How to Play a Song on the Guitar

Even a prodigy can't just pick up a guitar for the first time and start playing a song without some initial training. If you want to play a song on the guitar, it stands to reason that you must first learn the basics of the instrument you will be playing. Here are some tips to help you in reaching this aurally pleasing goal.

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Guitar pick

1. 
   Basic G chord

   Learn how to finger the notes on a guitar. The best way to do this is to learn to read a guitar tab (or chord chart). The diagram here (click on it to enlarge it) is a tab for a G chord. The E at the left represents the top E string on a guitar, the E at the right the thinner E string at the bottom as you hold the instrument in playing position. The numbers one, two and three represent the correct placement of the index, middle and ring fingers respectively on the fretboard. The horizontal lines represent the frets, with the first fret being the one farthest away from the body of the guitar.

2. Learn how to play a guitar chord. Get comfortable with this at first by individually plucking each string with the correct finger. While at first it may feel more natural to use you index finger (#1) where your ring finger (#3) should be, get used to plucking that skinnier E string with the ring finger. Once you become comfortable with this try strumming all the strings at once while holding down the three fingers in the correct places on the tab. You have just played a G chord.

3. 
   Basic C chord

   Repeat steps one and two, but this time adjusting your fingers to play this tab for the C chord. The X in a guitar tab means you should not play that string, while the O means you should play that string but leave it open. Click on the image to enlarge it.

4. 
   Basic D chord

   Repeat steps one and two, but this time adjusting your fingers to play this tab for the D chord. Click on the image to enlarge it.

5. Once you become comfortable strumming each of the chords you are now ready to play your first song. G-C-D happen to be the chords to one of the most covered songs ever, "Louie, Louie."
   Begin with G. Strum downward with your pick three times really fast, wait a beat, do the same for the C chord, wait a beat, do the same for the D chord, wait a beat, go back to the C, wait a beat, then go back to the G. You have just played the basic chords of a beginners version of one of the most popular rock songs of all time. Get comfortable with your own sense of timing until the song sounds natural; then start singing along with the song you are now playing.
   
   Oh, and by the way, these are also the same chords and the basic chord structure for hundreds, if not thousands, of other popular songs. Play around with the chord structure, see what you find and get ready for sore fingers because you're having so much fun.

Tips & Warnings

• The pick should be held between the thumb and index finger of your strumming hand.
• Be prepared for calluses on the ends of your fingers--the bane of all beginning guitar players. This is natural and your fingertips will eventually get used to it and the calluses will go away, if you keep playing.

[momose]

on 8/28/2009 Wow! Super-simple instructions for playing three basic chords on the guitar! Cannot wait to show this to my young grandson. (We have an instructional book, but it seems to assume one knows a lot before one even begins) Thanks, Blake Guthrie! *****