start to master that, you then teach them how to hold the bat and hit the ball.

Once you start to feel that you got the hang on strumming the guitar, you can then start to learn to pick the strings. Either way, you have got to take it step-by-step.
Strumming involves raking your thumb across one or more of the guitar strings gently and this causes the guitar to make a sound. Picking is all about when an individual string is held down with your fingers to make a different sound.

If you already know to play the guitar and just know the basics, you can improve your skills and confidence when you actually bring in some of you friends or family and show them what you can do. Doing this will make things much more fun for you and give you more confidence.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/1237942

Learning the Guitar For Beginners - Some Tips to Learn the Guitar Fast

If you are just starting to learn the guitar, it is important to prepare yourself to commit a lot of patience and more time to focus on learning the instrument. Learning the guitar for beginners cannot be done in one day, although if you are well equipped with the determination to really learn, you will eventually learn it a lot quicker.

If you are interested to play like a rock star and have your hands swiftly running across the frets of the guitar, you have to start from the very basic - have your own guitar. Choosing the right guitar for you is important in speeding up your guitar lessons, thus you have to consider what type of music you really want to play with your guitar. If you want to learn to play rock with your guitar, you might want to start with the electric one.

However, you have to consider that although the strings in an electric guitar may be easier to press, the many buttons may make your learning complicated. When it comes to portability as well, electric guitars are not quite an appeal. If you want to learn to be more versatile of the types of music you want to play, you may want to start with an acoustic guitar. Learning with acoustic guitar can be a little difficult than an electric but starting with it makes you play better with the electric one.

- Learn the chords. It may be as easy as getting yourself a chord chart and following the finger placements of some basic chords. You may be overwhelmed with the many 'dots' in the chord chart but you can start with the simpler chords. The basic G-A-D-C-E are probably the simplest you can learn. You can also find songs that have these chords and practice shifting through them until you get to hear the melody. Also make sure to pick a song that you are familiar with.

- Learning how to strum. The next thing about learning the guitar for beginners is knowing how to strum the guitar. If you can master and memorize the chords and finger placements but you can't get the right timing and strumming, you may not be able to identify the song you are playing. Start by practicing some simple strumming patterns. You can also find some audio courses to guide you on the proper strumming so you will be guided as to how the strumming should sound.

- Learn how to read tabs. One of the best tips in learning the guitar fast and being able to play your favorite songs on the guitar is learning how to read tabs or tablatures. Although there are also flaws in this system, it is however one of the best ways to learn the guitar fast and share music with other guitarists. It may be too confusing to look at a guitar tab if it is your first time but once you get to understand its different notations, you will find out that it is easy to learn. Asking help with a friend who knows how to read tabs can be a great way to learn the tabs easily.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/3057543

>>> Learning To Play The Guitar - 4 Effective Tips To Learn The Acoustic Guitar Fast 

Learning To Play The Guitar - 4 Effective Tips To Learn The Acoustic Guitar Fast

Want to be a cool rocker or a country singer? Yes, it's possible! All it takes are mastery of guitar playing and an acoustic guitar. Many people cringe at the idea of learning to play the guitar especially when they are past their high school or college days. They say that they are too old to learn and absorb the lessons of guitar playing. Quite on the contrary, anyone at any age can learn easily.

Lesson 1: Learn How to Sing
Eventually, you will have to sing. If you are practically tone-deaf, you need to hone your ears as far as tune is concerned. The fact is, you will never learn how to play if you do not know how to tune the guitar.

Without singing, you will never be able to time your strumming and plucking. Without this ability, your guitar-playing skills will be impaired. Practice singing daily and never stop until you can sing in tune. You do not have to be a star or a diva or anything like that; your goal is to simply sing in tune.

Lesson 2: Practice Your Strumming
Assuming you already know how to read your chords, you need to practice how you strum the guitar. The up and down strokes have a great impact on how you sound. It may take a while to be able to strum properly but it is part of the entire process when you are learning to play guitar.

Before you can strum properly, you need a pick and you need to trim your fingernails, especially on the fretting hand. The pick has more power and grip than your fingers. Next, listen to the music and do not sing; listen at the strokes and imitate it.
Listen carefully and strum with it. Get the beat of the music you are trying to play and listen carefully if the strumming is downwards or upwards. Soon you will be able to get it the way the original music sounds.

Lesson 3: Watch Live Performances
One weird practice of all acoustic guitar lessons is to watch performances but it works. Whenever you have the chance, go to bars or places where people play acoustic guitars. This is one essential venue where you can pick best practices. Observe how the master guitar players hold their guitars and how they strum.
Witness how they gracefully move their hands and shift fingers when moving from one chord to another. During these occasions, you will also be able to list down chords they use for particular songs that you may like.

Lesson 4: Read Theory and Use It
One pitfall of many people learning to play the guitar is that they read so many books but they do not put to use whatever it is they have learned. We are not saying that it is bad to be bookish. What's bad is waiting time reading a lot of guitar lessons without putting them into motion practice.

After several days of practice, you will be happy to observe your own development. As you progress, you will also be able to share your new found knowledge to other individuals. Guitar playing is a craft that you can be proud of and it is something that will take you to new heights of fulfillment.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6243720

>>> How to Strum a Guitar - A Guitar Strumming Technique For Maximum Control 

How to Strum a Guitar - A Guitar Strumming Technique For Maximum Control

The best place for your hand when strumming the guitar.
This would have to be as close to the bridge of the guitar as possible, so that if needed, your palm could rest on the bridge of the guitar. While many acoustic guitar players have taken to strumming the guitar very close to the fretboard side of the guitars body, and no one can fault them for that, seeing as they have somehow made that technique of strumming work for them, there are some strumming and picking techniques that they're missing out on because of this.

Right hand guitar techniques such as palm muting and picking with a plectrum become very difficult for a beginner guitar player to master when the plectrum hand is held so far away.
The bridge of the guitar serves as an excellent resting place for the right hand, or left hand if you're left handed, from which to launch yourself into all sorts of strums, as well as give you added control over any other maneuvers you may want to try.

The correct strumming action.
The correct way to strum is to allow most of the strumming motion to come from your elbow. Perhaps a better way to explain this is to tell you how not to strum the guitar.
Strumming the guitar should not involve too much wrist action. While there may be a small movement made with the wrist, the bulk of the strum is initiated with the forearm. This way, the hand moves as parallel to the surface of the guitars body as possible.
The only time the wrist is used is when skipping strings while picking the notes of a chord, or when playing palm muted chords. Even with palm muted chords there is a fair amount of action at the elbow joint.

This guitar strumming technique may look like you have to constantly monitor yourself when practicing how to strum a guitar, but after a little while you won't even have to think about it. Once strumming the guitar is mastered, it becomes second nature.

Easier strumming by holding the plectrum correctly.
By holding the plectrum properly, you'll have an easier time with strumming. The plectrum is held between the thumb and forefinger so that only about a third of the plectrum is protruding past your fingers. What this does is make sure that the plectrum doesn't dig too deeply into the strings, so there's less resistance to the strum. It also sounds a lot better when you do it this way.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/1619567

>>> Find Easy Songs To Learn On The Guitar To Jumpstart Your Playing 

Find Easy Songs To Learn On The Guitar To Jumpstart Your Playing

 Certainly one of the best ways of learning how to play the guitar is by using some simple guitar songs that makes it much easier for you to comprehend guitar tablatures. Certainly there are certain benefits to be had from using easy songs to learn on guitar in order that you can play the instrument properly and these are as follows: -

1. By using an easy song a beginner is able to learn the proper pace and rhythm of a song, which makes it much easier for them to learn how to play the guitar. Often just by listening to a song a beginner will be able to make use of some of the strings and so try to associate them with the tempo and pattern of the notes being played.

2. Using such songs will provide the person with a chance to create an ear for music. Often once a person learns how to listen attentively to the music they will be able to distinguish the right note from the right tab against those that are wrong.
Certainly for any beginner the use of easy songs to learn on guitar will make a major difference to their lessons.

There are many places where you can now find information on songs, which are easy to learn on the guitar, and one great source is the Internet. Also there are a large number of books that have been written on the subject with are readily available through your local music store, bookshop or through one of the many sites providing musical information online. You could even try places like Amazon online to see what they have available.

One book that is certainly good for this purpose is "Beatles Complete". The first reason being is that it The Beatles and the second and probably the most important is that many of their songs were composed with relatively few but very easy to play chords such as those that appear in "I saw her standing there" which only has three. Also they do have songs that contain many unorthodox chords as well such as "Michelle". This is certainly a great way for any one to learn new chords incrementally.

So why not surf the web today and see what other "easy songs to learn on guitar" you can find and I am sure that you will be amazed with what results are returned.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/490416

>>> Rock Guitar Instruction to Help You Start Strumming the Guitar Like a Rock Star 

Rock Guitar Instruction to Help You Start Strumming the Guitar Like a Rock Star

A lot of aspiring guitarist are looking for that rock guitar instruction that will help take their guitar playing to the next level. The most important rock guitar instruction is strumming.
Strumming involves upstrokes and downstrokes on the guitar strings using a pick or the thumb finger. Before attempting to use some fancy finger picking, a beginner guitarist should focus on learning to strum properly.

When learning to play rock guitar it's important to learn the proper strumming method. The first thing you must do is get your hands to relax.
To help get your hands relaxed, you can flex the tension out of your fingers. Getting the tense feeling out of your hands is important because a tense strumming hand will make your music sound bad.

You will need focus totally on the strumming without attempting to alternate chords at the same time. To do this start by positioning the palm of your fretting hand over the strings on the neck of the guitar without making any chord shape, and softly press the strings to the frets so their sound will be mute.

Begin strumming by strumming downward on the guitar strings. Make sure you're keeping time as you would when clapping along a song.
A very simple downstroke pattern would be counting one-two-three-four, one-two-three-four over and over to keep the beat. The rhythm of the majority of rock songs will use this simple downstroke pattern.

When learning to strum the guitar like a rock start, you should look to add upstrokes to your strumming down-up, down-up, down-up. You should put a little more emphasis on the downstroke to maintain 4/4 time.

Once you learn and master the basic strumming patterns used on rock guitar, you can then begin to implement your own. Moreover, on top of this rock guitar instruction for strumming. You should listen to the strumming patterns of other rock guitarist use in your favorite songs and try to duplicate them.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/3824152