Some Thoughts on Learning to Play the Guitar

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Many people long to play the guitar. Some have actually have attained fame and fortune, while others are in the beginning stages. If you’ve just bought your first guitar, you can look forward to a rich and rewarding time of learning to make music. Don’t make the mistake of thinking it will be easy, or that you will automatically become a pro. Just to become good takes a lot of time and practice. It’s all worth it as you begin to enjoy making music. You’ll have a few things to think about once you’ve decided to take up the guitar. You may want to take lessons from a qualified instructor. You may want to buy books and be self-taught. Or you may decide to learn online from some of the many videos and pictures available. It won’t be hard to find the right one for you. It’s also necessary to settle on the type of music you want to play. Needless to say there are a lot of options. Some of the first things you’ll learn is how to hold your guitar and where to place your fingers. Before long you’ll be learning chords. It’s a good idea to familiarize yourself with how each string sounds when you pluck it. The strings correspond to notes ranging from A to G. You’ll also become familiar with some symbols. Sharp notes are designated with “#” and flat notes with “b”. “C#” would tell you that you should play C sharp and “Cb” means play the C flat. However, prior to playing chords, your new guitar will need to be tuned. This means that each string is assigned to a specific note. Your guitar will have six strings, each with a note assigned. For example, the guitar will be tuned so the first string, which is the thinnest is an E. Then, the second string is a B, the third string a G, the fourth string a D, the fifth string an A, and finally the sixth and thickest string, an E. When you start out you may want to have someone else tune your guitar, such as your teacher or someone at a music store. In no time at all you’ll be able to do it yourself. During your first lessons, you’ll most likely learn open chords and the first position. The more you use it the more comfortable you’ll feel and in a month or so you will be able to play real songs. Learning to play the guitar is a terrific hobby that could develop into something bigger over time.