Do you think you have ESP


Start Playing Rock Guitar - 5 Easy Steps To Get You Rocking Out

If you love rock music, and have alwaysA  -||--|--|--|--|4X|--
wanted to be able to play some of your
favorite songs on the guitar, but maybeE  -||--|--|1X|--|--|--  (lowest-sounding)
you've found it difficult to get started,
then here are 5 steps to help get you getIn this diagram, the X's show where to put
going.your fingers (of your left hand usually) on
the fretboard, and the number shows which
Step  1  -  Choose  Your  Guitar  &  Ampfinger to use where. So in this case, the
first finger will go on the lowest string at
Of course, you can learn to play the guitarthe 3rd fret, then the 4th finger at the 5th
using any type of guitar, acoustic (classicalfret, then finally the 5th finger at the 5th
folk)  or  electric.fret.
However, if you particularly want to startWhen forming this pattern, try to make each
playing rock guitar, then an electric guitarfinger rest just behind the fret marker, and
is probably the best choice. The main reasonnot be right in the middle, as this makes the
for this is that guitarists in most rocknotes sound more clearly (with less
bands use electric guitars, so from the start'buzzing'). Try strumming the bottom 3
it's going to sound more like the music youstrings with your right hand, while holding
want to play (after all, you're not lookingdown this pattern on the fretboard with your
to play 'Greensleeves', but more 'Greenleft. That is a G power chord. If your guitar
Day').strings are in tune as in step 2, and you
have a distortion sound, then that should
Another reason, which some people may debate,really  sound  like  a  rock  chord.
but I think that it's just easier on the
fingers to start learning on an electricStep  4  -  Shift  It  Around
guitar, and that's less likely to put you off
when  you're  just  beginning.Now for the best bit - to play some songs
right away you can use this same pattern, but
As for the amplifier or 'amp', to start off,play different chords with it. So, keeping
you don't need a huge stack, or ayour fingers in this pattern (1st, 4th and
particularly powerful amp. A small practice5th fingers), try sliding it down 2 frets to
amp (e.g. 10-20 Watts) can be sufficient toplay  an  F  chord:
begin with. Most of these will have at least
2 different modes - 'clean' and 'distortion'E  -||--|--|--|--|--|--  (highest-sounding)
(or this second one may be called 'drive').
The distortion mode is really the one youB  -||--|--|--|--|--|--
want to use, as this is used to some degree
by many rock bands, and is the definitiveG  -||--|--|--|--|--|--
'rock guitar' sound. Even if at this point
you don't know how to play anything, justD  -||--|--|5X|--|--|--
plug the guitar in, select the distortion
channel, and strum the open strings - chancesA  -||--|--|4X|--|--|--
are  it  sounds  'rock  like'  already!
E -||1X|--|--|--|--|-- (lowest-sounding)it's
Many music stores sell starter packages whichthe same 'L' shape pattern as in Step 3, but
include an electric guitar, practice amp andyou've just shifted it further down the
case, which can be great value when startingfretboard.  This  is  now  an  F power chord.
out.
And  now  for  another  chord:
Step  2  -  Tune  It!
E  -||--|--|--|--|--|--  (highest-sounding)
An out of tune instrument can make even the
best guitarist sound awful. Get into theB  -||--|--|--|--|--|--
habit of always tuning the guitar before you
start playing or practicing. There are manyG  -||--|--|--|--|5X|--
different ways of tuning the guitar, but the
most common one is called 'Standard Tuning',D  -||--|--|--|--|4X|--
and this is the one used by most rock
guitarists.A  -||--|--|1X|--|--|--
On  this  diagram  of  the  guitar  neck:E  -||--|--|--|--|--|--  (lowest-sounding)
E  -||--|--|--|--|--|--  (highest-sounding)In this one, we've taken the original power
chord from Step 3, and just shifted it across
B  -||--|--|--|--|-X|--to start on the next string. This is now a C
power chord. When strumming this one, try not
G  -||--|--|--|-X|--|--to  sound  the  bottom  E  string.
D  -||--|--|--|--|-X|--In all cases here, the pattern stays exactly
the same, we've just changed which fret the
A  -||--|--|--|--|-X|--1st finger starts at, and on which string (E
or A). Since the frets on the guitar aren't
E  -||--|--|--|--|-X|--  (lowest-sounding)evenly spaced, you'll have to adjust your
fingers  slightly  when moving it up or down.
The lowest-sounding strings are shown at the
bottom, and the highest-sounding at the top.This diagram shows where you have to start
The diagram shows the names of the notes forwith your 1st finger to play different power
each string in Standard Tuning. Don't worrychords:
if you don't know the names of the notes, or
can't read music. The most important thing toE  -||--|--|--|--|--|--|-- (highest-sounding)
begin with, is just to tune the guitar
strings relative to each other. Let's sayB  -||--|--|--|--|--|--|--
we'll tune relative to the highest E string
(top  one  in  the  diagram).G  -||--|--|--|--|--|--|--
Play the B string on the 5th fret (X in theD  -||--|--|--|--|--|--|--
diagram) and at the same time play the open E
string. In Standard tuning, these should beA  -||Bb|-B|-C|C#|-D|Eb|-E
the same note, so if they don't sound the
same, adjust the B string tuning until theyE -||-F|F#|-G|G#|-A|Bb|-B
match. Then carry on with the other pairs of(lowest-sounding)so, for example, if you
strings. In each case you play the 5th fretwanted to play a D chord rather than a C as
on the lower string, against the sound of thewe did above, then just start with your 1st
open upper string. The only exception is thefinger  on  the  A  string  at  the 5th fret.
G string, where you play the 4th fret note -
see  the  X's  in  the  diagram.With this chart, and the chords to your
favorite rock song, you can use the one
Step  3  -  The  Power  Chordpattern  to  play  it  all  the  way through!
Okay, now the guitar is in tune (at leastStep  5  -  Practice!
with itself), so you can start learning some
rock chords. Most people start off byIt will still take some practice so that you
learning the open shape chords (C, D, Gcan form the pattern shown above, and move it
chords, etc), then move on to barre and otheraround easily between frets. However, for
more complicated chord patterns. This is anow, there's only one pattern to learn, and
perfectly acceptable way to learn, but toyou can concentrate on making the notes sound
play most songs, you usually need at least 3clearly by holding them down firmly behind
different chords, and the most frustratingthe frets with your left hand on the
thing is trying to switch your fingers fromfretboard, and trying to strum only the
one chord shape to another. With somestrings  you're  holding  down.
practice, this becomes quick and easy, but
there is another way to approach it, whichOnce you've got the hang of this shape, and
only  involves  learning  one  pattern.can play it easily at different frets, then
you should be able to play a few different
That pattern is the 'Power Chord' pattern,rock songs. From there, the sky is the limit,
and this can be used to play a largethere are many more techniques and things to
proportion of rock songs out there. Let'slearn as you progress with your guitar
look  at  the  G  power  chord  pattern:playing.
E  -||--|--|--|--|--|--  (highest-sounding)I know that this technique works well, as
recently my 11-year old son came to me, and
B  -||--|--|--|--|--|--wanted to learn to play a song on the guitar
called 'Teenage Kicks'. He hadn't really
G  -||--|--|--|--|--|--played guitar at all until then. I showed him
the power chord shapes here, and within half
D  -||--|--|--|--|5X|--an hour, he was playing the basics of this
song, much to his delight!



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