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Picking Out a Guitar, and Learning a Tune

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Walking past a music store a person can develop strong desires to play an instrument. A favorite song pops into the head, visions of groupies lining up to hear the latest tune roll forth, and the thump of the bass sound invades the body so that even walking happens in rhythm. For all that want and desire reality hits.  It takes practice to learn the chords. No worries. One can learn to play the guitar in one day.

A music store online or out on some boulevard becomes a place where one needs to make a relationship with the staff. They know things and want one to succeed. Your success is their business. A beginning guitarist needs a good basic guitar. Walking around the store makes for many temptations, but staff can guide one to the best guitar for their individual body and needs.

First Position

The best position of a beginning guitarist is sitting down on a stool or wooden kitchen chair with no arms. A chair or stool with railings becomes preferable since it lets one get in a good position by propping one or both feet. Sit in the chair and elevate one or both knees above your hip just a bit. Notice the curve of the body of the guitar. Look at the sound hole where one will be strumming the strings. Place the curve of the guitar on the right thigh. Glance lovingly up the neck to the head where tuning keys lie. Place the left hand just below the head on the first fret. Now relax the body by taking some deep breaths.

Fingerings

A basic guitar has six strings-numbered. String one lies closest to a person’s feet and plays the high melodic E. String six lies closest to your head and plays the throbbing low bass note E. For the chord play in this article one needs string one, string two, and string three. Take the first finger and place the tip of it near the first fret bar on string two. Press firmly like when one hugs their favorite loved one. Use your finger or a pick and strum only the three bottom strings. Stroke downward in a steady rhythm paying attention to each string. The chord is modified C.

Roll the first finger down to string one. Only stroke the three bottom strings slowly and steadily. The name of this chord is modified G7. To play a song strum modified C four strokes and then change to modified G7 for four strokes. Continue stroking back and forth between the chord sets until smooth and silky.

Sheets

Music for guitar comes in a variety of ways and the music store whether online or on the strip will have choices for one. Standard formats come in sheets and have the music staff, the notes, and the chords. Most guitar players at the least like a line of lyrics with some slash marks and chords up above. Eventually a few tunes one will memorize.  Guitar players like to do things in groups and share freely their techniques. So prepare for acquiring some interesting friends. Below is a folk song that uses the two chords from above. Slash marks mean strum on that word or if it has more than one slash mark; hold that word and strum the amount of slash marks shown. The chord above a word means play that chord and continue to strum that chord until the chord changes. If one does not know the tune it is found in a variety of ways on YouTube. Just type in a search engine box Tom Dooley YouTube and the songs will appear. Lyrics and chords are courtesy of www.cowboylyrics.com.

Tom Dooley?

C

/         /                 /        /       /      / //

Hang down your head Tom Dooley

G7

/         /                 /         /      ////

Hang down your head and cry

G7

/        /                 /          /        ////

Hand down your head Tom Dooley

/              /            /         /     ////

Poor boy you’re bound to die.

Attached Images:

Justin Miller is a professional blogger that writes for Jamplay.com. JamPlay is a leading online music educator offering 2,000+ guitar lessons for beginners online in HD.





Anatomy of the Bodacious Curvaceous Guitar

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One has bought the acoustic guitar, played the beginning tunes, felt the muse sit within them, and approve of every loving caress strummed across its six strings.  The decision is made; one is going to do this, and like a lover will explore every nuance and inch of their guitar. It begins like all lovers with the exploration of the anatomy.

Names are given to every part of the guitar, and when taking lessons with music instructors or professional musicians they will use those terms.
Image source - http://www.flickr.com/photos/30498053@N08/3949992541/
Head

The head holds the tuning pegs and keys. The keys loosen and tighten the strings. Humidity, heat, and the amount of playing all effect the sound of the instrument. Guitars need regular tuning like a lover needs regular sessions of tender loving care.

Nut

The nut divides the head from the neck. It functions as a small bridge as well. The strings sit on top of the bridge, and it raises them slightly off the neck letting maximum vibrations occur.

Frets

The neck of the guitar has even increments of fret bars. Fret bars are made of metal. The pressing of the string by your fingers, and the touching to the fret bar makes the guitar talk and sing the melodic melodies people love to hear. Also fret bars function as a reference for a guitarist. Eventually when one plays enough your hand knows where it is because of the fret bars. Much like a long term relationship, one knows what to do in which position to make for the maximum sound.  Moving up each fret moves the sound by half step increments making for a chromatic scale.

Neck

The long shaft lies between the head and body of the guitar.  The part closest the frets is a flat plain made perfect for the touch of fingers in numerous ways to make sound. The back of the shaft comes curved. A guitarist’s thumb plays here. It is the place where a small push starting in the palm of the hand gives the necessary pressure to take the sound where the song needs to go.

Heel

On the backside of the neck shaft where it connects to the guitar the neck juts out. This gives added strength to the shaft and keeps the pressure from forming the chords, and the play of the thumb from overcoming the attachment between head and body. Without it, the neck would come undone from the guitar.

Body and Ribs

The whole bottom part of the guitar comes shaped like a voluptuous female, and has differing names on its surface, side and back.  The shape makes for maximum sound vibrations of great quality.  The top where the playing occurs named the sound board gives the acoustic tonal quality. The sides are sometimes known as the ribs. Ribs take most of the compressive force from the strings. The curving makes for added stiffness, and makes the sound move out front of a guitar player instead of back into the player’s body.  Some guitars have a sound plate which protects the wood from being scooped out after hours of play.

Sound Hole

Though the sound board (the whole top of the guitar) makes the sound vibrations for the song, the sound hole adds to this by resonating and directing the sound forward. Looking inside the guitar through the sound hole one will see the bracing patterns.  Bracing patterns add to the tonal quality of the guitar. It makes sure tonal quality is maintained from the bass register to the soprano register on the instrument.

Saddle or Bridge

The portion of the guitar made so the strings anchor comes as a shapely piece of wood. Strings anchor in several ways. Some guitars have holes that strings are inserted through and tied. Some strings have a ring at the end. Other guitars have holes where strings are inserted, and a peg is inserted afterwards. Bridges raise the strings above the body and transfer vibrations to the sound boards.

Guitar construction for acoustics developed over the centuries by trial and error. As each component became developed it added to the good vibrations that are enjoyed by all today.

Justin Miller is a professional blogger that writes for Jamplay.com. JamPlay is a leading online music educator offering 2,000+ beginning guitar lessons in HD.

Guitar made out of Hockey Sticks?

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Finally there’s another use for all those broken hockey sticks filing up Canadian landfill sites across the nation: custom-made guitars! Brant, remember when you broke that $200 hockey stick when you tried out for the Brockville Braves (congrats for making the team BTW), tell your dad not to get so upset and just pick it up and make a guitar instead of throwing it out!

Hockey stick guitar The Canadian guitar Luther, Vincent Latulippe, makes one of a kind custom-made guitars and created from all of those broken hockey sticks. He first exposed the world to his unique recycling plans when showcasing it off at the 2009 Montreal Guitar Show. One of his very cool creation can be yours now on eBay with a “Buy It Now” listed at $1,900.

Here is the item description on eBay.

This guitar is made with used hockey sticks except for the central one, which is laminated with mahogany to make the neck.

The back of the headstock have also been reinforced with mahogany to obtain rigidity and the desired thickness. The hockey sticks used in this project have been played with and have some marks on them and have been lacquered after assembly.

Keep on Playin’ CAR!!!!!

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