Learning to Play the Electric Guitar - What You Should Know Before You Start

Before you start learning to play the electric guitar there are some things you should know. Some involve prior knowledge of what you are letting yourself in for, and others have to do with stuff you should know before you start playing.

Many people, especially teenagers, get guitars because they are a cool thing to have, but really have no idea of what is involved in learning to play a musical instrument. OK, so you might have some fun with it, but unless you are committed to learning how to create your own music, you shouldn't spend too much money on equipment and lessons. Learning to play the electric guitar involves commitment of your time since you have to practice a lot, and more than just a little physical pain.

Let me explain that last part in more detail. Guitar strings are sharp things and can, and do, cut into your fingers. When you first begin to practice it will be painful, and that is something you have to tolerate for a while. Eventually, like all other committed guitarists, you will develop calluses on your fingers and playing will become a lot more comfortable. Your hands and fingers will also become painful because you will be using muscles in a way that they have never been used before, and you will have to build up strength in your hands and fingers because of this.

You will also have a lot of practicing to do. No electric guitar player gets good without practice, and you should set aside a period of time every day for practice. Although you might be occasionally tempted to miss a day, don't. That is the start of the slippery slope, and if you don't have the commitment, then don't start. Your skills will improve commensurate the amount of practice you do.

So that's what you are letting yourself in for. If you are still with us then you are made of the stuff that makes great electric guitarists. Before you start you will need a guitar, so if you are sure that this is what you want to do then buy the best that you can. Spend more on the guitar and the pick-up than on the amplifier since you can always upgrade the latter. The pick-up should be of a high standard, although you will possibly not have a choice, having to take what comes with your guitar. Once you have the equipment, take some time to find out how it all works.

Your guitar consists of the headstock that holds the turning pegs for tensioning the strings and tuning the guitar, the neck with the inlaid frets and the body. The body of an electric guitar holds the pick-ups, volume and tone controls and the bridge to which the strings are attached. If you have a tremolo attached, the bridge will be sprung so that it can move up and down to slightly tension the strings for the tremolo effect which is simply a change in pitch. The pick-ups will likely have a pick-up switch that can be adjusted to suit different types of sound effects that you want.

Another thing you should know before you start is how to tune your guitar. You can't learn how to play the electric guitar if it isn't properly tuned. And there are a number of ways to do that. You can use pitch pipes or tuning forks to tune each string, or just the one to tune any single string. Once you have one string in tune you can then tune the rest from that. Each string shares a note at the same pitch with at least one other string, and you can use that to tune the whole guitar.

Alternatively, go online and search for an online tuner. That will provide the exact note for each of your strings. Just tune the string until it sounds exactly the same as the sound provided. You can also purchase an electronic tuner that you can plug your guitar into, and it will tell you how close your note is to the correct one. You simply adjust the string tension until the note is exact for each string.

Finally, you have to learn how to hold the guitar properly whether you are sitting down or standing up, and how to hold and use the pick (plectrum). Once you know all of this you can start learning to play the electric guitar. If you take the time to understand the basics before creating a note, you will find it much easier to learn to play properly, and will get a lot more enjoyment and satisfaction from your electric guitar.

Learning to Play the Electric Guitar: What you Should Know Before you Start was originally published at http://www.guitarlearningcourse.com

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