* Watch others play. Notice what they have to pay attention to and what seems like magic. * Practice arbitrary scale runs. Go up and or down 3 or 4 notes and then move up the scale with the same interval. * Jam up with friends who are better...

Harmonics are fun sounds to produce. They can be quiet and bell-like, as on an acoustic guitar, or they can be loud and squealy, as on an overdriven electric guitar. List of natural harmonics These will be explained shortly. * 12th fret:...

Hammer-ons and pull-offs are two closely related techniques. They are used to play legato, that is, in a smooth manner, and are also used to help the guitarist to play faster. They are most commonly used in electric guitar work, but can be used in...

Effects Pedals are small electronic devices that are inserted into the signal path between an electric instrument and the amplifier. They modify the signal coming from the instrument, adding "effects" that change the way it sounds in order to add...

The double-stop is the next step up from single notes. They are used in all kinds of music, from country to heavy metal, and by both lead and rhythm guitarists. Heavy overdriven guitar uses them almost exclusively in the form of power chords. A...

Acoustic guitars Acoustic guitars are used in a variety of genres. Because of the long history of the acoustic guitar, there are many different kinds; some kinds are rarely considered guitars, such as the ukulele. The body of the guitar is large...

A chord is a combination of notes played simultaneously. The name of a chord is determined by its root note, and the relationship between the root note and the chord's other notes. A root note is usually the lowest note in a chord, but this is not...

Chord Reference Many of the common guitar chords are given below. The numbers indicate the fingering fret position for each chord. The first number listed corresponds to the sixth string; the last number corresponds to the first string. A or Amaj ...

Buying a guitar for a beginner The key to buying a guitar for a beginner is to get one that the player enjoys and is excited about. If the player does not enjoy playing their guitar then it will be more difficult to continue. They will get...

Bending and vibrato are two related effects which help give extra "life" to notes, especially sustained notes, by changing their pitch. The techniques are not commonly used on the acoustic guitar or general rhythm playing. However, they are...

The word arpeggio (ar-peh-jee-oh) is Italian for, roughly, "like a harp", as it is a common technique for playing chords on the harp. To play an arpeggiated chord on the guitar, simply strum or pick the chord slowly, one string at a time, such that...

The guitar's body is of utmost importance: it provides the resonance that shapes the tone of an electric or acoustic guitar and provides the volume (or heft) of an acoustic guitar. It also may consist of: flattop (or just top): the "front" of...

Many guitar players use different tunings apart from the standard tuning. Use of nonstandard tunings is rare in classical guitar, but less rare in blues guitar. They are common enough, and their tonal effects interesting enough, that casual and...

Alternate picking is used to play much faster, and much more precisely, than you could do with just downstrokes or fingerpicking. The basic idea is that you do a downstroke and when you bring the pick back again you touch the string again with an...

Many beginning or even intermediate guitarists are unaware that their guitar should be "set up". The adjustments described in the adjustment subsections below (along with restringing and tuning) are called a "set up". What difference does a set up...