How to Play Electric Guitar Chords

Now to the fun part, playing chords on your electric guitar. Personally, when I began learning to play the guitar, there was no better feeling than being able to play a few chords. For a few months I only knew three major chords, G, C, and D and I would play almost any song using these three, especially country songs. It actually sounded really good to me and gave me the motivation I needed to continue with the guitar. In fact there are many songs which make use of only three major chords. These are the most important chords and are also the easiest to play on the guitar.

So just the same way I started with G, C, and D, in this lesson on how to play electric guitar chords, I will teach you these three major chords. You will learn what fingers to place where. Remember that your index finger is the first finger, middle finger is your second finger, ring finger is referred to as the third finger and your pinky finger (little finger) is the fourth.

How to play electric guitar chords - the G chord

This chord requires that you put your finger on three strings. First of all, put your second finger on the third fret of the sixth string (low E string). Then put your first finger on the second fret of the fifth string. Finally, put your third finger (or if it's more comfortable, your pinky finger) on the third fret of the first string (high E string).
Your fingers should be curled and should only touch these three strings. If they are touching any of the other strings, the chord will not sound clean. Also, you must apply enough pressure on the three strings mentioned above for the notes to sound right. Play all six strings one at a time to ensure that they are playing clearly. If they are not sounding right it means that you are not applying enough pressure or your fingers are resting on the other strings.
When you're just starting out you may not get this right at once. But it only takes a little more practice.

How to play electric guitar chords - the C chord

And now we move on to another easy major chord, the C chord. Put your third finger on the third fret of the fifth string, then put your second finger on the second fret of the fourth string. Lastly put your first finger on the first fret of the second string. With this chord you can play strings one through five, but not the sixth string.

How To Play Electric Guitar chords - the D chord

The final chord we shall look at for the purpose of this lesson is the D chord. It is probably a little more difficult than C and G when you are starting out, but with a little practice you will realize that it is really not that difficult at all. Your first finger should be placed on the second fret of the third string. Your third finger should be placed on the third fret of the second string. And finally, your second finger should be placed on the second fret of the first string. As you will see, with this chord your fingers are closer together. For the D chord, only strings one to four must be strummed.

How to play electric guitar online - playing a scale

We have already looked at the parts of an electric guitar, how to hold an electric guitar, how to hold an electric guitar pick, and how to tune an electric guitar. In this lesson we move on to playing a scale.

How to play electric guitar online guide: playing a scale
Actually you will learn how to play a simple chromatic scale on your electric guitar. What you will learn is pretty easy so there's no need to fear. This will get your fingers accustomed to pressing down frets on your electric guitar.

Before we proceed you need to know how fingers on your fretting hand are identified. First of all there's the thumb, while the index finger is the first finger, the middle finger is the second finger, the ring finger is the third finger, and the little (pinky) finger is the fourth finger.
Do you have your guitar pick ready? Ok. Let's proceed with our lesson on how to play electric guitar online.

First thing I want you to do is play an open sixth string. (Don't know what I mean by an open string? It simply means that you shouldn't place your fingers on any fret, just hold the pick with your right hand - assuming that your are right-handed - and play a note.)
Next, curl your first finger and place it on the first fret of the sixth string. You need to apply enough pressure when pressing down the string, for the note to sound clean. Don't worry, as you continue practicing you will get better and better at this.

Then take your second finger and place it on the second fret of the sixth string and strike the string with your pick.

Repeat the process for the rest of your fingers, i.e. third finger on third fret, and fourth finger for the fourth fret.

Then move on to the fifth string. Play an open fifth string, then move on to first finger on first fret, take off your first finger and place the second finger on the second fret, followed by third finger on third fret, and fourth finger on fourth fret.

Repeat this process for the fourth, third, second, and first strings, but make a slight alteration on the third string. On the third string instead of playing frets, 1,2,3 and 4, play up to the third fret. Do this exercise over and over. This is a great way to start developing muscle strength. Try starting with the first string, then move on to second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth strings. Remember that practice makes perfect, and it's about the amount of time you put in

How to Play Electric Guitar for Beginners - Learn How to Tune an Electric Guitar.

Unfortunately, before you can begin playing your electric guitar it must be tuned. You can try getting a guitar player to do it for you if you know one. But since your electric guitar can go out of tune very easily or accidentally, it's important to be able to help yourself. For the purpose of this lesson we shall talk about tuning your guitar with an electronic tuner.
If your ears are developed enough you can try tuning your guitar by ear. Using a tuner to tune your electric guitar.

Well first of all you have to spend a few dollars. You should be able to find an electronic guitar tuner at your local music store or online for about $20 or more, easily. They are very easy to operate. A guitar tuner will be able to sense what string you are playing, whether it be E, A, D, G, B or E. Start by turning on the tuner and placing it on a table next to you.

It's so easy to tune your electric guitar with an electronic tuner. Plug the guitar into the tuner, pluck a string and watch the indicator. The tuner will tell you how far or close you are to the right pitch. In other words, it will tell you how sharp or flat you are from the right pitch. All you have to do is to turn your tuning peg in the right direction until the pitch is perfect. Repeat this procedure for all six strings and you're good to go.

How to Play Electric Guitar - Lesson Three - Holding a Pick

So we've learnt the different parts of the electric guitar and how to hold the instrument. In this our third lesson on how to play electric guitar for free, we shall learn how to hold a pick.

First of all, if you've not already done so, you need to buy a few picks. They're pretty cheap, costing about 30 or 40 cents each. Or borrow one or two if you can. There are many different shapes, sizes and brands available for you to choose from, but for starters you should buy medium gauge picks. The picks shouldn't be too flimsy, neither should they be too hard.
Don't buy picks that are too glossy and smooth. You may have trouble holding on to it, especially if you have sweaty hands. If you have already bought picks and you find they are too smooth, you can simply rough them up with a piece of fine sand paper. This will give you more grip.
How to play electric guitar for free - holding a pick
If you're a right-handed player, you hold the pick with the right hand, while a lefty (with a left-handed electric guitar) uses the left hand. This is the hand which is closest to the bridge of the guitar.

Hold the pick between your 1 st finger and thumb. Make sure you hold it with more of the side of your 1st finger and the flat part of your thumb. (Check out the picture on the left.) How to play electric guitar for free - mistakes to avoid when holding a pick. Avoid the mistake of holding the pick too far back or too far forward in your fingers. Also, you should try not to hold it too tight or too loose. You may feel the pick slipping around in your fingers and may be tempted to hold it tighter. Don't worry. It doesn't mean that you're holding the pick too loose.
Eventually, you will become accustomed to moving the pick back in position as you play. With practice you will become more and more comfortable.

Ensure that you hold the pick in the correct position as described above. This is important. Maybe you feel more comfortable holding it with your thumb and second finger, or holding it far down the first finger, or even your thumb, first, and second finger.
Don't.

If you hold your pick in these weird ways, you will only make it more difficult for yourself in the future. As your playing improves you will find these ways of holding a pick very problematic, and you will have to relearn how to hold it properly when certain intricate picking methods come your way in the future.

For example, if you use your thumb, as well as your first and second fingers to hold your pick, you can't use your second finger for other things. So while beginning players may feel that they have more control holding the pick in that manner, it puts them at a major disadvantage.

When holding your pick...

· The pointed end of the guitar pick should point directly away from your fist and protrude about half an inch.
· Position your hand over the body of your electric guitar. Your picking hand with knuckle facing you should hover over the strings.
· Your picking hand shouldn't rest on the strings or the body of your electric guitar.
· Do not use your entire arm for motion. Instead, use only your wrist.

Try this simple exercise. Strike the sixth string (lowest string) of your electric guitar in a downward motion. Make sure it doesn't rattle too much. If it does it means that you are striking the strings too hard or you're using too much of the pick surface. Try again.
When you're done, strike the string in an upward motion. Keep repeating the process (striking the string downwards, then upwards) with very little motion in your picking hand. Make each upward and downward stroke short. Your downstrokes should sound identical to your upstrokes. Try this exercise on all the other strings. Remember, practice makes perfect. The more time you spend on getting it right, the better.

How to Play Electric Guitars: Lesson Two - Holding the Electric Guitar

In our first lesson on how to play electric guitars we learnt the various parts of the electric guitar - headstock, tuning pegs, nut, frets, neck, pickup, bridge, body, tremolo, pickups, pickup switch, and volume and tone controls. In this our second lesson on how to play, we shall focus on how to hold the electric guitar.

What you need is an armless chair. Take a seat, make yourself comfortable, but ensure that your back is against the back of the chair. How do you hold your electric guitar? It's simple. Just ensure that the back of the body of the guitar comes in contact with your chest or stomach. The bottom of the neck should run parallel to the floor. So the thickest string (low E) should be closest to your face while the thinnest string (high E) should be closest to the floor. Hope you're not holding that guitar upside down. If you are just turn it in the other direction.

Are you a left handed player? If so you obviously need a left-handed electric guitar. And in that case the headstock will point to the right. On regular electric guitars (right-handed), the headstock points to the left.

How to play electric guitars - sitting

If you're sitting down, the body of your electric guitar will rest on one of your legs. Typically, a right handed player will rest the guitar on the right leg while a lefty will rest the guitar on the left leg.
(Please note that this posture doesn't apply to classical guitarists. Right handed classical players typically rest the guitar on their left thigh and maintain the instrument's neck at a 45 degree angle to the ground.)

How to play electric guitars - standing

Maybe you want to stand up with your guitar. You will need a shoulder strap. Put the strap over your head and put your right arm through the strap. The weight of the instrument should be across the upper-right area of your back. I'd suggest setting the strap so the guitar hangs at the same height as it would when you are sitting down. The bridge should be at roughly waist height. It's easier to play the instrument at this position. For now, don't worry about what you see your favorite stars doing - later on you can adjust the instrument to your personal preferences. That is when you become a better player.
I hope you're with me... You are? Ok. Let's proceed with our lesson on how to electric guitars - holding the electric guitar. Let's now talk about the fretting hand. It's the hand used to hold down the chords (or the notes if you prefer). It's the hand on the neck of your electric guitar. If you are a right hand player, it's your left hand. It's the opposite for a lefty. You should rest your thumb behind the neck of the guitar and curl your fingers at the knuckles over the strings.

How to Play Electric Guitar: Lesson One - Learn Electric Guitar Parts

How to play electric guitar - parts of an electric guitar
The first thing I want you to learn are the parts of the guitar. Check out the diagram below for an overview.

As you can see, it all starts with the headstock right at the top. This describes the part of the guitar that is attached to the slimmer neck of the instrument. Then there are the tuners. As the name suggests, the tuners are used to tune the instrument, or to adjust the pitch of each string. After the tuners, we move on to the nut. This is found between the headstock and the neck of the guitar. It is sometimes made of plastic or bone and contains six small grooves to guide each string up to the tuners.

In learning how to play the electric guitar, a lot of focus will be placed on the next part we shall talk about, none other but the neck of the guitar. This is where you will be placing your fingers a lot and holding different positions to create different notes.

The neck of the guitar is attached to the body. On the body of your electric guitar, you will find pickups. These are almost like microphones. They pick up, or capture the sound of the instrument so they can be amplified. (If you've got an acoustic or acoustic/electric guitar, your guitar would come with a sound hole. This hole is found on the body of the guitar and is meant to amplifier the sound of the guitar.) Electric guitars replace this part with pick-ups.

There's a pickup switch located on the body of the guitar used to select different pickups for different tones and sounds.

Next in line is the bridge of your guitar. It is a piece of hardware attached to the body of the guitar. The strings run from the tuning pegs to the bridge.

Then there's the tremolo (aka Whammy Bar). This is a bar connected to the bridge of the guitar. By moving the tremolo bar up or down, you can move the bridge, thus changing the pitch.
On the body of an electric guitar, you will find volume and tone control knobs used to adjust guitar volume and tone.

Before you begin the actual process of learning how to play electric guitar, let's talk a little more about the neck of the guitar. In particular, we shall focus on the frets. What are these? These are strips of metal running along the surface of the guitar's neck. Guitarists also refer to the space between two strips of metal as a fret. So the fret can mean two different things. If you want to learn how to play electric guitar, you must first know these parts. Take time to learn them because they are important for understanding subsequent lessons.

Beginner guitar tips

The next 6 postings will have some beginner guitar tips.
Whether you have already played the guitar or just starting out, have a look to see wat new things you can learn.