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Learning the strings Where do you start if you have never picked up a guitar before? Learn the strings! The lowercase “e” (the first string) is only lowercase to indicate that it is the highest/thinnest string on the guitar.
The best acronym I have heard so far for learning the strings is “Easter Bunny Gets Drunk At Easter” but feel free to come up with your own!
Getting tuned up Now that you know the names of the strings it is time to get them in tune! I personally use one of these handy clip on tuners that you can get online or at most music stores cheaply (under $10 and so convenient, I leave mine clipped on). If you haven’t got a tuner yet you can use our free online guitar tuner to match up the sounds and get going right away! http://www.iwannaplayguitartoo.com/free_online_guitar_tuner.php
“Tuning by ear” is an art form in itself and will take some practice but I believe in you! If you play electric guitar and want to get fancy with your pedals you can even get yourself something like this Boss TU‐3 tuner (Jack White from the White Stripes uses an earlier version of these) so you can tune up on the run! These are amazing too, but a bit more pricy.
Handy tuning tip Once you have your bass E string (6) tuned you can tune up the rest of the guitar by ear without a tuner! As you can see from our diagram below, the 5th fret of the E(6) string is actually an A note which matches (only an
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octave lower) the open 5th string A. This means we can actually use this to tune the A (5) open string by ear from our in tune E string. You can then use the same pattern for (almost all) the rest of the strings! Here is the full tuning pattern, notice there is a slight variation on the G(3) string to tune your B(2) string
If you are still a tad confused check out this quick vid I made that hopefully clears it up: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H8i89MjpZtQ
First Chords Now that everything is in tune it’s time to dive into open chords. Essentially an open chord uses only the first 3 frets of your guitar and also plays 1 or more open strings. This is where you start with guitar! Once you have these down you will already be able to play A LOT of songs!
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Information on Guitar Tablature (tabs) and more coming soon to your inbox! New players tend to find G and F major chords the hardest to learn but everyone is different. I personally still struggle with the D minor chord occasionally! It will take some practice but before you know it you will have these basic chords down and be well on your way to rocking out.
My Fingers hurt! Good! That means you have been playing! Sore fingers are something every new guitarist goes through but they can also make you want to throw the guitar out the window. Calluses
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take time to develop on your finger tips so here are some things you can try to ease the finger pain:
Take a short break if it gets too much. Cuts and blisters (even small ones) take a long time to heal and can put you out of guitar action for a while if you over do it! Reduce your guitars “action”. The “action” is basically the space between the strings and the fret board. Most guitars can be adjusted; check in with your local music store if you think the action is too high for you. Get new strings! A lot of acoustic guitars seem to come with a heavy “gauge” string making it harder to play for the new person. Consider a lighter gauge of string, nylon strings or a change to an electric guitar (which are generally easier on the fingers, again depending on strings). More tips in our email course…
It gets easier but it takes time and patience, it’s surprising how many people stop playing because of this hurdle. Make it a habit to pick up your guitar at least once a day and after a month it won’t be an issue!
Good tunes, the best place to start! A good song to start with that most people will know is House of the Rising Sun by The Animals, the basic chord progression is along these lines: Am C D F There is a house in New Orleans Am C E E They call the Risin' Sun
Hotel Yorba by The White Stripes is another fantastic starting song: G C I was watching, with one eye on the other side, D G I had fifteen people telling me to move, I got movin’ on my mind. G C I found shelter, in some dolls turning wheels around, D G I've said 39 times that I love u to the beauty I have found.
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My first (and poorly lit) video tutorial was actually on this song ‐ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K5epIMPx8Pk – be gentle, it was my first try at a video! Guitar is always the most fun when you are playing songs you love however! Find a simple song that you enjoy personally and then check Google (hopefully someone has worked out the chords) to see if it contains the chords listed above and off you go!
Where too now? Practice! Work on changing chords smoothly and cleanly and then look to Google and youtube to find out the chords and their progressions to your favourite songs! Professional musicians make it look easy but you don’t see the hours and hours of practice they put in behind the scenes. Want to really blast off with the guitar? Let’s face it, we are all different, some of us prefer hands on lessons…but who wants to leave their house? Plus, lessons with a tutor are expensive as (we are talking in the thousands here)! Jamorama solves this problem by giving you world class, comprehensive guitar lessons that you can enjoy at home whenever you like, at a fraction of the cost of a personal tutor! If you can’t wait to see the smiles (and envious looks) of your friends and loved ones when you strum out their favourite tune then I strongly recommend trying Jamorama which has already helped over 200,000 people just like you to learn guitar! I hope this intro manual has helped some of you guys out! I can’t wait to see you progress from here, I bet you will be amazed at your progress too if you just keep practicing! I’ll be in touch soon with some more killer guitar tips! Cheers, Tim. P.S If a friend has sent you this little intro booklet make sure you check out http://www.iwannaplayguitartoo.com/ and sign up for our free guitar tips course! If you have already signed up then you should be shortly/already receiving small, easy to implement guitar tips and tricks that will transform your playing in no time!
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