Authors: Erich Andreas
Guitar Mastery Simplified: How Anyone Can Quickly Become a Strumming, Chords, and Lead Guitar Ninja (4 page)
to Tune Your Guitar
Guitar
Strings and Tuning Your Guitar
The thinnest guitar string is called the high or top string
because it is the highest sounding string even though it is physically lower
when the guitar is being held. It has a higher pitch than the other
strings, which is why it is called the high E. Conversely, the thickest
string is the low string because it has the lowest sound.
You MUST learn the names of your guitar strings if you want
to take the guitar to the next level. From the thickest to the
thinnest it is: E (6th string), A (5th string), D (4th string), G (3rd string),
B (2nd string), E (1st string). You'll need to know this to properly use
a guitar tuner or keyboard to tune your guitar.
An easy way to remember the names of the strings from low
to high is:
E
ddie
A
te
D
ynamite
G
ood
B
ye
E
ddie
Silly, I know! But you won’t forget it!
When a guitar string is out of pitch, it will either be
sharp (#), or flat (b). If a string is flat, then it’s lower than our desired pitch
and would need to be tightened in order to sharpen the pitch. If a string
is sharp, then it’s higher than our desired pitch and would need to be loosened
in order to flatten the pitch.
So when you turn your tuning pegs and the pitch lowers, you
are flattening the pitch of the string. When you turn your tuning pegs
and the pitch raises, you are sharpening the pitch of the string.
Your Guitar to Piano or Keyboard
- Find middle “C” on the
piano - Go 1 octave lower than
that “C” and play the “A”, two white keys to the left. - Strike the “A” on the
piano and hold down the sustain pedal while you hit your “A” string. - To play the low “E”,
play the “E” that’s 3 white keys to the left. - For the remaining
strings D, G, B and E, find the notes according to the diagram below.
How to Read Chord Stamps
The above diagram is called a
Chord Stamp
. It
allows us to easily read chord shapes. Many chord stamp illustrations
vary, but for our example, let’s go over the following:
The red/black dot represents the root of the chord; the note
that we build the chord upon. Essentially, it’s the note that the rest of
the chord is based on (i.e. “D”, “D-“, “D7” chords would all have different
“fingerings”, but would all have the same root, D). Often times, the root
is the lowest sounding note in the chord.
The number within the black circle represents the fretting
hand finger that should be pressed down on that particular place on the neck.
“O” means open, or
play
that string without a
finger on it. Sometimes I will put a “T” if I want to bring your thumb up
and over the back of the neck to play certain notes. However, you should
not attempt that technique for quite some time as you will need to understand
the “proper” way of playing chords before you try this “rogue” method.
Your fingers are notated:
Index=1, Middle=2, Ring=3, Pinky=4. The semi-circle/arc
located above the three 1’s on the chord represents a bar. A bar is when
you lay your finger across several strings – like a bar. This can be
tricky in the beginning, but don’t over-think the process! Typically, a
new player will only be able to bar 2 or 3 notes at a time. As your hand
gets stronger and your technique increases, you will be able to bar all 6
strings when necessary!
The “X” means “
don’t play that string
”, or “
mute
that string
”. It should not vibrate or make any sound when you play
the chord. The “(X)” means that you can play the note, but for practical
purposes, you usually would not. Technically, this particular note could
be played in the chord without any “dissonance” (disagreeable notes/sound).
If you do choose to play it, the chord will still sound “harmonic”
(agreeable notes/sound).
to Play Open Chords
Playing open chords can seem like a daunting task for new
players, but remember EVERY player goes through this. SO HANG ON!
First of all
, remember the importance of
playing on your fingertips. If you play on the pads of your fingers, you
will NOT be able to play chords well! Observe your hand when you are
playing. If something does not sound right, it’s PROBABLY NOT! Play
with the specified fingers to start off.
If you want to change fingerings after you have mastered
these chords, then great! But for now,
stick to the specified
fingering and you will quickly see your discipline pay off
.
Arpeggiate (pick slowly) through the chord so that you can hear each note
as it is being played. You will only cheat yourself by being sloppy, so
pay close attention to your fingerings and technique.
When transitioning from one chord to the next, be aware of
your fingers; which ones need to move where and what fingers stay in place,
(i.e. the 3rd finger never moves when going from a D to a G
chord,
or from a G to a D. For E to A-, all the fingers move together.)
vs. Practice
Have you ever seen your favorite guitarists tear up a fret
board without even seemingly trying?
Do you think they got that way because they were lucky, or
because they were born into it?
Let me both disappoint and liberate you at the same time
with the answer.
One guitar player isn’t any luckier than another or
born into playing licks easier than another.
If you were to take the
top guitar players of each genre and find out how much they have practiced and
how much they continually practice, it would be quite mind boggling. Is
it a coincidence that only the great players are the ones that practice so
much?
Obviously, you can see where I’m headed with this.
Guitar players who have been playing for a long time and still have not
progressed past a certain point, have not done so because of lack of talent;
they’ve not done so because of their
lack of practice!
If it makes you feel better to believe that Eddie Van Halen
or any of the other great guitar players were born with a gift that you were
not born with, then believe away only to the detriment of your own playing.