SRL Archive - Computer Help and Tutorials

Written by: bionicle1800
Proof Read by: J_Pizzle

Introduction

Welcome to the longest tutorial on Villavu that has nothing to do with SCAR, RuneScape, or even computers on that note! This tutorial is a tutorial on how to play a guitar. I will teach you over the course of thirty days, and please, the sections are called "Day 1", "Day 2" etc. for a reason. Do not, I repeat, do not do more then one lesson in a day, as they are split apart so you have time to practice, review, and ponder on what you have learned for that day.

For this tutorial, you will need an acoustic guitar. On your final day, you will need to make a recording for me to evaluate, and then I will give you a grade on how well you have progressed through this tutorial. Every five days (starting on day 4) will be a review day, as well as every five days (starting on day 5) there will be a song for you to learn, with instructions.

If you like this, use that blue check mark in the top right hand corner! You can also donate to my PayPal accout - [email]L.-.0.-.l@hotmail.com[/email] - and help with my RuneScape membership funds for future scripts! Questions, comments or corrections, please don't hesitate to post below, I will have a look as soon as I can!

Well, we had better get started, so grab your guitar, and advance to Day 1!

Day 1

Today we will cover:

• Musical Notes
• Parts of an Acoustic Guitar
• Finger Numbers
• String Notes
• Form
• Tuning
• Your First Cord
• Strumming

Musical Notes

In music, notes are different tones, each lettered. There are seven notes, A, B, C, D, E, F and G. Together they are called an 'octave'. If you want to go higher, then you just repeat. If you listen to the notes, a lower 'A' note sounds the same tone as a higher 'A' note. This is why the notes aren't lettered higher, just repeat.

Now, in between these notes are what are called sharps and flats. The symbol to show a sharp is '#' and the symbol to show a flat is '♭'. A sharp is a step higher then the note, and a flat is a step lower. In between notes A and B, there is A# and B♭, these are the same notes, but different names. If you don't understand it now, that's OK, you will in a minute.

Tones and semitones are a way of measuring the distance of pitch between notes. Between A and B, there is a whole tone, or two semitones. Remember, 1 tone = 2 semitones. So that means between A and A#/B♭, there is only one semitone.

IMPORTANT: between B and C, and also E and F, there are no sharps or flats! Can you guess what that means then? The step between B and C is only a semitone!

Parts of an Acoustic Guitar

Here is a picture of an acoustic guitar. All the parts I am going to explain are numbered, and will be explained below:
1: The neck. This is the long part sticking out from the rest of the guitar, and also where you put your left hand.
2: The head. This is the top of the guitar, where the tuning knobs(see below) are.
3: The tuning knobs. You use these to tune your strings to the right pitch.
4: Frets. You put your fingers on these to hold down the strings along the metal bar, AKA fret, to make a higher pitched sound. They are numbered, starting with 0 as an open string (meaning you don't push on a fret), 1 as the first fret, etc.
5: Sound hole. This is where the sound from the string echo's and is projected.
6: Pick guard. This is here so you don't accidentally scratch your guitar when picking.
7: Bridge. This is where your strings are held in. You can also place your hand here along the bottom of the string while picking it, to produce a muted sound.
8: Strings. Pretty self explanatory :p! 9: The body. This is the huge, fat part at the bottom of the guitar.

Finger Numbers

This section will be really small, but is really important. Your thumb isn't a finger. I can't stress this enough, NEVER use your thumb while playing guitar. It is just not a good idea. The finger beside your thumb is your 1st finger, your middle finger is your 2nd finger, the next finger is the 3rd finger, and your pinky is the 4th finger.

String Notes

Each string is numbered, and also is a note. The thickest one is the 'low E' string, or the sixth string. The next one down is the 'A' string, or the fifth string. Next, 'D' string, or fourth string. Next, 'G' string, or third string. Next 'B' string, or second string. Next, the last and the thinnest, 'high E' string, or the first string.

Now that was a lot, and I know it was all slammed together. Here are 2 easy ways of remembering.

1: Thinnest to thickest = 1 to 6.
2: The names, starting with the thickest: E, A, D, G, B, E.
A small little diddle to help you remember, Eddie Ate Dynamite, Good Bye Eddie.
Or,
Every Acid Dealer Gets Busted Eventually.


Form

This section, I will teach you how to hold your guitar, where to place your hands, and how to hold your pick.

First, I will give you step-by-step instruction on how to hold your guitar:

• Take your guitar, and place it in your lap with the neck sticking out to the left.
• The sound hole should be facing outwards. SIT UP STRAIGHT
• There should be a grove on the body, on the side closest to the ground. Place your right thigh in that grove.
• Take your arm, and place the back side of your elbow on the bottom of the guitar body, and bring your hand over and place it on the bridge. Your hand should be perfectly in line with the strings.
• Make a 'thumbs up' with your left hand, but have your fingers about an inch and a half away from your palm.
• Take that hand and put the neck of the guitar in that space between your palm and your fingers, so that the fingers make a perfect 90 degree angle with the neck, and so that the flat side of the thumb is on the back of the guitar pointing towards the head of the guitar.

Pick time! :D:

• Make an 'O' with your thumb and your first finger, but have your thumb overlap your finger by about an inch. (Probably smaller, since i have big hands :p).
• Slide your pick in between the overlap between your thumb and finger. Only your thumb and your first finger should be touching the pick!
• Take your other three fingers, and point them strait out, so that if you hold your arm out, they will be perfectly in line with your arm.

Here is a picture if you don't get it:


Tuning

If you have a piano, then you can use that to tune. Hold the 'E' below middle C, and progress up to A, then D etc. If you don't have a piano, then head to the nearest guitar store, and pick up an electric tuner.

How to use an electric tuner:

• Place your guitar in your lap
• Put the electric tuner on your knee
• Strum one string at a time. Usually you would start on low E and make your way down.
• On the tuner, depending on what brand it is, it will tell you the note and weather it is sharp or flat. If it displays the wrong note, then that string is horribly out of tune, and you will need to guess how sharp/flat it is.
• Sharp means the string is too high of a pitch
• Flat means the string is to low of a pitch
• Use the tuning knobs to put the guitar in tune, clockwise to make the pitch lower, and counterclockwise to make the pitch higher.

Your First Chord

Today, I am going to teach you an E minor chord. Now, if you are new to music, you are probably wondering what a 'minor' is. Simply put, there are two of these classes, minor and major. Major is generally happy, while minor is sad, or scary. E minor (Em) is the easiest chord you will ever learn.

• Take your second finger (remember, that is the middle finger!) and place it on the fifth string, on the second fret.
• Make sure that finger isn't touching any other strings, as they will be muted!
• Take your third finger and place it on the fourth string, second fret.
• Take your pick, as I showed you above, and drag it across the strings (make sure you have a thin pick, otherwise you might break a string!).
• NOTE: When strumming chords, use the arm from the elbow down.
• The sound produced should sound kind of haunting. If it doesn't, then you did something wrong, or your guitar is out of tune.

Strumming

While reading this section, I want you to visit this website (click). This is called a 'metronome'. It keeps a beat. The numbers on the metronome are how many beats per minute you want, therefore, if you set it to 60, you will have one beat every second. When you strum cords, every beat will be a down stroke. In that matter, every half of a beat will be an up stroke.

Homework

• Memorize the notes of the strings and the parts of the guitar
• Tune your guitar yourself
• Practice strumming your Em cord at 60 BPM(beats per minute) first only down strokes
• Attempt some up strokes every half of a beat

Day 2

Today we will cover:

• Single String Picking
• Reading TABs (don't worry, this is simple)
• You're Second and Third Chords (Emajor, Gmajor)

Single String Picking

First of all, let's start with form. Remember yesterday when I showed you how to hold your pick? Hold it like that, but push the pick farther into your hand so that only about half a centimeter(1/5 of an inch) is poking out.

When you are picking on single strings, you can rest your hand below the bridge, so that you aren't touching any of the strings and muting them, and also so that you are in reach of all the six strings without moving your hand.

IMPORTANT: When you are picking single strings, make sure you ALWAYS pick up and down, as you can pick faster that way. This is called Alternating Picking(remember!). Now go to the metronome site (click) and set it to 80. (Bookmark this site please as hence forth, I will not be incorporating the link) Now, try picking an open high E string, up and down, in line with the metronome. After you have got it next to perfectly inline, move onward!

Reading TABs

Don't get all fussy and skip this section, because unlike what you may think, tabs are very easy. Here is an example:
JINGLE BELLS
[php]E|–0-0-0—–0-0-0—–0-3—–0–1-1-1-1-1-0-0-0-0—–0
B|————————–1-3———————-3-3–
G|——————————————————–
D|——————————————————–
A|——————————————————–
E|——————————————————–

E|–3–0-0-0—-0-0-0—-0-3—–0—1-1-1-1-1-0-0-0-3-3-1
B|3————————–1-3————————–
G|——————————————————–
D|——————————————————–
A|——————————————————–
E|——————————————————–

E|———————————————————
B|3-1——————————————————
G|———————————————————
D|———————————————————
A|———————————————————
E|———————————————————[/php]
(It isn't colorful like this normally, just [PHP] is the only tag that lines it up perfectly)
Now, for TABs, you have to have a good ear, because they don't tell you how long to hold the note.

0 means open, 1 means first fret, 2 means second fret, etc.

There are six lines in each bar, each representing one of the six strings. The first line is the first string (remember, the first string is the highest sounding string), the second line is the second string, third line is third string etc.

You're Second and Third Chords

First, I will start with Emajor. Here is a tab for Emajor, try to figure it out:

[php]E|–0——————————————————
B|–0——————————————————
G|–1——————————————————
D|–2——————————————————
A|–2——————————————————
E|–0——————————————————[/php]

This is just like Em, except it has your first finger on the third string, first fret as well.

Next, Gmajor:

[php]E|–3——————————————————
B|–0——————————————————
G|–0——————————————————
D|–0——————————————————
A|–2——————————————————
E|–3——————————————————[/php]

Use the second finger on the low E string, third fret, use the first finger on the A string, second fret, and use the fourth finger on the high E string, third fret.

Homework

• Practice alternating picking with the metronome (start with 80, make your way up to 184)
• Learn Jingle Bells
• Practice your three chords (Em, Emajor, Gmajor)

Day 3

Today we will cover:

• Power Chords (The Secret of Rock and Metal)
• Little Power Cord Tune
• Picking Exercise
• Two More Chords! (Cmajor, Dmajor)

Power Chords (The Secret of Rock and Metal)

This might hurt. It looks really simple, but it requires practice, and I remember learning about power chords, and how much my hand hurt after my guitar lesson.

Power chords are chords that are only on either two or three strings. They are not major or minor, they are mutual. I am going to start with two string power chords, but I will show you how to do three string power chords so if you are good with 2 string ones, then you can go further.

Two String
Here is an example of a two string power cord:
[php]E|———————————————————
B|———————————————————
G|———————————————————
D|———————————————————
A|–2——————————————————
E|–0——————————————————[/php]

This is an E power cord. You can also move it down a string to make it an A power cord:
[php]E|———————————————————
B|———————————————————
G|———————————————————
D|–2——————————————————
A|–0——————————————————
E|———————————————————[/php]

aaand over once more to make it a D power cord:
[php]E|———————————————————
B|———————————————————
G|–2——————————————————
D|–0——————————————————
A|———————————————————
E|———————————————————[/php]

This is usually where we stop on the strings, as further down they sound horrible.

Now, these are the lowest power chords, if you want to progress higher on the strings, you need to simply add an equal amount of frets on each side:
[php]E|———————————————————
B|———————————————————
G|———4———————————————–
D|———2——7—————————————-
A|–3————-5—————————————-
E|–1——————————————————[/php]

Little Power Cord Tune

[php]E|———————————————————
B|———————————————————
G|—————–2—————————————
D|—–2—–1–2–4—————————————
A|–2–0–2–3–4——————————————
E|–0—–0————————————————[/php]

Go to the metronome site and try playing this at 40, with one note per beat.

Picking Exercise

Today, I am going to give you your first exercise that will help on your picking:

• Go to the metronome site and set it to 92
• Start your alternating picking with one stroke per beat
• After 16 strokes, start making it two strokes per beat
• After 8 strokes, start making it four strokes per beat (if you can't keep time that well, set the metronome for 184 and make it two strokes per beat)
• Repeat until perfection

Two More Chords!

Let's start with Cmajor, here is a tab for it:

[php]E|–0——————————————————
B|–1——————————————————
G|–0——————————————————
D|–2——————————————————
A|–3——————————————————
E|–X——————————————————[/php]

You're probably wondering what the 'X' is. Simple. It means you don't play that string.

The fingering for this cord is third finger on the fifth string, third fret, second finger on the fourth string, second fret, and first finger on the second string, first fret.

Now, let's learn Dmajor!

[php]E|–2——————————————————
B|–3——————————————————
G|–2——————————————————
D|–0——————————————————
A|–X——————————————————
E|–X——————————————————[/php]

Fingering is pretty easy, first finger on the third string, second fret, forth finger on the second string, third fret, and the third finger on the first string, second fret.

Homework

• Practice the Power Cord Tune
• Practice your picking exersise
• Practice your chords, Em, Emajor, Gmajor, Cmajor and Dmajor

Day 4 - Review Day!

Today we will cover:

• A New Cord (Amajor)
• Review Exercise

A New Cord

Time to learn your Amajor cord! This one is very simple, and shouldn't be too hard too learn on the review day:

[php]E|–0——————————————————
B|–2——————————————————
G|–2——————————————————
D|–2——————————————————
A|–0——————————————————
E|–X——————————————————[/php]

Fingering is real simple too; you can put your first finger across all of the three strings, on the second frets, or you can put your first finger on the fourth string, second fret, your second finger on the third string, second fret, and your third finger on the second string, second fret.

Review Exercise

[php]Cord|–E—Em———-G—————A—D—C————–
~
E—|–0—0———–3—3—2—3—0—3—0————–
B—|–0—0———–0—————3—2—1————–
G—|–1—0———–0—————3—3—0————–
D—|–2—2——-7—0—————3—0—2————–
A—|–2—2—4—5—2—————0—X—3————–
E—|–0—0—2——-3—————X—X—X————–[/php]

Homework

• Practice the Review Exercise!
• Go over chords Gmajor, Cmajor, Dmajor, Emajor and Amajor for tomorow
• Practice Em too!

Day 5 - Song Day!

Today we will cover:

• American Pie!

American Pie!

[php](—G—-C——–G——–D————G————C)
"So bye-bye, Miss American Pie.Drove my Chevy to the levee but the"
(G———D———G——-C——————-G———–D)
"levee was dry, them good ole boys were drinkin' whiskey and Rye, singing"
(Em————————A——-Em————————D)
"this'll be the day that I die, This'll be the day that I die."[/php]

Homework

• Download American Pie and Play along with it

Day 6

Today we will cover:

• E Blues Scale
• Blues Power Chord Riff
• One Chord (Am)

E Blues Scale

You probably saw this part and made an inward sigh. You probably thought to yourself, "Blues, why blues? Blues is so gay…" well blues can be a great contributor to rock and metal. The song Enter Sandman by Metallica? The solo is mostly the blues scale and blues riffs.

Again, this scale is going to be in TABs. This is one of the easiest ways to learn songs, so I want to keep you accustomed to them:

[php]E|—————————————————-0—3
B|——————————————–0—3——–
G|——————————-0—2—3—————–
D|———————–0—2—————————–
A|———-0—1—2————————————–
E|–0—3————————————————–

E|–3—0————————————————–
B|———-3—0——————————————-
G|——————3—2—0——————————
D|——————————2—0———————-
A|————————————–2—1—0———-
E|—————————————————3—0-[/php]

Blues Power Chord Riff

This will be kind of hard to explain, so bear with me. When writing music there are these things called 'measures'. Measures split the musical peace according to beats. Usually there are four beats in one measure. You count beats as such: "One da and da Two da and da Three da and da Four da and da". The numbers are the beats, the 'and's are halfway between beats and the 'da's are a quarter/three quarters between beats. For this next part, only strum the beats in bold:

One da and da Two da and da Three da and da Four da and da One da and da Two da and da Three da and da Four da and da

This is a blues rhythm. Try strumming this rhythm along with the blues power chords:

[php]E|———————————————————
B|———————————————————
G|———————————————————
D|———————————————————
A|–2–2–4–4–2–2–4–4–2–2–4–4–2–2–4–4———
E|–0–0–0–0–0–0–0–0–0–0–0–0–0–0–0–0———

E|———————————————————
B|———————————————————
G|———————————————————
D|———————————————————
A|–2–2–4–4–2–2–4–4–2–2–4–4–2–2–4–4———
E|–0–0–0–0–0–0–0–0–0–0–0–0–0–0–0–0———[/php]

One Chord

Here ye go, Am:

[php]E|–0——————————————————
B|–1——————————————————
G|–2——————————————————
D|–2——————————————————
A|–0——————————————————
E|–X——————————————————[/php]

Finger it like Emajor, just slide it down a string!

Homework

• Practice Your Blues - Continuing tomorrow!
• Practice all of your chords

Day 7

Today we will cover:

• Blues Improvisation
• Another Blues Power Chord Riff
• Chord (Dm)

Blues Improvisation

This section is going to mix the blues power chord riff you learned before with the blues scale to come up with something new, and amazing. Remember, when playing this, use the blues rhythm I taught you before!

[php]E|———————————————————
B|———————————————————
G|————————————————–0——
D|——————————————-0–3———-
A|–2–2–4–4–2–2–4–4——–0–1–2——————
E|–0–0–0–0–0–0–0–0–0–3—————————

E|—————————3–0————————–
B|———————————3–0——————–
G|—————————————3–2–0———–
D|————————————————2——–
A|–2–2–4–4–2–2–4–4———————————
E|–0–0–0–0–0–0–0–0———————————[/php]

Keep repeating! Practice is perfection!

After a while of practicing this, try adding your own notes from the blues scale in, and remember, you can hold notes for as long as you want (not too ridiculous though), as long as you keep with the beat!

Another Blues Power Chord Riff

This one is almost like the riff you learned yesterday, except fore one thing. I added in another power chord!

[php]E|———————————————————
B|———————————————————
G|———————————————————
D|———————————————————
A|–2–2–4–4–5–5–4–4–2–2–4–4–5–5–4–4———
E|–0–0–0–0–0–0–0–0–0–0–0–0–0–0–0–0———

E|———————————————————
B|———————————————————
G|———————————————————
D|———————————————————
A|–2–2–4–4–5–5–4–4–2–2–4–4–5–5–4–4———
E|–0–0–0–0–0–0–0–0–0–0–0–0–0–0–0–0———[/php]

Remember to use the blues rhythm I showed you before while strumming this!

Chord

You're chord for today shall be another minor. Dm.

[php]E|–1——————————————————
B|–3——————————————————
G|–2——————————————————
D|–0——————————————————
A|–X——————————————————
E|–X——————————————————[/php]

The fingering is the third finger on the third string, third fret, fourth finger on the second string, second fret, and the first finger on the first string first fret.

Homework

• Practice your improvisation
• Practice your blues riff
• Practice your chords! (Em, Emajor, Gmajor, Cmajor, Dmajor, Amajor, Am, Dm)

Day 8

Today we will cover:

• Hammer-ons and Pull-offs
• Two Chords (E7, A7)

Hammer-ons and Pull-offs

A basic, and commonly used skill. These are what those great guitarists use in their solos to make them sound amazing. Once you have mastered these, then you will be able to do anything! (OK, not anything, but a hell of a lot more then you could before ;))

To start off, let me give a definition of hammer-ons and pull-offs:

Hammer-on: A technique that you slap your finger down on a single string on any fret, and producing a sound.

Pull-offs: The opposite of a hammer-on. This is when you have a note already ringing from a single string on any fret and you push down and slide your finger off the note, while having another finger on a lower fret to produce another sound.

On a TAB, hammer-ons and pull-offs are noted as H and P. Here is an example of a small riff, try to play it:

[php]E|–7–5–h7–p5–p0–h2–h3–p2—————————
B|———————————————————
G|———————————————————
D|———————————————————
A|———————————————————
E|———————————————————[/php]

As you may have noticed, this riff has kind of a 'minor' feel to it. Practice this, because next week we will be learning a song with these.

Two Chords

First, lets start with E7:

[php]E|–0——————————————————
B|–0——————————————————
G|–1——————————————————
D|–0——————————————————
A|–2——————————————————
E|–0——————————————————[/php]

The fingering is just like Emajor, except your third finger isn't on the neck. Now, lets try A7:

[php]E|–0——————————————————
B|–2——————————————————
G|–0——————————————————
D|–2——————————————————
A|–0——————————————————
E|–X——————————————————[/php]

As you can see, the fingering is just like Amajor, except for the second finger isn't on the G string anymore.

Homework

• Hammer-ons and pull-offs!
• Practice your chords!

Day 9 - Review Day!

Today we will cover:

• Chord! (Dsus)
• Review Exercise 1
• Review Exercise 2

Chord!

Simple one, just like D, with an extra note :p:

[php]E|–3——————————————————
B|–3——————————————————
G|–2——————————————————
D|–0——————————————————
A|–X——————————————————
E|–X——————————————————[/php]

Finger it like Dmajor, but take your 4th finger and put it on the third fret, first string.

Review Exercise 1

Well, today is a review day! This exercise will cover the blues I taught you 3 days ago! Here you go, use the metronome site at about 90, and have a go!
NOTE: Remember to use the blues riff I taught you! One da and da Two da and da Three da and da Four da and da

[php]E|————————-3–0–3————————-
B|———————————————————
G|———————————————————
D|———————————————————
A|–2–2–4–4–5–5–4–4—————–0—————
E|–0–0–0–0–0–0–0–0———–0–3——————[/php]

Review Exercise 2

This is a fun little chord riff including hammer-ons my guitar teacher taught me when I was first learning. It helps with switching between strumming (chords) and picking (single notes). This doesn't matter how fast you play it, you can play it very slow, and it sounds like a sad song, normal speed and it sounds like an acoustic rock song, and fast it sounds like country!

[php]E|—–3—–3—–0———0—–0———0—–0———0–
B|—–0—–0—–0———0—–1———1—–3———3–
G|—–0—–0—–1———1—–0———0—–0———0–
D|—–0—–0—–2———2—–2–0–h2–2—–4–0–h4–4–
A|—–2—–2—–2–0–h2–2–3–3———3–5–5———5–
E|–3–3–2–3–0–0———0———————————-[/php]

Homework

• Practice your review!
• Practice Dmajor, Dsus and Amajor for tomorrow!
• Practice all of your other chords

Day 10 - Song Day!

Today we will cover:

• Free Falling!

Free Falling!

[php](——-D—-Dsus–Dsus–D—A)
"Shes a good girl, loves her mama"
(——D-Dsus—-Dsus-D–A)
"Loves Jesus and America too"
(——-D—-Dsus–Dsus–D—-A)
"Shes a good girl, crazy bout Elvis"
(——D–Dsus——–Dsus-D—-A)
"Loves horses and her boyfriend too"
(——D—-Dsus-Dsus-D–A)
"Its a long day livin in Reseda"
(———D—Dsus-Dsus–D———–A)
"Theres a freeway runnin through the yard"
(———D—Dsus——-Dsus—-D—-A)
"And Im a bad boy, cause I don't even miss her"
(—–D—Dsus—-Dsus—-D—A)
"Im a bad boy for breakin her heart"
(——-D—-Dsus—-Dsus–D–A)
"And Im free,"
(——–D—–Dsus—-Dsus–D–A)
"Im free fallin"[/php]

Homework

• Download Free Falling and Play along with it

Day 11

Today we will cover:

• A Major Arpeggio
• B Major Arpeggio
• New Chord (D7)

A Major Arpeggio

For the next three days, I am going to teach you about arpeggios. What is an arpeggio you might ask? Well this is taken strait from a dictionary:

Arpeggio: A chord whose notes are played in rapid succession rather than simultaneously.

Arpeggios on guitars are a bit different then you might think. You don't hold down a chord and play it, you play three notes from the chord over. For example, an A arpeggio would be A C# E repeated like A C# E A C# E A. This is how to play a major A arpeggio:

[php]E|———————————————————
B|—————–5–10–5——————————–
G|————–6————6—————————–
D|——–2–7——————7–2———————–
A|—–4——————————4——————–
E|–5————————————5—————–[/php]

To change the tone of an arpeggio from A to what ever, slide it up that many frets. E.G., the 5th fret on the 6th string is A, which is why this is an A arpeggio, if you slide it up two frets, it becomes a B arpeggio.

Try playing this, slowly at first. Don't try to rush it, keep it at a steady pace. Slowly make it faster, until you can get it to a quick speed playing it fluently.

B Major Arpeggio

Like I said in the last section, You can take an arpeggio and slide it up a few frets to change the tone. Here is an example, from A, as you saw before, to B, two frets higher:

[php]E|———————————————————
B|—————–7–12–7——————————–
G|————–8————8—————————–
D|——–4–9——————9–4———————–
A|—–6——————————6——————–
E|–7————————————7—————–[/php]

New Chord

Here be your D7:

[php]E|–2——————————————————
B|–1——————————————————
G|–2——————————————————
D|–0——————————————————
A|–X——————————————————
E|–X——————————————————[/php]

Fingering is simple. Take your second finger, and place it on the second fret, third string, take your first finger and place it on the first fret, second string, and take your third finger and place it on the second fret, first string.

Homework

• Practice your arpeggios!
• Practice your chords!

Day 12

Today we will cover:

• A Minor Arpeggio
• B Minor Arpeggio
• New Chord (Rock G)

A Minor Arpeggio

Minor arpeggios are, as you've probably guessed, minor chords, like the major arpeggios are major chords. The following arpeggio is an A minor arpeggio:

[php]E|———————————————————
B|—————–5–10–5——————————–
G|————–5————5—————————–
D|——–2–7——————7–2———————–
A|—–3——————————3——————–
E|–5————————————5—————–[/php]

Again, like yesterday, start out slow, and slowly speed it up until you have it perfect.

B Minor Arpeggio

Just like with major arpeggios, you can slide them up a few frets to make them in a different key. (If you have never heard that term before, keys are like the name of chords. A chord is in the key of A). Here is a B minor arpeggio:

[php]E|———————————————————
B|—————–7–12–7——————————–
G|————–7————7—————————–
D|——–4–9——————9–4———————–
A|—–5——————————5——————–
E|–7————————————7—————–[/php]

New Chord

This chord I am going to teach you is a less commonly used chord, but is more common in acoustic rock songs. It is called Rock G, it is much like a G chord, only with one extra note:

[php]E|–3——————————————————
B|–3——————————————————
G|–0——————————————————
D|–0——————————————————
A|–2——————————————————
E|–3——————————————————[/php]

Homework

• Practice your major arpeggios!
• Practice all of your minor arpeggios!
• Chords!

Day 13

Today we will cover:

• Arpeggio Improvisation
• Arpeggio Exercise
• New Chord (Fmajor)

Arpeggio Improvisation

Improvisation isn't something that I can teach you. You have to learn it on your own. What I can do, though, is give you some tips on how to go about to learn this skill. For one, you need to know your arpeggios perfectly. You don't necessarily know how to play them perfectly, you just need to know the notes and the form.

Fool around with your arpeggios, try playing the notes in a different order, with different lengths for each note. Try to come up with a tune using arpeggios. The next section is a little exercise that might also help you with improvising, it is in the key of A:

Arpeggio Exercise

[php]E|–0————–0—————0————–0————–
B|–3————–3–10—–5—–2————–2–10–5——-
G|–3————–3——6——–3–5–5—–2–3———5—-
D|–3——–2—–3————7–3——–3—–3————7-
A|–0—–4—–4–0—————0————–0————–
E|—–5———————————————————[/php]

New Chord

Today's chord will be…Fmajor:

[php]E|–1——————————————————
B|–1——————————————————
G|–2——————————————————
D|–3——————————————————
A|–X——————————————————
E|–X——————————————————[/php]

Take your first finger and put it across the first two strings on the first fret. Push hard, this is called barring. Now take your second finger and place it on the third string on the second fret, and place your third finger in the fourth string on the third fret. This may feel weird, and hurt at first, but remember! Practice is perfect!

Homework

• Arpeggios!
• Chords!

Day 14 - Review Day!

Today we will cover:

• Blues Review
• Blues Scale Review
• Blues Power Chords Review
• Hammer-on and Pull-off Review
• Arpeggio Review
• All of Your Chords Review

Blues Review

REMEMBER the blues rhythm:

One da and da Two da and da Three da and da Four da and da

Blues Scale Review:

[php]E|—————————————————-0—3
B|——————————————–0—3——–
G|——————————-0—2—3—————–
D|———————–0—2—————————–
A|———-0—1—2————————————–
E|–0—3————————————————–

E|–3—0————————————————–
B|———-3—0——————————————-
G|——————3—2—0——————————
D|——————————2—0———————-
A|————————————–2—1—0———-
E|—————————————————3—0-[/php]

Blues Power Chords Review:

[php]E|———————————————————
B|———————————————————
G|———————————————————
D|———————————————————
A|–2–2–4–4–2–2–4–4–2–2–4–4–2–2–4–4———
E|–0–0–0–0–0–0–0–0–0–0–0–0–0–0–0–0———[/php]

Hammer-on and Pull-off Review

[php]E|–7–5–h7–p5–p0–h2–h3–p2—————————
B|———————————————————
G|———————————————————
D|———————————————————
A|———————————————————
E|———————————————————[/php]

Arpeggio Review

A Major Arpeggio:

[php]E|———————————————————
B|—————–5–10–5——————————–
G|————–6————6—————————–
D|——–2–7——————7–2———————–
A|—–4——————————4——————–
E|–5————————————5—————–[/php]

B Minor Arpeggio:

[php]E|———————————————————
B|—————–7–12–7——————————–
G|————–7————7—————————–
D|——–4–9——————9–4———————–
A|—–5——————————5——————–
E|–7————————————7—————–[/php]

All of Your Chords Review

Emajor:
[php]E|–0——————————————————
B|–0——————————————————
G|–1——————————————————
D|–2——————————————————
A|–2——————————————————
E|–0——————————————————[/php]

Gmajor:
[php]E|–3——————————————————
B|–0——————————————————
G|–0——————————————————
D|–0——————————————————
A|–2——————————————————
E|–3——————————————————[/php]

Cmajor:
[php]E|–0——————————————————
B|–1——————————————————
G|–0——————————————————
D|–2——————————————————
A|–3——————————————————
E|–X——————————————————[/php]

Dmajor:
[php]E|–2——————————————————
B|–3——————————————————
G|–2——————————————————
D|–0——————————————————
A|–X——————————————————
E|–X——————————————————[/php]

Amajor:
[php]E|–0——————————————————
B|–2——————————————————
G|–2——————————————————
D|–2——————————————————
A|–0——————————————————
E|–X——————————————————[/php]

Fmajor:
[php]E|–1——————————————————
B|–1——————————————————
G|–2——————————————————
D|–3——————————————————
A|–X——————————————————
E|–X——————————————————[/php]

Em:
[php]E|–0——————————————————
B|–0——————————————————
G|–0——————————————————
D|–2——————————————————
A|–2——————————————————
E|–0——————————————————[/php]

Am:
[php]E|–0——————————————————
B|–1——————————————————
G|–2——————————————————
D|–2——————————————————
A|–0——————————————————
E|–X——————————————————[/php]

Dm:
[php]E|–1——————————————————
B|–3——————————————————
G|–2——————————————————
D|–0——————————————————
A|–X——————————————————
E|–X——————————————————[/php]

E7:
[php]E|–0——————————————————
B|–0——————————————————
G|–1——————————————————
D|–0——————————————————
A|–2——————————————————
E|–0——————————————————[/php]

A7:
[php]E|–0——————————————————
B|–2——————————————————
G|–0——————————————————
D|–2——————————————————
A|–0——————————————————
E|–X——————————————————[/php]

D7:
[php]E|–2——————————————————
B|–1——————————————————
G|–2——————————————————
D|–0——————————————————
A|–X——————————————————
E|–X——————————————————[/php]

Dsus:
[php]E|–3——————————————————
B|–3——————————————————
G|–2——————————————————
D|–0——————————————————
A|–X——————————————————
E|–X——————————————————[/php]

Rock G:
[php]E|–3——————————————————
B|–3——————————————————
G|–0——————————————————
D|–0——————————————————
A|–2——————————————————
E|–3——————————————————[/php]

Homework

• Review!

Day 15 - Song Day!

Today we will cover:

• Raise Your Hands To Rock - Mötley Crüe

Raise Your Hands To Rock

Today's song is a harder song, so i am only doing the chorus. For this, you need to tune your guitar down two semitones.

[php]D|—–2——————-3——————————-
A|–3–3—–3–3—-3—–3——————————-
F|–2–2—–2–2—-2—–0——–0——-0————–
C|–0–0—–0–0—-0—–0—–0——-0—————–
G|——–3——–3——-2–3——-2——————–
D|———————-3–3——————3————[/php]

Homework

• Download Raise Your Hands To Rock and Play along with it

Day 16 - HOLY CRAP YOUR LAST LESSON!

Today I am going to teach you something I just learned. This is very cool, and is great for jamming with buddys.
Now here is a basic G major scale:

[php]E|———————————————————
B|———————————————————
G|———————————————————
D|———————————————————
A|————-3—5—7———————————–
E|–3—5—7———————————————- [/php]

These singular notes represent chords. The third fret on the sixth string is a barred G Major chord.

[php]E|–3——————————————————
B|–3——————————————————
G|–4——————————————————
D|–5——————————————————
A|–5——————————————————
E|–3——————————————————[/php]
(Take your first finger and bar it across the fifth fret, then basically use the same fingering as an E Major)

The fifth fret on the sixth string represents a barred A Minor chord.

[php]E|–5——————————————————
B|–5——————————————————
G|–5——————————————————
D|–7——————————————————
A|–7——————————————————
E|–5——————————————————[/php]

The seventh fret on the sixth string represents a barred B Minor chord.

[php]E|–7——————————————————
B|–7——————————————————
G|–7——————————————————
D|–9——————————————————
A|–9——————————————————
E|–7——————————————————[/php]

Now on to the next string, the third fret on the fifth string represents a barred C Major chord.

[php]E|–3——————————————————
B|–5——————————————————
G|–5——————————————————
D|–5——————————————————
A|–3——————————————————
E|–X——————————————————[/php]
(Bar across the third fret, then basically finger an A Major chord)

The fifth fret on the fifth string represents a barred D Major chord.

[php]E|–5——————————————————
B|–7——————————————————
G|–7——————————————————
D|–7——————————————————
A|–5——————————————————
E|–X——————————————————[/php]

The seventh fret on the fifth string represents a barred E Minor chord.

[php]E|–7——————————————————
B|–8——————————————————
G|–9——————————————————
D|–9——————————————————
A|–7——————————————————
E|–X——————————————————[/php]

Now, these chords are the basis for writing any song. If you know the key, then you can know the chords to use. These are the chords to use for a song in the key of G.

The minor/major pattern is:
[php]E|———————————————————
B|———————————————————
G|———————————————————–
D|———————————————————
A|–Major—Major—Minor———————————-
E|–Major—Minor—Minor———————————-[/php]

The first note in that basic scale determines the key. Eg the third fret is G, the fifth is A etc.

Homework

• Try making your own chord progression in a key of your choice!

Claude Johnson

Claude Johnson is a guitarist who teaches lessons online! I learned quite a bit from him and I'm subscribed to his daily newsletter. Here are a bunch of links to learn stuff from him:

Beginner Guitar Courses:
www.ultimatebeginnerguitar.com/main.php
www.playleadguitar.com/main.php
www.gospelguitarcourse.com/main.php

Intermediate Guitar Courses:
www.guitarcontrol.com/main.php
www.acousticmastery.com/main.php
www.howtoplayblues.com/main.php
www.ultimatecountryblues.com/main.php
www.fingerpickingsecrets.com/main.php
www.essentialsofjazz.com/main.php
www.realeasyjazz.com/main.php
www.metalguitar.com/course.php

Advanced Guitar Courses:
www.virtuosoguitarsecrets.com/main.php
www.fusionguitarsecrets.com/main.php

Have Fun!

Thanks for reading my tutorial!

Rock on!
http://www.nesnomis.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/rock-on.jpg

Wow! You've put lots of time in to this I can tell! Looks good, now only if I had a guitar!

EDIT: First post w00t!

From: All that is man
Wow! You've put lots of time in to this I can tell! Looks good, now only if I had a guitar!

EDIT: First post w00t!

lol ty for your kind words :D
*Sends you a guitar*
Gratz on 1st post :p

You might want to explain a little bit more on Enharmonics. They can be confusing for some people.
And, It is a half step between B and Bb. Not A step. (A meaning one)

Absolutely fantastic tutorial.
/me has a feeling you will have lots of rep soon :p
Edit: I gave you your second 'ball' :p

From: noidea
You might want to explain a little bit more on Enharmonics. They can be confusing for some people.
And, It is a half step between B and Bb. Not A step. (A meaning one)

Absolutely fantastic tutorial.
/me has a feeling you will have lots of rep soon :p

Im going to enclude Enharmonics in the next half (im only halfway done remember!) lol

and thanks for that, ill fix that :p

EDIT: woot! ty :p

Going to get a guitar tomorrow or tuesday, so hopefully this will be of use when learning to play!
But you sure 30 days isn't a bit too optimistic? Sounds like it's a bit too fast to me ;)

From: Markus
Going to get a guitar tomorrow or tuesday, so hopefully this will be of use when learning to play!
But you sure 30 days isn't a bit too optimistic? Sounds like it's a bit too fast to me ;)

Your not going to be playing like fire and the flames after this lol.
This teaches you basics, and intermediates, and once you finish this, all you need to do is practice!

On a side note:
What guitar are you planning on buying?

Some cheapass acoustical crap thingy of a friend :p The thing doesn't even have a brand name on it, but it does have brand new strings! :D

From: Markus
Some cheapass acoustical crap thingy of a friend :p The thing doesn't even have a brand name on it, but it does have brand new strings! :D

lol niiice, i'm savin up for the Dean Razorback Explosion atm…the most amazing guitar in the world:drool:

From: Markus
Some cheapass acoustical crap thingy of a friend :p The thing doesn't even have a brand name on it, but it does have brand new strings! :D

just get a starcaster there cheap and good beginner guitars

From: J_Pizzle
just get a starcaster there cheap and good beginner guitars

Yea they are :p

my first was a red fender squire strat….still have that hangin around sumwhere..probably waay out of tune by now though lol

From: bionicle1800
Yea they are :p

my first was a red fender squire strat….still have that hangin around sumwhere..probably waay out of tune by now though lol

lol i pull out my acoustic one every once and a while and write a song or two with it bring s me back

From: J_Pizzle
lol i pull out my acoustic one every once and a while and write a song or two with it bring s me back

i use my acoustic all the time!
<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3

Jesus God Almighty man! That thing is HUGE!

Great work! Maybe I'll pick my guitar up again…

tl;dr :p

Nah jk, if I would ever get a guitar, I'd use this. :)

From: Ruroken
Jesus God Almighty man! That thing is HUGE!

Great work! Maybe I'll pick my guitar up again…

Yessir 'tis :p I sure hope you do pick up your guitar again, it is a great instrument.

From: Laur€ns;646615
tl;dr :p

Nah jk, if I would ever get a guitar, I'd use this. :)

i agree, it is long :p lol thats why it's 30 days! :duh:

EDIT: my bad double post :P

guna post next five days soon :p

lmfao wow! Tut cup needed for this dude!

I play the guitar as well, and dude you did a hell of a job, i'm actually learning stuff as well lol, Arpeggio is something new to me; Going to practice that seems easy tho for me.

but yeah dude keep it up, I'm more into playing chords and not into reading TABS , since im a sheet music reader. So yeah can't wait for the other days just want to see if i can learn something new, there's always stuff that you may know and i dont!
keep it up <3

My guitar is busy collecting dust atm (:

Nah, I'll defiantly look into this… looks great… You should make a website out of it…

From: ~~Joker~~
lmfao wow! Tut cup needed for this dude!

I play the guitar as well, and dude you did a hell of a job, i'm actually learning stuff as well lol, Arpeggio is something new to me; Going to practice that seems easy tho for me.

but yeah dude keep it up, I'm more into playing chords and not into reading TABS , since im a sheet music reader. So yeah can't wait for the other days just want to see if i can learn something new, there's always stuff that you may know and i dont!
keep it up <3

yea, i stuck to tabs mainly because it would take too long to go through all the basics of note reading :p. Ive taken piano lessons for 10 years(forced by parents :frusty: recently quit), so i know how to read notes pretty well :hypocrite:.

From: newbiezkid
My guitar is busy collecting dust atm (:

Nah, I'll defiantly look into this… looks great… You should make a website out of it…

I wouldn't go that far lol.

Thank you both for your kind words :)

Awesome tut dude! I am actually gonna pick up my dads old guitar and start playing…

Keep it up man!

From: Ciesson
Awesome tut dude! I am actually gonna pick up my dads old guitar and start playing…

Keep it up man!

You better :p lol. Thanks :)

From: bionicle1800
You better :p lol. Thanks :)

No prob. Just please dont let me get to day 15 and you havnt done the rest :)

From: Ciesson
No prob. Just please dont let me get to day 15 and you havnt done the rest :)

Naw, im just taking a little break. Ill probably start up again next week :p

From: bionicle1800
Naw, im just taking a little break. Ill probably start up again next week :p

Awesome, thanks dude! I had to fly away for 3 days so I am a bit behind as well…

From: Ciesson
Awesome, thanks dude! I had to fly away for 3 days so I am a bit behind as well…

orly? where did u go?

From: bionicle1800
orly? where did u go?

Cape Town, on business. It appears that they pay idiots like me for programming…

From: Ciesson
Cape Town, on business. It appears that they pay idiots like me for programming…

Well ofc :)

Your tutorial has earned this site a new place in my Speed Dial. I like it when I'll be browsing a game forum, or a tech forum, and find something completely unrelated and really useful to me, like this.

Thanks for posting this, I've really been needing a user-friendly easy-to-use guide to guitar and you've written just that. Thanks a ton, time to pull out the dusty guitar :)

From: Maxxcrax
Your tutorial has earned this site a new place in my Speed Dial. I like it when I'll be browsing a game forum, or a tech forum, and find something completely unrelated and really useful to me, like this.

Thanks for posting this, I've really been needing a user-friendly easy-to-use guide to guitar and you've written just that. Thanks a ton, time to pull out the dusty guitar :)

Lol, thank you.
Good luck with this tutorial, it's not finished yet, but I will get around to it ;).

Added an image to the form as requested.
Finished the last lesson.
Gave links to some more guitar courses.
Finished! :)

From: bionicle1800
Added an image to the form as requested.
Finished the last lesson.
Gave links to some more guitar courses.
Finished! :)

I added you on msn, i need extra tutoring :) ..

Hmm maybe I should pick my old guitar from the dust which I never learned to play :P
(noot)

Eddie Ate Dynamite, Good Bye Eddie.
Or,
Every Acid Dealer Gets Busted Eventually.

LMAO!!

never heard of that, ill never forgot now :P

From: g0tp0t
LMAO!!

never heard of that, ill never forgot now :P

Aha yea, the first one I ever learned was 'Elephants And Dogs Grow Big Ears', unfortunately that didn't stick until my second guitar teacher taught me those two. I know the strings like the back of my hand, backwards and forwards now :p
How are you liking the tutorial so far?

Nice tutorial. I am a bass player though. I know my way around a guitar though :P

I do have my electric guitar for sale though.

Red Ibanez Gio 6 string electric with a Pevey Rage 158 practice amp.

Really nice starter guitar as it can do clean and get pretty crunchy as well.

Not trying to advertise too much but if anyone in the US wants to buy it send me a PM.

Really nice tutorial though. +++

From: Mr.Klean
Nice tutorial. I am a bass player though. I know my way around a guitar though :P

I do have my electric guitar for sale though.

Red Ibanez Gio 6 string electric with a Pevey Rage 158 practice amp.

Really nice starter guitar as it can do clean and get pretty crunchy as well.

Not trying to advertise too much but if anyone in the US wants to buy it send me a PM.

Really nice tutorial though. +++

Thanks, that is a really nice guitar. I'm looking at buying an Ibanez myself atm. The Egen18.

Looks good. I'm gonna start tomorrow :)

Heres my guitar:

From: Frement
Looks good. I'm gonna start tomorrow :)

Heres my guitar:

That looks like my very first guitar, except mine was red :p
Fender squire?