How to Play a Guitar – Chip Your Nails, Hunch Your Back, it is a Rough Journey But You Can Survive!
Looking for a new challenge?
Well, why don't you learn how to play a guitar?
People think that just because it is so easy to make sounds with a guitar that there is no need to actually study it. Yes, rock stars make guitar-playing look so effortless. After all, they can do all that "head banging," singing and dancing onstage while they play their guitars. But learning how to play a guitar is not as easy as it seems. It's not all random strumming and wood clutching. There is an art to it - an art that requires a huge amount of patience and regular nail trimming on your part.
If you want to learn how to play a guitar, you first have to be introduced to the basics of guitar playing. No, there is no head banging involved yet. You can save your head banging energy for later - a later that may or may not come, depending on your natural ability and perseverance.
The most important parts of the guitar are the strings and frets. In a crash "how to play a guitar" course, these two are the things that you have to focus on first. The general anatomy of the guitar, you can learn later. But for now, you have to study how to make the strings and frets make sounds that do not seem like vibrations from a landing alien ship.
The thickest string is the 6th sting. It is an E note and it makes the lowest sound. The one next to it is obviously the 5th and it is an A note. The 4th is a D note, the 3rd is a G, the 2nd is a B and the thinnest string in the bunch, the 1st string, is also an E note, but makes the sound with the highest pitch.
To actually make individual note sounds, you have to learn how to use the frets. Technically, the frets are the metal lines on the guitar's neck, the long band of wood that is attached to the guitar's large and curvy body. But practically, the term "fret" is used to describe the space between the metal strips.
Now, fix a string onto a fret with your fingertip then pluck the extension of the same string. Congratulations, you just played your first note. Go on holding down that string but try moving on to the other frets. Listen and remember the sounds. But if a note does not "sound right," adjust the positioning of your finger on the fret. Position your finger right in the middle of the metal strips. Also, check your plucking. Do not pluck too hard. Try smooth plucking.
But do not get all excited with the "music" just yet. You can't possibly record a platinum album with your monotone masterpiece. You have to learn about chords, which are two or more notes combined to make sweet sounds.
Now, it is possible to become a guitar-playing rock icon. After all, Jimi Hendrix was human too, but he still became the legend that he is. All you need to do is focus and practice a lot. Also, patience, in your guitar-playing quest, is definitely a virtue. Do not give up. What's a couple of swollen fingers to the promise of musical bliss?
So go on, chip your nails and hunch your back.
This is one rough journey.
Survive it.
