Tips 2 for Guitar Beginners by Six Strings Music Publishing : Prev

I want to start playing guitar. What kind of guitar should I get? What types of guitars are there? What should I look for in a guitar?

My son is 3 years old and desperately wants a guitar. I have no clue as to what to get or where to go to buy this. Can you help?
How many strings are there on a guitar?
I just began playing. I find just about everything difficult and challenging. Where should I start?
I’ve been playing only by ear. Reading music seems foreign.
I have a hard time tuning my guitar. I can’t tell exactly if it’s in tune or not.
I’ve just started. Finger control is difficult.
What is TAB?
How are guitar TABs different from bass guitar TABs?

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I want to start playing guitar. What kind of guitar should I get? What types of guitars are there? What should I look for in a guitar?

It’s important to get yourself a decent guitar. It doesn’t matter whether it is electric or acoustic, but choose one that sounds good to your ears and is commonly used for the type of music you plan to play. You don’t need to spend a fortune, but keep in mind that many inexpensive guitars can be problematic (bad setup, inappropriate neck action, inaccurate intonation, etc.). So, try to buy the best guitar you can afford and make sure it has been properly set up.

Even an experienced player wouldn’t be able to make good sounds on a badly made guitar. So, do a little bit of research if you can. Talk to your friends or teachers, search the Internet, browse some guitar magazines and call several guitar companies and ask for their catalogs. If your local store happens to have a knowledgeable and helpful sales person, get his or her advice. But it always helps if you have some idea of what to get before actually buying it.

As for types of guitars, there are electric, acoustic (steel-stringed), classical (nylon-stringed), and Dobro guitars. They produce different sounds and their use depends on various music styles and settings. What you want to look for in a guitar depends on what kind of music you would like to play and what type of sounds you intend to produce with it. For example, if you love hard-rock sounds, an electric guitar would be an ideal instrument. On the other hand, if you like quiet and romantic sounds, a classical guitar is a good one to start with.

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My son is 3 years old and desperately wants a guitar. I have no clue as to what to get or where to go to buy this. Can you help?

A regular-size guitar will probably be too large for your 3-year-old son. You may want to search for a small-size guitar such as 1/2 or 3/4 of a regular-size guitar, which would be more suitable for your son. One company we know of that manufactures small guitars is Santa Rosa (9031 Technology Drive, Suite 201, Fishers, IN 46038/ Fax 317-913-6440). (Usual disclaimer: We have no affiliation with or exact knowledge of their products.) Their guitars are mostly acoustic and made for first-time players. Prices range from $50 to $70.

Also, call or visit your local music store and ask if they can special-order a small-size guitar for your son. Large chain retail stores such as Guitar Center, Sam Ash, etc. may carry this type of guitar. You can also look for used or secondhand guitars in the classified section of your local newspaper or in the Recycler. Don't forget to check out some of the URLs at: http://www.sixstringsmusicpub.com/other.htm

Considering the possibility that his interest may shift to something else quickly, we suggest you do not spend too much money on his first guitar. You can upgrade it at any time after you are certain that he is serious about learning guitar. Good luck!

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How many strings are there on a guitar?

The most popular type of guitar has 6 strings. There are also 8-string and 12-string guitars. The bass guitar has 4 (most common), 5, or 6 strings.

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I just began playing. I find just about everything difficult and challenging. Where should I start?

Beginning is always extra hard and maybe a little frustrating. This is quite a common experience among beginners, as your fingers, hands and mind are all trying to do something they have never done before. If your budget allows, private lessons are an excellent start (see Playing Tips on Guitar Lessons for details). Or you can take guitar classes at an adult school or group lessons or seminars sometimes offered at your local music store.

Another alternative would be to buy and practice with a method book or video on your own. Many guitar method books exist, but carefully choose a well-structured and well-written book, which will make learning easier. Many self-taught players also pick up a lot of things from listening to and diligently imitating records, CDs, the radio, or friends. Combining several methods mentioned here is often more effective than just sticking to one way. Whatever you choose to do, remember to:

Always play very slowly whenever you have new material to learn, in order to correctly program your hands and brain; otherwise, you’ll acquire bad habits that are difficult to break later on.

Practice every day, even for you can only 10-15 minutes, to facilitate your learning. Learning new materials may take extra time and effort at first, but you’ll find that the more you learn and play, the easier and faster you’ll be able to absorb.

Set a goal and visualize how you want to be playing a week, a month or a year from today. Put a picture or poster of your favorite guitarist in your room; learn what took him or her to where he or she is now and apply it to yourself.

Listen every day to your favorite music, songs and guitar parts that excite you.

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I’ve been playing only by ear. Reading music seems foreign.

There's really nothing wrong with playing by ear. Many great musicians such as Keith Richards, Wes Montgomery, Eddie Van Halen and Jimmy Hendrix all played by ear all their life and never learned how to read music. Even so-called academically trained guitarists primarily rely on their ears when it comes to playing. However, the inability to read sometimes becomes a problem when you are presented a sheet of music in a session or when you need to learn something quickly. Also, it’s easier to communicate with other musicians if you can read music. Contrary to the common misconception, reading music is actually a lot of fun and not difficult at all if you approach it appropriately.

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I have a hard time tuning my guitar. I can’t tell exactly if it’s in tune or not.

Tuning is one of the first hurdles a beginner encounters. Unfortunately, it takes some time and agony for some until they are 100% comfortable doing it right. As shown in the excerpt, tuning a guitar is not a tremendously difficult process, but you need some patience until you can hear the subtle difference in pitches between strings. Here are a few suggestions:

If you are not certain whether a string you are tuning is in tune or not, tune it down and bring it up slowly and gradually.

Don’t spend 10-20 minutes trying to tune your guitar. There’s a time when you just can’t seem to do it no matter how hard you try. Before you lose all interest, take a long break, come back fresh, tune all the strings down and start over.

Use a tuner to test if your tuning was done right.

Tuning may take time until you can do it comfortably. But, it’s a very important process. There’s nothing worse than listening to an out-of-tune guitar even if you are playing a hot, sizzling lick or solo.

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I’ve just started. Finger control is difficult.

The guitar is a relatively physically-demanding instrument, and a certain degree of finger strength and control is necessary to play it. Many people get frustrated as their fingers hurt constantly, and they feel clumsy until they get used to playing. Here are a few suggestions:

Start with a very simple and easy movement at first.

Whatever you do, do it very SLOWLY until your fingers and hands can play it correctly.

Whenever you play, strive to play as clearly and cleanly as possible with a good, strong execution. That’s much more important than speed.

Find your weak areas and make up a simple exercise to overcome them. For example, if moving between the 1st fret and the 3rd fret on the 1st string gives you a headache, isolate the movement and repeat it, switching back and forth VERY SLOWLY over and over.

There is no better way to improve your dexterity than by playing guitar every day. If possible, practice in several short sessions a day rather than one long session. You may find it works better.

Don’t get frustrated. Be patient. If you can’t seem to master a certain thing today, set it aside for now, do something else that you can do and come back to it later on.

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What is TAB?

TAB (short for "tablature") is a six-line staff that graphically shows the fingerboard. Each line represents one of the guitar strings. The numbers that appear on the lines are fret numbers that indicate which fret to press. TAB has been used for 100-200 years, but it still remains secondary to the standard notation. Some TAB contains other technical information, such as bending, hammering, pulling, and slides, which makes it a little hard to read for some people. If you have trouble reading TAB, don’t worry. Being able to read standard notation is much more important and useful to you in the long run. Remember that TAB is added only as a supplement to normal music notation, not as a substitute for it.

Example:

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How are guitar TABs different from bass guitar TABs?

A guitar TAB has 6 lines whereas a bass guitar TAB has only 4 lines. The number of lines coincides with the number of strings each guitar has. Everything else--how to read it, what it notates, what each number on a line indicates, etc.--is exactly the same.

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