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By: Derek Gordon
How to Play Acoustic Guitar
If you've recently bought an acoustic guitar - or are thinking
about it - be assured that it's a GREAT personal investment. In
particular, starting to play on acoustic is both useful and
admirable, as a good steel stringed acoustic guitar is the
hardest to learn on. This also means that when you do it,
playing an electric or nylon stringed classical guitar is a
piece of cake.
In addition, the great thing about committing to acoustic is its
versatility. Buy yourself a case or a guitar bag, and it's
easily transportable to the beach, house parties, the park, or
even the street. You're also less likely to be evicted from your
apartment if you like to practice at 4 am.
If you haven't yet purchased a guitar but are planning to, I
would strongly suggest a steel string acoustic. Besides the
reason outlined above, the sound is crisper than with nylon
strings, and the steel strings stay in tune longer.
If you're a total beginner, and have a strung and tuned guitar
in front of you, then here are the basic major chords in their
easiest form. You can begin to practice finger position with the
instructions below the chart:
---- E-------------2-------0--------2-------0-------1-------3--------
----
B----2-------4-------1--------3-------0-------1-------3--------
----
G----2-------4-------0--------2-------1-------2-------0--------
----
D----2-------4-------2--------0-------2-------3-------0--------
----
A-------------2-------3-----------------2-------3-------2--------
----
E-------------2-------0----------------0-------1--------3--------
Let's take a look at the fingering for each. If you want to
strum, you can use a pick or your middle finger with thumb
resting lightly on top. The chords go from A to G, moving from
left to right on the chart.
Fingering:
* A Chord: Index finger on 4th string (from the bottom)
in second fret; middle finger on the 3rd string in second fret;
ring finger on the 2nd string in second fret. Other strings
played open. Cheat hint: If you're double-jointed, you can play
the A with just the index finger.
* B Chord: Index finger covers the all 6 strings on the
second fret; middle finger on the 4th string in 4th fret; ring
finger on the 3rd string in 4th fret; pinky finger on 2nd string
in 4th fret. Cheat hint: If you're double jointed, you can play
the B with just the index and ring fingers.
* C Chord: Index finger on 2nd string in first fret;
middle finger on 4th string in second fret; ring finger on 5th
string in third fret. Other strings played open.
* D Chord: Index finger on 3rd string in second fret;
middle finger on first string in second fret; ring finger on
second string in third fret. Other strings played open.
* E Chord: Index finger on the 3rd string in first fret;
middle finger on 5th string in second fret; ring finger on
fourth string on the second fret. Other strings played open.
* F Chord: Index finger covers all strings in the first
fret; middle finger on 3rd string in second fret; ring finger on
the 5th string in third fret; pinky finger on the 4th string in
the 3rd fret. This chord is probably the most painful to play
for a beginner, so don't 'fret' if you're hurtin' a little. * G Chord: Index finger covers the 5th string in the
second fret; pinky finger covers the 1st and 2nd strings in the
third fret; thumb wraps over to cover the 6th string in the
third fret. Note that there are a few ways to play this
chord...I'm showing what I believe to be the simplest.
If you had some pain playing any or all of those chords, don't
worry. The next step is for you to practice keeping for fingers
down on the strings and developing your calluses. I don't
necessarily recommend this, but if you want to speed up the
development of the calluses, you can use rubbing alcohol on your
finger tips three times a day.
You can work with getting the correct finger positioning with
these 7 chords as a start...once you feel somewhat comfortable
with the positioning you can play around with switching between
the different chords, seeing how fast you can do so. You'll
probably get restless to start strumming before that, which you
can do with a pick or your fingers using your middle finger with
your thumb resting gently on top. Start with downstrokes only
aiming for a crisp, clear sound.
Happy practicing! By the way, if you would like to take a look at an article I
wrote on reading tablature, you can check it out here. If you're interested in a very popular online
course that will have you playing with ease in no time, check
out Jamorama.com.
About the author:
Derek Gordon has been playing guitar for 14 years - at home, at
the beach , and even on stages in front of hundreds of people.
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