Learn How To Play A Guitar At Any Age

If you have decided to learn how to play a guitar, you have made an excellent choice! If you have passion and dedication there’s nothing that can stop you. Some people are under the impression that you have to be a certain age to learn this instrument, but there is no truth in that. It doesn’t matter what age you are, as long as you have a sincere desire to learn you will be able to absorb the lessons. It is going to be very important to hold on to your patience throughout the learning process, and realize beforehand that it does take some time to become a skilled guitar player.

Singing is really helpful for guitar players, and if you aren’t able to carry a tune you will have a harder time learning guitar. It will be necessary for you to have the ability to recognize certain tones and sounds on your guitar. It will really set you back if you are unable to get your guitar in tune before playing. This is what makes it so essential for you to be able to hear and recognize the various notes. It is possible to get your ears trained so that they are able to hear certain tones and know what they are. You can get better at this by practicing singing. It also helps you to develop your sense of rhythm and improves the way you strum the guitar. While you are in the process of learning how to play a guitar, try to also practice your singing each day until it becomes easy for you to hold a tune. You don’t have to be the best singer ever, you really only need to be able to hold your voice in tune.

The ability to read a guitar chord is vital, but once you have surpassed this you can go ahead and move on to strumming. Focus on the up and down motion of your strokes, as this is what makes the sound. You may not be able to master this for awhile, but don’t become discouraged. This is just a normal part of the learning process that all guitar players go through. No one starts out an expert; they all have to begin in exactly the same place you are right now.

When you are first learning how to strum the guitar, do it with a pick. Your fingernails have to be trimmed down too, or at least the hand that plays on the fret board. By using a pick to strum your guitar you will create a more powerful sound than if you were just finger picking.

When you are just beginning, do not attempt to sing along. Keep your focus on just the music for now. After you have spent enough time practicing you will start to see that you are getting much better, and this will give you satisfaction. Not only is learning how to play a guitar highly satisfying, but it is also something that you can really take pride in!

Guitar Accessories: Other Essential Goodies

Other guitar accessories or doodads you may want to consider throwing in your back pack, gym bag, or all-leather monogrammed accessories case include the following:

1. Tuning fork/Pitch pipe: Having one of these low-tech tuning devices as a spare never hurts, in case the battery on your electronic tuner fails or the tuner itself gets stepped on by the gravitationally challenged drummer. Both of these devices are like rowboats in a speedboat and sailboat world: After the gas is gone and the wind stops blowing, you can still function using your own power.

2. Penlight: You don't need to wait until night to use a flashlight. Shadows and small sizes pose as much a problem for diagnosing, say, a simple electrical problem as does the complete absence of light. You can hold a penlight between your teeth as you reach into the back of your amp to fix a broken speaker lead.

3. Cable tester and volt/ohm meter: These items cost about $12 and $20, respectively, and earn their keep the first time they diagnose a bad or reverse-wired cable. Learn how to use the volt-ohm meter with respect to your equipment - that is, know what power supplies you have and what the appropriate settings are on the meter. You can impress your friends with your new "aptitude."

4. Fuses: As always, a new environment can posses irregular wiring schemes that could destroy your gear - and especially your amp. Your amp's first line of defense is its fuse. If the house current is weird, the fuse blows, and you must have a replacement to get the amp working again.

5. Duct tape: This is considered as any guitar player's baking soda - as it is an all-purpose utility invention that cures a wide array of maladies. You can use duct tape to fix everything from a rattling tailpiece to a broken microphone clip. Even the roll itself is handy: You can use it to tilt your amp up for better monitoring. Use duct tape to fix your car's upholstery or even patch the holes of your jeans, onstage or off. In some circles, it's even considered fashionable.

6. Peg winder: This inexpensive ($2) crank turns your tuning keys at about 10 times the rate that you can turn them by hand. At no extra charge, these guitar accessories include a notched groove that's perfect for removing stuck bridge pins in your acoustic.

7. Wire cutters/needle-nose pliers: Strings are, after all, wires. When you change strings, use wire cutters to trim away any excess and use the pliers for digging out the stubborn remnants of a broken string from a tuning post.