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Playing guitar after heavy rains
I feel bored. I pick up my guitar and practice songs that easy and very interesting.
Effective exercise in playing barre chords
Position your index finger along a fret.
You don’t want to use the squishiest part of your finger, but rather use the harder portion close to your thumb.[1] As you begin practicing barre chords, place your middle finger on top of your index finger, but only to familiarize yourself with the required pressure needed against the strings.[2]
The eighth fret is lower in string tension. This will make an easier starting point for your fingers.
Press your thumb against the back of the neck.
Imagine holding your fingers on the neck of a guitar like you’re squishing a bug. Apply pressure from both sides to get the cleanest sound. It will feel awkward at first.
Image titled Play Barre Chords on a Guitar Step 3
Practice the major chord.
This chord is played in standard tuning, as in EADGBE (the rest of the explanations for this article are also in this tuning). If you already know how to play an E major, then apply this position underneath your index finger. The position on the eighth fret is:
Barre the eight fret with your index finger.
Place your ring finger on the fifth string (A) on the tenth fret.
Place your pinky-finger on the fourth string (D) on the tenth fret as well.
Then place your middle finger on the third string (G) on the ninth fret.
This will be hard at first, but know that everyone has struggled just like you are.
Image titled Play Barre Chords on a Guitar Step 4
Begin a practice routine.
Before perfecting your barre chord, practice each component. Spend 10-15 minutes a day only practicing your index finger along the eighth fret.[4] Pluck each string and listen for a clear sound from each string.
Move down to the fifth fret
You are using the same practice of only barring your index finger, but now you’re using more pressure from your finger. The fifth fret has more tension from the strings then the sixth fret. Try going for complete clarity from all strings at least 90% of the time.[6]
Image titled Play Barre Chords on a Guitar Step 7
Practice holding this position while moving between frets.
Remember that, as you move away from the neck, the tension of the strings will be less, so it should be slightly easier to hold.
Practice for two weeks.
If you practice these steps everyday for 15-20 minutes, you’ll notice a difference within two weeks. If you’re not improving, extend the duration of your practice and check on your progress after a week.
Apply chord shapes.
Only after strengthening your index finger into a comfortable barred form can you add other fingers to create real chords (although barring the eighth fret only is a Cm7add11).
5 Essential Strumming Patterns
Strumming Pattern #1: The first strumming pattern we’ll look at is an all downstroke pattern, which may seem simple but it’s very important. You can tell that it is all downstrokes by the upside down ‘u’ looking symbol you see on-screen above each beat. While this pattern may seem easy, don’t discount it, because it’s important as a guitar player to do simple things really well.
It may seem easy, but it’s an essential strumming pattern that will help you develop your timing. Grab a metronome or pull up a jam track and work on the all downstroke strumming pattern using eighth notes. Be sure to watch your timing and keep all the eighth notes evenly spaced.
Another thing to work on with your strumming is dynamic control. With this simple strumming pattern, it’s easy to try getting really soft, getting a bit louder, and getting really loud with your strumming. As guitar players, when we play quietly, we tend to drag a bit, and then we start to rush when we get louder. This will be a good time to start working on your dynamic control.
Strumming Tip: Remember not to lock your wrist and strum just from just your elbow. You need to relax, use some wrist motion, and even pretend that you have something stuck on your finger that you need to shake off.
Strumming Pattern #2: The second strumming pattern we’ll look at is the same rhythm as the first pattern, but instead of using all downstrokes, you’re going to use alternating downstrokes and upstrokes. You can see that we are using upstrokes on every other strum because of the arrows above the ‘and’. As you strum, the numbers are downstrokes and the ‘and’s will be upstrokes. This is an incredibly useful strumming pattern, plus it is the foundation for all the other patterns we’re going over in this lesson.
Strumming Tip: A lot of newer guitar players feel like they need to hit all the strings when they do an upstroke strum, but that’s not the case. When I strum a downstroke, I’ll usually hit all six strings if it’s a six-string chord, but with my upstroke, I tend to only hit the top three or four strings. This makes it easier to play through the upstrokes when you’re doing a lot of strumming.
Try this pattern, relax, don’t lock your wrist, and concentrate on keeping your strumming as even as you can. You can work on this pattern while using a metronome or a jam track if you like.
Strumming Pattern #3: The third strumming pattern is similar to the second pattern, but we’re going to learn a new technique called a muted strum. A muted strum gives you a more percussive sound, almost like a drummer is playing with you. When you hear a drummer play a similar pattern, they’re hitting the snare on beats two and four. That’s the sound of the snare we are emulating.
Before we check out the strumming pattern, let’s learn the muted strum. When you do a downstroke for the muted strum, you’re going to let off the pressure with your fretting hand a little. Right before you strum through the strings, you’re going to mute the strings with the fleshy palm part of your strumming hand.
The strumming pattern we’ll play using the muted strum is a classic alternating eighth note pattern, you’ll use a muted downstroke on beat two. You can repeat this strumming pattern for beats three and four. This is really like a two beat strumming pattern that keeps repeating over again. Looking at the graphic for the strumming pattern, you can see that you’re supposed to use a muted strum by the ‘X’ over the two and four.
If you need to, you can slow this pattern down to practice it, and don’t be afraid to dig into the guitar with the muted strum. Once you have this technique down, you can add in muted strums anywhere.
Strumming Pattern #4: In the fourth strumming pattern, we’re going to start adding in some rests. Until now, we’ve been digging into the strings on every eighth note, but now we’re going to start leaving some of them out.
You may not realize it yet, but up until this point in the lesson, but we’ve been making use of an important skill called the Constant Strumming Technique. Looking back at strumming pattern two, you had a strict alternating pattern so you were constantly strumming. We’re going to continue the constant strumming pattern, but just leave some of the notes out.
Looking at the first ‘&’ on the graphic, you’ll notice there is no symbol above it. This would be played as an upstroke if you were playing with a regular alternating pattern, but this time there’s no strum there. Come back up on the ‘and’, but don’t dig into the strings at all. Keep the upward motion going even though you’re not digging into the strings.
When you’re first learning strumming patterns like this, it’s important to count out loud as you play so you can keep track of where you are. Sometimes it can help to exaggerate the motions to help keep track as well.
Work on this pattern, and stay relaxed. Remember to stay loose and work on keeping a constant motion with your strumming hand as you play. Remember that your upstrokes don’t have to go through all six strings either.
Strumming Pattern #5: The last strumming pattern is a bit more complex than the other patterns, and it uses the Constant Strumming Technique as well. In this pattern, you can see that the rest is on the third beat, and it’s a downstroke this time. As you play this pattern, leave out the downstroke on beat three, but continue to make the downward motion. The rest of your strumming is regular alternating downstrokes and upstrokes using eighth notes.
As you work on this pattern, remember to keep your strumming arm going and leave out the downstroke on beat three.
As a newer guitar player, you’ll probably want to find a good balance between holding on to the pick tightly enough so it doesn’t fly out of your hands and holding on to it loosely enough that you don’t tense up.
Applying The Strumming Patterns: You’ve now got five basic strumming patterns to use. It may take you a while to get them down perfectly, but once you can play these patterns and understand the Constant Strumming Technique, you’ll be closer to being able to pick out the strumming patterns in your favorite songs. You’ll also be able to start making up your own strumming patterns.
If you want to dress these strumming patterns up, you can put in accents, muted strums, or even take out notes using the Constant Strumming Technique. When you practice, make sure you play along with a metronome, or better yet, a jam track. It is always helpful to apply what you’re working on to real music.
http://www.guitarlessons.com/blog/lessons/5-essential-strumming-patterns/
How to Clean Your Guitar
A soft cloth is the best thing to use to polish and clean guitars. Many manufacturers of musical instrument accessories offer special polishing cloths made specifically for use on guitars. But an old 100 percent cotton T-shirt makes a great guitar wiping tool too, and the more it has been laundered the freer it will be from lint. Beware of paper towels, which can actually scratch a fine guitar’s finish, especially if it’s lacquer or shellac French polish.
As you wipe down your guitar, particularly the top and back, you may notice some spots that don’t come perfectly clean. Fingerprints, smudges, and other dirt may respond well to a trace of moisture. “Huff” some warm breath on the surface the way you would if you were about to wipe the inside of your car’s windshield. Just that little bit of condensation may be enough moisture to allow you to wipe the offending area clean. If you need a bit more cleaning power, try moistening the wiping cloth with a little mild detergent in water. Wet the cloth, not the guitar. That way you’ll be able to control how much water actually gets on the surface. The idea is to use as little moisture as possible, to avoid getting it into any tiny voids in the finish. Follow the damp wiping by buffing with a dry cloth to remove any streaks.
You’ll also find many commercial guitar polishes and cleaners on the market, which are basically three different types: water-based cleaners; creamy, water-based cleaners with very fine abrasives; and oils. Water-based cleaners (which look semitransparent in the bottle) should be sprayed on the cloth rather than the instrument and will clean up water-soluble dirt best. The creamy polishes may have a slight abrasive and are best avoided if you have a matte-finished guitar (too much polishing can cause a semigloss finish to become shiny in patches). Oils will remove oily smudges but may not have any effect on water-soluble dirt.
5 Tips for Learning Guitar Chords
1. Start by Learning Guitar Chords Slowly (and Correctly)
Some of these guys you see playing on stage and in videos are playing fast — really fast. Let’s not even mention shredding (damn, I mentioned it). So you feel compelled to practice your own playing fast, because that’s what everyone else seems to be doing. Nope, don’t walk until you can run. The best way to learn guitar chords is slowly — very slowly at first. You have to teach your fingers exactly what to do and where to go, before even thinking about speeding things up and guess what? Faster playing will come naturally. Speed and dexterity are much easier after your brain and fingers know what they’re doing.
2. Close Your Eyes or Look Away Sometimes
If you witness a band of novice musicians playing its opening gig with everyone on stage for the first time, apart from the buckets of nervous sweat you’ll see pouring out their socks, something else will be unmistakeable. With a furious concentration everybody will be watching their own hands playing the fret board. Their eyes stay locked on the guitar neck with a kind of desperation. It’s a bad look.
Experienced players only need a glance now and then at the fret board to make sure they’re in the right place. It’s a skill you’ll develop on your own, but a smart move is to work on it early. As you practice get into the habit of closing your eyes or looking away, then feel how to find and play the chord properly. An added bonus, you’ll learn to hear that you’ve got it right without having to check your fingers. And you’ll really cool on stage.
3. Don’t Neglect the Difficult Chords
Playing some chords is harder than others. An F Major done properly, for example, requires a barre chord on the first fret and it’s a real challenge for new players. Trouble is, an F Major is a seriously important chord for many simple songs and unless you want to use a capo to avoid it (not a good idea, you can’t dodge it forever), you’re going to have to grit your teeth and learn it. The same applies for a B Minor, another barre chord (see below). Some seventh and ninth chords will tangle your fingers big-time and seem impossible.
Don’t shun the hard chords, just because they’re a pain to learn. Even though it can be really frustrating spend more time on them, practice these constantly and the musical doors will open to a lot more songs and some impressive playing. Trust me, you won’t regret it doing the “hard” yards.
4. Learn Barre Chords and How They work
Barre chords are the heart and soul of rock music and electric guitar playing. They have a place in acoustic playing too, but chunky, driving rock comes from barre chords. To be fair, barre chords are kind of hard work on acoustic guitars unless they have a slim neck and are well set up. The good news is that learning barre chords on an acoustic means that playing these on an electric axe will be a piece of cake.
Learning the basic barre chord shapes and how they easily translate up and down the fret board is also a great get-out-of-jail trick for playing what might otherwise be a nightmare fingering. Like, you need a C Sharp Minor? Damn! Well, starting with your basic C Major shape you’ll need to… but wait. Instead, just play a B Minor two frets (a whol
e tone) up the neck. Job done! Barre chords… awesome.
5. Make sure you know which chords you’re playing
This may sound odd, but it’s easy to slightly change the chord you’re playing for a nice effect and inadvertently stray away from the original tone. It’s the standard tuning of a guitar that can do this, because unlike with a piano you’re sometimes still playing an open string that contributes to the overall chord structure. Now, by all means experiment with chords, add or drop a finger or two… listen to the neat sounds.
How to Tune a Guitar
Standard Guitar Tuning: EADgbe
When looking straight down at your guitar the open strings from the thickest to the thinnest are as follows:
Tune the bottom E String, as accurately as you can. If you don’t have a tuner you can use our handy guitar tuning app.You can also use other reference tones such as a Piano or any other musical instrument that is handy. What’s important is that you have a reference tone.Step 1: The 6th String – E (thickest)
Tip: Fake It Till You Make It
Did you get lost alone in the forest with just your guitar and can’t find a reference tone anywhere? Assuming you don’t have any other musicians playing with you, you can always just tune that Fat E String as best you can and tune the rest of your guitar to it. As long as the guitar is in tune with itself you can still play.
Step 2: The 5th String – A
Place your index finger on the fifth fret of the bottom E string. That’s an A note. Keep your finger on that fret. Now pick the open fifth string and fretted six string in turn, gently adjusting the fifth string tuning peg until the two notes are in harmony. Tightening the peg will make the pitch higher, loosening the peg will make the pitch lower.
Step 3: The 4th String – D
Place your index finger on the the fifth fret of the A string. That’s a D note. Pluck the fretted 5th string and the open 4th string together or alternating between them and adjust the 4th string tuning peg until the pitch of the 4th string matches the pitch of the 5th fret of the 5th string.
Step 4: The 3rd String – G
Place your index finger on the fifth fret of the D string. That’s a G note. Pluck or alternate pick the fretted 4th and open 3rd strings, adjusting the 3rd string tuning peg until the 3rd string is in harmony with the 5th fret of the 4th string.
Step 5: The 2nd String – B
Place your index finger on the fourth fret of the G string. That’s a B. Tune your 2nd string to that note.
Tip: How to Remember Standard Tuning Pattern
The B string is the only string that gets its reference tone from the 4th fret of the string above it. All the rest of the open strings utilize the 5th fret of the string above as a reference tone. If you can remember this tuning pattern you will always be able to tune your guitar.
Step 6: Tuning the E String
Place your index finger just behind the fifth fret on the B string. That’s a E note. Tune the thinnest and last string to that, again by adjusting the 1st string tuning peg until the pitch of the E string matches the 5th fret of the 2nd String.
What you have just learned is called Standard Tuning Pattern. Like I previously stated you can use this anytime, anywhere to get your guitar tuned up.
10 Tips To Learn How to Play the Guitar with Good Technique
1. Avoid The Left-Hand Death Grip
When you first start playing, straight away you’ll discover that pressing the strings against the fret board
is hard work, hurts your fingers and makes your wrist ache. The natural way to combat this is by hooking your thumb over the top of the fret board to get leverage, which inadvertently causes you to press the strings more with the flat pad of your finger (where your fingerprint is) rather than the actual fingertip.
This is sometimes called the “death grip”, because you do end up with a fairly fierce grip on your neck and it restricts the reach of your fingers. The proper technique is to have your thumb on the back of the guitar’s neck. This forces your hand to use the fingertips, which is far better and more accurate when it comes to playing just the notes you want without accidentally muting adjacent strings. The trouble is — it feels kind of weird and difficult at first, and your wrist will lack strength. Stick with it and you’ll appreciate the benefits further down the track. Remember, thumb on the back of the neck.
2. Rehearse Standing Up And Sitting Down
Okay, things are hard enough as it is without expecting you to waltz around the room while you’re playing. The important thing is, if you’re going to take this dream all the way, one day you’ll be standing up in front of crowd. Playing with your guitar slung across your shoulder is a very different posture to sitting down.
On a chair, you tend to hunch over and try to see what your hands are doing (another bad habit you want to avoid). Then, when you’re standing up, everything changes. Try it and you’ll see what I mean. You’ll find it much harder to see your left hand, for a start. Make sure you have a good guitar strap, adjust it to a comfortable length (forget slinging it down around your knees — looks cool, but it’s a crap playing position) and regularly practice playing while you’re standing up.
3. No Need For Speed
Don’t ever bother trying to learn how to play fast. Really, don’t do it. Good technique is about accurate fingering and hitting the right notes every time, especially when it comes to scales and playing tricky bar chords. Concentrate on precise fingering. The truth is, learn to play properly and speed will happen all by itself. The biggest obstacle to fast playing is poor technique. Learn good technique and fast fingering will be a chucked-in-for-free bonus. Always take your time and play slowly.
4. Always Use Correct Fingering
Over the centuries of guitar playing the experts have long figured out the best way to play certain chords and scales, meaning which fingers should be playing certain notes on the fret board.
Occasionally, you might discover an easier way of playing these — you’re a musical genius and never knew it. Don’t be tempted. Correct fingering isn’t just about playing that chord or scale properly. Adding variations is considered too, such as sevenths and ninths, and your custom style of fingering a chord might prove that those variations can’t be played (yep, this is one of the things I learned the hard way). Pay careful attention to the correct fingering of a chord and your hand’s position on the fret board for scales. will show you exactly how to do it.
5. Silent Rehearsing
You want to watch your favourite TV show when you’re supposed to be rehearsing? Don’t panic, a lot can be achieved by holding your guitar and constantly swapping from one chord to another or playing scales without plucking the strings with your right hand. What you’re doing is still training your left hand to play — it’s all solid practice. Good technique is locked-in habits when you’re playing. With your thumb on the back of the neck, remember?
6. Use A Metronome!
Playing to a click track is really hard at first, but the advantages later on are immeasurable. Your sense of rhythm and timing will get an early boost, if you try using a metronome soon in your career. However, don’t stress about it too much and make sure you set the beats-per-minute (BPM) to something very slow. The idea is to get used to playing in time and at a steady tempo, but don’t rush this at the expense of learning technique. By the way, you’ll find heaps of metronome apps on the internet.
7. Don’t Shy Away From Difficult Chords
A few weeks ago in my studio I was recording a friend called Mary, a singer-guitarist, who would move heaven and earth to avoid playing a B minor chord. She found the fingering too difficult and used capos and all manner of transpositions to dodge the dreaded bar chord. If anything, you should seek out these difficult bits and spend more time and energy on perfecting tricky chords, otherwise you’ll find them a mental barrier to your playing for the rest of your days.
8. Be Disciplined With Your Practice
Nothing beats regularly putting your hands on the guitar and practicing the latest lessons. Even if it’s just for ten minutes on a day when you’re otherwise too busy. Good technique comes from your mind and your fingers remembering how it’s all supposed to work, particularly when it comes to those tricky fingerings. Try to set aside some time every day and develop good playing habits. It’ll also help to build up those calluses on your fingertips.
9. Give Yourself A Break
The other side of the equation is not to push yourself too hard in the beginning. When your muscles start to creak and the fingertips are stinging, take a break and relax for a while. You can easily strain something and do damage to tendons and ligaments, if you ignore the danger signs that you need a rest.
10. Don’t Forget Your Right Hand
Sometimes it’s good to simply mute the strings with your left hand and practise creating a percussive rhythm with your right-hand strumming.
Alternatively, choose an easy chord (or no chord at all) and focus for a while on any finger-picking and plectrum style that you’re learning. The point is that your right hand technique is often ignored in the effort to get those fingers on your left hand doing the correct thing. Don’t forget that learning how to play the guitar is a two-handed deal.
There you have it. Like I said earlier, a lot of these tips are obvious and common sense, but many new players still make simple mistakes in their enthusiasm to begin playing exciting stuff. Get the basics right, the proper technique happening from the very beginning when learning how to play the guitar, and you can be a great player rather than just a good one.
Guitar player 