Guitar Beginner: Before You Get Your Strum On. . .

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Wising Up To Guitar Basics

Classical, Blues, Folk, Reggae, Country, Jazz and every genre in between . . . acoustic guitar or electric guitar . . . YOU can learn to play guitar quickly and easily.

For the "guitar beginner" playing simple songs, sounding good and having a great time is only a few lessons away! Let's face it, when you are committed and passionate about learning the guitar, it's a lot easier than you think. But before you can "get your strum on," you need to wise up to some basics . . . That's what you'll find here.

Wiki | About the Guitar . . . 

A Guitar Beginner Learns About the History & Types of Guitar

Category: File - :First Act bass and electric guitars.JPG|thumb|right|250px|First Act bass guitar and electric guitar

The guitar is a musical instrument of the chordophone family. The standard guitar has six strings but four-, seven-, eight-, nine-, ten-, eleven-, twelve-, thirteen- and eighteen-string guitars are also available. The two primary families of guitar types are the electric guitars and the acoustic guitars. The three main types of acoustic guitar are the classical guitar, the steel-string flattop guitar, and the archtop guitar.

Guitars are recognized as one of the primary instruments in flamenco, jazz, blues, country, mariachi, rock music, and many forms of pop. They can also be a solo classical instrument. Guitars may be played acoustically; the tone is produced by the vibration of the strings which is amplified by the body of the guitar which acts as a large hollow resonating chamber, or they may rely on an amplifier that can electronically manipulate tone. Such electric guitars were introduced in the 1930s, and they have continued to have a profound influence on popular culture since then.

Traditionally guitars have been constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut, or more recently, with either nylon or steel strings. Guitars are made and repaired by luthiers.

Learning About The Instrument

Anatomy of A Guitar 

A Guitar Beginner Learns the Parts of the Guitar

Before you'll be able to follow instruction on how to PLAY the guitar . . . you'll need a basic understanding of the different parts of the guitar and basic guitar terminology.
Anatomy of the Guitar
This GuitarWiki explains the parts of the guitar in very simple terms. Complete with diagrams.
Guitar Construction and Components
Another great sources that explains in detail the different parts of both acoustic and electric guitars.

Guitar Terminology 

A Guitar Beginner Learns Basic Guitar Terms

Want to know what a "Fret" . . . a "Tab" . . . a "Plectrum"is? Good! Because these a just a few of the terms you'll need to understand as a guitar beginner.
Guitar Terminology
Here's a good source for guitar terminology. And don't worry, you won't need to know all of these terms and phrases. Use this as a ready reference for some of the basics.

Holding the Guitar

Holding the Guitar 

A Guitar Beginner Learns the Correct Way to Hold A Guitar

[Note to Lefties: You are not to be "left out" (no pun intended). For the sake of brevity in this article, intructions and tips will be for right-handed play. You will simply take those same instructions and switch to a left-handed frame of reference.]

Playing guitar for long of time can strain your back if you don't maintain an upright posture.

    Sit in a straight-back chair or on a stool, pick up your guitar and place the back of the guitar against your stomach.

    If you're right-handed, the guitar neck should be pointing towards your left. Rest the guitar body on your right upper thigh. (Obviously, if you're left-handed using a left-handed guitar, the guitar neck should be pointing toward your right with the guitar body resting on your left thigh).

    Now place your left hand around the guitar neck and place your right arm around the body so that your hand is lying by the strings. Adjust your body positioning so that you are completely comfortable.

Check Out These Other "Guitar Beginner" Lenses 

Guitar Beginner "First lesson" DVD 

Your First Guitar Lesson (Beginning Guitar)

Amazon Price: $13.95 (as of 12/09/2009)Buy Now

For kids, adults, and sexy senior citizens. This one-hour DVD is guaranteed success because it follows the logic that the human being can only think of one thing at a time. You will learn the 19 main open chords & 23 songs that will give you plenty of practice to master all 19 chords quickly & easily.

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by nDee

This lens is my ode to the "Guitar Beginner."

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