One great way of learning to play the guitar is to use some simple guitar songs. This makes it easier to understand the tablatures and gets you more used to playing. If you can "sight read" a particular song, it will be easier to learn how to play the guitar. This all depends on your musical experience.
Some experts think guitarists can sing along with songs and then learn it on the guitar as they go. An interest in the type of music you want to play is also a great help because you will be more enthusiastic about it all.
Easy Guitar Songs To Play On The Guitar
Using easy guitar songs in order to learn how to play the guitar helps the beginner to learn the rhythm and pace of the song. If you listen to the song first or, better still, pick something you already know, you will have a good idea of how it is supposed to sound. With this knowledge, you can practice getting the note pattern and tempo right.
Music is the language of the soul, according to the old saying. It can speak to you and evoke certain feelings and emotions. Nearly everybody likes music of one type or another and many others want to learn to play an instrument, such as the guitar.
If you use simple guitar songs to teach yourself to play, you will help to tune your ear for music. When you know how to listen well, you will be able to know if you are playing the right note or if you have made a mistake. You will also know if your notes are slightly off key and if your guitar needs to be tuned up.
Using these easy guitar songs can make a huge difference in your ability to learn the guitar. It is, of course, much more difficult to learn the instrument if you are not able to have easy tools such as easy songs and a guitar. And remember - take your time because practice makes perfect!
When someone plays the guitar, other people assume they have either had professional lessons or taught themselves. Whichever way you go about learning, it is important to use the right techniques to play the guitar properly rather than develop any bad habits which might be hard to get rid of later on.
Bends are when you pick the first note and bend that note up to the sound of the next note, so in the following example, you would listen to the sound of the second note, the 7th fret on the 2nd string from the bottom, then move your hand back to the 5th fret and pick the string, then bend it and hold it to the sound of that note 2 frets higher.
Common Ultimate Guitar Tab Symbols:
h - hammer on
v - vibrato (sometimes written as ~)
This is what a hammer on could look like.
You pick the first note and hammer on the second note. Which would mean play the open E twice, then hold the 6th fret and hammer on the 7th fret with your 2nd finger, picking only 1 time, the first note, for the sound of both notes. A hammer on. You're hammering on the second note. Ultimate Guitar Tab is Awesome!
It takes years to get good at bending, there are many different styles of bending in ultimate guitar tab. A quick bend, a slow bend, it is best to listen to your guitar hero's bend and try to make it sound like them.
b - bend string up
There is no definite point, listen to the music, you will see the sound fades in already in motion. Start moving your left hand on the string and then pick that string a few frets before you get to the first note.
E------------------0----------------------------------------------
B---------------0-----0--------------------------------------------
G------------1-----------1-----------------------------------------
D---------2-----------------2--------------------------------------
A------2-----------------------2----------------------------------
E---0-----------------------------2--------------------------------
r - release bend
Sometimes chords are written like this:
p - pull off
E----------------------------------------------------------------
B------5/7/97575--------------------------------------------
G----------------------------------------------------------------
D----------------------------------------------------------------
A----------------------------------------------------------------
E----------------------------------------------------------------
E----------------------------------------------------------------
B------5/7 pick the 7th fret and slide your finger up to the 9th fret-----
G----------------------------------------------------------------
D----------------------------------------------------------------
A--------------5/3 pick the 5th fret and slide down to the 3rd fret----
E----------------------------------------------------------------
E----------------------------------------------------------------
B------/7-9-7---------------------------------------------------
G----------------------------------------------------------------
D----------------------------------------------------------------
A----------------------------------------------------------------
E----------------------------------------------------------------
'r' means return, so you would bend the 7th fret up to sound like the 9th, then 'return', bring it back down to the 7th frets pitch.
E----3p0-------------------------------------------
B---------3p0--------------------------------------
G--------------2p0---------------------------------
D-------------------2p0-------------0h2p0h2p02~~~~
A------------------------2p0-----------------------
E---------------------------- -3p0------------------
x - play 'note' with heavy damping
E --0--------
B --0--------
G --1--------use your 1st finger, your index finger
D --2--------use your 3rd finger, ring finger left hand
A --2--------use your 2nd finger, middle left hand finger
E --0--------
E----------------------------------------------------------------
B------7b9--9r7--------------------------------------------------
G----------------------------------------------------------------
D----------------------------------------------------------------
A----------------------------------------------------------------
E----------------------------------------------------------------
Well that should get you started, I will blog a few more things about Ultimate Guitar Tab, GET READY!
Guitar tab is comprised of 6 lines, the lowest line is the top string on the guitar and the highest line is the bottom string in guitar, reverse if you want to think about ultimate guitar tab like that. If you wonder why it is reverse...it is because the lines actually reflect the pitch of the instrument, the lowest line has a lower sound and the higher lines have a higher sound. Pretty cool, eh?
t - right hand tap
Ultimate Guitar Tab
If notes are spaced like this, play them consecutively in time:
Here is what an E Major Chord would look like, the numbers represent the fret number you want your finger behind on that string, if all the numbers are stacked on top of each other that means play them all at the same time:
The one aspect that ultimate guitar tab is missing compared to proper musical notation, is it's inability to communicate timing. My suggestion is to use tab only as a guide to the right notes, listen carefully to the music that comes out of the speaker to understand the timing of the playing. So this may mean to play an even strum with all the notes the same length because they are the same distance apart and grouped together.
E----------------------------------------------------------------
B----------------------------------------------------------------
G----------------------------------------------------------------
D----------------------------------------------------------------
A---------6h7-----------6h7--------------------------------------
E---0--0----------0--0-------------------------------------------
- slide down
While many guitarist pride themselves on 'not knowing how to read music', it would be foolish for any person studying guitar, the amazing tool of ultimate guitar tab. There are a few basic symbols for reading ultimate guitar tab, but it is so easy I have taught 5 year old kids to play the guitar using ultimate guitar tab.
So here is a basic diagram based on the strings on the guitar, remember, opposite, or reverse order.
Sometimes, it will say bend up:
1/4 - a little bend, like an emotion bend.
1/2 - the sound of 1 fret higher
1 - the sound of 2 frets higher
/ - slide up
What about this? How do you know where to start or end the slides?
Slides are used to pick the first note, then keep pressing down and move your finger to the next note. You can slide both up and down in ultimate guitar tab, each has its own symbol. You may see 's' instead of them, but then use your own common sense and ultimate guitar tab wisdom.
E----------------------------------------------------------------
B------5b7-------------------------------------------------------
G----------------------------------------------------------------
D----------------------------------------------------------------
A----------------------------------------------------------------
E----------------------------------------------------------------
Pull offs look the same, but with the opposite, you pick the first note and pull off the second note :
I have been studying ultimate guitar tab for over 15 years. Ultimate guitar tab changed my life and allowed me to play music without the knowledge of how to read music. I actually did know how to read music, but ultimate guitar tab was much easier. Using ultimate guitar tab, anyone can play the guitar, there is nothing hard about it, put your finger behind the fret of the proper line and you will get the desired sound. Of course, ultimate guitar tab is a little more complicated that this, but basically, it is that simple.
Are you read to learn how to read ultimate guitar tab?
E--------0--------------------------------------------------------
B-------0---------------------------------------------------------
G------1----------------------------------------------------------
D-----2-----------------------------------------------------------
A----2------------------------------------------------------------
E---0-------------------------------------------------------------
E----FIRST STRING (STRING FARTHEST AWAY FROM YOU)
B---- SECOND STRING (SECOND STRING FROM THE BOTTOM)
G----THIRD STRING (THIRD STRING FROM THE BOTTOM)
D----FOURTH STRING (THIRD STRING FROM THE TOP)
A----FIFTH (2ND STRING FROM THE TOP)
E-----SIXTH STRING (TOP STRING CLOSEST STRING TO YOU)
Ultimate Guitar Tab Lesson 1
E----------------------------------------------------------------
B----------------------------------------------------------------
G----------------------------------------------------------------
D----------------------------------------------------------------
A----------------------------------------------------------------
E---0--2--4--5--4--2--0------------------------------------------