By: Bill McRea
When trying to learn to play any instrument, it is not necessary to master the scales as that may be difficult for you. What happens is that the person might become irate and end up hating the instrument you lose patience. The key to this is enjoyment. If the note is not sounding as good as you think it should, let go; and in time it can be mastered subconsciously.
The very first necessary part of learning how to play the guitar is to know its parts. Right-handed players use their right hand for strumming and the left for picking and holding the guitar’s neck. The body of the guitar must sit comfortably on the right thigh as if following the player’s own body. The frets are the pieces of metal that are located along the guitar’s neck. This is where the strings are attached and they are the main source of the instrument’s sound. The strings vibrate when strummed, but only true sound can come out if the strings are pressed on the fret board.
The music that comes out of the guitar is based on the western or modern scale of twelve tones. The scales are actually easy to remember because the letters A to G symbolize them. And like other musical instruments you also have the “natural”, “flat”, and the “sharp.” The tones are read as A, A#, B, B#, C, C#, etc. Believe it or not, music is like math; there is an equivalent sound for every sound wave that travels in the air.
As for the strings, there are six on ordinary guitars but as many as 12 strings on some. If the guitar is resting on the lap, the lowest part of it is placed on top of the thigh. Pressing the frets on the fret board creates different notes. There are many instances when two notes of the same scales may not sound the same because octaves are different.
Tuning the guitar is easy. One can listen to a piano or pitch pipe for matching notes; or for those who have keen ears, all they do is listen to the notes the string create. Press the E string on the fifth fret to tune A. The exact sound of the note can be achieved with the help of turning the string pegs. Except for tuning the G and B strings, the same procedure is done to tune other notes.
We have a complete selection of lessons on all these issues at our guitar playing websites.
