BEGINNING COURSE

Holding The Guitar, Positioning the Left Hand,
Tuning and Learning and Practicing Chords

by Evyn S. Charles

From Evyn Charles' book From Guitar Owner To Guitar Player

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Sit on a hard stool or straightback chair, and if you are right-handed, rest the guitar on your right leg (Classical guitarists use the opposite leg). When you become more proficient, you can experiment with standing while you play with the help of a guitar strap.

POSITIONING THE LEFT HAND

Place your thumb in an extended position on the back of the guitar neck. The goal is to have a firm grip, like a clamp or pinch, which will give you strength and leverage while letting your hand move rapidly on the guitar neck. If you feel a cramp in your thumb muscle, you are probably using too much force. Efficiency is what you are looking for, and will come with practice.

Your other fingers should press down on the strings close to the fret, just hard enough so all the notes are clear. Again, this will take some practice. At first, notes may sound muted, and your fingers will probably hurt.

TUNING

Tuning can seem difficult at first because you must train your ear to recognize subtle differences in soundwave vibrations, but it will get easier. However, you must never skip this step! If your instrument is out of tune, no one will care how well you play. It is vital that all the strings on your guitar sound harmonious together, as well as be in tune with the other musicians.

Many guitarists start tuning with the low E string (the one closest to you, also the thickest). I recommend starting with the A string because it is the standard pitch musicians the world over tune to. When no piano or tuner is available, the dial tone of a telephone should give you an A note.

1. Turn the peg for your A string to match the sound on your guitar with the reference pitch. Once the 5th string is tuned, you can proceed to the other strings.
2. Place finger on 5th fret of A string=D
3. Pluck both A and D strings together; should be same note; no vibrations should be heard; flat soundwave.
4. If not, is D string sharp (high) or flat (low)?
5. If sharp, loosen peg; if flat, tighten peg.
6. Place finger on 5th fret of D string=G; repeat above procedures.
7. Place finger on 4th fret of G string=B; repeat above procedures
8. Place finger on 5th fret of B string=E; repeat above procedures.
9. Place finger on 5th fret of low E string=A; repeat above procedures.
10. Make sure low and high E strings sound the same note (different octaves).

Your guitar is in tune and you are now ready to play music!

LEARNING and PRACTICING CHORDS

• Position your fingers on strings as indicated on the Chord Shapes chart
• Play each string individually to make sure they all ring out--muting may be caused by fleshy part of fingers touching adjacent string or by not pressing finger hard enough on string
• Memorize chord shape (so you won't have to refer to the chord chart all the time)
• Strum each chord 4 to 8 times
• Switch to next chord
  
  

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