To learn reading the chords of a guitar, one must have the basic knowledge on what a chord is and how is it produced.
Introduction
A chord is a set of tones producing a melody and is played on a guitar. The chords of a guitar can be made up of different notes that are played one string at a time whether doing it on a plucking or strumming method. Chords are played with two or three notes, can be more than. Some are played with only one note.
Categorically, there two kinds of chords – minor and major. And the basic primary chords herewith are the C,A,G,E,D or CAGED. If you are new on playing the guitar, mastering the CAGED pattern must be the first and foremost thing you should do. A lot of artists who mastered these basic chords confessed that it paved the way for easy manipulation of the other difficult chords.
Reading a Diagram
The very basic thing that you should know when learning the chords have to be learning on how to read the chord chart or chord diagram. Without these, you’ll be left in a dilemma.
A chord diagram is an illustration with instructions on how to play a particular chord. To be able to achieve a successful guitar manipulation, there should be a good interpretation of each chord stated in the diagram and the musician must read it in the most accurate way.
Following the CAGED pattern
Imagine yourself looking at a guitar. Now put your attention at the fret board. You’ll notice that a whole fret board is composed of 6 strings attached to it. Well, not basically “attached” but on top of it. These strings are the ones making it possible to produce the chords and melody. If you’re going to focus on fingering first, might as well memorize the different chords produced in every fret. There are five basic and easy chords that will enhance you to learn other harder chords.
Troubleshooting
Oftentimes a lot of beginners complain how sore their fingers are after finishing one session with their guitar, its a normal reaction. You should be surprised if you’re not hurting even a bit, this means that you’re not playing it right. The proper way to carry out fingering is pressing your fingertips hard enough on the strings. When you notice that there is a buzzing sound or the echo is not going the way it should sound, try to press harder on the strings.
Tips
1) Cut those long fingernails. They will make it difficult for you to press the strings correctly.
2) Don’t let your fingers lie down while playing for they tend to mute some strings. This is the most common mistake done by newbies.
3)Be sure that your fingertips are the ones that are in contact with the strings and not the place where fingerprints are taken. Maintain the straight arch. Aside from the fact that this is exhausting, this is also painful and difficult but will pay off as soon as calluses are produced.
4) Remember that you should press the notes altogether. Make sure that no strings must be left out.
5) Practice. Memorize each chord pattern.
6) Don’t rush yourself. If you do, it’ll just frustrate you if you don’t get it. Choose songs that are easier to play.
Most individuals are right handed but it doesn’t really matter if you’re a left handed individual. There are things that some right handed people can do that lefties can’t do but when it comes to playing a guitar, even left handed people can do it too as long as their determined and motivated. Learn how to play the guitar even if you’re left handed especially if you love this musical instrument.
To be more inspired, you need to know some famous left handed guitarists. Yes, there are actually many left handed guitarists like Jimmy Hendrix, Kurt Cobain, Albert King, Dick Dale, and Paul McCartney. These guitarists used re-strung guitars as well as left handed guitars and each of them have their own styles when playing the guitar. You can find more about them and their playing style by reading magazines or simply surfing the net.
A lot of information can be found online so you’d better start surfing the net. By knowing their stories, you will be motivated to learn to play guitar even if you’re left handed. Being a lefty should not be a hindrance if you really want to learn.
If your a beginner, you should know that you have several options to learn to play a guitar. First, you can use guitars that are used by right handed people. You don’t need to re-string it, simply leave the strings as is and then try to play the guitar upside down. Now this may seem difficult and so you can opt for the second option wherein you re-string a guitar.
However, this is not very easy if you plan to play an electric guitar especially when using the tone and volume controls. The best option for most left handed individuals is using the left handed guitar because you don’t need to re-string it or play it upside down.
As a beginner, a huge portion of your time will be spent in looking for the best guitar in your local music stores or even in online stores. You need to prepare some money when purchasing a guitar especially if you want a left handed guitar. You see, left handed guitars are rather expensive because these are specially designed for lefties. Go for quality guitars that are sold at a reasonable price if you don’t want to break your savings. But once you learn to play the guitar well, you can now experiment in using different guitars, even right handed re-strung guitars.
Beginners are advised to get left handed guitars to learn all the basics of guitar playing easily. You need to memorize all the notes, chords, and other guitar playing techniques. Strumming is also a problem for some lefties but with practice and patience, you can learn it fast. Depending on your learning attitude, you need to choose the appropriate learning method.
When learning to play a guitar, left handed individuals should always remember to purchase first a left handed guitar. You need to invest on the guitar so that you can practice more often and you don’t need to borrow every time you want to play the guitar. Then, find the guitar learning method that suits you.
After doing these things, you can now start and learn how to play the guitar even if you’re left handed. Good luck and who knows, in time you may become one of the best guitar players in the world.