How To Play Guitar
How Can a Fictional 70’s Band, Elton John and a Ballerina Set You on the Road to Guitar Mastery?
There’s something to be said for nostalgia…It gets me every time…
I’ve just finished watching that 90’s rock movie ‘Almost Famous‘.
It’s freaking weird how a song about the 70’s can make a 90’s kid like me nostalgic – but hey, I’m not complaining.
I bet you remember that scene at the end where they all sit on the bus and Elton John’s Tiny Dancer starts playing in the background.
At first, it’s just playing like a regular soundtrack, but then something cool happens – the drummer, slouched in the back seat, starts playing the beat; slowly one by one they all start singing along – until eventually the reluctant leads singers joins in…
At the end they’re all singing’ together – What a wonderful powerful scene…
And it’s not just me that thinks so…
Dave Grohl, from the Foo fighters, tried to recreate the exact same feeling years later, with his acoustic guitar, on Conan O’Brien’s show.
Wouldn’t it be great to be able to play your favourite songs just like that and create those magical scenes in real life?
The thing is, no matter what level you are at as a guitarist it is possible – but it takes more than just wanting and practice – what you need is a plan
What kind of a plan you ask?
Well, everyone is different, but here a quick 10 steps to get you started – feel free to skimp over the ones you don’t think apply to you.
- The first thing you need is a GOOD guitar. What do I mean by good? You want a guitar with good action, good tonal quality and a reasonable price.
- Buy good quality medium gauge strings.
- Learn how to change strings or put on your new ones.
- Learn how to tune your guitar
- Learn your first chords. Have a look at this – 13 Important Chords You Must Know
- Practice new strumming patterns everyday
- Learn barre chords – the most obvious place to start here is the F Major Chord
- Learn about the capo and chord transposition
- Learn how to read guitar tab
- Finally find a good teacher or Quality Guitar Course. A great teacher can accelerate your learning tenfold.
October 26, 2008 at 11:44 am | Learn Acoustic Guitar | No comment