Learn Guitar

When children learn guitar, they play a Western instrument. However, the guitar is used in many Indian musical programmes. It is a stringed instrument with usually six strings. But guitars with four or more strings are also available. The word guitar originates from the Spanish word "Guitarra".

Guitars are usually either electric or acoustic. Some types of acoustic guitars are the classical guitar, the steel-string flattop guitar and the archtop guitar. The traditional guitars are made of wood and are strung with nylon or steel strings. The large wooden part of the guitar is called the body. This is usually hollow for acoustic guitars and solid for electric guitars. The thin long piece that is connected to the body is called the neck. The top of the neck contains the headstock where the tuners are present to adjust the pitch of each string on the guitar.

If your child wants to learn guitar, mastering the chords is very important. A chord is a combination of two or more notes that are played simultaneously. This makes the sound more pleasant than playing each note separately. Each chord is unique because the fingering for each chord varies from the other. The three major chords when playing a guitar are G, C and D.

Playing the guitar may appear to be a bit of a challenge but once you master the basics, it is very easy. You can play twelve tones on the guitar. After these tones, they begin repeating themselves. You may have to tune your guitar to produce these tones properly. Usually it is more difficult to play the acoustic guitar than the electric guitar. Some prerequisites that you will need to play the guitar are:

• A guitar with at least six strings
• A guitar pick to strum the guitar
• A chair without arm rests

Positioning When you Learn Guitar

To position a guitar, you must sit straight with your back resting against the back of an armless chair. Hold the guitar so that the back of the guitar's body makes contact with your stomach or chest. The body of the guitar rests on one of your legs. The bottom of the neck must be parallel to the floor. Ensure that the thickest string on the guitar is closest to your face and the thinnest is closest to the floor. Usually a right handed person points the headstock on to the left. In this case, the guitarist rests the guitar on his right leg. You must hold the guitar pick firmly between your thumb and index finger. Close the hand that has the pick so that it forms a loose fist.

A guitarist has his own system of music notation called guitar tablature or guitar tabs.