So you wanna learn how to play the guitar? How many “jump starts” have you had? I promise I won’t hold that against you, I’m just glad you’re here. No matter where you want to go or where you have been with the guitar, this is a place you can learn and grow with your instrument. If you’d like you can read more about me, Joe Russ, your instructor by clicking this link. Then, don’t forget to click the link to bring you back here.

How many of you are addicted to Guitar Hero? Yea, I know that little plastic guitar can be a lot of fun, but I’m assuming for you, real guitars are more interesting than that video game version or you wouldn’t be here. Am I right? Whether you are here to learn acoustic guitar, electric guitar or maybe even bass guitar (coming soon), I think you will find what you need here to become the guitar player you want to be.

There is more than one way to learn the guitar. Most towns and cities have their fair share of real human guitar teachers, but we all know the Internet is full of online resources when it comes to guitar lessons. Video has gotten very popular for any and everything on the Internet. Guitar instructors have really latched onto this medium as a way for delivering lessons. Youtube (www.youtube.com) is chock full of great and sometimes not so great videos for teaching as well as just showing off. Guitar and guitar theory can sometimes be confusing and Youtube videos can be extremely helpful in getting the information across to new guitar students.

The guitar is much more than just an instrument. It is a symbol, an icon in our generation. For acoustic guitar lovers it represents a tool to write songs that come out of your soul, something to help you woo that damsel you long for by a campfire light on a summer weekend night. When we think of acoustic guitars we envision James Taylor, John Denver maybe even Jimmy Buffett.

The electric guitar on the other hand drums up images of Eric Clapton, B. B. King or maybe even Molly Hatchet, Lynard Skynard or Kiss. It's more about freedom and rebellion against all that is holding you back from reaching your potential. For the men, I know some of you have visions of becoming a Rock and Roll star, even if it's just in your home town, so you can have your pick of the ladies.

And speaking of the ladies, girl guitar players are all the rage these days and you wanna be one of them. We don't blame you. All that is great, but you know you have to start somewhere and for many of you, that somewhere is at the beginning. If so, you've definitely come to the right place. You will find all the essentials here plus some things we haven't seen in any other lesson program.

There are several ways to approach a course for beginning guitar students. I could just tell you what the names of the strings are, teach you how to tune your guitar and then start showing you some chords so you could get right to playing some songs. But I’ve learned through my own experience that really understanding music theory and other musical dynamics has helped me become a better musician and prepared me for the time when I lived in Nashville and needed that education in order to work in that environment.

Now you may have no plans on moving to Nashville, New York, L.A. or any other major city but my intention is to give you all the tools you will need to be a well rounded musician and to be able to be productive, work as a professional musician and have a lot of fun no matter where you choose to live.

Entering these lessons, you will find that I have set up 2 different paths you can take. The green lessons are for all those who just want to learn some chords so they can play some songs and jam with their friends. This group can get along without a lot of music theory or knowing all the details about what they are playing.

The blue lessons on the other hand are for those that want to be master guitarists. This group wants to learn everything about the guitar because they harbor dreams of going on to bigger and better things. The Blue lessons will teach you not only chords, but chord theory, modes, scales, and even the Nashville Number system, the charting system used by the session players in Nashville, Tennessee.

Although I will expose you to sight reading on the guitar, I won’t go very deeply into it mainly because in today’s musical society, sight reading is not necessary unless you want to become a Classical Guitarist. Everything is done by ear. With the right training and a good ear you can do anything on the guitar.

Playing by ear comes easier to some than others. But except for those who are truly "tone deaf" the ear can be developed and I will teach how to listen and play, listen and play. One more time, LISTEN AND PLAY!

The first thing I am going to do is go over the parts of a guitar so you know the correct terminology to use. If you already know this information, then simply click the link at the bottom of the page to go to lesson 2. See ya there!

Joe

Although there are many different types of guitars (acoustic, electric, classical, electric-acoustic, etc.), they all have many things in common. The diagram above illustrates the various parts of a guitar. At the top of the guitar in the illustration is the "head" or "headstock", a term which describes the part of the guitar that is the top end of the instrument. On the headstock are "tuners", which you will use to adjust the pitch of each of the strings on the guitar. Play with these tuners and get used to which way you turn them to raise the pitch and vice versa.

At the point at which the headstock meets the neck of the guitar, you'll find the "nut". A nut is simply a small piece of material, usually either plastic or bone, in which small grooves are carved out to guide the strings up to the tuners. Each groove is cut to accommodate the thickness of the string which will rest in it. Just below the nut begins the fretboard sometimes called the fingerboard. It is the top, surface section of the neck, the long wooden structure between the headstock and the body and is usually constructed of maple (light wood) or rosewood (dark brown wood). You will place your fingers at different points on the fretboard to form notes and chords.

About 2 inches toward the body from the nut begins a series of 22 to 24 metal strips running across the surface of the fretboard from one side to the other. These pieces of metal are called "frets". You will also read and hear the word "fret" referred to as the space on the fretboard between any two of these metal strips. The frets, metal strips, are inserted at progressive points on the fingerboard or fretboard. The frets, the spaces between the metal strips, get progressively smaller as you go up the neck toward the body. *The reason for this has to do with the mathematical formula used to divide the total sound spectrum into notes. The metal strips are placed at the points they need to be in order to make the musical formulas work out, or in other words, so all the tones can be correctly placed. If this formula wasn't followed when the guitar was built , you'd never be able to tune your guitar so you could stand to listen to it.

As you place your fingers at various points on the fretboard, you are changing the length of the string your finger is sitting on. As the string gets shorter the pitch becomes higher and vice versa. * A man named Pythagoras discovered the ratios of frequencies that make up the musical scale a long time ago. Basically it works like this. When you play a string on a guitar, the string vibrates, causing the air around it to vibrate. These air vibrations move outward from the source of the sound (the guitar string). When they reach your eardrum they cause it to vibrate. You detect the vibration and "hear" the note. For a more detailed explanation of this theory and the Well Tempered Scale just click Tempered Scale at the bottom of the page.

Just a note here about necks and the woods they are made of. Guitars made of different woods produce different tones thus different sounds. Maple necks produce a brighter tone and are popular by guitarists playing Country, Rockabilly or Classic Rhythm and Blues. Necks with rosewood fingerboards tend to produce a warmer sound and are popular with jazz and some rock guitarists.

On the fretboard are "position markers", simple circular "dots" on most guitars. On higher end guitars these position markers may be bird shaped markers, stars or other icons. The neck of the guitar adjoins the "body" of the instrument. The body of the guitar will vary greatly from guitar to guitar. Most acoustic and classical guitars have a hollow body, and a "sound hole" in the center of the body, designed to project the sound of the guitar.

Most acoustic guitars have a definitive "figure 8" type shape, two large sound sections called "bouts" with an indented section in the middle called a "waist," or a narrowing. This waist is where you rest the guitar on your knee. The upper bout is where the neck connects, and the lower bout is where the bridge attaches. The size and shape of the body and the bouts has a lot to do with the tone that a given guitar produces. The two bouts also affect the sound: The lower bout accentuates lower tones and the upper bout accentuates higher tones. This design worked fine until guitarists started needing their guitars amplified to compete with the volume of other band instruments.

As Jazz Orchestras grew in size and volume during the Big Band Era of the 1930's, the search was on for a way to project the sound of acoustic guitars so they could be heard above the piano, drums and brass section. The first type of electric guitar was developed out of this need for a louder sound by the Electro String Instrument Corporation under the direction of Adolph Rickenbacher and called their new company that would produce these new “electric” guitars Rickenbacker. In the picture you can see the drawing that was submitted for the 1934 patent for their new instrument that was dubbed “The Frying Pan”. From this design, a type of pick up was developed to be used with the big hollow body acoustic guitars of that era. The pick up systems used to day are all further developments of that early Rickenbacker design.

It wasn't until the late 1940's that the solid body electric guitar was invented, first by Leo Fender with his Broadcaster, soon renamed the Telecaster because of a patent conflict, then soon after Gibson Guitars and Les Paul joined forces to bring us the ever popular Les Paul solid body electric guitar.  

Most acoustic guitars have a wooden bridge using plastic pins to hold the strings in place. The strings run from the tuners in the headstock, down the neck and across small thin piece of wood called a saddle, that sits in a slot in the bridge. Finally, the ball end of the string is inserted into one of six holes behind the bridge and then a plastic pin is inserted in the hole to keep the string in place.

Most electric guitars have a solid body, and thus will not have a sound hole. Electric guitars will instead have "pick-ups" where the sound hole is located. These "pick-ups" are magnets wrapped with strands of wire. They act similar to a microphone, capturing the vibrations of the strings and turning them into electrical signals that are then processed through a guitar amplifier which sends the signal out through a speaker by which we hear the notes.

The strings of the guitar run from the tuning pegs, over the nut, down the neck, over the body, over the sound hole (or pick-ups), and are anchored at a piece of hardware attached to the body of the guitar, called a "bridge". Electric guitars use metals bridges. Most allow adjustments to be made to set the intonation correctly. The guitarist or a technician would move each "bridge nut" closer to or further away from the headstock to set the intonation. There is one for each string.

Some bridge assemblies include individual "bridge tuners" to fine tune each string. This type of bridge also includes a "lockdown nut" in place of the traditional nut, allowing the guitarist to lock the strings down with an allen wrench to keep them from slipping out of tune. Some electric guitars have a tremolo system mounted as part of the bridge assembly. This tremolo system allows the guitarist to control the strings with a bar attached to the system. This produces the tremolo effect as the strings are shortened and lengthened by the system. Some guitarists use this tremolo system for vibrato effects. To learn about Acoustic Pickup systems click this link. Acoustic Pickup To learn about Tempered Scales click this link Tempered Scale To learn about the history of the electric guitar click this link Electric Guitars

In the picture above you see the names of the open strings on your guitar and how the strings are numbered 1-6 from the bottom up. You are also given a mnemonic to help you remember them (Every Adult Dog Growls, Barks, Eats). The second picture shows you how to tune your guitar with itself.

There are several ways to tune a guitar, but first we will learn to tune it to itself as in the 2^nd picture above. The first thing you need is a source where you can hear the beginning note, low E. You can use a pitch pipe, piano or another instrument. Once you have the low E string tuned to pitch proceed as follows:  1. Make sure your sixth string is in tune  2. Play the sixth string, fifth fret (A), then tune your open fifth string (A) until it they sound the same.  3. Play the fifth string, fifth fret (D), then tune your open fourth string (D) until they sound the same.  4. Play the fourth string, fifth fret (G), then tune your open third string (G) until they sound the same.  5. Play the third string, fourth fret (B), then tune your open second string (B) until they sound the same.  6. Play the second string, fifth fret (E), then tune your open first string (E) until they sound the same.  

Look at the 2nd picture above as you follow these instructions and it should begin to make sense to you. When you are finished, strum your guitar and see how it sounds. Try detuning your guitar on purpose and retuning it several times until you are comfortable with this process.  Listen to, and play the first note. While the note is still ringing, try humming that note. Continue to play the note, until you've managed to match the pitch with your voice.  

Next, play the second note, and again, hum that note. Repeat this - playing and humming the first note, then follow that by playing and humming the second note.  Now, try humming the first note, and without stopping, moving to the second note. Did your voice go down, or up? If it went down, then the second note is lower. If it went up, the second note is higher. Now, make the adjustment to the second note, until they both sound the same.

If you have access to a piano then please follow this lesson so you will know how to tune your guitar to a piano. If it is a traditional full size piano, right in the middle above the keyboard should be the label of the manufacturer. On the keyboard at that point find the C note. From that point, go to E 2 octaves below. In other words, from the C, go to the left to E and then on to the next E. This one is the pitch that will match the low E string on your guitar.

If you are using an electric piano, start with the C right in the middle and go to the E note right below it. Tune your low E string to that note. Now look at the picture above and tune each string of your guitar. Match each string to the sound of each note on the piano.

The Intellitouch PT-1/PT-2 Electronic Tuner This is so easy it should be illegal. You simply clip the tuner to the headstock of your guitar and turn the screen so you can see it clearly. Next, push the button that turns it on. Play your high E string and watch the screen. The note made by the string you are picking will show up in the center of the screen. You will see sets of 3 arrows on either side of the note name.

You are "in tune" when you consistently have 3 arrows on each side of the note name. The tuner will "hear" any note you play. This lets you tune standard or even altered tunings. What I love about this tuner is that it doesn't care how loud things are where you are tuning. Loud jukeboxes and rowdy crowds will not interfere with tuning your guitar. In the picture above the Intellitouch is the one right in the center of the picture.

Hopefully, you've found, bought or borrowed a guitar pick. If not, you'll need to buy yourself some. Don't be stingy, go and pick up at least 10 of them - guitar picks are easy to lose (they often don't cost more than 30 or 40 cents each). You can experiment with different shapes and brands.

Picks come in different thicknesses. Some are sold in millimeters and some just thin, medium and thick. Experiment with different ones until you find ones you are comfortable with. Personally I use thin picks with acoustic guitars and medium picks with electric guitars, but you need to make that decision for yourself.

The following instructions explains how to hold, and use a pick. Keep in mind that your "picking hand" is the hand which is nearest to the bridge of the guitar.

1. Open your picking hand, and turn the palm to face you.

2. Close your hand to make a very loose fist. Your thumb should remain beside your index finger.

3. Rotate your hand until you are looking at it's profile, with your thumb's knuckle facing you.

4. With your other hand, slide your guitar pick between your thumb and index finger. The pick should be located approximately behind the knuckle of the thumb.

5. Be sure the pointed end of the pick is pointing directly away from your fist, and is protruding by about a half an inch. Hold the pick firmly.

6. Position your picking hand over the sound hole of your acoustic guitar, or over the body of your electric guitar. Your picking hand, with thumb knuckle still facing you, should hover over the strings.

7. Do not rest your picking hand on the strings or body of the guitar.

8. Using your wrist for motion (rather than your entire arm), strike the sixth (lowest) string of your guitar in a downward motion. If the string rattles excessively, try striking the string a bit softer, or with less of the pick surface.  

9. Now, pick the sixth string in an upwards motion.

10. Repeat the process several times. Try and minimize motion in your picking hand: one short picking stroke downwards, then one short picking stroke upwards. This process is referred to as "alternate picking"

11. Try the same exercise on the fifth, fourth, third, second, and first strings.

Some Pick Tips:

1. Holding a pick will invariably feel awkward at first. I suggest keeping a few in your pocket all times. Take one out and practice holding it when you have the time. Pay special attention to your picking hand whenever you are playing your guitar.

2. Practice this until you get a "feel" for how tightly you should grip the pick. Believe me this can really affect the sound/tone of your guitar. As you develop you will begin to "know" how to change how you hold the pick to get different sounds but for now just hold it "comfortably firm".

3. Try and create fluidity in your alternate picking. Your downstrokes should sound virtually identical to your upstrokes.

One last thing I want to say before I send you off to the second lesson. Learning how to play the guitar can be a very rewarding experience. Do yourself a favor and get yourself organized. Decide on a day of the week that you will do your lessons and a time to practice and then stick to it. Get in a routine. Your progress will happen a lot sooner and easier that way.

It's really not all that hard to learn some chords and use them to play a few songs so you can jam around with your friends. But if you are serious about the instrument and want to make a career out of it, then you have your work cut out for you. There is so much to learn and you really need to apply yourself. To be able to play on a professional level you must know your instrument and be able to play any style asked of you. If you can't, you won't make it. It's as simple as that.

If you are taking my course I am glad that you are here. But I am not your Mama or your Daddy and I am not going to be looking over your shoulder to see if you are practicing. It's all up to you. If you don't have the fire in your soul, the motivation to do this, then don't bother. But if you do, being a guitar player is way more than cool. It is it's own reward. And don't forget, if you have any questions, I'm just an email away. Good luck.

Joe 

Since most modern musicians don't read traditional music, they still need a way to communicate. In lesson 2 you will learn all about Tablature called TAB for short, and how to read it.TAB is the language of guitarists everywhere. It will greatly speed up the learning process.

You'll love the online guitar tuner I found for you.

My aim with these lessons is to give you information about the guitar that is easy to understand, interesting and challenging. Learning to play the guitar is hard enough when everything makes sense. I want you to keep coming back and keep finding everything you need to become the guitar player you want to be. I will keep adding lessons, articles, videos, audio files and software day by day. Please help me and leave a comment and let me know what worked and what didn't work for you while you were here. Best of luck to you and please come back again.

Thanks, Joe

Guitar Tuner