Guitar

Are You Ready to Learn How to Play the Acoustic Guitar?
By Kyle Richey

When you start to learn how to play the acoustic guitar you may find yourself slightly overwhelmed. The acoustic, much like the electric guitar, is played using chords and opened notes. The real difference between the two instruments is mainly that one is amplified and the other is not. You can learn how to play the acoustic guitar through a tutor or online or, if you have some musical background, teaching yourself.

However, when you are learning how to play the acoustic guitar be aware of the fact that not all guitar teachers or online tutorials are what they seem. They may teach you the basics of the acoustic guitar, but they may not be able to teach you anything beyond that. You could very easily surpass your guitar teacher. I know I did. When I took acoustic guitar lessons as a teenager in an attempt to learn how to finger pick and play classical guitar I discovered that I knew more than the teacher did almost right off the bat.

Before you even sit down and learn the proper positioning of your fingers to play chords, I strongly suggest that you spend some time getting to know your guitar. I'm not talking about playing it; I'm talking about learning what each part on the guitar does and how it functions when you are playing it. You need to know how the tuning pegs work, where to attach a strap, why the guitar is shaped the way it is and so forth. Spend about an hour really getting to know your guitar and then you can start learning how to play the acoustic guitar.

The strings on your guitar are tuned a certain way. Make sure you have a guitar tuner with a needle on it and play with tuning and un-tuning your guitar. Pluck the strings to hear the difference in them as you turn the tuning peg. This teaches you how the tension of the strings on your guitar works to make sound based on how long or short and how thin or fat they are.

Finally, work on learning the many different ways a single chord can be played on an acoustic guitar. I'm not referring to electric guitar power chords. I'm referring to playing chords in arpeggios, broken scales, major and minor, dominant 7th, and other versions of the chord. For example, the 'C' chord alone has ten different hand positions and fret placements on the guitar. The more variations you know to play the easier it will be to transition between chords on more complicated songs. Plus, this will help you exercise your hand and give you more flexibility.

Learning how to play the acoustic guitar is not difficult. Dedicate yourself to playing and you will be plucking strings with your favorite songs in no time. If you're really brave, you'll move on to the electric guitar, which opens up a whole new world of guitar playing just for you. You could very well become a real guitar hero.

Ready to learn how to play the acoustic guitar? The best place to start is at home! Do not waste your money on expensive private lessons when you're just starting out. So how can you learn guitar on your own? You don't have to. Invest a little cash in a home dvd guitar lessons course to save $1,000's compared to private lessons!

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