Guitar Lesson - Getting Started

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Le a r n To Pla y Th e Gu it a r Lik e A Pr o And Am a ze All Of You r Fr ie n ds – Click h e r e for de t a ils

Guitar Lesson - Getting Started Sit t in g Posit ion s There are t w o sit t ing posit ions for holding t he guit ar; classical and casual. 1. Pick up t he guit ar and m ake sure t hat t he guit ar body is support ed by your leg. 2. Posit ion yourself at t he edge of your chair. 3. Ensure t hat your back is relaxed but st raight . 4. Lean t he guit ar back t owards you slight ly.

St a n din g Posit ion 1. Pick up t he guit ar and place t he st rap over your shoulder. Adj ust t he st rap so t hat t he guit ar is posit ioned m id- body. 2. Use your left hand t o support t he neck of t he guit ar. 3. Rest your right hand over t he bridge of t he guit ar.

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Hand Posit ions I t is im port ant t hat you relax your wrist s and hands. St raining t hem can cause inj ury.

Front View

Rear View

W a r n in g! Make sure t hat you never posit ion your hand like t his:

Your t hum b should never be placed t his low on t he neck of t he guit ar as it put s unneccessary st rain on your wrist and t hum b. Fr e t t in g When you play t he guit ar, you use your left hand fingers t o press down t he st rings on t he fret board

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of t he guit ar and use your right hand t o pluck or st rum t he st ings at t he bridge end of t he guit ar. Using your left hand t o press t he st rings on t he fret board is called fret t ing. Here are som e t ips you will need t o know: 1. Short fingernails are essent ial. 2. Use only t he t ips of your fingers t o press t he st rings. 3. When m aking a chord, be sure t hat each fingert ip is placed direct ly behind t he fret . We will cover chords in lesson one. 4. Check each st ring t hat it rings clearly and is not m ut ed or buzzing. As a beginner guit arist , it m ay hurt your fingers t o play. This is norm al. Every guit arist st art s t his way for t he first couple of weeks. Wit h pract ice, you will develop guit ar fingers ( hard skin on your fingert ips) . H oldin g t h e Pick Posit ion t he pick bet ween t hum b and index fingers like in t he diagram below:

Tim e t o t ake a break. Well done, you've j ust com plet ed t he first part of t his newslet t er. Next you are about t o learn about chords and by t he end of t his lesson you'll have learnt t he A Maj or chord. Don't forget , for t he ult im at e guit ar learning kit which includes st ep- by- st ep w rit t en lessons, video lessons, audio lessons and sophist icat ed soft ware gam es, visit Ja m or a m a

Now you are ready t o st ar t your first lesson. Your aim in t his lesson is t o learn t he A and D m aj or chords and t o int roduce yourself t o reading guit ar t ablat ure. This lesson is very im port ant , so I want you t o really focus.

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Re m e m be r ! I t is m ore beneficial for you t o pract ice m ult iple t im es during a week t han t o pract ice for one long session. This is because your brain processes inform at ion in chunks at a t im e and it can only hold a cert ain am ount in short t erm st orage. For exam ple, wit h phone num bers, it is very difficult t o rem em ber any m ore t han 7 digit s at a t im e. Yet if you give yourself t im e bet ween pract icing, even if it is j ust 10 m inut es, you’ll find t hat your brain is m uch m ore efficient at t urning your short t erm pract ice int o long t erm knowledge. More inform at ion on effect ive learning is cont ained in our Jam oram a product at Ja m or a m a – click here t o go t here. Ok. That aside, let ’s get st art ed on t he lesson. To st art wit h, I want you t o have a look at t he guit ar neck diagram below and m ake not e of all t he relevant pieces of inform at ion.

Fr e t s The guit ar neck is divided int o what we call fret s, m aking a fret board. Most guit ars have around 20 fret s. I n t his first book, we will focus on t he first four, also known as t he first posit ion. I n book 2, we will m ove beyond t hat . Not ice t hat we num ber each fret st art ing at 1 at t he head of t he guit ar.

N ot e : Each st ring on t he guit ar is num bered. When you hold your guit ar as you would when using t he casual playing posit ion, t he 1st st ring is at t he bot t om and t he 6t h st ring is at t he t op. Not ice also t he t erm , ‘Tuning’ at t he bot t om of t he above diagram . Tuning refers t o t he not es t hat t he guit ar st rings are t uned t o. I n t he above diagram , I have given a very com m on t uning called st andard E t uning t hat consist s of t he not es E, A, D, G and B. St rings 1 and 6 are bot h t uned t o t he not e E. The open 6t h st ring is called low E. The open 1st st ring is called high E as it is t wo oct aves higher t han t he 6t h st ring open E. I will explain not es and oct aves t o you in a lat er newslet t er, but for now, you only need t o know t he nam es of t he not es in st andard open E t uning.

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Now m ake sure t hat your guit ar is t uned t o ope n E t u n in g ( t he m ost com m on t uning) . I f you don't know how t o t une your guit ar, t hen download m y free guide t o t uning your guit ar from : ht t p: / / www.j am oram a.com / t uning/ howt ot une.pdf . Or if you are already a m em ber of Jam oram a, you can use our guit ar t uning soft ware t o help you t une your guit ar. * * N ot e : To open t he above t uning.pdf file you'll need a copy of Adobe Acrobat Reader. You can download a free copy of t his from : ht t p: / / www.adobe.com / product s/ acrobat / readst ep2.ht m l We will st ick t o st andard E t uning t hroughout t his newslet t er, but you can find ot her t unings t o play wit h in our m em ber’s area at Ja m or a m a .

I n t r odu ct ion t o Ch or ds Now we are going t o look at guit ar chords. Guit arist s use m any different chords t o m ake progressions or riffs t hat can t hen be used t o creat e songs. I f you are not fam iliar wit h som e of t hese t erm s, it ’s ok. We will cover everyt hing t hat I am t alking about in good t im e. A chord is defined as a com binat ion of 3 or m ore not es played t oget her. To exam ine t his, I want t o t ake a look at chord diagram s. Chord diagram s are used t o illust rat e how a chord is played. They are very easy t o use because t hey look very m uch like t he neck of t he guit ar, in fact , t he Jam oram a chord diagram is a guit ar neck.

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As st at ed above t he Jam oram a chord diagram s are going t o be pict ures of an ‘act ual’ guit ar neck so it ’s easy t o m ake t he connect ion bet ween st rings and fingering. There is also a pict ure of t he t ype of chord diagram t hat appears in m ost ot her Guit ar learning guides. I want you t o be aware of t hat form of ‘st andard’ chor d diagram because you m ay want t o use it when writ ing up chords on paper at hom e. So, now t hat you know what a chord diagram looks like and how it m at ches wit h t he neck of your guit ar, it ’s t im e t o com e back t o what I said earlier about a chord being a com binat ion of 3 or m ore not es played t oget her. Finger placing sym bols are added t o t he chord diagram so we know which not es t o play. To st art wit h, let ’s look at your fingers.

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We give each playing finger a num ber t hat we can t hen m at ch up on t he chord diagram ( see below) .

And now, let ’s look at a full chord diagram . We will use t he exam ple of t he A m aj or chord: Ch or d D ia gr a m - A M a j or Ch or d I n t he chord diagram below you can see t hat t he A m aj or chord uses fingers 1, 2, and 3. Take not e of how t his chord diagram looks - we will use t his st yle from now on.

The A m aj or chord is const ruct ed of t he not es A, C# and E. We will cover not es a lit t le lat er. For now, we will m ake chords wit hout knowledge of individual not es.

Not e t hat t here is a red dot m arking t he 6t h st ring on t he above chord diagram . The red dot t ells you t hat you are not t o play t hat st ring. The sixt h st ring of t he A m aj or chord is not played, but you play t he rest . Throughout t his newslet t er series, every chord diagram will be accom panied by a pict ure of t he chord being held on t he fret board and video and audio of t he chord being played for you t o check wit h. Pict ured below is t he A m aj or chord being played.

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Ex e r cise : Pla yin g t h e A M a j or Ch or d Posit ion each finger wit h care, according t o t he abov e diagram . Make sure t hat each fingert ip is placed direct ly behind t he fret . First ly, pluck across t he st rings one by one wit h your right hand, checking t hat each st ring rings clearly and is not m ut ed or buzzing. Play t he first Audio or video exam ple t o hear how t he chord should sound. Now t hat we’ve looked at chord diagram s, I want t o m ove on t o st rum m ing. I n t r odu ct ion t o St r u m m in g I n a st rum t here are t wo t ypes of guit ar st roke. They are up st roke and down st roke. Throughout t his book t hese st rokes will be not at ed as follows:

When you play a st roke, you st rum across t he st rings j ust in front of t he bridge of t he guit ar wit h t he pick in your left hand. When st rum m ing a chord, m ake sure t hat you play all of t he necessary st rings in t he chord. The st roke direct ion will depend on which st roke is indicat ed; up or down as shown above. Ex e r cise : St r u m m in g t he A M a j or Ch or d Posit ion each finger wit h care, according t o t he A Maj or chord diagram ( above) . Make sure t hat each fingert ip is placed direct ly behind t he fret . First ly, pluck across t he st rings one by one wit h your right hand, checking t hat each st ring rings clearly and is not m ut ed or buzzing. Once you are

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sure t hat you are holding t he A m aj or chord correct ly, pract ice st rum m ing t he chord in single downward st rokes as indicat ed below:

While you play t his, see if you can say out loud an even 4 count . Anot her opt ion if you are a Jam oram a.com m em ber is t o use t he j am oram a m et ronom e - it will help you t o st ay in t im e. Tip: You can download a video or audio exam ple of t he above exercise t o see and hear it for yourself. The download links are below ( right click on t he link and select " save as" ) :

D ia l Up

Br oa dba n d

QuickTim e - A Maj or ( 1.56MB)

QuickTim e - A Maj or ( 4.00MB)

WindowsMediaPlayer - A Maj or ( 1.76MB)

WindowsMediaPlayer - A Maj or ( 5.87MB)

Au dio A Maj or Mp3 ( 0.75MB)

Try your best t o st art your st rum from t he fift h string each t im e you st rum . A m aj or, doesn’t sound bad if you accident ally hit t he t op st ring, alt hough if you want your m usic t o sound professional, you’ll want t o play t his chord properly. Rem em ber t o st ay relaxed. Your fingers m ay hurt a lit t le but t hey will get st ronger. Now t hat you are playing t he A m aj or chord properly, let ’s t ake a look at st rum m ing anot her chord... Th e D M a j or Ch or d The D Maj or Chord is const ruct ed of t he not es D, F# ( F sharp) and A and is played using fingers 1, 2 and 3:

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As wit h t he A m aj or chord: t ry st rum m ing t he D m aj or chord in downward st rokes wit h your right hand. Tip: You can download a video or audio exam ple of t he above exercise t o see and hear it for yourself. The download links are below ( right click on t he link and select " save as" ) :

D ia l Up

Br oa dba n d

QuickTim e - D Maj or ( 1.51MB)

QuickTim e - D Maj or ( 3.91MB)

WindowsMediaPlayer - D Maj or ( 1.97MB)

WindowsMediaPlayer - D Maj or ( 4.05MB)

Au dio D Maj or Mp3 ( 0.73MB)

N ot e : The t op t wo, or fift h and sixt h, st rings are not played in t he D m aj or chord. Make sure t hat you st art your st roke from t he t hird st ring each t im e you st rum D m aj or, it doesn’t sound bad if you accident ally hit t he fift h st ring, alt hough as wit h A m aj or above, if you want your m usic t o sound professional, you need t o play t his chord properly.

Hints for Buying a New Guitar Whet her you’re buying your first guit ar, upgrading or sim ply adding t o your collect ion, your first priorit y is t o do your hom ework. There are m any different resour ces available and you should endeavor t o use t hem all. Guit ar m agazines are a good place t o find out prices and specificat ions on different m odels of guit ar. You can get sim ilar knowledge from browsing at your local

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inst rum ent shop. Anot her great t ool is t he int ernet – you can check for t he m ost com pet it ive prices, get som e inform at ion on t he m anufact urers and search for ot her guit arist ’s reviews and opinions. You really need t o arm yourself well before you t ry haggling wit h your local guit ar salesm an. Oft en you can find online auct ions where guit ars sell for incredibly low prices; however, I wouldn’t advise you t o t ake t his opt ion. As a rule you should always play before you buy so t hat you get a chance t o gauge perform ance. Once you’ve got t he back ground knowledge t hat you need on t he guit ar of your choice t he next t ask is t o set yourself a budget and st ick t o it . Don’t let salespeople t alk you int o spending m ore m oney t han you ant icipat ed. Test ing out new guit ars in t he shop can be an int im idat ing t ask for beginners. I t is im port ant t o rem em ber t hat you are not t here t o showcase your playing abilit y – you are t here t o discern whet her your proposed buy is a good deal or not . Check t he fret s for buzzing by playing each one. Make sure t hat t he neck is not warped by looking down it as if you were sight ing a gun. Check t hat all of t he volum e and t one swit ches et c. are in good working condit ion. I t is a great idea t o t ake an experienced guit arist along wit h you when you are looking at a possible purchase, so see if you can persuade a t eacher of friend. Not only will t hey be able t o offer helpful advice – t hey will be good m oral support when it ’s t im e t o pick up t he guit ar and t est it out in public.

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