hi all, i need your suggestion. At last i have bought a guitar (electric). Now i want to learn how to play guitar . Now you people give me some real life experience or tips about electric guitar . I am watching guitar playing program in my Dish TV .

This post has been edited by jenifer1986: Sat 2 Jan 2010, 14:01

There are many, many teaching media now - DVD, books, GarageBand tutorials, etc., etc., plus some really excellent magazines out there. The choice is endless - BUT...

The most important thing is to coordinate your 'ear' and your left and right hands (I'm going to assume that you play right-handed, and apologize if that is a false assumption, for this email) to function as one unit.

Even if you read music already, or learn to read 'tab' for guitar, always try to pick up a tune or a phrase by ear. Sing the notes that you want to play (you do not have to be a good singer), and if you find that you can't capture the notes by singing them first, you will probably not be able to find them on the guitar. Do this exercise as much as possible (i.e. every time you are learning or copying a piece of music). Obviously, for learning chord progressions has its limits, but you should still try to pick out the root of each chord by ear. If you don't want to sing out loud, then hum the tune instead.

Relax at all times, and never, ever strain your fingers or wrists. Warm up before you play, and if it starts to hurt - stop playing. Keep your finger movements as small as possible. On your left (fretting) hand, press the strings enough to get a clear note with no buzzing or choking, and use your thumb to help - but do not grip to tightly. This will only slow you down, and may lead to a strain injury (see above). Similarly, release your fingers just enough to clear the strings as you move to a new note position or chord change, and nothing more. Minimal is best.

That said: Start by focusing on right-hand (picking hand) technique - playing in time is actually more important than playing in tune, and building good phrasing and 'groove' is what will make you an electric guitarist people want to listen to. You may even want to 'cheat' by starting with an open-tuned guitar, and focus purely on building good rhythm technique. As a rule, always spend more time practicing rhythm throughout your playing career. And learn to build a feel for song structure from Day One (verse, chorus, bridge, etc., etc. intros and outros). Learn to hold the pick properly (assuming you will be using one), and keep a light grip on it - just enough not to drop it, but loose enough that you can let your fingers do most of the work, your wrist a little of the work, and any residual movement should be at your elbow joint - forget any 'windmilling' or other stage dramatics for now.

Learn a technique or a new musical element thoroughly (ears, left-hand, right-hand are all up to speed) before moving on . Build new skills on top of current ones, rather than learning two or three 'party pieces', and don't be upset if some days you seem to be going backwards rather than forwards. It happens.

Lastly, take your time. Build technique slowly, and only play at a speed you are comfortable with for an entire song or arrangement: the 'difficult bit' should set the tempo for the whole performance.

All of the above are things I wish I had been told when I was first trying to pickup electric guitar: 'build your ear', relax and save your energy, rhythm is king, build on a solid foundation, don't be worried if you are having a 'bad guitar' day, playing in time, all the time, is better than playing fast.

PS: Effects (distortion. delay, reverb, etc.) are fun, and can be an essential part of your technique later on - but they can also hide a lot of poor playing. The real tone is right there in your fingers, and it is your task to unlock it.

PPS: Playing with other people is also a lot more fun than playing alone - plus you get to pick up a lot of 'cool' stuff from your fellow musicians, if they are willing to share their 'secrets'.

Hope that helps?

Hi everyone!!!!
I too a great fan of playing guitar. Initially i too don't know to play guitar. But like take help from various sites,Which help me a lot .

Thanks!!

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