How to tune a guitar

Learning to tune a guitar is an essential skill to master. Your playing will never sound as good as you hope if your instrument is not in tune. You can of course use an electronic tuner but the ability to tune by ear will greatly improve your musicianship.

Note: Normal tuning is as below














Pitch
A guitar can be tuned so that all strings are tuned to one another, however if you want to play along with a recording or maybe even in a band, you'll need to tune to the correct pitch. Tuning forks have traditionally been used to tune the E or A string to the correct pitch. A piano or keyboard or another in-tune guitar could be used instead.
The open strings from the lowest (thickest) string to the highest (thinnest) should be tuned as detailed below:

Tuning at the 5th fret
Once you have tuned the lowest (6th) string to E, this can then be used as the starting point to tune all other strings.

1. Play the note on the 5th fret of the lowest (6th) string you've already tuned. This produces an A note.
Next, whilst plucking the 5th string, turn its machine head (tuning peg) until the pitch of this string matches that of the 6th string you're fretting.
If the open 5th string sounds a little higher than the fretted 6th string, turn the machine head to slacken the string. If, however, it sounds too low, tighten it. You've now tuned the 5th string to A.

2. You can now play a D note by picking the A string at the 5th fret. The open 4th string (the next thickest string) can now be tuned to the fretted A string in the same way. This method can also be used to tune the G string.

3. The system changes when you get to the B string (2nd string). This string needs tuning to the pitch of the note on the 4th fret of the G string.
Once this B string is in tune, fretting it at the 5th fret will produce the E note which can be used to tune the open 1st string.

How to play barre chords

Barre chords (pronounced "bar chords") involve using the first finger to fret across all 6 strings with the remaining fingers shaping the chord. This shape can then be moved up and down the fret board, creating whole new chords without having to reposition your fingers much, if at all.
Using barre chords also allows you to create otherwise unattainable chords such as Bb minor or F# major.

Playing major barre chords
Start with a normal open position E major chord but use the 2nd, 3rd and 4th fingers. Move this shape up and down the fret board using your first finger to fret all strings on the adjacent lower fret to create different chords.(DIAGRAM))


> G major barre chord based on an E major shape played at the 3rd fret. Move this to the 5th fret for A major and to the 7th fret for B major.









Most guitars will have a marker on frets 2,5 and 7. Moving your E major barre to these positions will give you the chords of G, A and B major.

5 tips to improve Barre chord technique
1. Keep your 1st finger straight and in line with the fret.
2. The creases in the joints of your fingers should not coincide with strings.
3. Position your fretting fingers as close to the fretwire as possible.
4. Press down firmly but do not use excessive pressure.
5. Practice, practice, practice.....

In theory, you could use this barre chord shape to play all major chords but in practice you'd be darting up and down the fret board far too much during a song.
Knowing at least 2 shapes for each chord will allow you to play most songs within the space of only a few frets.
The second major shape that can be converted to a barre in the open position is A major. Moving this shape to the 3rd, 5th and 7th frets will give you chords C, D and E.

> C major barre chord based on an A major shape played at the 3rd fret. Move this shape to the 5th fret for D major and the 7th fret for E major.


Playing minor barre chords
E minor and A minor open position chords can all be refingered to allow the 1st finger to barre.

> G minor barre chord based on an E minor shape played at the 3rd fret. Move shape to the 5th fret for A minor and the 7th fret for B minor.


Mixing major and minor chords
Most songs will contain a blend of both major and minor chords. Now you know major and minor chords in both open and barre positions, you can choose the shapes that will mean avoiding large movements along the fret board.

Gibson ES-335

A briliant innovation - the Gibson ES-335 TD guitar has delighted connoisseurs since its creation in 1958.

The 'ES' stands for 'Electric Spanish', 'T' for 'Thinline' and 'D' for 'Double-Cutaway'. Overall, the Gibson ES-335 stands for quality. Still in production, vintage ES-335s are highly collectible fetching upwards of $40,000.

The construction of the ES-335 was innovative in that, in the 1950s solid body electric guitars were becoming increasingly popular due to their sustained tone and resistance to feedback, yet hollowbodys possessed a tonal warmth.

So Gibson realised this perfect mix of the two. The ES-335 was built from a 16" (40cm) wide, 1 3/4" (4cm) thick hollow maple body with a solid maple stock in its centre.
The semi-solid, double-cutaway build meant its mahogany neck with its rosewood fingerboard could be joined to the body at the 19th fret allowing access to the uppermost registers.
A multitude of timbral sounds could be achieved courtesy of 2 humbuckers, controlled by a 3-way switch.
Still being made today, the Gibson ES-335 offers it all - the warmth of a hollow body with the sustain and resistance to feedback of a solid body.

Wonderwall by Oasis Video Guitar lesson

Video tutorials are by far the easiest way to learn your favourite songs. There are many guitar lessons available on YouTube and the like, some are very instructive and useful, others are terrible. I hunt high and low for the best guitar video lessons, so you don't have to, and post them on the blog, so keep visiting for regular updates.

Below is a video guitar lesson for Wonderwall by Oasis. This guy gives a really clear and simple lesson and the images and sound are high quality, so enjoy and learn....

Keys - Major and Minor Keys

The key of a song refers to its overall tonality dictating the melodic scale and the chords which occur therein.

Understanding this will aid you in working out the chord structure of songs and developing your own song writing skills.

Major Keys
There are 7 tones in each scale (key) and a chord can be built from every tone in the scale, therefore there are 7 chords. There are 3 major chords in each major key. If you look at the scale for each key, the major chords are dictated by the 1st, 4th and 5th notes in that scale shown by the examples below:

A song or chord progression will usually begin with the tonic (keynote) chord. For example, a song in the key of C will begin with a C chord; a song in the key of G will begin with a G chord and so on...

You'll also find minor chords in major keys. The most common minor chords in each major key are shown below:
There are no hard and fast rules about how songs or chord progressions can be composed but if you select chords from the same key they will always fit. Below is an example chord progression using chords in the key of C major:

C Dm F Em Am C G F

Minor Keys
3 minor chords are closely related in each minor key and most commonly occur in popular songs.

In the key of A minor, the Am, Dm and Em are the most important chords.

There are also 3 major chords in each minor key. In the key of A minor, major chords C, F and G occur. Again, playing these chords in any order will always work.

Holding Your Plectrum (Pick) - Top Tips

1. Grip your plectrum between index (first) finger and thumb as shown in the images below..
The plectrum should extend only just beyond the fingertip. If too much of the plectrum is on show, it will flap around as you hit the strings, adversely affecting your flow and control.

2. Don't grip your plectrum too tightly. Obviously you need to keep a hold of it as you play but excessive grip will lead to tension in your hand and arm causing a lack of fluency in your playing.

3. Relax as you're playing and you'll find the your most natural style. Playing along to the cds or your iPod will help you improve on all your techniques and help you to focus on what you want to achieve rather than your own maybe slightly clumsy playing.

Top Tips - Fretting Hand Positions

Playing with a good technique from the outset will help you develop good habits and get the best possible sound from your guitar, encouraging you to practice even harder.

Here's my top 3 tips for better hand positioning:

1. When both playing chords or singles notes, always try and keep your fretting hand as close to the fretwires as possible, as illustrated below:

This technique has a number of benefits. First of all, it minimise the unpleasant "fretbuzz" sounds that can occur. Fingering at the edge of the fret also reduces the pressure required, meaning you're able to play with a lighter and more fluent touch.

2. Always try to keep all fingers on your fretting hands close to the fretboard ready to leap into action should they be required. This minimises the time it takes to change to the next note or chord.

3. Unless you are playing some kind of bar chord, you should always use the absolute tips of your fingers. This will produce a cleaner sound than using the fleshy pads of your fingers.