Learn How To Play Guitar – Free Guitar Lessons

(Yahoo News) WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. – Les Paul, the guitarist and inventor who changed the course of music with the electric guitar and multitrack recording and had a string of hits, many with wife Mary Ford, died on Thursday. He was 94.

According to Gibson Guitar, Paul died of complications from pneumonia at White Plains Hospital. His family and friends were by his side.

He had been hospitalized in February 2006 when he learned he won two Grammys for an album he released after his 90th birthday, “Les Paul & Friends: American Made, World Played.”

“I feel like a condemned building with a new flagpole on it,” he joked.

As an inventor, Paul helped bring about the rise of rock ‘n’ roll and multitrack recording, which enables artists to record different instruments at different times, sing harmony with themselves, and then carefully balance the “tracks” in the finished recording.

Read the complete story here…

It seems like it’s always hard to learn how to play guitar when you first start. However, we all started somewhere. Learning how to play guitars, both electric and acoustic must follow certain steps.

These tips can be used for acoustic beginner guitar players working on the acoustic guitar chops.

1. Be sure that you don’t ever let the fingernails of your fretting hand get too long. If your nails do get too long, it will have a negative affect on your playing because you won’t be able to push down on the guitar strings the way that you need to.

2. Guitars are available in different sizes, and it’s important that you get the size that feels comfortable for your body. Don’t get a guitar that is too large or too small for you, just because it was less expensive.

3. Always stretch and warm up your hands and wrists well before you play. This is very important, since it will prevent stiffness, thus improving your playing and helping to prevent strains and other injuries.

4. Practice each song until you are confident that you know it well, but don’t just keep practicing the same set of songs over and over. Doing that will only help you become very good at playing certain songs, it won’t help you to become a better guitar player in general. Practicing a variety of songs in a variety of very different genres (folks, rock, etc.) will help you to become a very versatile guitar player.

5. Be sure to tune your guitar well every time before you’re going to play. Tuning is pretty simple, and it makes a big difference in the overall quality of your playing. There are machines you can buy to tune your guitar, or there are various websites online that can help you learn how to tune it.

photo credit: the other Martin Taylor
Here is the quick and easy way to learn from Howie Simon’s Sweep Pickin’ for electric guitar. The sweeping effect is actually not done by just one hand. You must use both hands – to perform an integral motion in unison to achieve the desired effect. It makes you sound like a real pro! It’s not easy or preferrable to do this on an acoustic guitar, and that’s why you see players like Frank Gambale and Yngwie Malmsteen always performing the sweep on a distorted electric guitar sound.

Try it for yourself – and remember – don’t worry if you cannot do the electric sweeping function on your first day. Keep plugging away as you are – and by the weekend, you’ll be able to showcase a new technique! Enjoy this video and arpeggio-based approach to finger lickin’…

photo credit: garryknight

There are a few things in life that are as pleasurable as learning how to play a guitar.

The guitar is one of the most diverse musical instruments in the world – it fits into any musical style such as classical, blues and Jazz, it is easy to carry and is the height of chic to have in any social occasion. Get a guitar out and people will immediately see you as the leader of the pack and will want to spend time with you!

The guitar is a special instrument, and learning how to play a guitar is a special experience:

• It is the leading instrument in pop and rock culture, providing a focal point for any band.
• There are many types of guitar- electric, acoustic and classical to name but a few, and learning how to play a guitar is a somewhat different and yet equally enjoyable experience with all types.
• It is versatile and sits well across different genres – you name it, the guitar is suited for it.

If you had by now decided to learn how to play a guitar, here are five guitar learning tips for you:

1: Learn to read a guitar music sheet
Many students neglect this part, with potential consequences later in their careers. Once you have mastered the notes on the fingerboard and how the frets sit on the instrument it will become easier, and you can start using your vision as well as hearing to get you on your way. Learning how to play a guitar is a little similar to learning how to play any instrument and mastering the knowledge of the music sheet will come handy for any instrument you choose later on in life.

2: Try learning guitar online
The web has an interesting array of teaching methods such as DVDs and guitar lesson videos, allowing you to watch guitar masters at play, rewind the lesson and fast  forward, zoom in and out. These are things you cannot do with a teacher and they will provide inspiration and knowledge that is important when starting out.

3: Master the guitar basics and the rest will follow
Like any other discipline when you learn how to play a guitar you will need to master the basics and not pursue too many short cuts. If you learn where to find the various frets and notes, incorporate music sheets into you routine, work on your hand dexterity, and most of all remember to enjoy yourself, you will be successful.

4: Take guitar lessons
You will also need the discipline that comes from having a physical teacher to correct your mistakes and provide tips – all important things when you learn how to play a guitar. There are many factors to consider when you learn to play – tempo, rhythm, mastering the chords, all of which are well suited to the individual attention which you can receive with a tutor.

5: Left handed guitarist? Don’t despair!
It used to be the case that those of us who are left handed found it nearly impossible to learn how to play a guitar. Guitars had to be re-strung or re-adjusted, resulting in a poor quality of sound and a frustrating experience for the learner. Nowadays if you are left handed and want to learn how to play a guitar the choices are much wider, with a large selection of suitable instruments and a wide variety of stockists.

Learning how to play a guitar is a life changing experience, and one which should definitely be pursued. No wonder it features highly on the list of skills that people would like to master. If you follow the steps above, have a little patience and perseverance, you too will learn how to play a guitar.

Make sure to watch our guitar videos while you are here, and take a guitar lesson now.

photo credit: Larissa P

Sad story – Eric Clapton lost his son, Connor (he fell from a top story window) several years ago. I cannot imagine the feeling. But, I really cannot fathom what he must have been feeling when writing this wonderful guitar song, “Tears in Heaven”. The song, the lyrics – absolutely a tear-jerker, but makes you think about how fragile life is, and to enjoy it to the max – every day.

You can learn from Justin in this wonderfully structured video to learn the guitar of Eric Clapton