How to Play the Electric Guitar
January 15th, 2010 | Author: admin
The acoustic guitar has a very unique sound and quality to it, but I haven’t found anything that compares to the sound of an electric guitar.
Learning Electric Guitar
It doesn’t matter how old you are, you are never to old to learn to play the electric guitar. Learning to play is actually a lot easier to do than many think.
One thing though is that you have to commit yourself 100%. You also have to be excited to learn and dedicated to the electric guitar. If you don’t want to take the time to play everyday than the electric guitar isn’t for you.
Playing this instrument takes a lot of time and patience. You have to make daily goals for yourself and also weekly plans in order to really master this instrument. If you are able to set these up then you will definitely be able to learn how to play an electric guitar.
There are three steps that you need to learn:
1. You need to find an electric guitar that you like and are comfortable with.
2. You need to have a quiet place to concentrate and practice.
3. You need to either get an instructor to help you or get online electric guitar lessons.
4. Practice, practice, practice.
The first two steps really should go without saying. Obviously, you need a guitar in order to play and you also need to have a place to play it. The third step is really something that will help you with the fundamentals and making sure you are getting the correct hand positioning. The fourth step however is the most important. Without this you will never learn to play the electric guitar.
There are many different methods to learning electric guitar. You always have the option of choosing a private instructor, or there are books and videos you can buy, or you can even get online electric guitar lessons. You need to choose the one that you are most comfortable with, just beware some of them are more costly then they need to be.
Many choose to go with an instructor. While not a bad choice it can get to be quite expensive, especially if you are a left handed player. They tend to charge extra fees for that. There’s also a lot more work involved with private instruction, plus you have to consider the extra time you will spend traveling back and forth. If this is what you are most comfortable with though then by all means go with this method.
If you don’t want to go that route though don’t worry there are other options for you. To be quite honest you have everything you need to get started with lessons right at home. All you have to do is go on the Internet. Many musicians learn on their own with the help of online resources. They can provide you with just as much information as an instructor can and you don’t have to leave your house to get it.
Many online resources offer information on:
How the electric guitar works
How to tune it
Electric guitar lessons
Different techniques and tricks
And they even have songs that you can play.
There is one website in particular that is a great resource and that is Learn & Master Guitar. This provides you with a DVD/CD and book set with all the information you will need. This method is a lot cheaper than going to an instructor.
No matter what method you choose to use in order to learn how to play the electric guitar, there will be some same information. These tips are very handy and key in your ability to successfully play the electric guitar
1. Make sure you consistently and evenly strum.
2. Rest your left thumb on the bottom of the neck, not the top of it.
3. Start out by working on the rhythm and sound until you are familiar with each strings sound.
4. Always keep your fingers close to each other, but not on the fret bar.
5. Make sure that you press firmly on the string when playing either a note or chord.
Playing the electric guitar really isn’t that hard as long as you take the time to practice. Just remember that you must remain committed and dedicated to learning how to play if you truly want to learn electric guitar.
Copyright Liam Gibson (Guitar God)