Chapter 4 presents you with some tools that will be your first and longest-lasting friends: open position major and minor chords. If you only work hard on one chapter in this book, let it be Chapter 4. Chapter 5 provides you with the basics of single-note melodies, so that you can inject some melody into your playing. Finally, the part winds up with a bit of spice, when we add basic 7th chords to the mix.
A family of chords is simply a group of related chords. The concept is sort of like color-coordinating your clothing or assembling a group of foods to create a balanced meal. Chords in a family go together like peanut butter and chocolate except that chords in a family are less messy. Along the way, we help you expand your guitar-notation vocabulary as you start to develop your chord-playing and strumming skills.
Think of a family of chords as a plant. Together, the root and shoots make up the family. By the way, the technical term for a family is key. Chords that contain open strings are called open chords, or open-position chords.
The basic chords in the A family are A, D, and E. Arch your fingers so that the fingertips fall perpendicular to the neck. In short, pressing down the string hurts. You must develop nice, thick calluses on your fingertips before playing the guitar can ever feel completely comfortable. You may take weeks or even months to build up those protective layers of dead skin, depending on how much and how often you play.
But after you finally earn your calluses, you never lose them completely, anyway. You can develop your calluses by playing the basic chords in this chapter over and over again. As you progress, you also gain strength in your hands and fingers and become more comfortable in general while playing the guitar. As with any physical-conditioning routine, make sure that you stop and rest if you begin to feel tenderness or soreness in your fingers or hands. Figure shows the fingering for the A, D, and E chords — the basic chords in the A family.
Strike just the top five 5th through 1st strings in the A chord and the top four 4th through 1st strings in the D chord. Notice how the diagrams graphically convey the left-hand positions in the photos. You can define quality as the relationship between the different notes that make up the chord — or simply, what the chord sounds like. Besides the quality of being major, other chord qualities include minor, 7th, minor 7th, and major 7th.
Each type of chord, or chord quality, has a different kind of sound, and you can often distinguish the chord type just by hearing it. Listen, for example, to the sound of a major chord by strumming A, D, and E. For more information on 7th, minor 7th, and major 7th chords, check out Chapter 6. A progression is simply a series of chords that you play one after the other. Figure presents a simple progression in the key of A and instructs you to strum each chord — in the order shown reading from left to right — four times.
Use all downstrokes dragging your pick across the strings toward the floor as you play. Listen to the example on the CD to hear the rhythm of this progression and try to play along with it. Figure A simple chord progression in the key of A using only chords in the A family.
After strumming each chord four times, you come to a vertical line in the music that follows the four strum symbols. This line is a bar line. You can use these terms interchangeably; they both mean the same thing. Measures make written music easier to grasp, because they break up the music into little, digestible chunks. See Appendix A for more information on bar lines and measures. Start out playing as slowly as necessary to help you keep the beat steady.
You can always speed up as you become more confident and proficient in your chord fingering and switching. By playing a progression over and over, you start to develop left-hand strength and calluses on your fingertips. Try it and try it. If you want to play a song right away, you can. The D family, therefore, shares two basic open chords with the A family D and A and introduces two new ones: Em and G.
Minor describes the quality of a type of chord. You may characterize the sound of a minor chord as sad, mournful, scary, or even ominous. You may notice that none of the strings in either chord diagram displays an X symbol, so you get to strike all the strings whenever you play a G or Em chord. If you feel like it, go ahead and celebrate by dragging your pick or right-hand fingers across the strings in a big keraaaang. Figure The Em and G chords. Notice that all six strings are available for play in each chord.
G Em 23 21 32 3 4 Try the following trick to quickly pick up how to play Em and to hear the difference between the major and minor chord qualities: Play E, which is a major chord, and then lift your index finger off the 3rd string.
By alternating the two chords, you can easily hear the difference in quality between a major and minor chord. Also, notice the alternative fingering for G instead of As your hand gains strength and becomes more flexible, you want to switch to the Chapter 4: The Easiest Way to Play: Basic Major and Minor Chords fingering instead of the initially easier fingering the version shown in Figure You can switch to other chords with greater ease and efficiency by using the fingering for G.
Strumming D-family chords In Figure , you play a simple chord progression using D-family chords. Notice the difference in the strum in this figure versus that of Figure In Figure , you strum each chord four times per measure. Each strum is one pulse, or beat.
Figure divides the second strum of each measure or the second beat into two strums — up and down — both of which together take up the time of one beat, meaning that you must play each strum in beat 2 twice as quickly as you do a regular strum. The additional symbol 2 with the strum symbol means that you strum down toward the floor, and 4 means that you strum up toward the ceiling.
If you play your guitar while hanging in gravity boots, however, you must reverse these last two instructions. The term sim. Figure This progression contains chords commonly found in the key of D. Em Count: 1 2 etc. Go for it! Fingering G-family chords In Figure , you see the fingerings for Am and C, the new chords that you need to play in the G family. Notice that the fingering of these two chords is similar: Each has finger 1 on the 2nd string, first fret, and finger 2 on the 4th string, second fret.
Only finger 3 must change — adding or removing it — in switching between these two chords. In moving between these chords, keep these first two fingers in place on the strings. The notes that different chords share are known as common tones. Notice the X over the 6th string in each of these chords. We mean it! Am Figure The fingering for the Am and C chords. Play this progression over and over to accustom yourself to switching chords and to build up those left-hand calluses. It does get easier after a while.
We promise! Listen to the CD to hear this sound. Figure A chord progression that you can play by using only G-family chords. Some people say that C is the easiest key to play in. If not, check them out. So in this section, you need to pick up only two more chords: Dm and F. After you know these two additional chords, you have all the basic major and minor chords that we describe in this chapter down pat.
Notice that both the Dm and F chords have the second finger on the 3rd string, second fret. Hold this common tone down as you switch between these two chords. Figure The Dm and F chords. Notice the indication in the F-chord diagram that tells you to fret or barre two strings with one finger. Dm F 3 Many people find the F chord the most difficult chord to play of all the basic major and minor chords.
To play the F chord, for example, you use your first finger to press down both the 1st and 2nd strings at the first fret simultaneously. You must exert extra finger pressure to play a barre. At first, you may find that, as you strum the chord hitting the top four strings only, as the Xs in the chord diagram indicate , you hear some buzzes or muffled strings.
Experiment with various placements of your index finger. Try adjusting the angle of your finger or try rotating your finger slightly on its side. Keep trying until you find a position for the first finger that enables all four strings to ring clearly as you strike them.
Strumming C-family chords Figure shows a simple chord progression that you can play by using Cfamily chords. Play the progression over and over to get used to switching among the chords in this family and, of course, to help build up those nasty little calluses. Count: 1 2 3 Look at Figure Notice the small curved line joining the second half of beat 2 to beat 3.
This line is known as a tie. A tie tells you not to strike the second note of the two tied notes in this case, the one on beat 3.
Instead, just keep holding the chord on that beat letting it ring without restriking it with your right hand. Listen to the CD to hear the sound of this strumming pattern. This slightly jarring rhythmic effect is an example of syncopation.
You probably usually expect to strike notes on the beats 1, 2, 3, 4. In the example in Figure , however, you strike no chord on beat 3. This accentuation interrupts the normal expected pulse of the music, resulting in the syncopation of the music.
Syncopation breaks up the regular pattern of beats and presents an element of surprise in music. Bon voyage! If the titles here hearken back to those bygone campfire days in the distant recesses of your youth, fear not, young-at-heart campers. These songs, although seemingly simple, illustrate universal principles that carry over into the— shall we 51 52 Part II: So Start Playing: The Basics say it?
You may notice that all the strumming examples that we provide in this chapter are only four measures long. Must all your exercises be limited this way, you may ask? No, but songwriters do very commonly write music in fourmeasure phrases. So the length of these exercises prepares you for actual passages in real songs. Any reason? See Appendix A for more information on time signatures. In the examples that you find in earlier sections of this chapter, you play each chord for one full measure.
But in this section of actual songs, you sometimes play a single chord for more than a measure, and sometimes you change chords within a single measure. Listen to the CD to hear the rhythm of the chord changes as you follow the beat numbers 1, 2, 3, 4 that appear below the guitar staff. After you can comfortably play your way through these songs, try to memorize them. If you get bored with these songs — or with the way you play these songs — show the music to a guitar-playing friend and ask him to play the same songs by using the strumming patterns and chord positions that we indicate.
Listening to someone else play helps you hear the songs objectively, and if your friend has a little flair, you may pick up a cool little trick or two. The first measure in this song is known as a pickup measure, which is incomplete; it starts the song with one or more beats missing — in this case, the first two. During the pickup measure, the guitar part shows a rest, or a musical silence. Notice, too, that the last bar is missing two beats — beats 3 and 4.
The missing beats in the last measure enable you to repeat the pickup measure in repeated playings of the song, and to make that measure, combined with the first incomplete measure, total the requisite four beats.
This song starts with a one-beat pickup, and the guitar rests for that beat. Notice that beat 2 of measures 2, 4, and 6 has two strums instead of one. Strum those beats down and then up 2 and 4 with each strum twice as fast as a regular strum. Measure 8 is a little tricky, because you play three different chords in the same measure Em, Am, and D. In the second half of the measure, you change chords on each beat — one stroke per chord. Practice playing only measure 8 slowly, over and over.
Then play the song. Note: In changing between G and C bars 4—6 and 12—19 , fingering G with fingers 2, 3, and 4 instead of 1, 2, and 3 makes the chord switch easier. If you finger the chord that way, the second and third fingers form a shape that simply moves over one string. The strumming pattern here is syncopated. The strum that normally occurs on beat 3 is anticipated, meaning that it actually comes half a beat early.
This kind of syncopation gives the song a Latin feel. Listen to the CD to hear the strumming rhythm. Swing Em sim. You can play the oldies progression in any key, but the best guitar keys for the oldies progression are C and G. Try strumming the progression in each key by playing four down-strums per chord.
Play the four chords over and over, in the sequence given. The fun begins as you sing oldies while accompanying yourself with the oldies progression. As you sing a particular song, you find that one of the keys C or G better suits your vocal range, so use that key. For some songs, you play four one-beat strums per chord; for others, you play eight or two. Below, we list some songs you can play with the oldies progression right now.
Next to each, we show you how many times you strum each chord. Have fun! Two strums per chord. Four strums per chord. The one by the Five Satins, not the Cole Porter one.
Eight strums per chord. The difference is significant. If you pick up guitar playing through a book, you can eventually play nurseryrhyme ditties in perfect quarter and half notes. Okay, so maybe reading music is a valuable skill. If we need to show you a lick, we use tablature — a special notation system designed especially for showing how you play the guitar. Or we refer you to the CD so that you can hear the lick. Or both. We offer melodies in this chapter primarily so that you can accustom your hands to playing single notes.
By the way, a lick is a short, melodic phrase, often made up on the spot and played only once. A 0 indicates an open string. By listening to the CD, you can hear when to play these notes. Top or bottom? The music in this book contains a double staff: standard music notation on the top, tab on the bottom. The top staff is for music readers or for people interested in standard notation.
The bottom staff shows the same info minus the rhythm but in tab numbers. The top line of the tab staff represents the top string of the guitar high E. This positioning of the strings in the tab staff may momentarily confuse you, because the top string in the tab staff — the 1st — is actually the string closest to the floor as you hold the guitar in playing position.
By the way, if you hold the guitar flat on your lap, with the neck facing the ceiling, the 1st string is farthest away from you, just as the top line is when you see the tab staff on the page. Check out the cheat sheet at the beginning of the book to see a visual representation of this concept. Moving on, the second tab line from the top represents the 2nd string B and so on down to the bottom tab line, which represents the 6th low E string on the guitar.
In guitar tab, lines represent strings and numbers represent frets. Tab does not, however, tell you which left-hand fingers to use. Neither does standard notation, for that matter. But more on fingering later. Chapter 5: Playing Melodies without Reading Music! Right or left? Just as in reading text or music, you start from the left and proceed to the right in reading tab.
Using Figure as your example, begin with the first note, which you play at the first fret of the 2nd string. The placement of the tab number on the second line from the top tells you to play the B string — the one next to high E — and the number 1 tells you to place your finger at the first fret.
Go ahead and play that note and then proceed to the next note, which is also on the 2nd string, first fret. Keep moving right, playing the notes in order, until you reach the end.
The vertical lines that appear on the staff after every few notes are bar lines. They divide the staff into small units of time, called bars or measures. Measures help you count beats and break up the music into smaller, more manageable units. In Figure , you see four measures of four beats each. See Appendix A for more information on beats and measures. Figure A melody in standard notation and tab. Tab lines represent strings, and numbers on the lines represent fret numbers. The two media, CD and print, serve to reinforce each other.
Mail us your proof-of-purchase and we even send you a secret decoder ring and virtual-reality goggles! Just kidding! Well, we can clear that up pretty quickly. Stick with us for a moment. A position on the guitar is a group of four consecutive frets; for example, frets 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5, 6, 7, 8.
The first fret in a series of four marks the beginning of a new position; for example, frets 2, 3, 4, and 5, frets 3, 4, 5, and 6, and so on, are positions as well. But the easiest way to play melodies on the guitar is to play them in first or second position — that is, using frets 1 through 4 or frets 2 through 5 — because these positions are close to the nut, allowing you to easily and smoothly utilize the open strings as well as the fretted notes in playing a melody.
Open position itself consists of the combination of all the open strings plus the notes in the first or second position — just as the chords that you play low on the neck using open strings A, D, Em, and so on are known as open chords. For more information on open chords, check out Chapter 4. In any position, each finger plays the notes of a specific fret — and only of that fret. The index finger always plays the notes of the lowest fret in that position lowest meaning towards the nut , with the other fingers covering the other frets in sequential order.
In first position, for example, the fret numbers correspond to the fingers — the first finger the index finger plays the notes in the first fret; the second finger middle finger plays the notes in the second fret; and so on. Using one finger per fret enables you to switch between notes quickly. Using Alternate Picking As you play a song, you use both hands at once.
After you figure out which notes to press with the left hand, you need to know how to strike the strings with the right. You can use either a pick or the right-hand fingers to strike single notes; for now, use the pick, holding it firmly between the thumb and index finger perpendicular to the thumb with just the tip sticking out. Check out Chapter 3 for more information on holding the pick.
We discuss playing with the fingers in Chapters 12 and Alternate picking is the right-hand picking technique that uses both downstrokes toward the floor and upstrokes toward the ceiling. The advantage of alternate picking is that you can play rapid, successive notes in a smooth, flowing manner.
Single notes that you need to play relatively fast almost always require alternate picking. Try the following experiment: 1. Hold the pick between your thumb and index finger of your right hand. Again, see Chapter 3 for more information on holding the pick. Using only downstrokes, pick the open 1st string repeatedly as fast as possible down-down-down-down, and so on.
Try to play as smoothly and evenly as possible. Now try the same thing but alternating downstrokes and upstrokes down-up-down-up, and so on. The reason that you can play faster with alternate picking is clear. But by actually striking the string with the pick on the way back up using an upstroke instead of avoiding the string, you can greatly increase your speed.
Check to make sure that you understand the concept of alternate picking by following the next two sets of steps.
The symbols for a downstroke and upstroke are the same ones used for strumming in Chapter 4. To play a downstroke the 2 symbol above the tab , follow these steps: 1. Strike the string in a downward motion toward the floor. To play an upstroke the 4 symbol above the tab , follow these steps: 1.
Strike the string in an upward motion toward the ceiling. First, play the tune slowly, using only downstrokes. Then play it faster by using alternating picking, as the symbols above the tab staff indicate. Here a pick, there a pick, everywhere a pick-pick. The songs in this chapter, on the other hand, are in various meters. The meter indicates how many beats per measure: 4, 3, 2, and so on; see Appendix A for more information on beats and measures.
You play all these songs in open position. But playing the guitar is a cumulative endeavor. This song has only two beats per measure not four. Play all the fretted notes in the first position by using the same-numbered left-hand fingers as the fret numbers — that is, use the first finger for the first fret, the second finger for the second fret, and so on.
Follow the 2 and 4 indications above the tab numbers for downstrokes and upstrokes. The sim. This song is in open position — the one that combines first position with the open strings.
Use the same finger numbers for fretting as the indicated fret number. Some of these notes you can play by using either up- or downstrokes. Play the song by using the open position that combines the second position with the open strings — that is, your first finger plays the notes on the second fret; your second finger plays the notes of the third fret; and your third finger plays the notes of the fourth fret.
You can also play the song by using the first position with open strings, but playing it that way is a lot harder.
Fingers 1 and 3 are stronger than 2 and 4. See — we told you! Notice the symbols for up and down picking above the tab staff. Play downstrokes 2 for the notes that fall on the beats and upstrokes 4 for the notes that fall between the beats. Again, sim. The tune was written by Stephen Foster — not Ed Norton! Any big, sharp knife can cut both a pizza and a pineapple, but if you spend a lot of time doing either, you figure out that you need to use the circular-bladed gizmo for the pizza and a cleaver for the pineapple.
The more your culinary skills develop, the more you appreciate specialized cutlery. And the more your ear skills develop, the more you understand where to substitute 7th chords for the more ordinary major and minor chords. In this chapter, we introduce you to the three most important types of 7th chords that you encounter in playing the guitar — dominant 7th, minor 7th, and major 7th.
Note, too, that dominant has nothing whatsoever to do with leather and studded collars. For more on open chords, see Chapter 4. Figure shows you diagrams of these three chords that guitarists often use together to play songs. Notice the Xs above the 5th and 6th strings on the D7 chord. Practice strumming D7, G7, and C7. Try strumming D7 four times, G7 four times, and then C7 four times. You want to accustom your left hand to the feel of the chords themselves and to switching among them.
E7 and A7 Two more 7th chords that you often use together to play songs are the E7 and A7 chords. Figure shows how you play these two open 7th chords. If you know how to play E check out Chapter 4 , you can form E7 by simply removing your 3rd finger from the 4th string. This version of the E7 chord, as the figure shows, uses only two fingers. You can also play an open position E7 chord with four fingers as we describe in the following section.
Practice E7 and A7 by strumming each chord four times, switching back and forth between them. Remember to avoid striking the 6th string on the A7 chord. Figure shows you how to finger the four-finger E7 and the B7 chords. Most people think that this E7 has a better voicing vertical arrangement of notes than does the two-finger E7.
You often use the B7 chord along with E7 to play certain songs. Remember to avoid striking the 6th string on the B7 chord. If you already know how to play E see Chapter 4 , you can form this E7 by simply adding your pinky on the 2nd string at the third fret. Practice these chords by strumming each one four times, switching back and forth. As you do so, notice that your second finger plays the same note at the same fret in each chord — the one at the second fret of the 5th string.
In switching back and forth between the two chords, keep this finger down on the 5th string — doing so makes switching easier. They provide an anchor of stability for your left hand. E7 B7 2 31 4 21 3 4 Minor 7th Chords — Dm7, Em7, and Am7 Minor 7th chords differ from dominant 7th chords in that their character is a little softer and jazzier. Figure shows diagrams for the three open-position minor 7th m7 chords.
See Chapter 8 and Appendix B for more minor 7th chords. Notice that the Dm7 uses a two-string barre — that is, you press down two strings with a single finger the first finger, in this case at the first fret.
Angling your finger slightly or rotating it on its side may help you fret those notes firmly and eliminate any buzzes as you play the chord. The 6th and 5th strings have Xs above them. You finger the Am7 chord much like you do the C chord that we show you in Chapter 4; just lift your third finger off a C chord — and you have Am7.
In switching between C and Am7 chords, remember to hold down the two common tones with your first and second fingers. This way, you can switch between the chords much more quickly. And if you know how to play an F chord see Chapter 4 , you can form Dm7 simply by removing your third finger. Em7 Am7 12 4 2 1 Major 7th Chords — Cmaj7, Fmaj7, Amaj7, and Dmaj7 Major 7th chords differ from dominant 7th chords and minor 7th chords in that their character is bright and jazzy.
Figure shows four open-position major 7th maj7 chords. For more major 7th chords, check out Chapter 8 and Appendix B. Notice that the Dmaj7 uses a three-string barre with the first finger. Rotating the first finger slightly on its side helps make the chord easier to play.
In moving between Cmaj7 and Fmaj7, notice that the second and third fingers move as a fixed shape across the strings in switching between these chords. Practice moving back and forth strumming four times each between Cmaj7 and Fmaj7 and between Amaj7 and Dmaj7. If you have difficulty remembering how to finger the chords, rip out the cheat sheet in the front of the book and consult the back side of it for some crib notes.
Instead of simply strumming the chord for three beats, play only the lowest note of the chord on the first beat and then strum the remaining notes of the chord on beats 2 and 3.
In the music, you see repeat signs, which tell you to play certain measures twice. In this case, you play measures 1, 2, 3, 4, and then measures 1, 2, 3, 5. See Appendix A for more information on repeat signs. Use the two-finger E7 for this song. Use the four-finger E7 for this song. The major 7th chords that you play in this song sound jazzy and give any song a modern sound.
Use all downstrokes on the strums. Using minor 7ths and major 7ths gives the song a hip sound. Sleep, 2. Guard D U 4. Sometimes you can pick up something really cool. By knowing a few dominant 7th chords and being able to strum four beats per measure, you already have the basics down pat for playing 99 percent of all blues songs ever written. Ninety-nine percent?! The bar blues follow a simple chord formula, or progression, that involves three dominant 7ths.
Figure shows the chord progression to a bar blues in E. Practice this pattern and become familiar with the way chords change in a blues progression. Track 16 4. For more information on bar blues, see Chapters 10 and Just think of any Little Richard song. Usually, you repeat lines and then finish off with a zinger — for example: My baby she done left me, and she stole my best friend Joe. My baby she done left me, and she stole my best friend Joe. Try composing some lyrics yourself, improvise a melody, and apply them to the blues progression that we outline here.
Use the following table to find mix-and-match elements for your blues songs. Then see Chapter 11 for more info on the blues. This is the place to look for it!
Chapter 8 tells you about barre chords, which are really useful because after mastering a finger position, you can move that position up and down the guitar neck to create new chords.
Chapter 9 tells you about special licks that you can use to really strut your stuff! In this chapter, you venture out of open-position base camp into the higher altitudes of position playing. You also pick up the technique of playing in double-stops along the way. Playing in Position As you listen to complicated-sounding guitar music played by virtuoso guitarists, you may imagine their left hands leaping around the fretboard with abandon.
But usually, if you watch those guitarists on stage or TV, you discover that their left hands hardly move at all. Those guitarists are playing in position. A position, therefore, gets its name from the fret that your first finger plays. Why not use open position and open strings all the time? Playing in open position allows you to play only up to the fourth or fifth fret.
If you want to play higher than that, position playing enables you to play the notes smoothly and economically. Because position playing involves no open strings, everything you play in position is movable. People have the idea that playing guitar in lower positions is easier than playing in higher ones.
These exercises get you started with bass guitar fundamentals, like playing scales, chords, and arpeggios. Move on to sharpen your skills as you play grooves and melodies in different styles. Whether you're just getting started or an experienced bassist looking to stretch your playing skills, this is the book for you!
Inside… Tips for correct hand and body posture Methods for getting comfortable with scales Hints for developing a complete practice session Ways to apply the exercises to making great music Workouts for stronger playing. Refine your technique with bass guitar exercises Practice tempo, time signature, phrasing, and dynamics Apply bass fundamentals to playing a groove The fun and easy way to lay down a groove The bass guitar serves as the foundation for almost every popular style of music — from rock to country, jazz.
Develop solid rhythm and timing Build scales and modes into great bass lines Play a ton of grooves in a variety of styles Master the bass—it's the heart of the band The bass guitar provides the essential link between the instruments laying down the beat and the instruments carrying.
Updated with the latest bass guitar technology, accessories, and more The bass is the heart of music. So leave center stage to the other musicians-you have more important work to do. You'll get expert. So leave center stage to the other musicians—you have more important work to do. You'll get. Guitar Exercises For Dummies includes over exercises along with lots of technique-building practice opportunities.
Players with small hands might also prefer an electric for its slimmer neck, which warrants an easier grip and shorter reach. If you are set on an electric guitar, Fender offers affordable guitar amplifiers at a variety of price points.
Most are not only portable, but also easy to operate, making dialing in settings quite simple for newbies. Lighter, thinner strings produce less tension, and for that reason are generally easier for beginners to work with. We recommend using a set of strings with a gauge of. Different string materials also have unique benefits, including the tone they produce. The right equipment can make all the difference in improving your technique and your tone.
As you mature as a player, you can surround yourself with other tone-shaping accessories such as effects pedals, slides, etc. But for now, here are the absolute essentials:. Nothing is as vibrant--or confusing--as the sheer volume of pick shapes, sizes, thicknesses and materials offered at a music store. As you become more familiar with your guitar, you may find yourself trying out a number of picks to better accommodate your playing style.
But generally speaking, plastic picks are a popular choice for their flexibility and grip. We recommend sticking to a standard size and shape, like the Fender Celluloid Pick, as a good starting point. Not to mention, the classic celluloid pick is an industry standard among many players.
As far as thickness goes, opt for a pick of medium thickness between. A strap is essential for stabilizing your instrument, especially if you intend to play standing up. However, as a beginner, comfort should be your ultimate priority. Keep in mind that while electric guitars typically have two endpins on which you can attach your strap, acoustic guitars normally do not. You can also use a shoelace or piece of string of equal density. Try a chromatic tuner, which allows you to tune in any key.
And the Fender Tune app is a great tool, too, offering several tunings right on your mobile device. If you are using a tuner with an LED display, make sure the needle is properly centered.
Adjust your tuning machines accordingly if your sound falls flat or sharp. When speaking in guitar terms, each string is numbered accordingly.
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