Note: This is part 2 of a 3 part series. Here are links to Part 1 and Part 3.
This is the 2nd part of the Beginners Guitar Tutorial series. If you haven’t read part 1, then get to reading it now. If you’ve already read this, then proceed to part 3.
This will be the longest of the 3 sections due to the topics covered. But that’s simply to lay the groundwork for future endeavours – the necessary paperwork if you want to put it that way.
Total read time: approximately 20 minutes (but there are lotsa pictures and even a video!)
Topics Covered
- Key features of a guitar
- Reading the instruction manual (tabs and notation)
- Playing the first chords
Key features of a guitar
A guitar is basically a stringed instrument with frets, there is a neck, body and fretboard. Of course, most importantly, there are the strings. I will not elaborate more, I think you know what a guitar is.
Reading Tabs & Scores
A tab is a very common way guitarists like to pen down their songs. My theory is that it was a simple and small package that was easy to distribute.
This is an example of a tab. And yes, it can be written in any text file.
E ——————
B ——————
G ——————
D ——————
A ——————
E ——————
Each line represents a string. The topmost line represents the thinnest string which is also the lowest one on the guitar. Each line then represents a different string, with the bottom line representing the thickest string closest to your face. The letter next to the string then represents the tuning (ie: the note that is sounded if you played the strings without pressing any frets)
The numbers represent the fret number. So a 0 means to pluck the string without pressing any frets, in the case of that at the bottom, play the high E string (thinnest one) without pressing any frets (also called the open position).
E ——–0———
B ——————
G ——————
D ——————
A ——————
E ——————
The number 3 on this first line means to play the same string while holding down the third fret.
E ——–3———
B ——————
G ——————
D ——————
A ——————
E ——————
The tab is then read left to right. So in this next one, it means to play the first string on a third fret and then followed by the second string on the 5th fret.
E ——–3———
B ————5—–
G ——————
D ——————
A ——————
E ——————
For notes that are supposed to be played together they will be written along the same vertical line:
E ——–0———
B ——–1———
G ——–0———
D ——–2———
A ——–3———
E ——–0———
So you press all the frets necessary and then play them all at once by strumming all the strings. Incidentally, the above is the basic C chord pattern discussed later.
Of course, it does have its downsides. For one, there’s no rhythm or note value given to any note in such tabs. This makes it really confusing for a person who doesn’t know how the song is supposed to sound. Even if you do know, learning a new song which you cannot play yet is frustrating when the notes don’t flow right and the rhythm is completely wrong.
Of course, some people have come up with a solution, which is to create software which allows one to play the actual song while simultaneously viewing the tab.
If you’re a windows user, then powertabs are a free option with tabs available at powertabs.net. People basically write various songs into the software which allows the software to play all the parts, or even play all the rhythm parts and mute and lead, which you naturally are supposed to fill in (and don’t forget to pretend that you’re a rock star)
If you’re on a Mac like me, and/or want to progress beyond simple strumming and plucking (say playing guitar solos in a real band), I will highly recommend GuitarPro5. Yes, it does cost money, but it will be definitely worth every single cent.
The greatest benefit I have gained from such software is the fact that you can download the songs you want to play as a tab and open it in the software. The software will then play the song and you can try and match whichever part you want to play. This makes learning 10x easier than staring at a txt file tab which doesn’t tell you anything.
The next few pictures basically show how the software tells us what is being played, indicated by the green line.
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And here it is a little later into the song.
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And this is the score for the rhythm guitar.
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A picture tells a thousand words, but a video probably a million. So here is the GuitarPro program playing a short excerpt from one of my original songs. All sounds were generated by the software, I simply input the notes.
Some websites such as: http://tabs.guitarworld.com/ also give free tabs that are fully licensed in a nice readable format.
Finally, there is the the method of simply writing the chord letter above the part of the song where the chord should be played. Example below:
Of course, here, it assumes that you know how to play the chord, which brings us to the final section of this long post.
Playing the first Chords
The best way to learn chords is always to know how to press the right frets to create the right sound.
Personally, I find that chords are the best way to begin and should be the first thing you learn with a guitar. You should familiarise yourself with common chords and practice these to a level of proficiency whereby you can change chords fast enough.
My take on the best way to learn this, is to simply take you favourite songs and play the chords to the lyrics while listening to them. If you can change chords quick enough to match the song, use it as a benchmark and congratulate yourself (eg: I’m now good enough to accompany my family in singing Happy Birthday with a guitar)
A chord dictionary is always recommended. GuitarPro5 and powertab have inbuilt diagrams like the one below.
Fortunately, you can easily find such chord diagrams on the internet.
http://www.chordbook.com/guitarchords.php – a cool flash based guitar chord diagram
http://www.all-guitar-chords.com/index.php?ch=C&mm=&get=Get – another such site but not in flash
So that’s it for this part, it was long, but I hope you now have some knowledge to get started on your guitar journey. Part 3 will round up this topic, and thankfully it will be a shorter post.
Note: This is part 2 of a 3 part series. Here are links to Part 1 and Part 3.
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