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All articles about learning to play guitar
Chords, technique, songs, guitars and practice tips: all articles in one place. Pick a topic or browse the latest posts.
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How to Write Your First Song on Guitar
How do you write your first song on guitar? Choose three or four chords you can already play, such as G, C, D and…
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How to Write a Romantic Song on Guitar
How do you write a romantic song on guitar? Start with a calm chord sequence such as G, Em, C and D, pick one…
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How to Memorize Guitar Solos Faster
How do you memorize solos faster? Break the solo into short phrases of a few measures, sing each phrase first and then play it…
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Ed Sheeran’s Acoustic Guitar Style
Ed Sheeran’s acoustic guitar style revolves around three things: simple open chords with a capo, a rhythmic strumming style with percussive hits, and a…
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How to Improvise Like Stevie Ray Vaughan
Learning to improvise like Stevie Ray Vaughan starts with the minor pentatonic scale and the blues scale, but the secret is in the delivery:…
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Analyzing John Mayer’s Guitar Style
If you want to analyze John Mayer’s guitar style, pay attention to four things: his blues phrasing with the pentatonic scale, his expressive vibrato…
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Learn the Top 10 Red Hot Chili Peppers Riffs
Want to learn the top 10 Red Hot Chili Peppers riffs? Start with “Otherside” and “Californication”: both revolve around a few simple chords in…
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How to Play in the Style of B.B. King
Learning to play in the style of B.B. King is not about speed, but about few notes with a lot of feeling. His trademarks…
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Eric Clapton’s Guitar Style Explained
Eric Clapton’s guitar style is built on the blues: licks from the minor pentatonic scale and the blues scale, in-tune bends, a calm but…
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How to Play Like Jimi Hendrix on Guitar
If you want to play like Jimi Hendrix, it comes down to a few recognizable building blocks: blues licks from the minor pentatonic scale…
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How to Clean Your Guitar Fretboard and Frets
The best way to clean your guitar’s fretboard and frets is with the strings off. Wipe away loose dirt with a dry, lint-free cloth,…
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What to Do About Squeaky Guitar Strings
What should you do about squeaky guitar strings? Most of the time, what you hear is your fingers sliding over the wound strings during…
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How to Repair Small Scratches on Your Guitar
How do you repair small scratches on your guitar? Superficial scratches in a gloss finish can be buffed out with a fine polish and…
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How Often Should You Have a Guitar Set Up?
How often should you have a guitar set up? For most guitarists, once a year is enough. If you play a lot or perform,…
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Tips for Taking Care of Your Guitar in Winter
Taking care of your guitar in winter is mostly about dry air and temperature swings. Heating can make indoor humidity drop sharply, sometimes below…
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How to Keep Your Guitar From Going Out of Tune
How do you keep your guitar from going out of tune? Stretch new strings properly, wind them neatly around the tuning pegs, always tune…
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How to Clean Your Guitar Without Damaging It
How do you clean your guitar without damaging it? Use a soft microfiber cloth and only cleaners that suit your guitar’s finish, always apply…
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The Best Ways to Store Your Guitar at Home
The best way to store your guitar at home is on a sturdy stand, on a wall hanger or in a case, in a…
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How to Protect Your Guitar From Moisture
How do you protect your guitar from moisture? Keep the humidity around your guitar steady at roughly 40 to 60 percent, store it in…
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Tips for Changing Guitar Strings
Short answer: You change guitar strings one string at a time: loosen the old string, secure the new one at the bridge, thread it…
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Best Practice Amps for Electric Guitar
The best practice amp for electric guitar is a compact model of roughly 5 to 20 watts that sounds good at low volume and…
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Buying a Kids’ Guitar: Types, Sizes and What to Look For
Short answer: For a child up to about 12 years old, buy a classical kids’ guitar with nylon strings, in the size that matches…
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How to Tune a Guitar With a Tuner
With a tuner you can tune your guitar in a few minutes: turn the tuner on, pluck one string at a time and turn…
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How Often Should You Change Guitar Strings?
Short answer: How often should you change guitar strings? As a rule of thumb, every one to three months if you play regularly. If…