DVDs Rent Online

Posts Tagged ‘guitar’

Learning to play a musical instrument of any kind is something lots of people want to do but never get around to, and one of the most popular choices is the guitar.  Thankfully, learning to play the guitar is actually not that difficult once you understand how a guitar works and can get to grips with the way guitar music is written.

Whether you fancy playing electric guitar or acoustic guitar, you will need to learn in exactly the same way to start with.

Obviously you need to start by getting a guitar to learn on.  Even if you are aiming to play the electric guitar, it maybe cheaper to start with an acoustic guitar as these can be picked up at excellent low prices and are good enough to learn the basics with.  Before you actually start to learn to play, you need to start by getting used to holding a guitar.  You want to get to the stage where it feels more natural to have a guitar in your hands.

The next step is to learn the notes of each string. There are 6 of them, all of which when playing with other people would need to be tuned, so learning how to tune your guitar is a good step too, as is overall familiarization of your instrument.  Put your guitar face up on your lap so that you can learn the order of the strings.  Furthest away from you at the bottom is E. This is high E, whereas the string nearest you is an octave apart and is low E.

Starting with high E moving back to you the string sequence is E (high) A D G B E (low).

Your left hand is used to create the chords we use to play the guitar, as you hold down one or more of the strings at a specific point along the neck; we call the neck the fret board.

A tab is the proper name for guitar music, and is a graphical form of music, where six lines have been drawn to show each of the strings. A number is printed on each line and this shows you at which you need to be holding the string – so 3 on the top line means you should be holding the high E at the 3rd fret.  Before you can really learn to play the guitar you need to learn how to read tabs with ease, and you should practice this until it becomes 2nd nature, as it really is important that you understand it.

When single numbers appear one after the other on a guitar tab, a single string should be played one after the other as directed.  However, where more than one number appears in a stack you are looking at a chord and you need to depress more than one string at the same time on different frets to create a perfect chord.

It may not be what you want to hear, but there is only one way to get really good at playing the guitar and that is to practice daily where possible, and be disciplined about it.  Learning to play any instrument isn’t instant, but if you practice regularly you will start to hear improvements for yourself and this is very uplifting.

On a bad day, walk away and find something else to do rather than just keep sitting there getting more and more fed up – but do come back later and try again.  Choose music that you actually enjoy playing as this is much better for your morale than endlessly fighting to learn to play something you hate listening to.

Technorati Tags: guitar, how to play guitar, learn guitar, learn how to play the guitar, learning guitar, playing guitar

 

Knowing how to choose the right guitar and how to identify a bad one, will save you from countless headaches, not to mention finger aches.

 

Acoustic guitar bodies come in basically the same hourglass shape, with some variations, but they do vary in size, color, wood-type, style, and extra features. You can even buy an acoustic guitar so small that fits into a hiking backpack.

 

 

Guitars come in a very wide range of prices, but when it comes to instruments, in general, you get what you pay for, especially when you buy new. There’s a real difference between getting a bargain and buying cheap.

 

But whether you buy new or used may be determined by many personal factors including your budget, and each has their own pros and cons.

 

Buying new, gives you a warranty and, hopefully, a return period, if for some reason you’re not totally satisfied with your purchase, or something goes wrong.

 

Under ‘usual’ circumstances, a used guitar can usually be purchased cheaper and has already gone through its “break-in” period.

 

Commercially built guitars are usually mass manufactured. “Custom-made” guitars are exactly that. They are custom built and tailored to your specifications by a highly skilled guitar maker.

 

Prices for a custom-built guitar vary considerably, depending on the skill level of the craftsperson you contract the job to, but, as a rule, they are generally quite higher than a commercially built guitar of “similar” quality. Each custom built guitar is unique and so it is hard to compare in price to a commercially built guitar.

 

FOR THE “TECHIES”

 

Understanding some of the parts of a guitar will definitely help you when it comes to the Pre-Purchase Checklist.

 

BODY: This is the part with the sound hole in the front. It is where the strumming is done, and it can vary in size. The actual size, shape, type of wood, coating, and general build of the body also affects how the guitar will “sound”, whether it’s a rich and warm sound, or a thin and ‘twangy’ sound. The body tends to be the part that also gets scratched, damaged, and generally banged-up the most.

 

NECK: This is the long piece extending from the body and ends at the ‘head’ of the guitar where the ‘Tuning Heads’ are, also known as ‘machine heads’. The strings travel from the ‘Bridge’ on the body, across the sound hole, along the ‘Fret Board’, which is attached to the front-side of the neck, and finally arriving at the tuning heads where they are wrapped around tuning posts. The tuning heads are then turned by hand, which then turns the posts, making the strings tighter or looser, thus affecting their ‘tuning’. Necks tend to warp and twist if not looked after, or if the guitar is left propped against a heat source.

 

BRIDGE: The Bridge is normally located on the front of the body, by the sound hole, and on the side of the hole opposite to the neck. The strings are usually fed through the bridge first before they cross the hole and travel up the neck to the tuning heads. The bridge is like an anchor-point for the strings. Metal bridges are best, but on most acoustics they can be hard plastic or wood. Bridges have a tendency to crack and split over a long period of time.

 

FRET BOARD: The fret board is glued to the front of the neck. This is the part you press the strings onto to make chords or play individual notes. Because it’s glued on separately, a fret board can be made of a wood that’s different from the neck.

 

The strings travel over the fret board and the distance they are above the fret board makes a difference to the playability of the guitar. If the strings are too far above the fret board, then they will be hard to press down, making the guitar hard to play.

 

When a beginner plays a guitar, initially his or her fingertips are very soft and need to be hardened. A guitar with the strings too far above the fret board, also known as having a ‘high action’, will cause the player’s fingers to hurt so much that they are likely to put the guitar away in discouragement and possibly stop playing altogether.

 

STRINGS: Acoustic guitar strings, come in a wide variety of ‘flavors’. They can be made out of nylon, brass, steel, or a combination. Nylon strings are usually only found on Classical guitars and Student guitars, because they’re easier on the fingertips. They have a rich, warm sound to them.

 

Strings sets come in different ‘weights’, or sizes. Strings that come from a package marked ‘Heavy’ are usually quite thick in size and sound “beefy”. Strings that are light, or extra light, are very thin and usually have a brighter sound to them, but are also quieter sounding than heavy strings.

 

String choices are purely personal taste. Light strings are much easier to press than heavy strings but also sound quite different. The more often strings are played, the dirtier they will get. If a cloth isn’t run over and under them, from time to time, the sound becomes very dull

 

THE PRE-PURCHASE CHECKLIST

 

- Before you buy a used guitar, cost-compare against the price of a new one, unless the guitar is quite old. You could also compare its used price to other used prices by going to an online auction and either searching for the same or a similar guitar.

- Check the overall condition of the wood for cracks, scratches, splits, dents, chips, etc.

- Also check the lacquer finish for cracks and splits.

- Check the neck/fret board for warping and twisting. You can do this by holding the guitar flat on its back, with the sound hole facing upward. Bring the guitar up to eye-level, with the neck running away from you and the edge of the body almost touching your face. Let your eyesight skim across the front of the body and down the fret board. You should be able to see if the neck is twisted or bowing.

- Tune the guitar, or have the seller tune it for you.

- If you know how to play about five or six chords then play them. If you don’t know how to play, ask the seller to play them for you. This check ensures that the neck of the guitar is not warped, even though you couldn’t physically see it. If the neck is warped, and the guitar is properly tuned, then some of the chords will sound good, but others will sound as though the guitar is not tuned. If this happens, check the tuning again. If it persists, then don’t buy the guitar.

- Check the bridge of the guitar. If it’s made out of wood or plastic, just be sure it’s not cracked or splitting. The bridge needs to be rock-solid, as a lot of pressure is exerted on the bridge by the strings.

- Check the tuning heads. Do they turn easily, or are they stiff and hard to turn. Even with the high tension of the strings, a quality guitar will have tuning heads that are fairly easy to turn.

- Check the ‘action’ of the guitar. Are the strings a fair distance from the fret board? Are they easy or hard to press down at various points on the fret board?

- If you are buying the guitar for yourself, and you know how to play, even if you are a beginner, then by all means play the guitar.

- How does it feel?

- Is it easy or hard to play?

- Can you fit your hand around the neck/fret board comfortably to play chords?

- Is the guitar a comfortable size and shape for your body? Is it easy to hold?

- If you plan to play standing up, ask for a guitar strap.

- Do you like the sound, the color, etc?

- If you don’t play, have someone else play it for you so that you can listen to what it sounds like.

 

WHERE TO Buy Acoustic Guitars

 

Buying a guitar from a physical retail music store allows you to ‘test drive’ the guitar and ask more questions up front. Buying online or from a catalog may bring you more cash savings.

 

No matter where you buy your guitar, if you know what to look for, and spend a little extra effort in your search for that ‘perfect’ guitar, not only will your fingers thank you, but also your ears, and all those who will come to join you around the campfire, or even go to see you in concert. Who knows?

 

 

Technorati Tags: acoustic, acoustic electric guitar, guitar

The dream of playing the guitar in a band is one that many people have – the thought of being on stage is cool. Many people playing in some of the most popular bands are self-taught guitarists. For those extra enthusiastic wannabes, buying guitar lessons will improve their guitar skills. Sadly, only a few can really make it to being a pro, because most of these people lose their eagerness once they master a few chords and don’t continue to learn and master their guitar playing skills.

Mastering the guitar does not take a few days, a few weeks, or even a few months. Even intermediate and very accomplished guitarists take time to learn a new song or a new technique. The truth is there are still some players who stepped beyond the beginner guitar basics without really even knowing these essentials in playing.

Three Basic Tips

Three basic tips for beginner and professional guitarists include proper ways in holding a guitar, changing the strings, and tuning a guitar. Choose a chair without armrests to play guitar in. Slouching is a bad habit if you want to play the guitar because if messes up the mechanics of playing the guitar.

When holding the guitar, its back should lay flat against your chest and stomach with the neck parallel to the floor. Rest the body of the guitar on your legs with the heaviest or thickest string at the top (the string with the lowest sound). Left handed guitar players might initially hold their guitar upside down. Left-handed persons need left-handed guitars. You may even need to trade in a guitar for a left-handed one.

It is inevitable that a guitar string will break and you’ll have to learn how to change your strings. The way you care for your guitar determines the lifespan of your strings. Upon changing them, you might want to clean the guitar first. Restringing a guitar is not hard to learn and many online resources give good instructions. These videos are basic and easy for beginner guitarists to understand.

Tuning comes next after you have new strings on your guitar. Tuning can be necessary before and between playing songs, depending on how new the strings are. You should practice doing this often, because an off-tune guitar will not serve the purpose of creating good music. At first, you may find this difficult – if so, find help from a guitar teacher or buy an electronic guitar tuner. The online tuning resources have audo help and step-by-step instructions for tuning your guitar.

The numerous guitar “help” sites are fun and easy to find online. There are some good online guitar lessons to learn guitar or brush up what you know. Your musical genius can’t grow without some input such as guitar lessons, a guitar instructor or the inspiration to be gained from online communities. The passion and interest you have for music is a fertile place for growth – but practice and time will be needed to become the awesome guitar player you hope to be.

Technorati Tags: beginner, buy, guitar, jamorama, learn, lessons, master, online

 

How many times have you wondered how a guitar was made or what it was made from?.  A guitar is made from partly science and partly art. Composite material now plays a role in many of today’s guitars. The tuners, bridge and other metal parts have also progressed to a high level of function. The march of time has not altered the basic construction of the guitar. The guitar uses a varieties of woods from around the world to produce its tone.

The neck of the guitar is most often made from maple, a very hard wood. The truss rod is now used to resist the twisting force applied to the neck.

Hard woods such as ebony and rosewood are often used for the fret board of the guitar. These woods will last almost forever as they are hard wearing as well. Fret boards may be made to last a little longer if the surface is planed to produce an even surface again.

The most basic tuning mechanism for the guitar is a wooden peg with the string wrapped around it. Now more precise adjustments are possible with machined tuning heads. Also part of the improvement in tuning is the adjustable bridge. With machine heads and adjustable bridges it is now possible to get  in tune and stay in tune.The guitar tuner is also a large contributing factor that allows guitar players everywhere to be in tune all the time.

The history of guitar was changed forever with the invention of the electrical pickup. At first crude and simple, the pickup evolved into a precise affair with identifiable sounds. The solid body electric guitar came fast on the heels of the invention of the electrical pickup. Now the pickup allowed the guitar to be heard with a drummer or a band. A small pickup changed the history of the guitar for all time.

The guitar has changed in technology and material, but not in spirit.

Technorati Tags: guitar, guitar history, guitar making, luthier, making a guitar

These days too many people settle for playing the “Guitar Hero” video game but if you’re reading this then that’s likely not enough for you. If you really want to learn to play a real guitar then Jamorama guitar lessons are exactly what you need.

Unlike a private guitar instructor, Jamorama guitar lessons will not give you any nasty attitude and they will be there to help you learn 24/7. Unlike with a guitar tutor, you can practice on your own schedule. And you will be able to learn at your own pace.

You will save a lot of money by learning with Jamorama guitar lessons instead of hiring a guitar tutor. Why? Because with these internet lessons you only have to pay once and then you have complete access to it. With the “old fashioned” way of learning you have to pay for each and every lesson individually and that cost can add up very quickly.

You can download these guitar lessons online instantly so there’s really no reason to wait even one more minute. And since they come with a 100% satisfaction guarantee there’s absolutely no real risk in trying Jamorama out for yourself. There’s actually a 2 month full cash back refund period. That essentially means you can try the lessons for 2 months for free.

Jamorama guitar lessons are easy to understand. They include step by stype instructions that you will be able to follow no matter what your skill level is currently at. These online lessons are great for newbees and more advanced skill players.

Features

(1) Download on the internet right now.
(2) 100% full money back refund guarantee.
(3) You will learn how to play guitar with a band.
(4) Learn to play in any style including pop, blues, rock, & jazz.
(5) Practice at your pace and on your schedule.
(6) Includes lessons for famous songs.
(7) Ben Edwards will be your personal guitar instructor.

Technorati Tags: guitar, guitar lessons, jamorama