Learning how play guitar

"How do you get to Carnegie Hall?" the old saying goes. The answer, of course, is "Practice, practice, practice!"

It's an axiom meant to enforce the importance of hard work and dedication when it comes to learning an instrument. Whether it's the xylophone or the trumpet or the drums... gotta practice if you want to do it right. And it's no different if you're learning how play guitar.

Guitarists are ubiquitous at this point. Walk through a college dorm and every third room will have someone sitting there with their six-string, plucking out everything from Bob Dylan to The Killers. They've all taken the time to figure out enough to make a tune, and though some of them may not look like the type who'd work hard at anything except being ironic, don't let their looks fool you: They've worked hard.

And that's how play guitar. You pick it up, learn the basics and work at it every day til you reach a level of proficiency that suits you. It may become a passion, or it may become a bit of a burden that you'll soon give up. But if it's the former, you won't regret the hard work you've put in!

The first step is learnign the basics. Guitars have six strings, each a different width and tension to give a different tone. When learning how play guitar, that's step one - understanding which sounds each string will make. Press the strings against the fretboard - or neck - of the guitar to change the tone, making it slightly higher the higher up the fretboard you go. The raised ridges along the neck are the frets, by the way. These are all terms you'll learn and remember once you start learnign how play guitar.

Step two is just getting your hands used to the actions of playing. The tips of your fingers will hurt a bit at first, but in time you'll build calluses. You also might end up with your wrists and knuckles a little sore, since you'll be twisting them in a bit of an unnatural motion. Don't worry though - just pop an aspirin and keep working at it, because those muscles and tendons will strengthen as you continue to learn how play guitar. Practice, practice, practice!

Once you've figured out how to produce the tones you want, and you have a certain amount of fluidity in moving from tone to tone, it's time to start learning your scales. A scale is an "octave" of notes - do-re-me-fa-so-la-ti-do - upon which all music is based. Master the scale, and you're well on your way, because once you've got that down you've truly learned how play guitar.

The next step, of course, is learning how to play it well. Like everything else... practice! There are no short cuts when it comes to learning a musical instrument - believe me, if there were, I would have found them! But there aren't, especially if you want to learn how play guitar well. So put your head down, pick your axe up, and work hard. In the end, if you really love it, it'll be well worth the time spent.