Guitar Tutorial - The absolute basics for beginners
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Right hand picking position
While picking, your wrist should rest on the bridge of your guitar. This acts as an anchor enabling you to pick the strings with precision, using the movement of your wrist. But keep in mind that you do not slide your wrist on to any of the strings as this will kill the note that you’re picking.
Left hand position
Make sure while fretting a note with your left hand to place the finger close to the fret to get the cleanest sound possible. Placing your finger on the fret will cause the note to buzz. Placing the finger in between the fret will not give you clarity of sound. Your thumb should act as the anchor here and should move up and down depending on the string you’re fretting. Remember, never to touch the palm of your hand to the back of the fretboard as this will increase the friction between your hand and the fretboard, causing a hindrance to the movement of your hand.
Fingering
The following is how fingering of your fretting hand is indicated…
Thumb – T
Index Finger – 1
Middle Finger – 2
Ring Finger– 3
Little Finger – 4
Thumb – T
Index Finger – 1
Middle Finger – 2
Ring Finger– 3
Little Finger – 4
String names
There are six strings on a standard acoustic and electric guitar. Each string has a particular pitch or a name. Remember on the guitar you start counting strings from below. The thinnest one would be the first and so on. Following are the string names...
1st – E
2nd – B
3rd – G
4th – D
5th – A
6th - E
1st – E
2nd – B
3rd – G
4th – D
5th – A
6th - E
Fretboard
The fretboard or the fingerboard is where notes are fretted or pressed to sound a particular note or chord.Frets are the metal strips hammered into the neck of the guitar, which are placed at specific intervals so as to get specific notes when the strings are pressed against them.A standard guitar consists of 21 to 24 frets. The metal bar before the first fret is called the Nut.
Remember, you start counting the frets from the nut.So the 1st fret would be the closest to the nut and the 24th fret the furthest.Open string or (0) is when you do not fret a note or a note is sounded on any string without pressing any of the frets.
Remember, you start counting the frets from the nut.So the 1st fret would be the closest to the nut and the 24th fret the furthest.Open string or (0) is when you do not fret a note or a note is sounded on any string without pressing any of the frets.
Tuning
There are several ways of tuning the guitar. However if you’re a beginner, the best possible solution is to use a chromatic tuner. For standard tuning make sure that your string corresponds to their respective pitches and you’re done!
There are different methods you can choose while tuning the guitar, if you do not have a tuner handy.
But, you will definitely need to have a good ear to do so.
Method 1 – Play the 5th fret on your 6th string and then the open 5th string. If you feel the pitch of the open 5th is lower then raise the pitch by tightening the tuning key and vice-versa. Eventually they should both sound the same. Repeat this for all groups that is the 5th & 4th, 4th & 3rd, 2nd & 1st. For the 3rd and 2nd string, play the 4th fret of the 3rd string and tune the 2nd string open to match the pitch.
Method 2 – Play the seventh fret on the 1st string and tune the 12th fret of the 2nd string accordingly. Repeat this for all groups of strings except for the group 2nd & 3rd. For this, fret the 8th fret of the 2nd string and accordingly tune the pitch of the 12th fret on the 3rd string.
There are different methods you can choose while tuning the guitar, if you do not have a tuner handy.
But, you will definitely need to have a good ear to do so.
Method 1 – Play the 5th fret on your 6th string and then the open 5th string. If you feel the pitch of the open 5th is lower then raise the pitch by tightening the tuning key and vice-versa. Eventually they should both sound the same. Repeat this for all groups that is the 5th & 4th, 4th & 3rd, 2nd & 1st. For the 3rd and 2nd string, play the 4th fret of the 3rd string and tune the 2nd string open to match the pitch.
Method 2 – Play the seventh fret on the 1st string and tune the 12th fret of the 2nd string accordingly. Repeat this for all groups of strings except for the group 2nd & 3rd. For this, fret the 8th fret of the 2nd string and accordingly tune the pitch of the 12th fret on the 3rd string.
Note Values
Note values determine how long a note or a rest (silence) is to be played (in beats).
Whole Note - 4 Beats
Half Note - 2 Beats
Quarter Note - 1 Beat
8th Note - Half a beat or 2 notes in one beat.
8th Note Triplet - Three notes in one beat
16th Note - Four Notes in one beat.
16th Note Triplet (Sextuplet) - Six notes in one beat.
32nd Note - Eight notes in one beat.
64th Note - Sixteen notes in one beat.
Whole Note - 4 Beats
Half Note - 2 Beats
Quarter Note - 1 Beat
8th Note - Half a beat or 2 notes in one beat.
8th Note Triplet - Three notes in one beat
16th Note - Four Notes in one beat.
16th Note Triplet (Sextuplet) - Six notes in one beat.
32nd Note - Eight notes in one beat.
64th Note - Sixteen notes in one beat.
Whole Step/Half Step
The distance between 2 frets is commonly indicated in Steps. A Whole Step would mean the distance between 2 notes is Two Frets. And a Half Step would mean the distance between 2 notes is One Fret.
How to read Tablature
Tablature is the easiest way of reading and writing music for the Guitar! It might look complicated with the amount of lines and numbers written all over it but once you go through this explanation, you will know how to read tablature in no time.
A tab form generally consists of 6 lines. Each line indicates a particular string. The bottom line in the Tab indicates the sixth string and the top indicates the first. The numbers placed right in the middle of the lines indicate fret numbers, which means you need to fret that particular note on that particular string.As simple as that!!
Fingering is normally indicated by numbers in circles.
Numbers placed one above the other indicates that all notes need to be strummed together in one stroke - normally done while indicating chords.
These are the commonly used terms/symbols in the Tab form on our site.
^ - Downstroke – Strike with a pick using the down motion
V – Upstroke - Strike with a pick using the Up motion
h = hammer-on – Sound a note without picking, usually a note played higher than the previous note.
p = pull-of – Sound a note without picking, usually played lower than the previous one.
b = bend
r = reverse bend, or release bend
/ or s = slide
p.m. = palm mute
t = right hand tap
+ = right hand tap
x = muted string (with fretting hand)
A tab form generally consists of 6 lines. Each line indicates a particular string. The bottom line in the Tab indicates the sixth string and the top indicates the first. The numbers placed right in the middle of the lines indicate fret numbers, which means you need to fret that particular note on that particular string.As simple as that!!
Fingering is normally indicated by numbers in circles.
Numbers placed one above the other indicates that all notes need to be strummed together in one stroke - normally done while indicating chords.
These are the commonly used terms/symbols in the Tab form on our site.
^ - Downstroke – Strike with a pick using the down motion
V – Upstroke - Strike with a pick using the Up motion
h = hammer-on – Sound a note without picking, usually a note played higher than the previous note.
p = pull-of – Sound a note without picking, usually played lower than the previous one.
b = bend
r = reverse bend, or release bend
/ or s = slide
p.m. = palm mute
t = right hand tap
+ = right hand tap
x = muted string (with fretting hand)