Learn to Play Guitar Like A Pro!!

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Learn To Play Guitar Like A Pro!!
www.guitarlessons-reviews.com
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This article is devoted to learning how to play guitar (and even those just thinking about learning to
play or giving the gift of music to a loved one) and how to approach gaining some kind of
proficiency on the instrument. Now, we've all seen people playing the guitar at various times,
sometimes on TV, sometimes up close (a real treat), playing various kinds of music and at varying
skill levels. I think the hardest obstacle to overcome when you're earning how to play the guitar or
thinking about starting is the thought that playing the guitar is only something musicians can do, or
is only for people who are musically inclined. The simple fact is that anyone can learn to play the
guitar. It's just a matter of spending some time with it on a regular basis, and practicing in a
manner that's both fun and productive. Once it becomes part of your routine, it's only a matter of
time before your skill level and confidence develop.
When I started learning the guitar, there were a couple of learning aids I found to be
indispensable. They include:
Learning to Play Guitar Chord Reference Book - This is really helpful when you're not sure how to
play an F chord or a B minor, or want to learn some other ways to play it
Artist Songbook - This is a songbook which has the piano, lyrics, and guitar chords to your artist's
favorite songs, and is great for learning how to strum and change from chord to chord
Classical Guitar Book - This helps you familiarize yourself with the feel of scales and arpeggios,
and also improves your sight reading
Guitar Tab Songbook - As you progress, you're going to want to play some of the guitar parts from
your favorite songs note-for-note, meaning exactly as your favorite guitarist plays them. This type
of book has the music for this both in standard notation and guitar tablature
I had a very insightful guitar teacher who started off each lesson by showing me a new chord and
how to play it. Some good chord reference books that tackle these types of chords are the Whole
Book of Guitar Chords and The First Book of Chords for the Guitar both written by Dan Fox. Once
I had a feel for the chord, he would choose a song from a songbook from one of my favorite bands
that used this chord (say a B minor or an A7) and would have me learn that song using an
appropriate strum pattern. My mom played the piano, and would often visit the music store to buy
sheet music songbooks from her favorite artists, so eventually I got her to buy me a few gems of
this type:

2. Beatles Complete - This is a valuable book for two reasons. One is that it's The Beatles. The
second is that The Beatles composed songs with relatively few and very easy to play chords ("I
Saw Her Standing There" has three), and also songs with many and often unorthodox chords
("Michelle" has, um, a lot), especially when used in rock music. This makes it a great vehicle for
learning new chords incrementally via their songs
Neil Young - Decade - My brother wore out this recording and when I started playing some of the
tunes from it on the guitar, it gave his little brother some instant credibility. Many of the songs in
this book were recorded by Neil on the acoustic guitar, so it lends itself to the beginner who's
learning on an acoustic
Led Zeppelin Complete - This is a strange and beautiful book. It has the main guitar riffs for every
Led Zeppelin song on the first five albums (I - IV and House of the Holy) but it's in standard
notation. I spent a summer learning every song in this book and not only did my guitar playing
improve, but so did my sight reading
Eric Clapton Deluxe Revised - This contains some of the best songs from Cream, the Layla disc
by Derek and the Dominoes, and some of Eric's early solo work, but it's unique in that it has a
separate section with some of Eric's best guitar solos transcribed. Eric is a great role model when
you start learning how to play a guitar solo, because some of his solos are simple enough that
they can be played by a beginning-intermediate guitar player (though it takes a lifetime to learn to
play it with as much feeling as Eric)
Once we covered the chord of the week and the song that went with it, we would tackle a classical
piece. One of the best classical books I can recommend, especially if you're not a classical
guitarist, is Classical Studies for Pick-Style Guitar - Volume 1. This book is great for developing
your right-hand picking and also for developing your sight reading since all the music is in
standard notation. There are some interesting pieces by Matteo Carcassi, which require you to
arpeggiate various chords, and also some Bach Inventions that are arranged for duet guitar, so
you can play with a friend. You can hear how this sounds in an on-line guitar lesson I created at
WholeNote - Bach's 8th Invention.
The one thing that's changed over the past decade in sheet music for guitarists is the emergence
of guitar tab songbooks. In the late 1990's, an archive of guitar tablature files was collectively
created and dubbed the On-Line Guitar Archives (OLGA), in which random guitarists from around
the world created text files containing their own transcriptions of how to play your favorite songs by
your favorite bands. The problem was that the quality and accuracy of the transcription was hit or
miss. Sheet music companies finally wised up and started releasing accurate note-for-note
transcription books, which were the real deal. In my day, you were a god if you could play the
guitar solo, "Eruption", played by Eddie Van Halen off Van Halen I, because you had to learn it by
ear off the record, which is pretty much impossible. Today, you can just buy the Van Halen I guitar
tab songbook and get all the music for Eruption both in guitar tab and standard notation. Oh, and
they also throw in the rest of the songs from Van Halen I, and from Van Halen II, as well. I've
always loved the whacked-out intro that Eddie plays in Mean Street, which opens the Fair Warning
recording. The Van Halen Guitar Anthology Series has the tab for this, note for note, including
every last harmonic, pick scrape, bend, and tap. It's unbelievable. And it's not just Van Halen. You
can find similar guitar tab songbooks for The Beatles, Metallica, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Dave
Matthews Band, Nirvana, Green Day, Audioslave and pretty much anyone else you can think of.

3. Finally, as you develop your practice routine, the one thing most often overlooked during practice
is being able to play in time. When you start to get comfortable with chords and strumming, there's
a natural tendency to stop or to hesitate while switching between chords. A good metronome will
make you aware of this and force you to play in time. The Qwik Time QT-7 Quartz Metronome is a
good budget option and provides a good click, while the Wittner Wood Case Metronome w/ Bell
and Cover is the kind you can hang onto forever and pass along from generation to generation
(and I should know - I have one from my grandfather). The Fender MT-1000 Chromatic
Tuner/Metronome is unique in that you get both a metronome and a guitar tuner in one convenient
package. Very handy, indeed.
You too can learn to play the guitar today! Hopefully, this gives you a bit of direction as you learn
to play the guitar. Remember that it's simply a matter of spending some time regularly practicing
some of the basics and then applying them to your favorite music. Keep expanding your
knowledge of the basic chords and learn to play songs that use them, along with the strumming
patterns of the tune. Combined with some classical pieces for dexterity and developing your sight-
reading chops, you'll be well on your way to mastering the guitar in no time!
Rick Ferguson
Learn to Play Guitar
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Learn To Play Guitar Like A Pro!!
www.guitarlessons-reviews.com
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