START : INITIAL STEP

A guitar pick produces a clear sound with a lot of treble in it.  The hardness of the pick is important: a very hard pick can make your sound too harsh while a very soft pick produces a 'flappy' sound. A medium thickness gives the best results for strumming.


Keep the strumming very simple in the beginning with this technique called four to the bar. Start counting from 1 to 4 and strum the chord on every count with a downstroke.  A down stroke means you stroke from the thickest to the skinniest string with a pick or your finger. Make sure you play only the strings that are marked with a black or white dot (on the chord diagram).  Failing to do this will make your chord sound bad.

In music notation it looks like this:

Rhythms are written between 2 vertical lines (bar lines):
|                                      |
This is called a bar. Each bar has 4 counts. : this is the symbol for a strum. Each strum like this has a       duration of 1 count.   : the upward arrow tells you that the strum should go from       the thickest to the skinniest string. This is called a        downstroke.

Try this basic strumming pattern on some of the chords. If you succeed in doing this go to the next step:

Now we put an 'and' between the counts: 1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and 1 and 2... On the counts you strum with a downstroke (), on the 'and' you strum with an upstroke (: from the skinniest string to the thickest).

It looks like this:

 

 : this means that each strum has the duration of a half count. If a couple of these follow each other, the tail is connected:
  -in groups of 4: 
  -or in groups of 2: 

Here are a few more strumming patterns:

In this last example you see a curve between the 2nd and the 3rd count. This means that those 2 notes are played together, so the 2 half notes become a whole note.

WORKING AREAS

1) fingers of the left hand are to be place on the fingerboard. The fingers have their placement on the frets as shown in the figure.

2) Right hand holds a PLAKTUM (or not), and the strumming is done up and down the strings.

HOW TO HOLD A GUITAR - SITTING POSTURE

Remember, this diagram applies to both electric and acoustic guitars!

Some key things to note here:

• Whether you're sitting with your legs crossed or uncrossed, ensure your knees are high enough to support the guitar at (or just below) chest height.
• Rest the dip of the guitar (most guitars have a dip for this purpose) on your lap. Rest it on the same side as your strumming hand (e.g. if you strum with your right hand, rest it on your right lap).
• Rest the guitar flat against your chest (although some people prefer to slightly tilt it towards them - emphasis on the word slightly!)
• Don't hunch your back.
• Make sure your elbow points out towards the top corner of your guitar. It should also rest so your forearm and wrist can pivot over the strings.

Guitar - a description-cum-diagram

Above shown, is a common Spanish acoustic guitar.

"HAVE AN ACOUSTIC GUITAR OF YOUR OWN" 
so that you may practice whenever you are free and make guitar your best friend...

INTRODUCTION

Guitar is a word that amazes many. The word has harmony in its own. People like to cherish the time with guitar as it is PARTY or a CELEBRATION BOOSTER. Moreover, people want to relax their mind moving through the tunes of the guitar. The artists performing in concerts are perfect because they make it as a passion and take it seriously.

So, “Practice makes the man perfect” is the only keyword that is applied here…

For beginners it is suggested “impossible is nothing” and 5 days might be long for you. 3 tips for the beginners:

1)       1)  REGULARITY

2)          2)        PATIENCE

3)         3)       SELF-CONFIDENCE

With the above three you may win any challenge in life.

So, to make playing guitar a cakewalk is in your hands…