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Free Guitar Lessons Online

Free guitar lessons online are a great way to learn the basics of playing guitar, develop a particular technique, or explore a new musical style. Your sources for online guitar lessons are varied and many. In this article we’re going to show you some of the more common resources you can tap into and learn the basics of guitar playing.

Start your search for free guitar lessons online by exploring web sites dedicated to teaching how to play guitar. Many of these are subscription based online video guitar lessons, some of them sell guitar lessons on DVDs and most of them will offer introductory guitar lessons of some kind. You may even want to sign up for more than one of the providers of free guitar lessons online so you can get a taste of their teaching style before committing to a paid subscription.

YouTube.com and other video sites are a great resource for free guitar lessons online on just about style or technique you could imagine. Since many of these videos are made by guitar playing enthusiasts, you may have to filter out some of the bad ones. What’s interesting about these types of lessons is that you can find information on how to use equipment like effects pedals, or amplifiers. You would be hard pressed to find this type of information on a dedicated guitar lesson site.

Online user generated forums are another great resource for finding tips and techniques, as well as reviews of other lessons and methods. Find one or two active forums and start mining the posts and topics based on your particular interest.

Guitar magazines and blogs like guitarplayer.com also post many free guitar lessons online. Here you will find tips, techniques and tabs of complete songs in many different styles and genres. Additionally, don’t over look their interviews of famous artists. Often time, these interviews turn to questions on how the artist approaches a particular style or technique. A careful reading of an interview can turn into a great way to get free guitar lessons online.

Listening actively to music online can be a more creative, but important way to collect free guitar lessons online. Find a customized online radio station that focuses on a particular style or artist, and begin to listen carefully to the music. Listen for the music's phrasing and articulation. Learn its rhythms and chord progressions. Find the tab of a particular piece.

A final online resource for free guitar lessons that you may not have thought of is your public library. Check out their web site and research what kind of online resources they may have. Your library card will gain you access to these resources which can include online music books, magazines, and articles.

As you can see, looking for and finding free guitar lessons online is pretty easy. Once you have a few successful searches under your belt, you can start to organize your results. Create a set of bookmarks in your browser or through a service to track your favorite sites and lessons. Keep a journal of the specific techniques and pieces that you found particularly useful. Through this process you can start to shape a program of study consisted of free guitar lessons online for your personal study.

How To Learn The Guitar Fast

Many people want to know how to learn the guitar fast. Most students can learn the basics of this instrument in a matter of a few months. You will need a clear understanding of the style of music you wish to play, and its key technical features. You will then need to decide upon a program of study, as well as familiarize yourself with the style's music as much as possible.
The best method in how to learn the guitar fast requires an understanding of which genre you wish to master. Music played on the guitar can fall into one of several main styles: folk, rock, jazz, and classical. Within these large categories are many sub-genres. Most these styles will lend itself either to electric or acoustic guitar, while many can be played on either. From a pure theoretical point of view, how to learn the guitar fast is the same whether you use an acoustic or electric guitar. Nevertheless, death metal is not quite the same on a classical guitar as it is on an Ibanez. Some genres like Gypsy music even have their own special type of guitar.
Key technical features of a particular style or genre will include the types of chords you need to learn, and whether you will need to be able to improvise solos, all of which will affect your quest in how to learn the guitar fast. For example, folk music tends to use open position chords, with a few barre chords. Players are primarily accompanying singers or other melody instrumentalists. You may never need to or be expected to take a solo ever. Rock guitar, on the other hand, uses a lot of fifth chords, also known as power chords, and soloing is a big part of the playing style. If you are interested in jazz, expect to learn a lot of different chords built out of extended harmonies, along with complementary scales used for creating solos.
Other defining features of a particular style include its rhythms. Jazz players, for example, need to be familiar with both Swing and Latin types of accompaniment patterns. Metal is usually played with straight eighths, but uses complex time signatures to create rhythmic interest.
Most styles also have a set of standard chord progressions making it simple in how to learn the guitar fast. Classic rock players need to understand the blues chord progression plus a few other simple three and four chord patterns. A standard trick of classic rock bar bands is to make a medley out of Wild Thing and Louie Louie simply because they can be played with the same three chords.
Listening to a lot of music in the style you are interested in will also help you in your quest in how to learn the guitar fast. When you are listening to recordings, try to focus in on the guitar player, teasing out their role in the band. Learn the chords to not just your favorite songs, but to the ones that are the most famous. Even though they might sound a little stale, it is these famous ones that often define the characteristics of a particular style.

Learning How to Play Guitar

Learning how to play guitar is a great way to spend your spare time and is one of the easier instruments to just pick up and start making music. Most students can strum a chord or two after their first lesson! Compare this to playing the violin which can take a year to learn how to make a good tone.

As you are probably aware, learning how to play guitar falls into one of two basic types: electric or acoustic. Within these types are several different sub-types which by design or use have come to typify certain genres. Nevertheless, they all are the same basic instrument played essentially the same way.

As you are learning how to play guitar, you’ll be covering certain fundamentals. You should first learn the parts of the guitar, and how to tune it. You will then study how to hold the instrument and the basic positions for the hands.

In your first few months of learning how to play guitar you’ll be covering how to read music. Depending on the method and the style of your guitar lessons, you’ll learn about tablature, or traditional notation, or both. Tablature is typically much easier to learn as it is a simple pictorial representation of the guitar fretboard with basic instructions on where and when to place your fingers to play notes. Traditional notation is not as hard to learn as some might make it out to be and you really should start learning it at the same time as you start learning how to play guitar. In this way both your playing skills and your reading skills can develop at a similar pace. Players that already have some skill, but only play from tabs may find learning traditional notation a little frustrating as it feels as if they are starting the guitar over from the beginning.

You may be surprised to know that learning how to play guitar actually takes quite a bit of strength to play, especially if you are learning on an acoustic guitar. Your strength will build up over time with a regular practice routine, but this does take a little time. If you have weaker hands or flexibility problems, be patient and take regular breaks during your practice time to give the hands a rest. You may also find sitting for long periods of time to be taxing on your lower back muscles. Take the same advice. Stand up and stretch every once and a while.

Establishing a regular practice routine will become an important part of your development. In the beginning, set aside several fifteen minute practice sessions per week. Four or five of them on different days is a good starting place. Use this practice time to focus in on your lesson material. You may find that fifteen minutes is really not that much time and you will probably still want to play afterwards. This is good. Use this time simply to explore and learn about the interest in a more ad hoc manner. You will then really be able to enjoy playing the guitar and develop in a sure and steady manner.

Learning how to play guitar will take some dedicated time but the rewards are well worth it. With dedicated effort you can learn guitar fundamentals in a few short months and reap many years of enjoyment!

Types of Acoustic Guitars

Today aspiring guitarists have a wide selection of different types of acoustic guitars to choose from. These different models and sizes, however, are based on a few designs that have become standards over the years. In this article we will overview some of the more common types of acoustic guitars.

Dreadnought Guitar


The Dreadnought guitar is probably the most recognizable acoustic guitar. It is a large body steel string instrument excellent for rhythm playing in all popular genres. Higher end models typically have spruce top with mahogany or rosewood back and sides. Its large size translates into a huge sound making it suitable for playing in bands and other group situations.

Most guitar manufacturers offer some kind of Dreadnought model styled after C.F. Martin & Company's design first appearing in 1916. Some genres like bluegrass owe their characteristic sound to this type of acoustic guitar.

Jumbo Guitars

Jumbo guitars are another large body instrument good for stage and recording. The shape of its body, wider nut, and resultant sound make this style of instrument a good alternative to the Dreadnought. The Seagull Maritime SWS Mini-Jumbo by Godin, for example exemplifies a design suitable for finger-style playing, something that is more challenging on Dreadnought style guitars.

Smaller Body Guitars

Smaller body types of acoustic guitars such as the triple-O models by Martin, or other types of so-called Parlour guitars are excellent instruments for finger-style players, especially those who play without finger-picks or use a more classical technique. These types of acoustic guitars were the choice of early blues players.

Manufactures have many models and designations for these types of acoustic guitars. The smaller scale and basic build of the guitar puts the twelfth fret at or nearer the body than the larger Jumbos and Dreadnoughts. The wider spacing of the strings at the nut facilitate finger style playing. Due to their smaller size and resultant smaller sound, these instruments are well suited to intimate venues, the recording studio, and for solo playing.

Classical Guitars

Classical guitars, sometimes called Spanish guitars, come in a wide range of models, scales, and uses. The modern classical types of acoustic guitars and archetype were developed by Ramirez in the early 1960's, purportedly for the famous virtuoso Andres Segovia.

Nylon stringed guitars are designed for finger style playing. They have a wider neck than most steel string instruments with their twelfth fret at the body. The median scale for a classical instrument is about 650 mm although shorter and longer scales are common depending on their use.

The traditional Spanish sound of the Ramirez is a result of its cedar top. Spruce top instruments are also a standard tone wood employed by quality builders, lending the instrument a brighter sound. The back and sides of quality instruments are rosewood.

Flamenco Guitars

Flamenco types of acoustic guitars are a type of nylon string guitars used for playing, not surprisingly, flamenco music. This genre requires complex strumming patterns as well as percussive effects. To allow for these playing techniques, the instrument usually has a higher action than classical guitars, especially towards the bridge.

Its top is typically spruce, but the back and sides are traditionally cypress, giving it a lighter weight and characteristic sound. Purists of the genre call for traditional wood tuning pegs instead of the more modern metal tuners. Although they take some time to get used to, the all-wood construction of these types of acoustic guitars really lends to their unique sound and feel.

Gypsy Guitars

Another genre specific guitar, Gypsy guitars are stylized after the famous Selmer Guitars. These types of acoustic guitars were popularized by the music of Django Reinhardt and his unique playing style. These guitars are characterized by their d-shaped sound-holes, as well as a gentle arched top created by tension on the wood rather than by the carved body of jazz guitars. Its characteristic sound is augmented by the player's preferred choice of light, silver-plated, copper-wound strings, and heavy picks traditionally made of tortoise shell.

Guitar Types

Guitars come in many sizes, shapes, and musical applications. Each of these different guitar types has a history that attempts to address a particular playing style or genre of music. The two largest guitar types, not surprisingly, are electric and acoustic guitars.

Electric guitars were initially developed to solve a very basic problem: how to make the instrument louder. Simply amplifying the guitar with a microphone is useful in some situations, but in the noisy environment of a stage filled with other instruments, this solution actually creates more problems than it solves. Miking the guitar may inadvertently amplify the other already loud instruments, and the persistent problem of feedback. In order to isolate the sound of the guitar and reduce feedback problems, builders designed the modern magnetic pickup system.

Out of early pick-up designs came two famous electric guitar types: the Gibson Les Paul and the Fender Stratocaster. These two instruments have come to epitomize the sound of rock music. Both solid body electric guitars, it is their pickup design that creates their characteristic sound qualities, not their external shape. The sound of early rock bands, as well as the sound of specific players is owed much to their choice of one of these two guitar types. Jimi Hendrix played a Strat, Jimmy Page a Les Paul.

Other common electric guitar types include the hollow-body construction favored by jazz players, and the newer synth guitars that offer midi capabilities. There are also many hybrid guitars that try to capture the sound and feel of an acoustic instrument through a sophisticated amplification system comprised of on-board mics, pickups and active electronics.

Acoustic guitars themselves come in many varieties suited to different playing situations. In very broad terms, these guitar types are either steel string guitars, or nylon string guitars.

In either case, the sound of an acoustic guitar is produced by its top which acts as an amplifier. The different price points of an acoustic instrument are often determined by the top's design and quality of wood. In brief, the player sets a string in motion, vibrating at a particular frequency. The bridge of the guitar transfers this vibration to the top of the guitar which in turn vibrates in sympathy.

Try this experiment with your guitar. Strum loudly across all six strings. While allowing the strings to continue to vibrate, gently hug the top of the guitar with both arms. You will hear that you are effectively muting the guitar by restricting the movement of the top.

The bridge plays a key part in the transfer of the string's pitch to the top, while the sound quality of the guitar is primarily produce by the quality of the top, as well as its bracing system directly underneath the top. Of course string types, the quality and grade of tone woods used for the back and sides, and even the neck and fretboard can also affect the instrument's sound.

While it would seem that electric and acoustic guitars make up all of the guitar types, you may come across guitars with seemingly unusual designs and very specific uses. Resonator guitars and pedal steel guitars are two that come to mind. The most famous of the resonator guitars is the Dobro a Gibson brand name.

Exploring different guitar types can be a fun way to expand your abilities and style of music. You may even want to try different models of both electric and acoustic guitar types for the sheer enjoyment of it.

Best Acoustic Guitar Strings

The best acoustic guitar strings for your acoustic guitar will depend on your use and personal preference. Acoustic guitar strings come in a wide variety of brands, materials, gauges, and applications. If you are playing on a higher end guitar, perhaps even a custom model, the best acoustic guitar strings may be found from the builder or manufacturer. They will undoubtedly recommend a string type and gauge for your instrument.

The two main types of strings are nylon and steel string. Common materials used for steel strings are nickel, bronze, stainless steel and silk. Some manufacturers also like to market composite materials to differentiate themselves from competitors.

Probably the most important choice you will make in choosing the best acoustic guitar strings is its gauge. The gauge of a string refers to its diameter. As you may expect, string diameter increases from the first string to the sixth. The diameter will affect the relative feel of a guitar's action. The gauges are grouped from light, to moderate, and heavy. The model of a particular brand may include the diameter of the first and sixth string in its name. For example, D'Addario's EJ83L Light 10-44 tells us the first string is .10 inches in diameter and the sixth is .44 inches in diameter.

Many feel the best acoustic guitar strings for classical and flamenco guitars are nylon strings. They also come in a wide range of materials including composites. Traditionally, strings four to six have a nylon filament core and are wrapped in a silver or bronze plating. The strings are tied to the guitar at both the tuning peg and the bridge. You can, however, find models of nylon strings with a ball on the end for use on other types of acoustic guitars. Manufacturers usually classify their nylon strings by their tension, rather than diameter. Light, normal and hard tension strings are common designations.

The best acoustic guitar strings are available in different gauges. Light gauge strings start at .10 inches in diameter for the first string. Medium strings start at about .12 inches, and heavier strings usually start at .13 inches. The remaining string diameters will fluctuate a bit depending on specific models and brands.

For the acoustic player, what you play, how hard you play, and the volume you wish to produce, coupled with the action on the instrument will influence your choice for the best acoustic guitar strings. Generally speaking, lighter gauge strings result in a lighter feeling action, but a reduction in volume. Their sound is also thinner.

Larger guitars like Dreadnoughts, for example, are designed to be heard above other instruments in band and played with a pick. You may be playing mostly open chords and using a capo to change keys on this type of instrument. Lighter strings may break, which is extremely annoying at best, and can ruin a performance in the worst case. Use a heavier gauge that will take some beating on the instrument..

Smaller parlour instruments will require a lighter string, which will also be easier on the finger tips for finger style players. If you are making a recording where every musical nuance is picked up by close miking, as is every instrument noise, you will also benefit from a lighter gauge string. Adjust your playing style accordingly.

Finding the best acoustic guitar strings suitable for your instrument and playing style may take some time. Remember to change your strings often. Use this as an opportunity to experiment with different brands, materials, and gauges as you learn their different feels and tones.