Many of us have been sitting around a camp fire, singing with the others while someone else was playing the guitar and wished to be the on who was playing. Being able to play the guitar can make people look up to you, especially when you’re a teenager. You are often invited to parties by people you barely know to play the guitar. In addition, if you’re interested in playing the guitar, your parents won’t probably make you attend other boring instrument lessons.

The Guitar

If you are willing to learn to play guitar music, the first thing you need is a guitar. If you don’t have a guitar yet, you will probably need to purchase one. If you have a friend who knows how to play the guitar, bring him or her along when you pick one.

First you will have to decide between an acoustic guitar and an electric guitar. There are pros and cons to both of them. It is somewhat easier to learn to play guitar music on an electric guitar, but you’ll also have to buy a guitar cable, a guitar pick and a guitar amp. In addition, there are a lot of buttons and knobs to worry about.

While it as a bit more difficult to learn to play guitar music on an acoustic guitar, this type of guitar is a lot less complicated. You will only need to buy the guitar and a guitar pick that costs about 50 cents. However, for a child who gets frustrated very easily, an electric guitar might be a better choice because it is easier to play and the progress will be faster.

Guitar Lessons

The next thing you should do is find a guitar instructor. You have the highest chances of finding a good instructor in your area by just asking around. If you’re having trouble, call a local music store, as they will probably offer guitar lessons. If they don’t, they are usually able to recommend a teacher.

Even older people who just want to learn a few chords can get away with learning guitar from videos, books or online lessons. However, young people who want to learn to play guitar music can benefit more from private lessons. A private teacher can spot out your mistakes immediately and help you correct them in time. In addition, he will give you feedback and make you feel good about yourself when you progress.

General Advice

Before starting to take guitar lessons, you could spend some time learning guitar basics and getting used to the instrument. This way you can start your first lessons feeling confident and being able to play the first exercises the instructor will give you.

Learn to play guitar music because you want to, not because someone else makes you do it. Playing the guitar should be fun. If you are enjoying it, you will practice more and get better more quickly. If you’re not enjoying it, you might need a change – maybe a new teacher or a different schedule.

Many guitarists speak of the personal satisfaction they’re getting from being able to play the guitar. They say they get the best feeling by just sitting by themselves and playing the guitar. However, it’s fun to play for other people to. Pulling out a guitar at school or when you’re surrounded by friends will always get you everyone’s attention.

Randy Bachman Interview

by Rick Landers.
Before Randy Bachman’s show at the Birchmere in Alexandria, Virginia, this past summer, Modern Guitars dropped by backstage for a brief chat. Randy and crew were relaxed and easy going giving me an opportunity to ask him a few questions about his guitars and music, as well as Vinyl Tap, his coast-to-coast radio program that’s broadcast across his native Canada. Resting next to a wall was Bachman’s gold top Gibson Les Paul, his axe of choice and one that he said nailed the Guess Who sound, better than any other guitar he’d played for years. The LP’s a sub-eight pounder that he can play night after night without irritating the rotator cuff that he had repaired in 2007. But, it was clear that Randy loved the guitar and its gritty crunch…

Yngwie Malmsteen Interview (2008)

by Matthew Mills.
During the 1980s, guitarists were stunned by the innovative riffs of a new herd of guitarists, including those with their pedal to the metal playing that entailed ripping fretboards to shreds. But, no single guitarist of the time had more shock impact on the guitar world than the Swedish sweep accelerator, Yngwie Malmsteen.

In late 1982, Mike Varney, owner of Shrapnel Records, brought the demon shredder over to the U.S., touting Yngwie’s amazing grip on sweep picking arpeggios and high velocity harmonic minor scale runs. Having listened to a tape Yngwie had given him, Varney pushed to have Malmsteen play solos with the group Steeler. The guitarist eventually left Steeler and moved in with the group Alcatrazz. It didn’t take him long to roll out on his own to record 12 studio albums and two live albums that serve as inspiration to guitarists who aspire to not only shred, but to play the guitar with turbocharged melodic intent…

Slash Interview

by Rick Landers.
Slash…the name alone conspires to attract and enthrall a cult following of guitarists and fans. Add the nonchalant tilt of a black top hat, a skull and bones talisman, a classic Les Paul, exotic good looks and voodoo charm with monster music talent and you’ve mixed the cauldron with a roll of the dice to conjure a rock god. Oh, okay, so during our interview I suggested he joined the “soccer mom” league, not with disrespect, but to highlight the tectonic life altering shift he’s experienced from that of a singularly focused rock star to husband and father. Life changes and Slash [Saul Hudson] is now the father of two boys, London Emilio and Cash Anthony, and married to the lovely Perla Ferrar. His paternal love shone bright in his recent autobiography Slash, and it seems he’s handling the father-rock god balance with finesse…

Wayne Henderson Inteview

by Rick Landers.
Modern Guitars had the good fortune to catch master bluegrass guitarist and guitar builder Wayne Henderson while at a gig in Maryland. Henderson has played all around the globe and getting an opportunity to see him in an intimate setting was something we didn’t want to miss. Bluegrass and guitar lovers sat quietly in a church, while Wayne and his long-time partner, Helen White, pulled out their instruments for a delightful set of bluegrass. Henderson guitars are superbly and painstakingly built by hand in Rugby, Virginia, a speck of a town in southern Virginia with a population of 7. Wayne’s lived in the Appalachian region his entire life, but his his guitars are considered masterpieces throughout the world. Guitar players lavish praise on their craftsmanship and tonal qualities and ache over the ten year wait to own one. Wayne’s guitar building craftsmanship gained worldwide interest in 2005 when Allen St. John’s book, Clapton’s Guitar: Watching Wayne Henderson Build the Perfect Instrument, was published…

John Petrucci Interview

by Brian D. Holland.
Guitarist John Petrucci calls it fate that he and bassist John Myung happened to run into drummer Mike Portnoy at Boston’s Berklee College of Music in the mid ’80s. Though the convergence led to the formation of Majesty, the name was eventually changed to Dream Theater because of legal issues. Enduring the typical yet untimely inconveniences that many rock bands go through, creative differences leading to member changes in particular, these three have sustained that common bond for almost twenty-four years. Add into the picture Canadian vocalist James LaBrie, who joined in 1991 for the recording of Images and Words, and Julliard-trained keyboardist Jordan Rudess, who replaced Derek Sherinian in 1999, and it’s the Dream Theater brew of excellence that fans have come to respect and adore…

Newsfeed display by CaRP