You’ve found the ideal place if you’ve ever been curious about electric guitar but have yet to know where to begin learning. The early steps towards learning an instrument may feel overwhelming. However, if you put in the time and effort, you can teach yourself the fundamentals quickly.
If you wanna learn how to play the guitar, from the basics like chords and strumming to the more advanced techniques used by professional players, this tutorial has you covered. In that case, why delay any longer? Prepare to rock out by picking up an electric guitar.
Acoustic Vs. Electric Guitar Differences
The sound you want to create and the music genre you want to play will determine which of these two guitars is best for you, as they are very different in terms of usage and means of amplification (generally speaking, an electric guitar is ideal for rock and metal and acoustic guitar for pop, country, and folk).
The folk guitar’s “hollow” sound box naturally produces sound, but the “solid” body of an electric guitar necessitates a pickup to emit and amplify sound (by plugging in the amp). As a result, an electric guitar’s body and neck are noticeably slimmer and longer than an acoustic guitar’s.
This makes sense when you consider the instrument’s primary function: the acoustic guitar is ideal for playing accompaniment or arpeggios, but the electric guitar shines when it’s time to play a solo, especially in the higher register.
The Benefits of Learning to Play the Electric Guitar
The electric guitar’s versatility far exceeds the acoustic and classical varieties. Playing guitar solos above the 12th or 14th fret is no problem at all, and that’s just the beginning of what you can do.
The electric guitar’s neck is more adapted to the movement of the fingers and sliding of the hand, allowing the player to play at a high tempo and easily switch between styles (legato, slide, hammer-on, pull-off, etc.). In addition, the neck is more comfortable to move around on, and the strings are thinner than on an acoustic guitar.
Do you have yet to learn what any of those phrases mean? Find out everything you need about the guitar with our comprehensive guide. Plugging in your headphones will allow you to play your electric guitar at 3 a.m. without disturbing your neighbours. Try it out on an acoustic guitar if you like!
The electric guitar is a great instrument for individuals who enjoy experimenting with different tones and sounds; with the right combination of pedals and other effects, you can shift from a low “heavy” sound to a lighter one, etc., all within the same riff.
Consequences of Electric Guitar Playing
Like any other instrument, the guitar has benefits and drawbacks that might make it difficult for beginners to get started. The cost of an electric guitar is higher. Certainly, you need to invest in other equipment, such as cables and amplifiers, in addition to the guitar itself.
As a novice, you may need help to tune your instrument and amplifier. A lot more work is involved in playing and setting up an electric guitar than in picking up an acoustic guitar and strumming a few chords.
Get The Skill Yourself
Self-studying electric guitar is doable for anyone with the dedication, enthusiasm, and consistency required.
Have Your Guitar Tuned Properly!
If you want to get good at playing the electric guitar, you’ll need a properly tuned instrument. If you need assistance, you can consult a more experienced musician, a music store’s staff or an expert, or purchase a little electronic tuner (which will become a most valuable friend during your training!).
Playing the right notes on a properly tuned guitar will help you hone your intonation and avoid becoming discouraged. In addition, your finger soreness will be reduced if your guitar is properly tuned.
Master the Fundamentals of Music
A strong instrument and music theory foundation is required for successful electric guitar playing, as is the case with any other instrument. Learning more about music theory will help you become a better guitarist. In addition, your musical expertise will save you a lot of time that would have been spent aimlessly searching for the appropriate chord.
Master the Art of Reading Tablature and Sheet Music
For a novice guitarist, playing everything by ear might be extremely challenging. This is why studying music notation is so crucial. Internet search results clarify the distinction between a partition and a tabulation:
Tablature is a musical notation that provides a pictorial representation of the instrument’s components, fingering, and rhythm. A tablature’s information is distinct from that of sheet music in that it accounts for the instrument’s unique qualities to facilitate easier execution and direct the artist towards more accurate use of the instrument. That could come in handy when deciding, say, which string(s) to play or which right-hand fingers to raise or lower.
It should go without saying that familiarity with sheet music is required before attempting to read tablature. But, unlike a standard score, a tablature will include helpful information on how to play the piece on your instrument.
For example, tablatures are helpful when learning to play well-known guitar solos, such as the one from Dire Straits’ “Sultan of Swing” or the introduction to Metallica’s “Nothing Else Matters.”
Repeat and Listen
You need to be able to play the piece repeatedly until it becomes an integral part of your natural playing style, regardless of how well you already know it. Instead of focusing solely on solos, guitarists would be better served by learning to read and play bass parts, keeping time, and articulating passages.
Focus on developing your note identification, hearing, and recognition skills rather than becoming an electric guitar master or memorising every solo. Try looking up tutorials online if the sheet music or tablatures are too easy.
Put Yourself In Proper Gear
The Guitar Is Essential
While an original 1959 Gibson Les Paul Goldtop is hardly realistic as your first guitar, having the right equipment will make your learning process much more efficient. Possessing a reasonably playable and in-tune guitar can benefit you greatly.
Although every guitar is unique, several starter models, such as those made by Fender Squire, Epiphone, and Yamaha Pacifica, seem quite consistent. You get what you pay for, so if you buy an $80 guitar on Amazon, don’t expect much in terms of sound quality.
The Power of Modeling Amps
Get your hands on a reliable guitar cable and amplifier. Nowadays, low-cost modelling amplifiers are readily available from a variety of manufacturers. Modelling amplifiers are awesome because they can simulate the sound of various vintage and modern amplifiers.
Figure Out Tablature And Chord Diagrams
Learning to read guitar tablature and chord charts is the first step in expanding your musical horizons and skill set on the electric guitar. However, to master the electric guitar, you need not even be able to read standard notation.
You Can Trust Your Guitar Tabs
Tablature is a shorthand system for notating guitar music that may be learned rapidly. Instead of the usual five lines that make up a music staff, this one has six. There are six horizontal lines, and each one stands in for a guitar string.
The guitar tablature is read top down. The lowest horizontal line represents the sixth string (low E) on a guitar. The guitar’s highest string is an E. Hence the tallest horizontal line represents the first string. Next, we mark the lines with numbers representing guitar frets. If the number 1 appears on the top line, it indicates that the first fret of the high E string should be played.
- If there’s a number five on the bottom horizontal line, that indicates the fifth fret on the low E string.
Chord Diagrams for Hours
One of the quickest and most efficient ways to educate oneself on an electric guitar is by reading chord charts. You can learn to play all the chords you need for a song by looking at the chord diagrams accompanying many charts.
Once you are familiar with the format of a chord diagram, reading them is relatively easy. Chord diagrams are visual representations of a specific chord shape on the guitar fretboard.
A standard chord diagram is a grid. It comprises six vertical lines, one for each of the electric guitar’s strings. One way to visualise a chord diagram is as a view from the bridge to the headstock of a guitar. There will be a high E string on the right and a low E string on the left.
Next, a set of horizontal lines-usually from three to six-represents the individual frets. For example, the following is a simple example of a chord diagram for an open E major chord:
- The second frets of the A and D strings and the first fret of the G string are shown by dots in this chord diagram. Keep these frets pressed down with your fretting hand while you strum with your picking hand. If you want to pick up songs on the fly, you should get comfortable with chord charts and diagrams.
Develop Your Methods
Figure out what makes your favourite guitarists tick and work on incorporating some of their signature moves into your playing. Slides bend, hammer-ons, pull-offs, legato runs, sweep picking, tapping, etc., are all examples of fundamental techniques.
Learn how to play using various picking techniques, such as alternate picking, hybrid picking, and fingerpicking. It’s important to locate the guitar skills that speak to you personally and become an expert.
Choral Training
As a beginner guitarist, you should absorb as many pieces of music as possible, including songs, riffs, licks, and solos. Learning the guitar fretboard’s language in this way will help you play better in the long run.
Like every other instrument, the guitar has its distinctive play styles. It’s crucial to internalise and eventually master such guitar-specific habits from an early age. Then you can expand on those foundations to create your signature sound!
Conclusion
Most importantly, this essay explains how the electric guitar differs from the acoustic guitar and why it’s worth your time to learn. The electric guitar is more suited for soloing above the 12th or 14th fret, whereas the acoustic guitar is better suited for playing accompaniment or arpeggios.
The neck of an electric guitar is better suited to the sliding of the hand and the movement of the fingers, making it possible to play at a rapid tempo while also switching between different musical styles.
Thinner strings and a more manageable neck make this instrument more versatile than its acoustic counterpart. Those who like to play around with different tones and noises will find the electric guitar to be a fantastic instrument.
The advantages and disadvantages, such as the high price of an electric guitar and the necessity to invest in extra equipment, might make it challenging for novices to get started. Anyone with the time, interest, and perseverance needed may teach themselves to play the electric guitar.
Mastering the electric guitar requires a well-tuned instrument, a firm grasp of musical theory, and fluency in reading tablature and sheet music. Tablature is a type of musical notation that uses pictures to show the parts of an instrument, how they are played, and the tempo at which they are played. Unlike sheet music, it takes into account the specifics of the instrument to help in performance and guide the musician towards more precise playing.
Tablature is more difficult to read than sheet music, although it often includes more detailed instructions for performing the song. Play and listen to the piece until it blends seamlessly into your existing technique. Get in the right mindset to speed up your learning.
Getting a good guitar wire and amplifier, learning to read guitar tablature and chord charts, and studying chord diagrams are the most critical points to take away from this text. In the tablature, the six horizontal lines stand in for the guitar’s six strings.
Studying chord diagrams is the way to go if you want to learn how to play an electric guitar song quickly and efficiently. Chord diagrams are pictures of how a certain chord should look on the guitar neck. Each string of an electric guitar is represented by a vertical line and the different frets by a series of horizontal lines.
Getting used to chord charts and diagrams, developing your own ways, and absorbing as much music as possible will help you pick up songs on the fly. Choral training is also useful for instilling guitar-specific habits at a young age and subsequently mastering them.
Content Summary
- If you wanna learn how to play the guitar, from the basics like chords and strumming to the more advanced techniques used by professional players, this tutorial has you covered.
- Prepare to rock out by picking up an electric guitar.
- As a result, an electric guitar’s body and neck are noticeably slimmer and longer than an acoustic guitar’s.
- This makes sense when considering the instrument’s primary function: the acoustic guitar is ideal for playing accompaniment or arpeggios. However, the electric guitar shines when it’s time to play a solo, especially in the higher register.
- The electric guitar’s versatility far exceeds the acoustic and classical varieties.
- In addition, the neck is more comfortable to move around on, and the strings are thinner than on an acoustic guitar.
- The cost of an electric guitar is higher.
- As a novice, you may need help to tune your instrument and amplifier.
- If you want to get good at playing the electric guitar, you’ll need a properly tuned instrument.
- In addition, your finger soreness will be reduced if your guitar is properly tuned.
- As with any other instrument, a strong instrument and music theory foundation is required for successful electric guitar playing.
- Learning more about music theory will help you become a better guitarist.
- This is why studying music notation is so crucial.
- Tablature is a musical notation that provides a pictorial representation of the instrument’s components, fingering, and rhythm.
- It should go without saying that familiarity with sheet music is required before attempting to read tablature.
- Try looking up tutorials online if the sheet music or tablatures are too easy.
- Put Yourself In Proper Gear The Guitar Is Essential While an original 1959 Gibson Les Paul Goldtop is hardly realistic as your first guitar, having the right equipment will make your learning process much more efficient.
- Possessing a reasonably playable and in-tune guitar can benefit you greatly.
- Get your hands on a reliable guitar cable and amplifier.
- Nowadays, low-cost modelling amplifiers are readily available from a variety of manufacturers.
- Learning to read guitar tablature and chord charts is the first step in expanding your musical horizons and skill set on the electric guitar.
- To master the electric guitar, you need not even be able to read standard notation.
- One of the quickest and most efficient ways to educate oneself on an electric guitar is by reading chord charts.
- You can learn to play all the chords you need for a song by looking at the chord diagrams accompanying many charts.
- Reading them is relatively easy once you are familiar with the format of a chord diagram.
- Chord diagrams represent a specific chord shape on the guitar fretboard.
- One way to visualise a chord diagram is as a view from the bridge to the headstock of a guitar.
- If you want to pick up songs on the fly, you should get comfortable with chord charts and diagrams.
- Learn how to play using various picking techniques, such as alternate picking, hybrid picking, and fingerpicking.
- Learning the guitar fretboard’s language in this way will help you play better in the long run.
- Like every other instrument, the guitar has its distinctive play styles.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is a Year Enough Time to Study Electric Guitar?
Learning guitar could take a few months or a few years. How long it takes you to learn guitar depends on your goals, the frequency and quality of your practice, and your natural talent.
Is There a Proper Time to Start Learning Electric Guitar?
To learn guitar, one has only to be able to push the strings of a toy guitar with two fingers. However, Chuck Berry, who picked up the guitar when he was 29, proves it’s always possible to start. Hence, there is still time to start learning the guitar.
Is It Possible to Self-Teach Electric Guitar?
Learning electric guitar on your own is possible, though engaging with an instructor or teachers is beneficial. Inspiration, together with some motivation and hard work, is all that is required to stay on course.
Is the Electric Guitar Harder to Learn Than the Piano?
Whether or whether learning electric guitar in Melbourne, Victoria (or anyplace else) is more difficult than learning piano depends on a wide range of individual circumstances, including previous musical experience, prefered learning style, and consistency with practice.
Both instruments call for a unique set of abilities to play well; what one person finds difficult may come easily to another. Some things to think about are as follows:
- The technical requirements for playing the electric guitar and the piano are very different. Playing the piano, on the other hand, necessitates more refined hand-eye coordination and finger strength than playing the electric guitar.
- One instrument may be simpler to master than the other depending on the learner’s level of musical expertise, such as their familiarity with reading sheet music and their grasp of musical theory.
- Some people learn best by auditory means, such as listening to music or watching films; others, through visual means, such as reading instructional materials; yet others, through a combination of these two approaches.
The electric guitar and the piano are difficult to master, but anyone can do them with enough time and effort.
However, if you’re going to put in the time and effort to learn an instrument, it should be one that you enjoy playing.
Which Instrument Is The Most Challenging To Master?
- Violin. The violin is a wooden stringed instrument that’s part of a larger family of similar instruments.
- The French Horn
- The Organ
- Bagpipes
- Accordion
- Oboe
- Harp
- Guitar.