How to quickly learn to play the guitar: practical tips

A guitar fell into your hands, your first thought is what to do with this piece of wood? Firstly learning to play the guitar will take the nth amount of time, a unit directly proportional to the degree of curvature of your hands. Secondly, you need a familiar musician (for example, Chaliapin), or a person with an ear for music, who will be ready to come running at your first call and tune the instrument, because The guitar has the insidious property of going out of tune. It is better to tune it daily, especially if the strings are new and not yet played. If you are left-handed, then immediately ask to re-string the strings in a different order.

Before presenting complex solos to the public, you need to have a good command of chords (half of the solos are just complex chord picking). There are a huge number of them, although for some reason unknown to me, only three are taught in the first lessons. Let us not deviate from the established tradition. Here they are - Am, Dm, E. Each is placed with three fingers and does not present any particular difficulties. On them you can already play “blatnyak” and ditties. Here they are, as it were, “naked”:

For those who don't understand, numbers are scales. For example, the first digit in Am means that there is no need to place your finger on the thickest string (called the bottom because of the pitch of the sound, although it is located at the top), i.e. "empty string" The last number is the fret on the thinnest string (by analogy with the highest). You need to place your fingers in the chord so as not to touch the neighboring strings, and try to place them closer to the metal partitions; with this placement, the chord sounds better. It will take some time to achieve automaticity when playing chords, usually no more than 3-4 hours of playing. At first, your fingers will hurt (sometimes it even leads to cuts), but then this problem will disappear.

After the 3 chords I suggested, they learn G (320003) and C (332010). Quite simple chords, with them your repertoire will significantly expand. After five chords learned, every beginning guitarist should hear the simple word “bare”. It means that in a chord, the index finger should cover all the strings on a certain fret. For example, let's take the F chord (133211). In him index finger you need to hold down the entire first fret, and use the free three to play the chord itself. It’s better, of course, not to immediately try to play the bar, but to pinch the strings with one finger and play each one, while making sure that the sound is clear. And only then place the remaining fingers.

The guitar, as you know, today is one of the most popular instruments, because no one can do without her Music band. How nice it is to “strum” in the evening in the yard or sing your favorite songs at a picnic by the fire. This is where many people think about how to quickly learn to play the guitar. The answer to this question is ambiguous.

What you need to know to quickly learn to play guitar from scratch

First of all, every beginning musician must understand that ultimately, if you want to become a professional, without knowledge musical literacy not enough. But it will take more than one year to study it! How to quickly learn to play the guitar without knowledge of solfeggio or music theory? You need to have at least general idea about basic chords, have a sense of rhythm and an ear for music.

First you need to decide on a tool. A beginner guitarist is better off using a simple acoustic guitar with nylon strings. They don't put as much pressure on the fingers. If you immediately use an instrument, say, with copper or silver-plated strings, then for many the consequences can be very sad, because it will even lead to cuts, not to mention calluses.

Basics of chord technique

So, there is a tool. When considering the question of how quickly you can learn to play the guitar, we will start from the fact that professional equipment no sound production required. For wide range For amateurs, using standard chords is fine.

Also in Soviet times in specialized stores you could find a unique thing called a chord finder. With its help, you can simply set the main note of the key in a special window, and then see on which frets of the guitar neck the main chords and their varieties are built (with which fingers to press which strings on which frets).

In principle, it is very convenient. However, if you look closely, you will notice that all standard chords are played exactly the same, only the fingers of the left hand must be placed on different frets. The exception is the simplest chords such as “E minor/major” (Em/E), “A minor/major” (Am/A), “D minor/major” (Dm/D), “C major” ( C), one of the varieties of “G major” and “B seventh chord” (H7).

All other positions use the barre technique, which is the pinch of all the strings on the fingerboard with one finger of the left hand. For those who are interested in how to quickly learn to play the guitar, mastering this technique is a must.

Left and right hand technique

If you use purely chords when placing the fingers of your left hand on the frets, you need to decide which technique of playing with your right hand will be used in a particular composition. As a rule, beginning musicians use strumming in fast compositions, and fingerpicking when performing slow songs or ballads.

What type of strumming or picking to use is up to everyone, but first, it’s better to learn how to perform simple compositions in 4/4 or 3/4 time signatures. Speaking of overkill. There is no need to rush with complex rhythmic patterns; it is enough to simply move the fingers of your right hand from top to bottom along the strings so that the entire piece played has eight plucks. It is better to start picking with the bass string, which is the tonic. Moreover, it should always stand in the place of the strong beat. You need to learn using one position to begin with.

Having mastered these simple exercises, you can start changing chords. At first it will be a little difficult, because your fingers are not used to it yet. When changing chords it is better to use left hand. When a more or less normal result is achieved, you can use changing chord positions in combination with the technique of playing with the right hand (strike or pick).

Naturally, such exercises will take more than a day or two. However, if desired, a maximum of a month the simplest technique It is possible to master the initial level of difficulty.

Using tablatures and chord progressions

Now, speaking about how to quickly learn to play the guitar, let's turn to tablatures. In general, they represent the positions of notes on the stave and on the neck of the guitar. However, for beginning guitarists, it is simply a sequence of chords that correspond to the basic tones of the accompaniment. For example, the simplest sequence might look like this: Em/Am/H7. It is performed quite simply.

Sometimes you can see that chords are written, for example, above the lyrics of a song or directly in the lyrics. This is done to make it clearer at what moment and what to play. Using such a recording in most cases is convenient, and it also helps to maintain the tempo and rhythm.

Naturally, this is very far from professionalism, because you need to develop the technique of both hands, say, play scales every day with the fingers of your left hand, use various playing techniques for the right hand (fingers or a pick), etc. By the way, in the initial stages, do not get carried away with playing with a pick costs.

Conclusion

So now you know how to quickly learn to play the guitar. Of course, no one says that having mastered the basics of guitar technique and gained minimal knowledge about chord construction, a person will become a professional, but in in this case we're talking about only that a beginning has been made. Naturally, you will have to move on and not stop there. In fact, the entry level is only enough to “strum” at your leisure. Unfortunately, it won’t be possible to accomplish anything serious.

Stringed instruments require dedication when practicing to play them. There is a widespread belief that you can learn guitar picking only by studying with a teacher. Teacher at music school helps to better develop playing technique, but basic aspects are easy to learn at home.

Is it possible to learn to play the guitar on your own?

You can achieve success in any creative or not so creative business only by approaching it with all seriousness. When wondering how to learn to play the guitar on your own, you need to remember a few fundamental things:

1. Any training that involves a beginner acquiring some skills requires regularity. The more often you practice at home, the faster you will learn to play.
2. Each action must be worked through until the correct result is achieved. If something doesn't work, try it again until you can play everything properly.

How to quickly learn to play the guitar at home

After several independent studies You shouldn’t expect phenomenal results right away; skills come and develop gradually. There is a lot of educational literature for “dummies” on the Internet, after downloading which you can select for yourself important points. The constant elements of successful learning are the instrument itself, its tuning, the position of the guitarist and the position of the hands.

Tool selection

The guitar can be classical, acoustic or electric, six-string or seven-string. How to decide and make an unmistakable choice? Before purchasing a tool, consider the following points:

• Decide your commitment to something a certain genre in music. For example, if you prefer classical music, then it is unlikely that a Spanish guitar will suit you.
• Beginners' fingers will definitely hurt when clamping strings. acoustic guitar, since they are more rigid than those of an electric guitar.
• Beginners should prefer a six-string guitar. Russian seven string guitar is a thing of the past, now the additional “low” seventh string does not interfere with using only the usual six.

Correct fit

How correct the guitarist’s position is during playing determines the outcome of the training. An incorrect posture can not only be uncomfortable, leading to rapid fatigue. Often this reduces the possibilities of performing one or another polyphony. Beginner musicians are advised to learn guitar exercises in a sitting position, since playing while standing will not be difficult.

You need to learn to play while sitting on a hard stool, raising your left knee above the seat level. To do this, a stand is used, on which the guitarist must place his foot. The back should remain straight without touching anything. Place the guitar with the notch in the middle of the raised left thigh. Use your right foot to provide the necessary support to the lower part of the instrument. In this case, the bar should be slightly above the level of the left shoulder, and the lower deck should be at chest level. For left-handers, the position will be completely mirrored: the guitar is placed on the right raised hip, the neck is slightly above the level of the right shoulder.

Correct hand placement

Once you've figured out the placement of your legs, move on to your arms. The right elbow should be closer to the body and not extend beyond the guitar body with right side, the wrist does not need to be brought too close to the upper deck. The fingers of a rounded hand hanging from the strings must be closed together, except for the thumb, so that their tips line up in one line. The reference point for the location of the thumb is the strings responsible for the bass. Place the phalanges parallel to the guitar frets.

The left hand is more difficult for a beginner to handle. The wrist of the raised forearm should be bent, the hand should be rounded and positioned thumb in the center of the neck at the back. The remaining fingers should stand on the strings, pressing them with pads. Over time, you will learn to assume this position without straining your shoulders and hands. It is important to study at home systematically.

Guitar tuning

Before you learn to play the guitar at home, it is important to get a feel for the instrument and tune it correctly. To play beautiful melodies, it is necessary not only to position your hands, but also to achieve the right guitar sound. Knowledge of notes will be an absolute advantage, although tuning can also be done by ear. There are several simple ways:

• Use an online service that plays the correct sound of each string.
• You can tune your guitar using a piano if you have one at home. Strings are designated by letters that correspond to one or another piano key. They should sound identical.
• When using a guitar tuner, tuning it will not be difficult at all. The device will indicate the note you played and all that remains is to untwist or tighten the string.
• If you have a good ear for music, you can use a tuning fork.

First exercises for playing the guitar

In order to properly learn to play the guitar at home, perform a guitar solo and your favorite songs, you will have to practice hard every day. It is better to start mastering guitar playing with exercises that are played on one string. Often teachers teach their students a very simple song about a grasshopper. On the Internet you can find tablature for it, where the numbers indicate which frets need to be clamped sequentially on the string. Having mastered such exercises, you can move on to guitar picking, combat and other more complex elements.

Video lessons of playing the guitar from scratch

Guitar lessons for beginners are not limited to training from teachers and classes on printed literature. There are video courses in which the teacher gradually explains how to learn to play the guitar at home. They give useful recommendations For beginners, exercises are discussed in detail to quickly acquire the necessary skill. Use the tutorial videos below to quickly learn how to play the guitar at home.

Online guitar tutorial for beginners for free

How to learn to play the electric guitar - beginner level

Guitar – universal musical instrument, sounds great both as an accompaniment and as a solo. The soft and deep timbre of the classics, the sonorous and loud acoustics make people fall in love with this music. Many of them, once hearing guitar music, are inspired by the idea of ​​learning how to use the instrument. Those who want to get into this business ask themselves the question: “is it possible to learn to play the guitar by yourself?”, “how to learn to play the guitar from scratch at home?” etc. Below we will provide answers to these burning questions. So, let's go!

But before you study

Answer yourself - “why?” Yes Yes! This is not a joke or an attempt to demotivate you. There are several types of guitars, and each of them is used to perform different genres. musical works. Therefore, before you start studying, you need to understand what exactly you want to play on six string guitar. Let's take a short excursion. Typically, guitars are divided into two types: classical and acoustic.

The first ones are soft nylon strings, deep sound and they are suitable for performance classical works, flamenco, ballads, romances and other instrumental compositions. Acoustics are equipped with loud and ringing metal strings designed to play chords and perform accompaniment. They are also performed on it instrumental compositions, but they sound completely different. In general, the difference between guitars only matters if you want to play classical music or play chords. In the first case, ONLY will suit you classical guitar, in the second - acoustic, for other options it is better to go to the store and listen to the difference in sound. So, if you have already decided on a guitar, let's move on.

How long should you practice?

The second question that arises for beginning guitarists is “how long does it take to learn to play the guitar for beginners?” There is no clear answer. Professional musicians They study for 6-7 years at school, 3-4 at college and 4-6 at the conservatory. But don’t be alarmed, the duration of training depends more on what exactly you want to achieve and how much effort you are willing to spend on the road to your goal.

For example, to learn a very simple song from scratch with chords, it will take 1-2 weeks, for an easy instrumental piece it will take about a month. You can usually master techniques like barre, slides, harmonics, and legato only after 6-12 months of playing. Therefore, if you are looking for an answer to the question “how to quickly learn to play the guitar,” then the only answer is “no way.”

Understand that learning is not an easy process, but often a tedious task where you have to hammer on the same thing for hours to achieve a result. But the sound of music coming from under your fingers is worth it, believe me. If you're planning on learning to play "seriously", you'll need to practice every day for at least 20 minutes for as many days as it takes to learn all the songs and compositions you want.

Is it difficult to learn to play the guitar? Undoubtedly, it is both difficult and time-consuming, but when you are truly passionate about the process, you won’t mind the time and effort spent. But if you can’t wait to start playing, we’ve made it for you

General principles of the game

Technically speaking, playing a guitar is a process where you use your left hand to pinch the strings on the frets and use your right hand to pluck them over the rosette (hole in the body) or hit them with your hand/pick.

The first thing you need to start with is placing your hands. That is, the position of the hands that they take during the game. At first glance it may seem like a trifle, but both the technique and the convenience of the game depend on it. If you miss this moment, which plays a significant role, then after a while your hands will quickly begin to get tired, and some techniques will not work. Therefore, pay attention to the placement of your hands.

The next step is to learn sound production - the hand movements that are made to produce sound. When you learned to unite right hand with your left and try to pinch the strings with your left hand and at the same time produce sound with your right. At this stage, find a few special exercises and play them.

Find out about correct positioning hands and sound production can be found on the pages of our website. If you don’t find suitable information, write in the comments. We will definitely help you with the right lesson! At the same time, it is useful to read information about the structure of the guitar, frets, strings, finger symbols, etc. If you have enough enthusiasm, start learning music theory.

How to play chords

When you can already extract sounds from the guitar on different frets, learn chords. Yes, we recommend starting with general chords and leaving the songs aside for now. Look on the Internet how to play the most common chords on the guitar (A, am, C, D, dm, E, em, G). First, learn to place your fingers on them so that all the strings sound good and do not rattle. Then practice moving from one chord to another, slowly at first, and then speed up. Try playing longer chord progressions in a row; the sequence am, C, em, dm sounds nice. When you feel confident, choose an easy song and learn combat or busting to it.

List of the simplest compositions:

1. Carefree angel - Aria.
2. Eighth grader - Cinema.
3. Chunga-Changa.
4. Perfect – Pink.
5. Love the way you lie – Emineb ft. Rihanna.
6. Paparazzi – Lady Gaga.

How to play bust

Picking is a way of playing where you pluck the strings one at a time in some order. The verses of many songs are built on it (the same carefree angel). There are many options for searching, there is no need to learn everything at once. To learn how to pick on the guitar, play any chord and play it slowly several times according to the pattern; when you remember it, gradually speed up, and then play a sequence of several chords. This is the best way to study. Here are the diagrams for the simplest searches:

The bottom line in the picture indicates the highest string on the guitar - the bass.

Learning to fight

It is better to learn to play strumming on the guitar using the same method as fingerpicking. You can learn them as needed or learn a few of the most popular ones at once. The second option is useful for those who want to try composing their own songs. The most common battles and their schemes:

The arrows indicate the direction of movement of the hand or pick, the “x” sign indicates the muting of the strings. There are also battles “six”, “eight” and many others. From the names it is easy to understand that they determine the number of impacts and jamming. There are many variations, the main thing is that the battle fits into the score (six is ​​a score of 6, eight is a score of 8, and so on), and so you can experiment and try to make a combination yourself.

How to learn to play instrumental or classical pieces

After the first stage, start studying the simplest etudes and melodies like “grasshopper”. But first, master the skill of reading music or tablature.

Notes are a graphic recording of musical works on 5 lines, where one symbol indicates a sound of a certain pitch. The difficulties that can arise here are a lot of time spent on memorizing notes on the frets of the guitar and on recording. But the plus is that most works are written down with notes and having learned them once, “all doors” will open for you. So playing the guitar by notes is cool, although difficult.

Tablatures are visual schematic images that show which fret should be pressed on which string. The main advantage is that they are easy to learn to understand and read faster than sheet music. But not all musical compositions can be found in tabs.

Choose a simple melody and slowly begin to learn it in small parts. First, we achieve ease in playing one part, and then we move on to studying the other, connecting them, adding another piece, and so on until the end of the melody.

When you have learned several compositions, learn the following techniques:

• legato;
• barre;
• harmonic;
• farshlag;
• glissando.

Their descriptions are easy to find on our website. Gradually complicate the compositions; we recommend that you download some kind of sheet music archive or collection of tablatures.

The learning process occurs gradually, in small steps. You learn to play songs on the guitar and pieces that are more complex than the previous ones, and with them new techniques and techniques. Every success brings you joy and pleasure, but before it you have to work hard and make an effort. How long will it take? Learn while you enjoy it.

How to choose a guitar

Before you learn to play the guitar, you need to choose the right instrument. But after visiting the store, the aspiring musician begins to involuntarily get lost in all the assortment and variety of models. Therefore, when choosing a guitar, you need to adhere to certain actions.

Initially, you should pay attention to the strings, which are iron and nylon. Nylon strings are better suited for learning, as iron strings will cut unaccustomed fingers.

Next, you should visually inspect the guitar for the integrity of the body and the absence of dents or cracks. The upper and lower decks should be made of a single sheet of plywood, and all joints should be well taped. You need to ask the seller about the material from which the tool is made. Purchase better guitar made from pine.

The neck must be perfectly straight, without bending, otherwise a beginner will not be able to properly tune the instrument. It is better to give preference to a guitar with a neck that is bolted on rather than glued. This will allow, through a bolted connection, to change the distance between the neck and the strings and slightly level it in case of bending.

An important factor in the sound of a guitar is the condition of the tuning pegs, since they are used to tune the guitar. They should fit tightly, without gaps, spin well and not creak. All that remains is to check the acoustics and sound of the instrument. In general, the strings should "sound" and not "chatter". Considering all the features, it is still better to entrust the choice of guitar to a professional in order to be able to purchase a quality instrument.

How to learn to play the guitar

To play the guitar, in addition to the acquired skills, you need ear for music. If you don't have it, it will be quite difficult to learn the game. The main stages that need to be completed during training are reading tablatures, studying the construction of chords, possible ways performing accompaniments, as well as passing practical exercises. It is also important to choose the appropriate method for learning to play the guitar in.

One of them is printed tutorials - a free manual that contains the basic elementary lessons. They describe in detail the guitar's tuning, frets, notes, chords, etc. The potential student decides for himself when to study, but this method is more suitable for patient, diligent people. If a person lacks self-discipline, you should not study according to self-instructions, as this can take forever.

Video tutorials on the Internet are also a free option. The guitarist chooses his own lessons and practices them. However, an inexperienced user may unknowingly miss useful information or rush from one lesson to another in a hurry. There is also the possibility of constant distractions by others, which will interfere with learning.

The best option, providing an individual approach, is a private tutor. By using this method, you are likely to get quick results, study at a convenient time and not be distracted by everyday trifles. But not everyone can afford to pay a tutor for lessons.

Popular in Lately Paid video courses have become available, which are compiled by teachers and include only the necessary information. The lessons are designed “from simple to complex”, while maintaining the sequence of knowledge acquisition. You just need to insert the disc and repeat the necessary chords and fingerings after the teacher, and then consolidate what you have learned in free mode. The lesson can be viewed as many times as necessary to understand the material. The cost of such lessons is much cheaper compared to a tutor, and the result is no worse.

By choosing the appropriate learning method and showing perseverance, patience and dedication, you can learn in a short period of time basic principles playing the guitar, and then polishing the acquired knowledge over time.

How to play chords

Learning to play the guitar begins with the main stage - learning chords. Each chord has a combination of several notes, which are indicated in the form of letters of the Latin alphabet from A to G, making them easy to remember: the first note is “A” (letter A), and the last is “G” (letter G).

The chords differ in sound character due to the minor and major scales. Major means cheerful, joyful, minor means sad, calm. The symbol for a minor chord always contains the letter “m”, while in a major chord everything remains unchanged. Also, music cannot do without accidental signs - sharp (#) and flat (b), which raise or lower the chord by a semitone, respectively. For example, G#m means the note "G sharp" in a minor mode.

To learn chords, you will need fingerings - these are chords on the neck of a guitar, in which strings are indicated horizontally, and frets are indicated vertically by numbers. Each pattern corresponds to one chord. On it, dots highlight the places on the fretboard where you need to press the strings in order to get this or that chord.

For convenience and ease of play, you can find a songbook on the Internet, where a large number of chords with words above them. This is where fingerings are needed. According to the proposed scheme, you need to place your fingers on the required frets and play the chord once.

It is better to practice on simple chords, for example Em (E minor), Am (A minor), C (C), since most others require knowledge of a special “barre” technique, in which you need to pinch several strings of the same fret with one finger at the same time. With a large “barre” all the strings are clamped at once, but this will require long training.

There are many ways to play the guitar, but the most common are picking, when the guitarist alternately plucks the strings and parses the chord into sounds, and strumming - playing a chord with one hit on the strings. The following symbols are present in the combat game:

1) P - blow from the top string to the bottom;

2) V - blow from the lower string to the upper;

3) + - thumb mute the strings;

4) x – the same with the edge of the palm.

For a beginning guitarist, to get a clear sound when strumming, it is better to strike with the tips of your nails rather than with your entire hand. If, when playing simple chords, you get a melody, and not just a set of harmonies, then you can start learning songs and in the future please your friends with good music.