How To Play The Electric Guitar

The guitar is one of the handy musical instruments. It is not only easy to learn but convenient to bring along unlike the piano or a drum set. Whether it is for a formal occasion like classical concerts or informal gatherings, a guitar is a common sight. The guitar has come a long way in terms of improvements. An electric guitar might have evolved from the need to put in more “power” to the instrument. Listening to rock and metal bands, the guitar has really been placed at the forefront of music making.

An electric guitar is different from the usual guitar in the sense that it can not produce a loud sound without amplification. Other devices are hooked up to the electric guitar for sound modification. These adds to the diversity of sounds that the electric guitar produces making it favorable to use in jazz, blues, rock & role as well as metal music.

Before learning how to play the electric guitar, one has to know the basics of guitar playing. A good grasp of fundamentals will allow faster adaptation. Electric guitars have additional knobs and levers to control the sound it produces.

Electric Guitar Components

• Body - this is the part of the guitar that holds the bridge, pickups, strings, strap holders, tremelo inputs, and volume/tone controls. The body is also usually made of some type of wood and comes in many different colors.
• Strings - usually every guitar has 6 strings. You pluck and pick the strings to produce noise. Each string has a different level of thickness. The thicker the string, the lower the sound and vice versa. Sometimes, the strings can break and you need to get them replaced.
  Bridge/Neck - the part where the strings sit at the body end of the guitar. The bridge may be Tune-O-Matic, Floyd Rose, Hardtail, Bigsby or Tremolo.
• Pickups - the electronic devices that pick up magnetic fluctuations in the area around the pickup which can be disturbed by the string to make sound. They are can be found on the body under the strings.
• Tremelo Inputs - most electric guitars include these, but some require installing to put one on. Located on the body, the tremelo input produces a wavy sound by pressing down on the tremelo bar. Tremelo bars are sort of like sticks you push into the tremelo input.
• Strap Holder - these are little stubs around the edge of the body of the guitar. They are used for keeping your strap on.
• Volume/Tone Controls - are on the body of the guitar. If you mix the settings up a little, you can produce a unique sound. These controls can also be found on an amplifier.
• Headstock - every guitar has a headstock. The headstock is the little piece of wood that sits on top of the fretboard. The headstock holds tuning pegs and the ends of the strings.
• Tuning Pegs - without the tuning pegs, your guitar will sound like a most people who try out for ‘American Idol.’ Bad. Good thing, we have these little guys to tune our guitars with. The tuning pegs are little silver stubs on the side of the headstock.
• Fretboard (frets and fret markers) - this is the neck part of the guitar. It contains frets and fret markers. Frets are little metal ridges along the guitar that you would press the strings on to produce a different note. Fret Markers are indicators of which fret is where on the fretboard. Fret markers can be found on the 3rd, 5th, 7th, 9th, 12th, 15th, 17th, 19th, and 21st fret. The 12th fret has a mark that differs from the rest of the marks on the fretboard. This is because the 12th fret produces the same note as an open string.

Choosing the Right Electric Guitar

For first-time buyers of an electric guitar, here are some tips for choosing the right one for you:

1. Evaluate the particular situation. Do you need one to practice and then use later on for performances? Do you want to play solo or with some other people as in a band?
2. Determine the specific application for the electric guitar. Do you want to invest in a branded guitar even if you are a beginner? If you are going to do some traveling, a lightweight electric guitar would be the best one for you.
3. Know the sound that you want. It is important that you have to “test run” the electric guitar. If you are unsure of your experience in guitars then bring along someone who knows about sound quality.
4. Identify the budget for your purchase. Electric guitars and the accessories that need to come with it are expensive. You may be overwhelmed by the vast choices that you have. So patience is needed. You can actually do some research first before buying the guitar.
5. Consult a reliable person before purchase to determine quality and level of performance. There are also internet resources that you can read about a particular electric guitar brand or component.
6. Include in the budget and purchase the training items and resources to help you get started on playing the electric guitar. This can be extra strings, picks, a tuner or a stand.
7. Once you have chosen which electric guitar you will purchase, test the guitar. See if you are comfortable with it.

What It Takes To Become a Great Electric Guitar Player

Nowadays, everyone wants to be the next Jimi Hendrix or Eddie Van Halen. To be a good electric guitar player needs innate ability to learn about how to play the electric guitar inside out. One has to express his own style of playing as well as be able to play a variety of music with it.

There are no shortcuts in becoming a good electric guitar player. This will take months or even years of constant practice until a unique technique will be mastered and have a confidence level to be in line with the great electric guitar players of our time.

There are abilities that are critical to the development of any player that truly wants to become not only an excellent guitarist, but also an excellent musician:

• Technique
  A lot of people just follow what other players are doing. What they do not know is the “technique” that underlies great electric guitar playing. The internet has vast resources for guitar tabs that can start a beginner
• Tuning
  The beginner guitarist must be able to tune his guitar and maintain this. A guitarist that tunes and is sensitive to his guitar tune is a good one. There are training videos on the web as well as those that can be bought online. Mastering the art of tuning the electric guitar is one aspect that the budding electric guitar player should have in mind.
• Musicianship
  Natural talent is one thing that a guitar player has. The love for music and the skill to make music is not a reason not to practice. The player must have discipline to practice as much as possible in order to perfect the electric guitar playing.
• Creativity / Flexibility
  An important aspect for great guitar playing is creativity in relation to flexibility. With much practice, the guitar player will be able to develop a technique and embed uniqueness into his guitar playing. Flexibility here means that the guitar player can adjust to any situation at all times. He can manipulate his electric guitar in any way that he chooses.
• Ear Training
  They say musicians have an ‘ear’ for music. They can recognize every bit of sound or instrument that they hear and can even make out the notes. The guitar player must also have this ability. This can be achieved by listening to lots of different kinds of music and maybe filtering to listen to the guitar accompaniment. While doing the player must observe the technique.
• Stage Presence / Confidence
  The guitar player should be able to exude confidence in his playing. This confidence is brought about by knowing what the guitar piece from beginning to end. This is brought about by practice.
• Practice, practice, practice
  This is the ONLY sure way to become a great guitar player.

How To Get Started with Electric Guitar

The electric guitar and other requirements have already been bought and the energy to start with the lessons are bursting from within you. Next thing to do is look for resources for guitar training.

There are options that you can resort to. You can study with a professional or even enrol in a course for guitar playing or you can self-study.

The listings below will be able to give you resources where to start for guitar lessons, training videos, guitar forums and schools.

Top Ten Sites That Teach How to Play the Electric Guitar

1. http://www.jamplay.com/guitar-lessons/lesson-samples.html
2. http://www.zentao.com/guitar/guitar-lessons.html
3. http://www.supersonic.net/guitar/lessons.htm
4. http://www.guitarplayer.com/lessons
5. http://www.madguitarlicks.com/
6. http://www.electric-guitars-guide.com/how-to-play-electric-guitar.html
7. http://www.cyberfret.com/
8. http://www.guitarists.net/
9. http://www.guitarplayerworld.com/Guitar_Lessons.html
10. http://www.expertvillage.com/video-series/270_electric-guitar-basics.htm

Top 10 Video Tutorials that Teach you Play the Electric Guitar

1. http://www.e-chords.com/videos.asp?order=top
2. http://www.jamplay.com/guitar-lessons/full/blues-and-scales-82.html
3. http://www.videoguitarlessons.com/
4. http://www.livevideo.com/video/5CFE4FFA0F434F63A551AF4E253C30CE/guitar-lessons-online.aspx
5. http://www.guitargrind.com/file/438-electric-guitar-lesson-guitarist-tips.html
6. http://playaguitarforfree.com/2008/09/19/acdc-video-guitar-lesson-angus-young/
7. http://www.vguitarlessons.com/?gclid=CMK3xb3NlZYCFQH4egodRVaSEQ
8. http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/
9. http://www.guitarcamera.com/video.asp?video=41
10. http://www.guitartricks.com/freeguitarlessons.php

Top 10 Free Tab Resources to Get you Started with Electric Guitars:

1. http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/
One of the largest free guitar tabs online. With a database of over 20,000 tabs and a growing membership, this site is a good resource for tabs and chords. Updates are made daily so expect something fresh and new on this site.
2. http://www.heartwoodguitar.com/chords.htm
This resource is straightforward with no frills on the presentation of chords and tabs. A good sizable listing can be expected from this site.
3. http://www.911tabs.com/guitar_tabs/
The site’s search engine for thousands of tabs is a good feature. Unlike other sites, finding a tab is easy. Tabs are updated as fast and as usual as possible.
4. http://www.guitaretab.com/
Click on the song listed and you can have access to the tab along with an audio sound of help you start on the guitar playing. The listing are mostly popular songs that is sometimes a ‘most’ when one is learning how to play an electric guitar.
5. http://www.tabpower.com/
TabPower has one of the largest collection of tabs online. The search engine is quite effective and listings present those that any guitar player would like to get hold of.

6. http://metaltabs.com/
The site has tabs from popular metal bands like FUBAR, OXL, etc. and they are adding more bands. Anyone who is into metal electric guitar playing will find this site most useful. Beginner players can practice knowing that the tabs are from those who made the music.
7. http://www.tabspider.net/
Although lacking in the aesthetics, the site has a good number of tabs for everyone to use. The resource has an index of over a 100,000 tabs. Search engine is effective and fast. Definitely, this is a good resource.
8. http://www.lyrics-p.com/
The site has a sizeable number of chords and tabs. The resource is good for beginner guitar players.
9. http://www.rockmagic.net/
The resource has a listing for the more popular rock bands. Organization of the site is efficient and at one glance you can see the choices that you have. The site has tabs and chords on a per band per song list.
10. http://www.alltabs.com/
This free resource is available for everyone. Featured are tabs for the more common songs which is always an entry point for a beginner electric guitar player. From these simple and easy to learn tabs, a player can proceed to the more advanced selections.

Top 10 Guitar Schools in the US

1. Musicians Institute – Hollywood, CA
2. American Institute of Guitar – New York, NY
3. Manhattan School of Music – New York, NY
4. LA Music Academy – Pasadena, CA
5. Georgetown University – Washington, DC
6. The Boston Conservatory - Boston, MA
7. Johns Hopkins University, Peabody Institute - Baltimore, MA
8. American Institute of Guitar – New York, NY
9. The Wilmington Music School – Wilmington, OH
10. Austin Guitar School – Austin, TX
or you can go to http://www.guitarschools.com/ for a complete listing for all US states.

Top Electric Guitar Forums

1. http://www.guitarists.net/index.php
2. http://acapella.harmony-central.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=41
3. http://www.fretplay.com/index.php?option=com_fireboard&Itemid=203&func=showcat&catid=17
4. http://www.guitardogs.com/message-board-forum/forum-18.html
5. http://www.tubefreaks.net/modern-guitars/
6. http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=26
7. http://www.washburn.com/forum/default.asp
8. http://www.talkbass.com/
9. http://www.ultimateguitarforum.com/forum/
10. http://www.musiciansplaza.com/