20 Essential Acoustic Guitar Tips for the Beginner

Acoustic guitar lessons online are not difficult to come by. There are many sites offering free tips and lessons for the beginner, but it can be rather difficult sifting through pages of content to find direct answers to some of the most basic questions beginners have. I researched many of the frequently asked questions that beginners have and created this list of quick acoustic guitar lessons and tips to make life a bit easier for you. I do hope this helps.

1 – Learn how to play the acoustic guitar with both your fingers and your pick. Practice using both. This will make you a more versatile player.

2 – Learn how to use a capo. A capo is a clamp that you can apply to different frets of your guitar to change the pitch. You will definitely need to become familiar with this wonderful tool. If you do not already own one, head out to your local music store and buy one today.

3 – Make sure you choose the right guitar for your size. Guitars come in different sizes from classic to jumbo. It is very important that you find a guitar size that you are comfortable playing.

4 – Learn how to change your strings and change them often. If you do not know how to change your guitar strings yet, stop what you are doing and search for articles and videos online right now. This is very important.

5 – Wash your hands before you play and clean your strings after you play. Dirt and oils from your fingers and hands can wear down your strings.

6 – Build up those calluses. Many beginners complain of pain in their fingertips when first starting out. This is normal and will go away after you have been playing for a little while and start to form calluses. The more often you practice the faster you will build up calluses.

7 – Learn how to tune your guitar. Make sure your guitar is in tune before you start every practice session. Tuning your guitar is really quite easy. You can either purchase one of those small battery powered guitar tuners, or you can tune your guitar online. Just do a search at your favorite search engine using the key phrase “online guitar tuner” and you will find many helpful sites on this topic.

8 – Use YouTube to find free acoustic guitar lessons. Everyone is now familiar with the site YouTube. They have a huge variety of free lessons. Two providers of free lessons that I recommend you check out are: “Next Level Guitar” (goes by the user name “rockongoodpeople“) and “Justinguitar.com” (goes by the username “JustinSandercoeSongs“). They offer some of the best free online acoustic guitar lessons. Highly recommended.

9 – Find a good guitar teacher. While it is possible to learn at your own pace at home using free lessons online, books and home study courses, nothing will replace a guitar teacher. A guitar teacher will help keep you from forming bad guitar playing habits and praise you when you are making progress.

10 – Stretch and warm up your hands and fingers before each playing session. This is important. Proper warm up and stretching exercises are essential in helping you avoid injury and improving your guitar playing. For more information on stretching and warm up exercises, do a search on Google using the key phrase: “guitar warm up”. You will find plenty of tutorials on this subject.

11 – Learn music theory. I know music theory can be boring and difficult, but it is essential learning if you want to become a good guitar player.

12 – Learn about the parts of your guitar. Spend as much time as possible familiarizing yourself with all the various parts of your guitar and how it is constructed.

13 – Learn how to practice. This may seem obvious, but you would be surprised how many guitarists are not practicing correctly. There is definitely a right and a wrong way to practice. Make sure you understand how to make the best out of your practice sessions.

14 – Keep your finger nails on your fretting hand trimmed. Your fingernails on your fretting hand must be kept short. If not, they will most certainly make playing more difficult as they will prevent your fingers from pushing down the strings properly.

15 – Don’t over do it. If you are experiencing any pain or discomfort during your playing or practice session, then stop and take a break.

16 – Try and learn something new. If you continually do the same thing, day after day, then your guitar playing will become stagnant and you will not progress.

17 – Join discussion forums online. Search for guitar discussion forums online and begin discussions with experienced and professional guitarists.

18 – Listen to a variety of different music. Not just your favorite styles either. You would be surprised at how much this can influence your guitar playing.

19 – Learn alternate ways to tune your guitar. Not every song is played in standard tuning.

20 – Go to live performances. This will give you a chance to get up close and personal with the musicians enabling you to see first hand how a professional plays.

Accelerate Your Guitar Playing

By Mike Hayes

First, define your objectives and determine your approach. These objectives may change as you progress, but a goal is important before starting to play the guitar.

Begin by forming good study habits. Part of your study will be physical performance and part will be mentally engaged in the study of theory, listening to recordings, tapes and the radio, watching television, Internet and watching live performances. You will be talking to other guitarists, students and professionals, studying in classes and with private teachers and of course via online guitar courses, guitar training software etc. You will also be improvising. All of these activities will give you valuable information and experience, increase your skill, broaden your scope and develop your insights. Keep an open mind and learn something from everyone you meet …even if it is not what to do!

The following suggestions should help you in your study and practice:

Never practice or study when you are tired or worried. Relax a bit before you begin. If possible study in a quiet place where you can be undisturbed. Have a music stand adjusted to your eye level when you practice, and make sure that you always have good light. Form the habit of studying in a regular place and at a regular time.

Several short study practice periods on successive days are usually better than one lengthy period of study. A little study every day is better than spasmodic, inconsistent study. Use various ways of making yourself think about what you are studying. If you are looking at a printed page of notes, try to imagine them on a guitar finger board and vice versa.

Form the habit of mentally reviewing every page of music you study before going on to the next one. See how much of it you can recall and try to remember it. When you have learned something make use of it as soon as you can. The sooner and more often, the better. If you have learned fingerings for a few new chords so that you can play them even slowly, make up an exercise or song that involves these chords and has you shifting from one chord to another often. It is not enough to learn about something. Unless you utilize this information it does not become a part of you.

When you have completed a reasonable amount of material, take time to summarize what you have covered. You may want to write your summary. Keep a good music dictionary handy, and use it frequently. When you have discovered the meaning of a new word or term, use it yourself.

Self Study

To correct poor study conditions, consider thoughtfully each of the questions below and write specific answers to each one. Then decide what you can do to correct each of the things wrong with your study conditions. Make notes of these and correct them.

1. What can you see on your desk, music stand, or through your window that distracts you?

2. What music, talking or other noises are disturbing your practice and study?

3. What is wrong with your position or posture when you practice or study?

4. Are you sure your lighting is adequate? What is wrong with it?

5. Is your work space large enough and arranged well?

6. What materials do you lack for effect study?

7. What time of day is most difficult to practice or study? Why?

8. What worries or special interests divert you from studying?

Effective methods of practicing or studying, of themselves, will not suffice. Careful planning also is essential. Lay out your work systematically before you begin. Each individual’s time, facilities and desires are personal matters. Just be sure to adopt some plan and stick to it as conscientiously as possible.

Mike Hayes is a guitar teacher, author, performing musician and session guitarist with over 30 years of professional experience. Find out more about how to learn guitar fast with his popular free ecourse, available at:
=> http://www.GuitarCoaching.com

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Learn Acoustic Guitar – The 13 Most Important Open Chords Explained

By Dave Long

Open chords are one of the first things you learn on acoustic guitar.

The open chords consist of most of the very basic chords used in music, and while not every style makes as much use of them, it is still an important fundamental even to those kinds of music.

What differentiates the open chords from other chords is the use of the open strings within the chord shapes. This feature gives a little more play to some of the chords by allowing the guitarist to fret and unfret strings to form the sustained versions of several chords (chords where the third is replaced by a major second or perfect fourth).

Using sustained chords in the middle of progressions can make bars that really are just one basic chord sound much more interesting than just strumming the chord for the entire time. A very good example of this is the Dsus4,D,Dsus2,D chord riff in the chorus lead in of The Beatles ‘You’ve got to hide your love away”.

E and Em Chords

E: 0-2-2-1-0-0
Em: 0-2-2-0-0-0

The above are the notes of the E and Em open chords. The two chords are fairly easy to switch between, only requiring the lifting of the index finger. However, swapping between the major and minor versions of a chord is a pretty infrequent chord change, but it does make learning both the chords fairly easy.

A, Am, and Asus2 Chords
A: X-0-2-2-2-0 or X-0-2-2-2-X

The open A chord has two common ways it is held.

The first shows a variant that leaves the open high e string in the chord, while the second has the first four strings barred (which means that high e is not played in the second version).

Someone having difficulty holding the first chord shape may want to use the second version instead, since the first can be somewhat difficult to hold without bumping into the open A and open high e strings. The second version also can be much easier to get into and out of in some progressions (particularly ones using moveable bar chords), and may be a better choice even for guitarists who can hold the first fingering of the chord.

Am: X-0-2-2-1-0
Asus2: X-0-2-2-0-0
The above shows the Am chord, as well as the Asus2 chord. The Asus2 chord can be moved into by lifting the third finger in the first version of the A chord or by lifting the index finger on the Am chord. It can be used to add a little more interest to progressions using either the A or Am chord.

D, Dm, Dsus2, and Dsus4 Chords

D: X-X-0-2-3-2
Dm: X-X-0-2-3-1
The D and Dm chords do seem very similar, but due to the position on the neck, the fingering is slightly different for the two. It is one of the easier chords to learn because it does not really require the same amount of strength or dexterity to hold as some of the other chords.

Dsus2: X-X-0-2-3-0
Dsus4: X-X-0-2-3-3
D and Dm are probably the two nicest open chords for swapping to the sustained versions of the chords. Despite the different fingering, both work pretty much exactly the same for these chord shifts. To reach Dsus4, both chords simply require placing the pinky onto the fretboard. Dsus2 is reached by lifting the finger on the high e string to let the open string ring. There are quite a number of songs based fairly heavily around these types of switches because they sound good and are quite easy to perform.

C, C7M, and Cadd9 Chords

C: X-3-2-0-1-0

C can be a bit awkward at first, but it is still a good chord to get down well.
C7M: X-3-2-0-0-0
Cadd9: X-3-2-0-3-0
C has a few easy variants to move in and out of without too much effort. The index finger is just lifted off the B string. The Cadd9 variant is not quite as easy to do as Dsus4, but can sound quite nice in some progressions. For that variant, the pinky is brought on the B string to fret the third fret.

G Chord
G: 3-2-0-0-0-3 or 3-2-0-0-3-3

G is a useful chord for many songs, but there is not really all that much play to it besides the basic chord. There are two variants, but most guitarists just pick one. The second variant does have the advantage of being easily shifted into Cadd9, but that is about it (X-3-2-0-3-3 is also a valid way to hold Cadd9).

Learn more free acoustic guitar tips: Learn Acoustic Guitar

Dave Long is the owner of http://www.LearningAcousticGuitar.net where he provides acoustic guitar tips and advice.

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Free Online Acoustic Guitar Lessons For The Beginner

Looking for free online acoustic guitar lessons? What beginner isn’t?

There is certainly no shortage of free lessons online, but many of the lessons you will find are not of the best quality.

I came across a real gem on YouTube today. Chances are you are already familiar with this guy. If not, I highly recommend you stop what you are doing and check out the following free video lessons below.

The following acoustic guitar lessons are from a gentleman by the name of Justin Sandercoe. Justin is a very talented London based guitarist, songwriter, performer, producer and educator.

You can listen to some of his original music over at his myspace page. He is currently in the process of recording his first solo record which features vocal songs as well as instrumental guitar pieces.

I have learned a great deal by watching Justin’s videos and I know you will as well.

Enjoy the free online acoustic guitar lessons below and be sure to also check out Justin’s website here.

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Learn to Play Acoustic Guitar – Acoustic Guitar Tips For The Beginner

So you want to learn how to play acoustic guitar? Do you have hopes and dreams of one day becoming a professional guitarist in a popular band? Perhaps you just want to play for the purpose of entertaining yourself, family, and friends. Whatever the case may be, I do hope the following article will help you achieve your goals as an acoustic guitar player.

The very first step in learning how to play the acoustic guitar, is of course to get a guitar. For the sake of argument, I am assuming you already own a guitar and are ready to start playing. If not, you may find it easier to purchase a second hand guitar in the beginning while you are practicing and learning the basics. You will also save some cash. When you get better you can always upgrade.

Whether you are buying a new or used acoustic guitar, you will save a lot of headaches if you do your research first. Visit free newsgroups and forums online to see what other guitar players have to say. If you are buying a used guitar make sure you are able to physically see and check out the guitar before buying. You will need to examine the entire guitar for any visible damage or other imperfections. You want your guitar to have the correct action, intonation, and pitch. Your best bet, if you are that lucky, is to find an experienced guitar player to take along with you before you buy.

Once you found your guitar, it’s time to start practicing. Learning the correct way to practice is probably the most important part of your acoustic guitar playing success. It is better to practice 10 minutes of quality focused exercises then to spend an hour on the couch messing around trying to learn a complicated song. The environment that you learn in is equally important. You will need complete silence and privacy. You should not have any interruptions at all if possible.

You will need to recognize the learning method that works best for you because everyone is different. The last thing you want to happen is for your guitar learning to become boring and monotonous. I think every one has come to that point at one time or another. You appear to hit a dead end where your guitar playing doesn’t seem to get any better. No matter how long you practice, no matter how many finger exercises or chords you learn, you cant seem to get over that hump. Your brain is not responding as well because it isn’t being stimulated. Definitely do not become discouraged by your lack of progress. Put down the guitar and take a break. Stimulate your brain by doing something else for a while, then come back to your guitar practice.

Don’t give yourself super challenging tasks to complete in the beginning. You are setting yourself up for some major disappointment. Start off slow and easy. Learn the easy stuff first then tackle the more difficult stuff later on.

Set easier goals for yourself. When you set easier goals that you know you are capable of doing, you are building confidence and you are making progress.

Think about the growing stages of a newborn baby. The baby does not come right out of the mothers womb and instantly knows how to run marathons. No, he learns to crawl first, then walk, then run. The baby has to develop his muscles first in order to support his body. The same holds true for guitar playing. If you want to be able to produce clean sounding chords or play complicated solos, you have to develop your muscles, and this only happens when you are patient in your practicing. Over time, you will begin to develop what is known as “muscle memory”. This refers to the body’s ability to remember, or automatically perform, a well practiced motion. If you ever watch a professional guitar player, you will see this in action as the guitar player plays complicated chords and solos without looking or even thinking about it.

Be persistent. I don’t care if takes you 6 months to learn two chords. Never stop trying. If you have the desire to become a good acoustic guitar player, then you will succeed. It is simply a matter of time.

Listen to as much music from as many different artists as possible. Do not limit yourself to only your favorite artists. There are a multitude of acoustic guitar players out there in a number of different genres including classical, folk, jazz, rock, etc. If you limit yourself to only one particular area, you are depriving yourself of some beautiful music. You never know what artist can influence your playing style. So be open to new styles of music.

I hope this article has gotten you excited enough to learn how to play acoustic guitar. Remember to keep practicing and to never give up, no matter how long it takes.

Click here to learn about the worlds most popular and effective acoustic guitar home learning course!