Guitar Beginner: Before You Get Your Strum On. . .

Classical, Blues, Folk, Reggae, Country, Jazz and every genre in between . . . acoustic guitar or electric guitar . . . YOU can learn to play guitar quickly and easily.

For the "guitar beginner" playing simple songs, sounding good and having a great time is only a few lessons away! Let's face it, when you are committed and passionate about learning the guitar, it's a lot easier than you think. But before you can "get your strum on," you need to wise up to some basics . . . That's what you'll find here.

Before you'll be able to follow instruction on how to PLAY the guitar . . . you'll need a basic understanding of the different parts of the guitar and basic guitar terminology.

Want to know what a "Fret" . . . a "Tab" . . . a "Plectrum"is? Good! Because these a just a few of the terms you'll need to understand as a guitar beginner.

A Guitar Beginner Learns the Correct Way to Hold A Guitar

[Note to Lefties: You are not to be "left out" (no pun intended). For the sake of brevity in this article, intructions and tips will be for right-handed play. You will simply take those same instructions and switch to a left-handed frame of reference.]

Playing guitar for long of time can strain your back if you don't maintain an upright posture.

• Sit in a straight-back chair or on a stool, pick up your guitar and place the back of the guitar against your stomach.
• If you're right-handed, the guitar neck should be pointing towards your left. Rest the guitar body on your right upper thigh. (Obviously, if you're left-handed using a left-handed guitar, the guitar neck should be pointing toward your right with the guitar body resting on your left thigh).
• Now place your left hand around the guitar neck and place your right arm around the body so that your hand is lying by the strings. Adjust your body positioning so that you are completely comfortable.