Tips To Help You Learn The Guitar

Learning different chords are essential to becoming a well balanced musician.

I have personally found myself in a playing "rut" that was extremely hard to get out of.

It was as if I couldn't play anything new and my imagination was gone when it came to writing songs. Then I discovered chords.

When my professor first suggested chords I laughed because I considered myself a lead guitarist and I couldn't make the connection between the two.

Then I actually started to play around with new chords that were foreign to me and something magical happened, I started to write good music.

You will discover a new world of options with chords. Eric Clapton is a perfect example of integrating chords into every day playing.

He shows us that there is much more to playing chords than just strumming. He applies a number of different techniques and concepts that have been associated with playing lead guitar.

My suggestion and challenge to you is to learn one new chord everyday. It will only take a few minutes and the end result will be well worth the time that you invest.

Putting Chords into practice

Now it's time to put chords into play.

Pictured below are five chords. They are called G, Aadd11, Bm, D, Cadd9 (in order of appearance). They sound like they are complicated to play on your guitar but it's actually quite the opposite!

Hold the bass note, located on the low E string, with your index finger. Use your index finger to lightly mute the A string.

This isn't hard to do because your index finger is at a slight angle to begin with and will stay away from the open D string, which you want to ring out.

Then, hold the note located on the G string with your third finger. Now just move it up and down the fretboard!

Notice how the notes that you're fretting are actually a part of a movable arpeggio? Check this example out to see what I mean:

...compare that arpeggio to the G chord from above and you will find that the chord is in the arpeggio. Everything in music can be linked up at some point.

Now mix it up and try some variations of those chords. Don't be afraid to make it your own by adding some new strumming patterns and giving it it's own personality.

That's why we left our examples pretty simple, we want you to add in your own style. Check out some variations of the chords below and have fun!

An inspirational ending...

We try so hard to emulate our favorite guitarists that we sometimes forget to develop who we are. The guitar is more than just an instrument, it's an expression of one's inner most being.

How many times do we actually take the time just to jam out on our instruments without trying to be perfect, just letting the emotion pour through? In the words of B.B King,

"We all have idols. Play like anyone you care about but try to be yourself while doing so".

Go out and play like there's no tomorrow and enjoy life!