Whether you are dreaming of rock stardom, or simply want to play a few tunes for your friends, you may be looking into the best ways to go about learning the guitar. You may feel hopeless, but remember, even the most prolific and impressive players had to start somewhere. Learning the guitar should start with an appreciation for the instrument. Learn what each part of the instrument does, what each part is called, and how they all work together to make notes and chords.

Before you can begin learning the guitar, you have to decide what type of guitar you want to play. The most common are electric and acoustic, but there are other types like the banjo that you can also play. In most cases, if you learn one, the others are easy to master; it’s just a matter of learning the guitar for its shape and knowing the difference in string pressure.

When you know what you want to play, you can then begin learning the guitar. You have a few choices, and the best way will be up to you. You can find someone who plays, and ask him or her if they would help you out, or you can turn to professional lessons. Be honest about your ability to learn. If you think learning the guitar is going to be a tough road for you, a professional is your best bet.

You can find people in your community that offer lessons for learning the guitar, or you can find online lessons that you do yourself. Be careful of ads that promise you can learn to play in a few simple lessons. Learning the guitar is a complicated and lifelong experience, and no one can promise you that.

Once you have down the basics, you can take learning the guitar to the next level. Some people like to listen to their favorite songs and then try to play along. This is actually a great idea. This helps you pick out the proper notes and tuning, and teaches you about composition, and how a guitar sound works within the context of a song.

Whether you choose to learn from someone in your community, or you tackle learning the guitar on your own, don’t forget the most important aspect of learning the guitar: practice. You won’t get anywhere without practice. Have patience with yourself, practice, and you will soon find yourself falling in love with playing your guitar.

By Ashley Southam, The Piano Guy

There are many different questions when it comes to buying a keyboard. How much should I pay, how many keys it needs and so on. A lot of it really depends on the buyer and your own personal preference. The best way to tell if the keyboard is right for you is if it “feels” right. But, in saying that, there are a few simple guidelines that can help you out come purchase time.

One of the great things about having so many different keyboards to choose from is that you can find one at a suitable price. The first thing is you want to make sure the keyboard actually works. The problem with keyboards is that as they get older they tend to decay a bit. So be careful buying a keyboard before you’ve actually played it and checked the keys, all the buttons and so on.

The next step is looking at how many keys it has. I’m often asked “how many keys should I get?” The answer is really down to personal preference and what exactly you’re using your keyboard for. My advice is to get a keyboard with the full 88 keys. But 76 and even 61 will usually be enough. If you have the choice I think either 88 or 76 keys is best. If you were just using a small range of the keyboard and it’s more for recording interesting samples and so on, then fewer keys is fine. Most professionals will use 88 keys.

The next thing to look at is weighted keys or “synth” action. This means what the feel of the actual keys is like. This again really depends on personal taste. Weighted keys: this means that the keys on the keyboard have the same feel and weight as keys on a standard piano. A lot of trained pianists will go this route, myself included. I don’t like to use synth style keys but that’s entirely my personal taste. One of the benefits of playing on a keyboard with weighted keys is that if you never played an acoustic piano before you should easily be able to adjust quickly because your hands will be used to it. Synth style keys also have their advantages. Because they’re not weighted it’s a lot easier to play them faster.

Another important aspect is the velocity and after touch of the keyboard. Velocity refers to whether how hard you hit the keys affects how loud the sound that comes out, so that if you lightly touch the keyboard you will get a nice quite sound. Similarly if you hit down hard you will get a nice loud reaction. After touch refers to the sensitivity to the sound and touch after you hit the note and hold it down. If you play a note and you want it to ring the way an acoustic piano does, after touch is very important. Personally I believe that velocity and after touch is VERY important and any keyboard you have should really have these things catered for.

So there are a lot of things to consider when looking at keyboards. Ultimately I believe a lot of it comes down to personal taste and what your instincts tell you about the keyboard itself. Remember, you want it to be something that you can spend a lot of time on so make sure that you are completely happy with what you end up with.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Ashley Southam (The Piano Guy) is a pianist with years of experience behind him. iano is his passion, and he is also the drive and inspiration behind Rocket Piano – the Ultimate Piano Learning Kit, and Rocket Piano Gospel Edition. If you want to take your piano playing skills to a new level, you need the Rocket Piano Kit. You get step by step instructions complete with audio and video lessons, and you can instant access by clicking the link now http://www.rocketpiano.com.

Parents always want their child to excel in life and studies have shown that letting the child learn to play an instrument helps in their development. The two most common instruments that parents let children learn are the piano and the guitar.

Learning how to play the guitar in years past and now isn’t that different. The first thing needed is to obtain one; if there is already an instrument available then learning can begin. If one needs to purchase one, then going to the music store with somebody who is familiar with guitars will really helping the selection

The most important thing to know before playing any musical instrument was learning how to read the notes, but today this is not considered to be enough. The person needs to listen as he is playing to know whether or not he is producing the correct notes.

In the past, an instructor had to be found before lessons could begin; but now a person can simply start by learning from friends and then practicing. After some time, the assistance of a professional can help advance your knowledge of playing the guitar.

There are also books that teach a person how to play the guitar. By reading and studying the latest techniques of the popular musicians, one will be able to learn a trick or two when playing.

The internet can also help improve one’s skill with the guitar. There are many websites available that give tips from a beginner’s stage to the more advanced lessons.

Instructional videos are also available. Some were produced by rock stars and each of these individuals have or use a different technique.

The best technique that can be used to check your progress is by playing the guitar at the same time as the same song is playing in the background. That way, if you are playing “off key”, adjustments can be made until it is perfected.

Technology and the publication of books have really helped change the way people can learn how to play the guitar. With the many options available, anyone who has the desire can start at any age and at any time. But learning the basics first before moving on to other things is essential.

Guitar playing should be fun. It is not just about learning how to play the instrument but enjoying it as well. Not everyone is born to do play it well. So if after some time, it’s really not working for you, then giving it up for another musical instrument might be the answer.

I have played a Johnson electric guitar for more than three years now, and I have to say that a lot of the things that people say against them are dead wrong. Often, people say that Johnson electric guitars, or other similar inexpensive knockoffs, are not really the best instruments that you can buy. They cost very little to buy, but that is supposed to be because they are cheaply made and kind of low quality instruments. I have to say, though, that none of this is true. Although I did have to swap out the tuning pegs, and get the neck adjusted a few times before I was really happy with my Johnson electric guitar, once I did these things, it was a pretty good instrument. No, my Johnson electric guitar is not an amazing machine, but it is about a fraction of the cost of the really good ones, and I have to say that it really does get me by just about fine.

If you are thinking about buying a guitar, you should consider a Johnson. With a lot of the name brand guitars, you are paying for the name as much as anything else, and that is no lie. You may think that your Gibson or Les Paul electric guitar is just absolutely awesome, but in fact you could probably get the same sound a lot cheaper unless you are really playing a high end instrument. When I play my Johnson electric guitar I am never disappointed with the sound. Even if I were disappointed, I would be far from out of luck. With the number and variety of effects pedals available nowadays, it is a cinch to figure out a way to get just the sound you want from any ax, from a beginning, entry level one to one of the top level ones used only by the pros.

So, if you are just beginning to learn, or an intermediate musician, the Johnson electric guitar might just be the thing for you. They come in several models, and they all seem to have pretty good action. The octaves line up smoothly, the parts are accurately machined, and although I have replaced the tuning pegs, over all, I would say that most of the components are okay stock. You might want to swap out the pickups, but aside from that, it seems like everything about it is just alright right straight from the box.

Learning how to strum is one of the most basic steps in guitar playing. After a beginner learns to do the basic 4/4 strumming, he can then move on to learning the 3/4 strumming technique.

If one wants to play a 3/4 song using a guitar, he must first know what 3/4 means: 4/4, 3/4, 2/4 are what musicians call time signatures. The time signatures are usually placed beside the clef sign. The upper number
(or numerator) indicates the number of beats per measure and the lower number (or denominator) indicates the kind of note that will receive one beat.

3/4 Chord pattern

In playing a 3/4 guitar riff, one has to count 1-2-3 and use this count as a guide when strumming the guitar. In practicing the 3/4 guitar strumming, one can use the chord pattern: D- A7- G.

This is a variation of the 4/4 chord pattern D-A-G-A. Again, this pattern is recommended because of the playability of the chords. This allows the player to be able to concentrate on strumming and chord formation simultaneously without prioritizing one above the other.

The strokes in practicing the 3/4 strumming pattern can be varied, depending on the player’s preferences. He can practice the pattern using only downward strokes, or upwards strokes or he can use both alternately to get the feel of the guitar.

The traditional song “Down in the Valley” can be used by beginners to practice strumming the guitar with a 3/4 time. Another song which could be used in 3/4 strumming is the song “Time is on my Side” by Jerry Ragovoy.

Chord Shifting

Another important thing that a beginner must learn in 4/4 strumming is chord shifting. This becomes an even harder thing to do in 3/4 strumming but it is not impossible to learn; it just takes time and patience. Don’t let frustration get into the learning process.

Let’s go back and review some of the important basic things one has to know in guitar strumming.

Playing position

When a beginner first holds the guitar and tries out some chords, he usually does these things in an awkward looking position. This is acceptable because beginners will always look at the fret board, put their heads closer to the left hand, etc. But when you want to get serious about learning further things about guitar playing, he needs to be able to play the instrument using the right position.

Here are some few tips for playing the guitar in the proper position:

-position the body, legs and arms in so that tension is avoided
-if tension is present, reassess the playing position
-tilt the neck of the guitar upwards and never tilt it downwards
-keep the body of the guitar as vertical as possible
-avoid slanting the top of the guitar so that you an see better

Holding the pick

If you are using a pick to strum the guitar strings, hold the pick in such a way that the hand is stress-free. So do not hold it too tight or too loosely. The pick should make good contact with the strings but should be done in a moderate way.

Reading tablatures

When you are comfortable with playing some chords and chord patterns, you can then shift into reading guitar tablatures. Tablatures or tabs are great tools in learning how to play the guitar as they translate the musical notation into readable symbols that reflect the way to play a musical piece using a guitar. The lines that are in guitar tabs represent the strings of the guitar. If you place the guitar adjacent to the tabs, you can see what this is all about. The numbers in the lines represent the fret number which is to be pressed by the player. This is basically all you have to know to be able to start reading tabs. Tabs are comprised of symbols and signs other than lines and numbers. More advanced tabs also indicate the type of plucking or string bending technique that should be used for striking each note.

Learning how to play the guitar is an arduous process, but it’s also fun. One must take it step-by-step and must not rush to learn more techniques if he still can’t master the preceding technique. Have fun!