words Al Woods
The acoustic guitar is one of the world’s most popular instruments. It’s also one of the hardest. However, with practice and dedication, learning the guitar can be very simple. You will need to dedicate a lot of your time, and a lot of effort to learning the guitar if you want to be successful.
There are no shortcuts to learning the guitar, but there are a few ways that you can make learning it less intense. This article will provide an easy beginner’s guide on how to play the acoustic guitar:
Learning the Chords
The first thing that you need to do is to learn a guitar’s individual chords. The best way to do this is to watch online videos, attend courses, or read online guides. Learning chords without expert supervision or guidance can be very difficult, and while it is technically possible, it is unnecessary. There are lots of guide websites offering information for musicians on learning guitar chord songs. Paying for guitar lessons can be very expensive, so it’s definitely better to use a guide to learn chords instead. Because of the pandemic, most lessons take place online now anyway, so learning through online guides for free makes much more sense.
Guitar Anatomy
You also need to learn about a guitar’s anatomy. By learning what the individual parts of a guitar are, you make learning to play much easier. You need to know what a guitar’s body, neck, fingerboard, frets, inlays, headstock, tuning pegs, and nut are. If you can’t instantly identify these individual components, then learning the guitar will be incredibly difficult for you. If you’re a fast learner, then learning a guitar’s anatomy shouldn’t take more than a day. You can find out what a guitar’s individual components are by reading guides, books, and watching online videos. Some guitars will also come with their anatomy printed on a piece of paper.
Proper Posture
If you’re learning to play the guitar, then you need to know how to hold a guitar properly. If you don’t have proper posture when you’re playing the guitar, then you will not be able to learn as effectively and might hurt your back. Improper posture can cause tension, which can distract you when you’re trying to learn. In addition, improper posture can restrict the range of your hand movements, reduce your stamina, and limit your accuracy. You need to sit with a straight back, preferably on a high stool.
Learning to Strum
Once you have learned everything else listed here, you can learn how to strum. Strumming one’s guitar is quite easy, provided that one applies oneself. There are myriad videos and guides online that teach how to strum. Some people even pick it up themselves. Some people prefer learning to strum with a pick, while others prefer using their thumb. As a beginner it’s probably better that you learn to strum with your thumb first, so you can have total mastery over your guitar with your body. You can learn how to strum with a pick later.
Holding Your Pick
There’s also a technique on how to hold your pick. Once you have learned to strum with your thumb and have moved on to using a pick, you need to ensure that you hold your pick properly. You should hold the pick between your thumb and index finger, with your index finger pointing down toward the pick’s tip. You must hold your pick firmly, but not tightly. Try to avoid squeezing it. If you don’t hold your pick properly then you will struggle to properly play your guitar.
Learning Easy Songs
One word of advice: If you’re going to learn the guitar, then start off learning easy songs, like Deep Purple’s Smoke on the Water. If you try to learn complex songs, you will struggle. It might be tempting to immediately begin trying to learn complex songs because you enjoy listening to them, but you will muddy the waters and make learning the guitar more difficult than it needs to be. Easy songs will give you a greater understanding of how to play the guitar and will develop your skills.
Find a Style
Once you have mastered the guitar, you can move on to finding your style. Some prefer the blues, while others prefer folk music. Finding your style can make playing the guitar much more enjoyable. You can really put your heart and soul into it when you have a genre that speaks to your soul.
If you want to learn the acoustic guitar, then you have your work cut out for you. Through study, practice, and dedication, however, you will be able to master it. There are no quick ways to learn the guitar, but with this article’s advice and time, you will inevitably become a guitar maestro.
