Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Learn Guitar Chords!

By: sfshannon
Learning guitar chords will require two things: time and practice. It may seem like a daunting task at first, but with sufficient time and practice, you should be able to play a few simple chords in no time.
First, make a decision to continue on no matter how hard you think it is getting. No matter how hard it gets or how frustrated you are, stick with it. Your determination will be rewarded. As the saying goes, practice makes perfect but that saying isn’t right, there is no “Perfect” Guitarists. Every player, whether just starting out or one of the best, makes mistakes when they play. It’s all in the way they cover that mistake that the everyday person can’t even hear it. The world’s greatest guitarists didn’t become the best overnight. One of the best ways to learn guitar chords is to switch from one chord to another. Some of the easier chords to learn are G to A, E to A, and D to G.
Work on your fingers. Learning guitar chords will require finger exercise. This will make it easier to position your fingers correctly and quickly when you need to change from one chord to another. Some exercises include finger stretching, finger weights and pushing down hard on the strings.
Try to avoid looking at your hands too often when learning chords. Some guitar experts even advise wearing a blindfold when learning chords so as to further hone this skill. In time, you should be able to form a chord without the need to look at your hands. Contrary to popular belief, learning guitar chords one at a time takes longer to learn. Learning 3 chords at once is actually much more effective as you will be able to learn the positioning for each of them faster than if you learned them just one at a time.
As strange a tip as this may seem, don’t neglect your pinky! All of your fingers should be used when forming chords. This means that when you are forming a D chord, your pinky should be above the B or the high E string. Placing your pinky under the fret board or anywhere will only make it much more challenging for you to learn advanced chords in the future. In other words put it where it will be used later and when the time comes it will be second nature to hit the right chords with that pinky!
Lastly, use all your senses while you are learning. Don’t just learn chords arbitrarily; put your heart and soul into it. Visualize forming the chords successfully and hearing them play out correctly. Don’t give up, you’ll be strumming away effortlessly in no time.
AWSUME! B.C. Rich Warlock Electric Guitar, in Black. Excellent Price!

Learn Guitar Chords – 10 Tips to Help You Learn Guitar Chords

1. Keep persisting.
It is cliché, yet it is true—practice makes an excellent Guitarists, especially when you want to learn guitar chords. You won’t get anywhere by giving up after a week or a month. The guitar is one of those instruments which requires effort from its player; but that effort is surely rewarded in the end. Rest assured that it is perfectly normal not to get things right on the first try. One of the worst times to give up would be after learning the correct finger position and strumming a few times. Resist the temptation to throw in the towel. It’s only a matter of time before you finally see results.
2. Constantly visualize.
It is a well-known fact that the mind plays a decisive role in the failure or success of our actions.  Don’t underestimate the power of visualization. Before you even form a chord, visualize in your mind where each finger should be positioned even before you play it. One of the most effective ways to switch chords efficiently is to look at where your fingers are at the moment and thinking about where they need to be. Basic chords usually involve the most common notes so there will certainly be times when you won’t need to move your fingers that often.
3. Take it slow.
Don’t try to take on too much all at once. If you find yourself struggling with learning guitar chords, the problem may lie with the chord progressions you are choosing to work with. Start with simpler ones, and then move on from there. Take your time with changing chords and understand that putting too much pressure on yourself at the outset may backfire, discourage you, and ultimately, cause you to quit. Repetition is a useful tool for preparing yourself for more sophisticated chord changes.
4. Develop finger strength.
If you truly wish to become not just more adept at learning guitar chords, but guitar playing in general, you need to realize the importance of developing finger strength. The value of this exercise will reveal itself in time. Some of the best ways to do this would be to engage in finger exercises such as finger weights, doing finger press-ups, and even pressing down hard on guitar strings. Get creative, do what you think will help in making your fingers stronger and chord playing easier.

Learn Guitar Chords – Our Last 5 Tips…


Check out this Epiphone LP Special II Les Paul Collection Electric Guitar in Vintage Sunburst

5. Avoid looking at your hands.
In the beginning, looking down at your hands as you learn guitar chords might seem second nature to you. However, this is an issue that needs to be corrected as finger positioning should be something that you become accustomed to without the need to look at your hands.
6. Practice several chords simultaneously.
While some of the foremost experts and sources on guitar playing might tell you that practicing one chord at a time is actually the best route to take, when you learn guitar chords on the contrary, this is actually not the best way to learn. In order to learn more quickly and more effectively, practice playing several chords all at once. In that way, you are more likely to retain the information in your head as opposed to just having one chord reverberating in your memory. This will also be useful when it comes to recalling finger positions and chord progressions.
7. Use your pinkie finger.
The pinkie finger is oftentimes the most neglected finger in learning guitar chords. While the tendency of most beginning guitar players might be to push the pinkie finger aside while not in use, this shouldn’t be the case. It is essential that all fingers stay close to the fret board even when not in use. You will find that picking up this habit will prove useful as you learn higher-level chords in the future.
8. Get familiar with the root note.
When learning guitar chords, I cannot emphasize enough how critical it is to know what the root note of a chord is. In simple terms, a root note is the bass note of a chord. Basically, the root note tells you which string you should begin strumming from. For instance, a G major is formed by the three notes G, B and D. Therefore, the root note of the G major is the note G.
9. Pick the chord that needs to be picked.
As a beginning guitar player when you learn guitar chords, if you are hearing dull or flat notes within the chords you are playing, the problem is probably caused by a fingering issue. Don’t waste endless hours playing a certain chord until it comes out right but instead, begin to pick the chord. This way you are able to identify the problem more accurately. From there, remedy the problem by applying more pressure on the particular string that needs it or adjusting your finger position to produce better-sounding notes.

Learn Guitar Chords – Our Last Tip

10. Make use of all 5 senses.
This tip may seem irrelevant, but some of the world’s greatest guitar players swear by it. To learn guitar chords effectively, it is useful to look at it from every possible angle. Use your eyes to look at a chord chart, watch someone play the chords, use your ears to hear the chord being played, and visualize yourself playing the chords  yourself. Obviously, a keen sense of touch is vital to the art of guitar playing. Utilizing all 5 senses is sure to be helpful to learn guitar chords.
Check out this excellent Acoustic Guitar package reasonably priced!
A quick word about tuning your Guitar, if you haven’t picked up one in your life then tuning one is going to be a monumental task.  Don’t worry there are products out in the world today to make tuning your Guitar as easy as turning on a light switch.  In most cases, when you purchase a Guitar in a package, a Guitar tuner comes in the package.  If you received your instrument as a gift or bought it separately, then you will have to invest in one as soon as possible. A Guitar out of tune might as well be stuck in a corner and never played as it will not make the melody or music it was built to make.  Here are a couple of links to some Guitar tuners that will do the job for you with little to no hassle. The FIRST one is a little expensive but will last a long time and work wonders for you, also it does more than just tune your Guitar.  The SECOND one is just your basic Clip on tuner that will do the job right and won’t empty your wallet.
Korg Pitchblack True Bypass Chromatic Tuner Pedal with 4 Display Modes
Inexpensive Guitar Tuner, Snark SN-1 Tuner, Beginner to Intermediate!

No comments:

Post a Comment