Because of this frustration that can arise I thought it best to introduce you to some three string beginner gutiar chords. These chords are easy to strum and pretty easy to make on the fret board. Seeing that two of the three only require you to use one finger to make the shape.

Take your time learning these chords and practice strumming and switching between them. There’s a video below that will fully explain the shape the chord should be and how to practice them.

A quick note about the TAB notation I’ve used to explain the chords. Each line represents a string on the guitar, with the string names on the left hand side. The X’s represent strings that are not to be strummed, numbers represent the fret number you should be playing and the zero’s are the strings to be played open.

3 String C Chord

E — 0 —
B — 1 —
G — 0 —
D — X —
A — X —
E — X —

The C chord is played by placing your first finger on the first fret of the B string and strumming the bottom three strings.

3 String G Chord

E — 3 —
B — 0 —
G — 0 —
D — X —
A — X —
E — X —

The G chord is played by placing your third finger on the third fret of the G string and strumming the bottom three strings.

3 String D7 Chord

E — 1 —
B — 2 —
G — 1 —
D — X —
A — X —
E — X —

A little more difficult then the first two to make the D7 chord you place your second finger on the 1st fret of the E string, your third finger on the 2nd fret of the B string and your first finger on the 1st fret of the G string.

Now you can start practicing these chords. I suggest first playing the chords one at a time, stopping your strumming before you switch to another chord. Once you feel comfortable making the chord you can incorporate switching between the chords while strumming.

Below is a video that explains this beginner chords lesson in even more detail.

Like to learn more guitar chords and improve your playing? Every consider learning at home using a learn to play guitar dvd? Home study courses on dvd are becoming the private guitar lessons of the 21st centruy. With online integration where you can ask questions and get feedback it’s a great method of learning on your own terms.

Tuning the Guitar is Childs Play...

When beginners first start out most ensure they purchase an electric tuner with their guitar since they have no idea how else they can tune all 6 strings. Today I want to share with you a simple exercise you can practice to tune your guitar without the need for an electric tuner.

Since there are so many notes on the guitar neck you can easily tune each string by finding the same note as the open string in question at another place, on another string on the guitar.

This might sound difficult but thankfully there is a very easy pattern you can follow.

This pattern only has two rules you must remember.

1.)The 5th fret on each string is the same note as the string below it.
2.)There is one exception to the above rule on the G and B strings. When tuning the B string you must use the 4th fret of the G string.

Keeping these two rules in mind we can walk through a simple example of how to tune a string without the use of a tuner.

EXAMPLE: Let’s say that the 1st string, or high E string is sounding a bit out of tune. No worry, armed with this new information you can simply play your B string on the 5th fret then play the open high E string and compare the notes. If the E sounds like it may be higher or lower then the 5th fret of the B string adjust it’s tone using the tuning pegs.

This exercise should be practiced each time your pick up for guitar for the first couple of weeks. It takes a bit of practice to hear the tone correctly and recognize if it’s lower or higher then the base note your tuning to.

After a couple week of consistent practicing you’ll have no trouble what so ever quickly checking each string on your guitar to ensure it’s in tune.

Below is a brief video that explains this concept in detail and walks you through an entire example of tuning all 6 strings. Watch the video and then go grab your own guitar to give this a try.

For more beginner guitar tips like these why not consider taking some guitar lessons for beginners? You can easily study guitar at home using dvds or online lessons for less money and in less time.

find the notes on the strings

Understanding the different guitar string notes is the foundation of almost everything you’ll learn on the guitar. Chords, scales and solos are all made up of notes so the more you understand what notes are located where on the neck the easier you make it to become a great guitar player.

In this article I’m going to explain what half and whole steps are and how to measure them on the guitar neck, how half and whole steps play into the spacing between each musical note and how to find notes on each string of the guitar. At the end of this article there’s a short video that explains these concepts as well. I suggest you take a few minutes to watch the video after reading this and then grab your own guitar to try it out.

Half and Whole Steps

Originally based on the keys of a piano half and whole steps are what separate one note from another. We have seven musical notes (A, B, C, D, E, F and G) tand the space between each of these notes is either a half step or a whole step.

The guitar neck is divided up into multiple half steps, each fret is one half step. Knowing the spacing between each musical note you can easily find your way around the neck and know where each note is.

The Spacing Between Notes

The spacing between each note is either a half step or a whole step. Actually, it’s easier to understand then that since all notes have a whole step between them but two exceptions. There is a half step from B to C and from E to F. All other notes have a full step between them.

Here is a listing of the spacing and number of frets that separates each note.

A to B – Full Step or Two Frets
B to C – Half step or One Fret
C to D – Full Step or Two Frets
D to E – Full Step or Two Frets
E to F – Half Step or One Fret
F to G – Full Step or Two Frets

Now we can take this new found information to the guitar neck and start finding some notes.

Starting with the String Names

It’s important that you know the names of all six strings, starting from the top: E, A, D, G, B and E. You can use this as the starting point to determine where each note is at on the guitar neck.

Let’s do a quick example: Starting on the top E string, when played open is an E. The next note after E is F and using the list above we can see that between E and F there is only one half step or one fret. So by pressing on the first fret on the top E string we are playing an F.

Let’s keep going on that low E string. After the F at the first fret we want to play a G and the spacing between an F and G note is a full step or two frets. So playing up two frets takes us to fret number 3 which is a G.

I won’t go through all six strings because the video below gives an easy to follow example of the top three strings and the notes on each. Take a few minutes to watch the video and you should be able to start finding your way around the neck a lot easier.

Interested in learning some more great beginner guitar info? Why not consider a guitar lessons dvd you can use to study at home? Lessons on dvd offer all the great content of a private instructor with the ease of learning at home and on your own time.

Last week I was talking about all our previous guitar gods having been dead..

Click here to see the archive

..And I made a joke of getting to Eric before he died… and well it’s been playing on my mind just how terrible i’d feel if he did go the greatest guitar god in the sky… so This week we’re getting him in… may he live for many more years to come!!!!

Clapton mostly know as a Blues Guitarist is ranked Fourth in Rolling stine magazines list of the “100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time” and #53 on their list of the Immortals: 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.

First up while we’re on the whole heaven thang, I though we’d go with “Tears in Heaven”

For those not in the know, this was written by E.C  and Will Jennings about the pain Clapton felt following the death of his four-year-old son, Conor, who fell from a window of the 53rd-floor New York apartment of his mother’s friend, on March 20, 1991.

One thing is for certain it really is a beautiful song…

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Next up two great interviews each in two parts.. Frank Skinner Chatting to E.C… i must say some very good Air guitar by Mr. Skinner.

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Part 2.

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Then going waaaaaaaaay back to a VERY Flirtatious Pamela Yates (oops another dead person).
It’s a pretty interesting and funny interview.

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And Part 2.

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Now Eric Clapton with Legend J.J Cale. ( nice album BTW)..

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Ok back to the Guitar…but still keeping with the legend theme (afterall this is called guitar God Friday!)
This Time a triple threat.. EricClapton, Jimmy Page, and Jeff Beck playing the rock version of Layla… not quite as energetic as Franks Air guitar though….

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Now as a comparison the more laid back version this time accompanied by  Mark Knofler

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And Just as bonus why not a guitar lesson an how to play the it?!!!!!

This by a bloke who goes by theyoutube  handle Pavao.
You can find other lessons by him at here
he also provides the Guitar tab for it  here
Thanks Pavao!!

That should keep you going till next week. I  hope you enjoyed it all!!!

Next week we’re going to leave the blues guitar hero’s and enter another world!

Happy strumming all!

Marcus

p.s. Do you have any favourite Clapton moments? let us know, leave a comment!

Anyway I digress.

Welcome to the Second Installment of Guitar God Friday. This week we’ve got yet another dead legend (we’ll try to get to Clapton before he dies).   In order to create some sort of flow to the proceedings, we thought we’d honor Stevie Ray Vaughn, because not only is he most definitely a Guitar God (Rolling Stone ranks him as the 7th best guitarist of all time). But also because some say that he embodied Hendrix’s skill…..  Stevie was also a massive fan, and would always put a Hendrix Cover as a track on each of his albums.

So without further ado, lets watch Stevie talking about Jimmy!

So there you have it… just throw Jim Morrison into the dream as the lizard king, add Wayne and Garth and you’ve got the makings of Waynes World 3 (working title WW3).

Ahem.

Am i digressing again?
Sorry.

Next up is Stevie Ray Vaughn doing justice to Jimmy Hendrix’s Voodoo Chile.

Nice huh?
Next up, in the interests of those of the younger persuasion, I thought i’d include someone you all may know (he’s still alive!), passing comment on the late great SRV.
Ladies and gentle persons i give you John Mayer.

Second Last is a bit of treat – S R V talking guitar styles, drugs, Stevie Wonder and a sort of guitar lesson – well worth watching!

And last but most definitely not least one of Stevie’s own masterpieces Texas Flood.

That’s it for this weeks Guitar God Friday, check back next week to see who we have in store??!!

If you want to find out more about the incredible Stevie Ray Vaughn try this Wiki link

Click here to check out our growing Guitar God Archive.

We’re going to create a page on our parent website, where you’ll be able to find each clip we put up every Friday, plus any others we put up along the way.

We plan on showcasing every guitar style, but as you know musical taste is subjective, and no one person’s knowledge is complete, so if we seem to be missing out on amazing players/solos comment and lets us know!

So who’s get’s the Honorary first Spot?

Jimmy Hendrix of-course!!!

I’m not not going to do a bio on this god of guitargods (just yet)
If you want a quick rundown, try this wikipedia link

But what we do have is a little bit of a treat!
We’ve got 3 clips.

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Being in a mellow mood I  thought we’d start with Hey Joe, it’s one of his shorter clips but not only is it a killer song, YOU HAVE TO WATCH HIM PLAY WITH HIS TEETH.
…while chewing gum….
For those just starting out, this may not be a technique you want to try at the start ;-]

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For the next clip I thought you might enjoy hearing the man himself speak -  A rare interview with the great Dick Cavett!

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And Finally for the next clip we’ve got a clip that is a sort of mini Bio Doco – Warning! its 9 mins long but well worth watching.

Have great weekend everybody, Happy Strumming!
Marcus

P.S
Have you got any Favorite Hendrix stories? Why not leave them as a comment below!

Keyboards don’t last very long when your addicted to scrabble…

I was chatting to a friend of mine the other day about this new site and she said something that made me realise that many people may have the same concerns..

She said;

“I’d love to learn guitar, and i like the idea of doing it in the privacy of my own home, but i’m not that computer savvy, do i need to do a course to teach me how to do the guitar course?”

Of course she was making a joke about it, but the point still stood.

Modern technology is only successful in it’s application when it make life easier, simpler, or saves you time.   What use is having s crackberry if it means you’re chained to you email 24/7?

The  most powerful program in the world is useless if you need a Doctorate in Applied Robotics to use it.

When we reviewed the leading Guitar Software or Online Courses out there, we took all of the above stuff into consideration.
I’ve just posted an Article about the advantages and disadvantages, as well as what you should look for in an Online or Home Guitar Course.

it’s called;

Can A Computer Teach You To Play Music?
The Real Skinny About Guitar Software.

CLICK HERE TO FIND OUT!

If you want to discover which courses we recommend then click on the link below.

THE REVIEWS PAGE!

Now if only we could get the computer  to reply
“I’m sorry I cannot do that Dave”
When we request it teach us the theme song to “2001  A Space Odyssey”

Happy Pluckin’
Marcus!

P.S – for those music trivia buffs out there,  the 2001 theme song is actually called  “Also Sprach Zarathustra – which is named after the rather  heavy book of seminal philosophy by Friedrich Nietzche and was composed by Richard Strauss in 1896..

But enough of that trivia – My favorite all time version is by Eumir Deodato and thanks to the magic of Youtube i present it to you now!
There is some major guitar work going on

Does anyone know if that’s John Tropea playing the lead guitar?

If you haven’t seen or heard this, get ready for a treat, especially if you love your Funk/Jazz.

Is the collective noun for a Group of Nerds a Google?

A Guitar lesson is a guitar lesson right?
Wrong.
Just as not all guitars are created equal, and not all guitar teaches are created equal, it’s the same with all those courses out there.  Some are put together with no care at all, whilst others are put together by just one person who might be good at just one thing, like “shredding” but have little background on the finer points of acoustic guitar technique..

Other people behind the guitar courses might even have a bunch of experience as a GOOD guitar teacher, but may fail miserably when it comes to making the most out of the capabilities of the modern computer.

Why is this important?

Well, it’s got a lot to do with how we learn, even though everyone has a preferred way of learning ; say by listening, by seeing, by speaking, or by doing (more on that soon), everyone benefits from having a combination of these mixed into the process.

And thanks to the wonders of modern technology, today’s guitar courses can combine all these elements.

Another place where some guitar courses fall down, are it’s technical levels,  some are weighted to steeply toward advance/intermediate players, and others are great beginner courses that don’t have much to offer in the long run.

So How do you know which is the right one?

My friends and I have spent the last few months looking into a bunch of guitar courses that are supposedly aimed at the beginner guitar player, and while we looked we tried to find courses that have all of the above elements.

We quickly discovered that there was a lot more to these courses than we thought, and realized that it would be very easy to get suckered into paying for a bad guitar course or get overwhelmed  and confused with all the different options.

Originally we were planning on publishing reviews on as many as we had time to sit down and write, but finally decided to make your life easier not harder, and we’ve brought the selection down to what we believe are the top three.  Each course we’ve recommended has it’s place so depending on your needs and budget hopefully one will be right for you! We’ve also presented them as quick summary reviews to keep things as simple as possible!

But we also understand that many people might like a more detailed in depth review (myself included) so over the next few weeks we’re going to create an in depth review with (hopefully) a video review/walkthru for each of them.

You can find the summary reviews here

Do you agree with our findings? Do you have a course that you think is as good or better?
Let us know, if we haven’t all ready checked it out, we’ll do so, the whole idea is to present to you the best of the best!

Happy Strumming

Marcus.

www.bestbeginnerguitarlesoons.com