Playing the Electric Guitar

By Paul de Vizard


You have always wanted to learn how to play electric guitar. You dream about it ever since you were a little kid. You love the amazing sound those rock musicians produce. You can be like them. You just have to be prepared to be persistent and to work hard in order to learn how to play this amazing musical instrument.

If you do not have any musical background, it will help you learn to start with a music theory session. This will teach you why certain chords progress in certain ways. Next, familiarize yourself with the guitar. Learn what each part is called. Learn what the strings are called. Get used to holding the guitar and how the frets and strings feel under your fingers.

Learning about tablatures is vital. You need to learn how to read the musical notations and what symbols denote. A P tells you to use a pull off technique. H represents a hammer-on. Vibrato is shown by a V. Familiarize yourself with all these symbols until they are second nature and you can naturally follow their instruction. In your practice time repeat different chords until you can easily transition from one chord to another. As soon as you are familiar with a good number of chords try playing songs using these chords. There are many tablatures online or in music stores.

It is also important for beginners to read music so they can practice different chords on their own. Sheet music is available at music stores and can also be found on the Internet. Once a beginner knows the basic chords they can start playing whole songs. A song provides practice for switching between notes and chords in a smooth manner.

Some highly recommended songs for those who want to learn how to play electric guitar include Holiday performed by Green Day, Leaving on a Jet Plane by John Denver and Sweet Home Alabama by Lynyrd Skynyrd. Holiday allows you to practice some essential power chords. You will be able to practice your single string plucking technique with it as well. Leaving on a Jet Plane is the song you may want to start practicing with. It will help you master the G, C and D chords. Sweet Home Alabama may not be the song you have in mind when you play an electric guitar, but it is excellent for practicing pull-off, hammer-on and vibrato techniques.

While practicing listen to the sounds you are making. Aim for at least an hour of practice per day, but if you must miss a day, do not let that discourage you. Just pick up where you were the next day.

Check out Learning the Parts of an Acoustic Guitar




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