| Each step of learning to play your guitar | | | | |
| gets you closer to your ultimate dream and | | | | By now you will have bought yourself a few |
| that is to be a "good" guitar player. It is | | | | picks and if you haven't you should, you will |
| important that you remember to practice each | | | | soon find out that picks have a habit of |
| step over and over again until it is just | | | | going missing. Picks come in different |
| second nature and you cant remember ever | | | | thicknesses, brands and shapes you can play |
| having trouble or feeling awkward. You will | | | | around with them and find the type you favor |
| feel stiff when first starting and you will | | | | but for now we will use a medium pick its not |
| have to do mental checks to make sure you are | | | | to hard or to flimsy. |
| positioning yourself properly but in a very | | | | |
| short time and there is no point in learning | | | | 1. Open your picking hand and open your palm |
| to play any instrument and then skipping the | | | | so it is facing you. Your picking hand is the |
| parts we don't like if your going to learn, | | | | one positioned closest to the bridge. |
| learn properly the first time. | | | | |
| | | | 2. Close your hand and make a very loose fist |
| Find the most comfortable armless chair you | | | | making sure that you thumb is next to your |
| can find, that will usually be a dining room | | | | index finger. |
| chair sit with your lower back against the | | | | |
| back of the chair make a conscious effort to | | | | 3. Turn your hand so you are looking at its |
| stay sitting with good posture don't slouch | | | | profile you should now have your thumbs |
| as this will give you sore back and shoulders | | | | knuckle facing you. |
| and bad habits. | | | | |
| | | | 4. Use your other hand to put the pick |
| Hold your guitar so the back of the body is | | | | between your thumb and index finger. The pick |
| against your stomach while the neck is | | | | should be behind the knuckle of your thumb. |
| running parallel to the ground. If you are | | | | |
| holding your guitar properly the thickest | | | | 5. Make sure the point of the pick is facing |
| string will be on top whilst the thinnest is | | | | away from your fist and is sticking out about |
| closest to the floor. For a left handed | | | | half an inch. Hold your pick firmly. |
| person ideally you should buy a guitar made | | | | |
| for left handed people but this is not always | | | | 6. Put your picking hand over the sound hole |
| necessary as I know a lot of lefties who can | | | | of the acoustic guitar or if you are using an |
| play using a standard guitar perfectly. | | | | electric guitar over the body. With the thumb |
| | | | knuckles facing you your picking hand should |
| When you are holding your guitar while | | | | be floating just above the strings. Don't |
| sitting you will notice that the body of the | | | | rest your picking hand on the body of the |
| guitar is resting on your right leg (If your | | | | guitar or the strings. |
| right handed, left leg if your left handed) | | | | |
| the guitar will rest on the leg furthest away | | | | 7. Use your wrist only to strum don't use |
| from the headstock. Try to sit in this | | | | your whole arm, using a downward action |
| position for a little while taking mental | | | | strike the sixth string, that is the string |
| notes on how your posture is and how it | | | | furthest from you. Sometimes this will cause |
| should be. | | | | an excessive rattle just simply hit the |
| | | | string a little softer. |
| We are going to focus on your fretting hand, | | | | |
| that's the hand closest to the neck of the | | | | 8. Now do the same but in an upward stroke. |
| guitar. Your thumb needs to be behind the | | | | Repeat this exercise several times making |
| neck of the guitar with the remaining fingers | | | | sure to minimize the movement of your picking |
| being slightly curled held just above the | | | | hand, one short picking stroke downwards and |
| strings, it is important to keep these | | | | one short picking stroke upwards. |
| fingers curled at the knuckle unless you are | | | | |
| told otherwise. | | | | 9. Do the same exercise on all other strings |
| | | | starting with the sixth string and moving up |
| The Guitar Pick | | | | towards the first strings. |