Da liste zamišljali sebe kao rok zvezda na bini svirajući neki solo kao majstori gitare ili samo pored logorske vatre u društvu dobrih ljudi?
Možda svirate neki drugi instrument i hoćete da probate nešto novo ili ste jednostavno motivisani da svirate kao Vaši idoli sa gitarom?
Ako jeste, došli ste na pravo mesto.
Gitara je prvi izbor za mnoge muzičare iz više razloga. Kao prvo je "cool" svirati gitaru, prenosivo je i vrlo je jednostavno početi svirati gitaru. Ali obavezati se naučiti svirati gitaru je vrlo teško za mnoge od nas.
Učiti svirati instrument po prvi put je sumljiv poduhvat, da li ću uspeti ili ne? Da li je to za mene? Obično pitanja koja dolaze samo po sebi. Mi hoćemo da napravio Vaš uspeh jednostavnim i zanimljivim poduhvatom sa što manje teškoća moguće.
The truth is, there is a lot you have to learn, and it will take determination to get any good, but it is well worth it. You will be left with the ability to coax sweet music out of thin air, impressing your friends, family and most importantly, yourself.
We know it’s challenging, so we’ll start at the beginning, and break it down to the basics to make your journey fun and as easy as possible.
Guitar Basics
Like mastering anything else in life, you have to start at the beginning and learn the fundamentals before you can move forward. When it comes to playing the guitar, a solid foundation will set you on the right path to mastery.
The Parts of Any Guitar
Understanding the basic components that make up any guitar will help both your playing and benefit you when it comes to buying a guitar. Before moving on to the types of guitars available, it is recommended to know what parts make a guitar the instrument it is.
Body
This is the biggest part of the guitar. It’s usually shaped somewhat like a snowman. On an electro-acoustic/acoustic guitar, this section is hollow, while it is usually solid on an electric guitar.
Fretboard
Sometimes this is called the neck, it has fret lines which make different sounds when pressed at different places. The longer a fretboard, the wider range a guitar has. This means it can reach a higher pitch than a shorter fretboard.
Bridge and Nut
These are the parts of the guitar which keep the strings tight and off the fretboard. The nut is at the top of the guitar on the headstock and the bridge is connected to the guitar body, and it’s where the strings are tied or connected to.
Strings
This one is self-explanatory.
Tuning Pegs
These are the twistable pegs on the headstock that are used to tighten and loosen strings, which in turn, tunes the guitar.
Headstock
There’s the body and then there’s the head, this is the top of the guitar, usually where the brand logo is.
Sound Hole or Pickup
On electro-acoustic and acoustic guitars, this is the hole in the body of the guitar which turns the strings vibrations into booming, beautiful sounds.
Electric guitars don’t have a sound hole and therefore make hardly any sound when not connected to an amplifier. In its place are pickups, these electronically turn the strings vibrations into sound, and blast them out through speakers.
The three main types of guitars
Now that you have an idea of the basic anatomy of any guitar, it’s a prime time to introduce you to the three main types of guitars. Each has their specific pros and cons and which one you will pick is up to you. But it is advisable to know the differences and to know what makes each type special.
If you learn to play one, the skills are transferable to another, but most guitarists have a preference and one kind which they are best and most comfortable playing.
Electro-acoustic Guitar
This is a popular option for beginner guitarists. It has a thinner fretboard which makes gripping the guitar easier as well as a longer fretboard, which gives you a wider range when it comes to playing the lead.
On electro-acoustic guitars, the strings are metal, so it may take a bit of time to get used to, but once your fingers callous a little bit, the sound it produces is worth the initial discomfort.
These are highly recommended if you want to be a rhythm guitarist, who enjoys strumming and keeping the melody.
Acoustic/Classical Guitar
Acoustic guitars usually have a larger body and a thicker fretboard. This may make it somewhat difficult for stubbier hands to handle, but since its strings are nylon, they are softer on the fingertips.
This kind of guitar is recommended if you want to play advanced, classical music, either written originally for the guitar or older lute music.
This is where everything started and you’ll find that if you learn how to play classical guitar first, you’ll have a greater understanding of how music is written, you’ll practice good technique exercises and scales and have a good musical foundation.
It’s a little bit like dancing, many dancers start with ballet because a lot of technique and steps comes from it.
Acoustic guitars are perfect if you don’t want to plug in your guitar, but just want an instrument that works well by itself.
Electric Guitar
This is the choice you should opt for if you see yourself playing heavy metal or shredding some wild solos. The fretboard on these is thin and long, allowing the greatest range.
Another benefit is that if you live in an apartment or don’t want to annoy people with your practicing you can always lower the volume, or simply plug in headphones while you practice.
The electric guitar enables you to be heard at concert venues or even stadium arenas! The versatile nature of the electric guitar means you can be amplified to suit any size audience.
It must be noted here, and some professional guitarists agree, that it is often better to learn the fundamentals on an acoustic guitar and then move those techniques over to electric guitar.
Which one should you pick?
When it comes to buying a guitar, it is best to go to a music store and try it out in person to make sure you like the look and feel, but most importantly, the sound.
Music store employees, in general, are kind, super knowledgeable and will be able to steer you in the right direction.
Music – Starting at the Beginning
This is where it starts to get interesting. I highly encourage you to play around on your guitar, even if you have no idea what you are doing, just to get a feeling of the body and the sounds it can make.
But before you can actually start making music, you need to know some fundamentals. I wouldn’t advise you to exhaust yourself on this but try to get quite a solid grasp. You can always double back at a later stage, when you feel like your music needs it, to fill in the knowledge gaps.
Once you have this basic knowledge, we will move on to actually playing the guitar, teaching you about chords and what notes to play to create something beautiful.
A Drop of Very Basic Music Theory
So, this will probably be the most technical section and you may feel you want to skip it over. But try to concentrate for a few minutes, it is important to know this on a basic level and knowing it will make you a way better guitar player.
While it is important to take time to learn on a deeper level, in this guide we will focus on the main factors; rhythm, notes and basic elements of music.
The Basic Elements of Music
Music is made up of three basic elements. They are harmony, melody, and rhythm, and so often these three get confused for one another.
Rhythm is not the same as the tempo, which is if the song is fast or slow, but the length of the individual notes creating something different than the beat.
The beat is the same thing as what you would clap along with during a concert.
The rhythm is different from the beat.
In guitar, rhythm also refers to the underlying sounds of guitar, the strumming and the fingerpicking, anything that is not lead)
Next comes melody, this is the distinguishable tune in any piece of music. Think of the song ‘Happy Birthday’, you know it’s ‘Happy Birthday’ just by the tune, that’s melody, the recognizable tune of the song.
Lastly comes harmony, this is a little bit more advanced. You know when you hear a song and there are two sounds happening at the same time which make it just so pleasing? That’s harmony when sounds overlap each other to make something special.
Notes
In Western music, we have twelve notes at our disposal.
Each note has a letter associated with it. ABCDEFG. But wait that’s only 7 letters? Where do the other notes fit in? They fit in between the letters and looks like this
Either: A – Bb – B – C – Db – D – Eb – E – F – Gb – G – Ab – A
Or: A – A# – B – C – C# – D – D# – E – F – F# – G – G# – A
When it’s from one letter to another is called a full step and from one letter to the next fret on a fretboard is called a half step. You can also call it a tone and a semi-tone.
So, what are those little b’s or signs which look like hashtags? Those mean flat (b) or sharp (#). Those are the notes the fall in between the letter notes. A flat is a semi-tone beneath any note and a sharp is the semi-tone above it.
F sharp is the same as G flat, it can be written either way, just know that when it says F# you have to play the note that comes after F, and when it says G flat to play the note that comes before G. They are the same thing.
But you may wonder, if they are the same thing, why are they called different things? It all has to do with the context. The key signature, for example, will give you a hint. If you, for example, have a song in D major, you’ll most likely not encounter any G-flats, but they will be spelled as F-sharps because of the context.
We don’t have to go into detail about that now, but it’s good to know that all notes can be called by different names and there is always a reason for it, for now, that’s all you need to know.
Timing and Tempo
This is how you make sure you play the right note at the right time. You never want to be too quick or too slow, it takes work to make sure your timing is tight.
How do musicians know how to play together? It all boils down to timing. It may come more naturally to some than others, but even the most professional musician, at one stage, has had to work on his timing.
Tempo is the speed of the music. And this is usually timed in beats per minute or BPM. If the timing is 60bpm, this means you play one beat every second in the minute. If it is 120 BPM, you play one beat every half a second.
If you would like to work on your timing you can play along to your favorite songs or use a metronome. A metronome is a little tool that keeps perfect time. It does so with intermittent sounds to keep you playing at the right pace.
