Chapter 1: The Basics
Vocabulary
Guitar Anatomy
Body- The main structural piece of a guitar, usually made of wood and hollow on an acoustic guitar. It contains the bridge, pickups, volume and tone controls, tremolo bar, and the sound hole of an acoustic guitar.
Headstock- the end piece connected to the neck that contains the tuning pegs and the ends of the strings
Neck- the long, narrow board that connects the headstock to the body where the fingers are placed to fret the guitar
Fretboard- another name for the front face of the neck that contains the frets
Fret- a metal ridge on the fretboard that the string vibrates against when the fingers are placed behind it
Strings- usually metal (sometimes nylon) strings that are plucked or strummed to produce sound. Guitars usually have six strings of variable thickness, with thicker strings producing lower sounds.
Tuning pegs- metal pegs that hold the end of the string to the headstock and are turned to create or reduce tension in the string in order to tune it
Nut- the ridge at the head end of the fretboard that the strings pass over to get to the tuning pegs
Bridge- a strip of wood, plastic or metal that holds the strings in place above the body of the guitar
Bridge pins- round-headed pins that hold the strings in place in the body of the guitar
Saddle- plastic or ivory bar that holds the strings in place above the bridge
Pickguard- a piece of plastic on the body underneath the strings to protect the guitar from being scratched by the pick
Pickups- electronic devices that detect the vibration of the strings and send the information to an amplifier, located on the body underneath the strings
Tone/volume knobs- on an electric guitar, the knobs that control the volume and tone located on the body
Guitar Accessories
Pick- a small piece of hard material (usually plastic) held between the fingers and used to pick or strum the strings
Capo- a device that clamps down the strings when placed across the fretboard so that all the strings will be continuously fretted
Slide- a piece of metal or glass usually worn around a finger that is used to fret strings and slide up or down, producing a unique glissando sound
Musical terms and Techniques
Note- a sound with a distinct pitch, usually produced by a single vibrating string on a guitar
Chord- many notes played at the same time, produced by a particular combination of fretted strings
Hammer-on- quickly tapping a finger down to fret a string while the string is currently vibrating to a lower note.
Pull-off- pulling off the fretting finger while the string is still vibrating to the fretted note
Harmonic- a note produced at particular places on a string when the entire string is not vibrating but a fraction of the string is vibrating. Places where the string is lightly touched and separated into ratios of 1/4 – 3/4 (5th fret), 1/3 – 2/3 (7th fret), and 1/2 – 1/2 (12th fret) will produce harmonic notes that sound like a ringing bell while the string does not sound out the regular note produced when fully fretted at that position.
Introduction to Stringing and Tuning
The standard guitar has six strings, though seven-string and twelve-string models exist as well. These strings are labeled from 1-6 starting with the highest-pitched string, or from bottom to top when the guitar is viewed from the front. Each string is tuned to a specific pitch, and different guitar “tunings” are different combinations of string pitches. The most common tuning is called “standard” tuning, which a vast majority of popular songs use. Tunings are often stated from lowest pitch to highest pitch (strings 6-1), so standard tuning is EADGBe. Other popular tunings include:
- “Drop D” in which the low E string is lowered to a D, making it DADGBe.
-“Open” tuning, in which the strings are tuned up so that a particular chord is formed when the strings are strummed openly. Open E and open G are popular open tunings.
In standard tuning, each string is tuned five semitones (five frets) higher than the previous string except for the B string, which is only 4 semitones higher than the G string. This means that strings can be easily tuned relative to each other by fretting the above string at the fifth fret (fourth when tuning the B string) and matching this pitch to the open string below it. In summary, when tuning strings relative to each other the frets read 5-5-5-4-5 from the low E string to the B string.
Helpful tools for stringing and tuning include:
-Restringing tools, which combine a string cutter, bridge pin remover and tuning peg winder all in one. These tools are very helpful and combine everything you will need into one tool.
-Electronic tuners are the easiest way to tune your guitar. They have a microphone that will pick up the sound from a vibrating string and will usually have an LCD screen display with a needle that easily shows the desired pitch and whether the string is tuned too high or too low.
How to String the Guitar
1. Beginning with the low E string, pull the bridge pin out of the bridge and place the end of the string down into the hole.
2. Place the bridge pin down into the hole with the notch in the bridge pin facing the headstock so that the string can pass through the notch. Press it in place.
3. Place the string through its proper slits in the saddle and the nut and pass it through the hole in the tuning peg. The string should pass to the inside of the peg’s vertical post.
4. Pull the string sharply counterclockwise around the post and hold it in place. Then begin turning the tuning peg counterclockwise, tightening the string and wrapping it around the post until it has wrapped around 3 times.
5. Gently stretch the string upward away from the fretboard to ensure that it is tightly in place.
6. Turn the tuning peg counterclockwise until it is in tune. (Refer to “How to Tune the Guitar” for help with tuning.)
7. Cut the excess off the end of the string near the tuning peg post, leaving about a centimeter of string passing through the posthole.
8. Repeat this process for the A string and D string.
9. For the G, B, and high E strings, the same procedure will be followed with some minor differences. The string will still pass to the inside of the post, meaning it will be wrapping clockwise around the post when viewed from above. The tuning pegs will be turned clockwise to tighten the string when viewed from the traditional playing position (same view as when tuning the low E, A, and D strings). Finally, since these strings are thinner they may be wrapped 5-6 times around the post of the tuning peg.
How To Tune the Guitar with an Electric Tuner
1. Turn on the tuner.
2. Pluck the low E (thickest) string. If the string has just been put on the guitar and is being tuned for the first time, it will most likely be too low. Tune the string up (tighten it) until the tuner screen displays “6E”.
3. Once the correct note is displayed on the screen, adjust the string until the needle is vertical. If the needle is to the left, the string is too low. If the needle is to the right or if a higher note (i.e. 5A) is displayed, the string is too high.
4. Repeat for each of the remaining five strings and make sure the correct note is displayed for each string.
5. The strings can be checked against each other to make sure that each one is in tune.
Note Layout on the Fretboard
This diagram shows the position of each note on the fretboard, with the number at the top signifying the fret (zero meaning open) and the letter in the first column signifying the open string.
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
E F F# G Ab A Bb B C C# D Eb E
B C C# D Eb E F F# G Ab A Bb B
G Ab A Bb B C C# D Eb E F F# G
D Eb E F F# G Ab A Bb B C C# D
A Bb B C C# D Eb E F F# G Ab A
E F F# G Ab A Bb B C C# D Eb E
An Introduction to Guitar Tablature
Guitar tablature (or “tabs”) is a simplified form of notation for showing where the fingers are placed on the fretboard to play a particular note or chord. Tabs consist of six horizontal lines that represent the six strings on the guitar, with the top line representing the high E (thinnest) string and the bottom line representing the low E (thickest string). This orientation is how the guitar looks from the player’s perspective when it is held in the normal playing position.
Guitar tabs are read from left to right, with the notes represented by numbers that signify the fret at which the string is fretted. Each note in a vertical line is played simultaneously. In addition to the fret numbers, other symbols commonly used in tabs are outlined in the following table.
Symbol Meaning
0 String is played open
X String is muted or not played
h Hammer-on to the next note
p Pull-off to the next note
b Bend the note to a higher pitch
/ Slide up to the next note
\ Slide down to the next note
~ Vibrato, rapidly bend the note back and forth
+ A harmonic note
Chapter 2: Chords
Chords are the structural basis for all songs played on guitar. As stated earlier, chords are a combination of notes played simultaneously and produced by a particular combination of fretted strings. When a chord is fretted, a guitarist can either strum the strings together to sound the chord or pick individual strings or combinations of strings also. For a beginning guitarist, it’s not necessary to delve too deeply into music theory about chords so only the basics will be discussed here.
The most popular chords used for guitar are C, A, G, E, D, F, A minor, and E minor; knowing these chords will allow you to play very many songs. When combined with other basic chord types including major, minor, bar, power, and seventh chords, you will be able to play almost any song you wish. In the following section, the important chords and chord shapes will be explained and presented visually.
Basic Chords
(Diagrams for the following chords will be presented: A, A minor, C, D, E, E minor, F, G)
Other Standard Chords
These chords are not as common as the basics but are still used extensively.
(Diagrams for the following chords will be presented: B, B minor, C major 7, Cadd9, D minor, Dsus2, D7)
Bar Chords
These chords are referred to as “bar chords” because the index finger is used as a “bar” to hold down every string at the same fret, while the other fingers can fret strings higher up. Bar chords will have a particular shape to them depending on the type (major, minor, seventh) that can be moved up or down the neck to form different chords.
Major Bar Chord- (A diagram will show the major bar shape)
Minor Bar Chord- (A diagram will show the minor bar shape)
Seventh Bar Chord- (A diagram will show the seventh bar shape)
Power Chords
Power chords are the simplest chords in terms of structure. They consist of only two or three notes, and like bar chords the power chord shape can be moved anywhere along the fretboard to create a chord. (A diagram will show the power chord shape)
Transitioning Between Chords
Note that many of the popular basic chords involve fretting a string with the same finger at the same fret. When transitioning between two of these chords, it is helpful to keep that finger fretted and to use it as an anchor for your hand while the other fingers move to the new positions. For example, the chords A minor and C both involve using the index finger to fret the B string’s first fret and the middle finger to fret the D string’s second fret; when transitioning between these chords, keep those fingers stationary and only move your ring finger to the new position. Other examples of this include using the ring finger to fret the A string’s third fret for both C and F, and also using the ring finger to fret the B string’s third fret for both D and G. Using the common finger as a base while you move your other fingers will help you transition quickly and easily.
Many times there is no finger that is kept stationary between chord transitions and the whole hand must be moved. If the chord shape is relatively simple, you will probably be able to transition to it fairly easily. However, it is often helpful for more difficult chord shapes to fret one or two fingers first and then adjust the rest of your hand to complete the chord shape. This often means putting your pinky and/or ring fingers down first as an anchor and then moving your middle and index fingers to their positions.
No comments:
Post a Comment