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<span class="text">[[Guitar Parts and Functions|Parts]]</span>
<span class="text">[[Holding the Guitar and Pick|Playing]]</span>
== Picking ==
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<span class="text current">[[#Picking|Picking]]</span>
<span class="text">[[#Left-Hand Fretting|Fretting]]</span>
<span class="text">[[#Muting|Muting]]</span>
<span class="text">[[#Left-Hand Grip|Grip]]</span>
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Start with picking. '''Your common picking motion should come from either your wrist or elbow, ''not'' your finger/thumb joints'''. As your technique develops, you may be able to add inflection and accents using your fingers, but as a beginner, you don't want to get in the habit of using them exclusively. This can lead to difficulty crossing strings, strumming, and speed, as well as leading to injury.
=== Manipulating Dynamics ===
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<span class="text current">[[#Picking|Picking]]</span>
<span class="text">[[#Left-Hand Fretting|Fretting]]</span>
<span class="text">[[#Muting|Muting]]</span>
<span class="text">[[#Left-Hand Grip|Grip]]</span>
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<span class="text current">[[#Manipulating Dynamics|Dynamics]]</span>
<span class="text">[[#Manipulating Tone|Tone]]</span>
<span class="text">[[#Downstrokes and Upstrokes|Down/Upstrokes]]</span>
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The location on the pick where it should initiate contact is very near the tip; however, this will vary depending on the desired dynamic level you want to achieve. For loud, aggressive playing, you will really want to "dig in", using more of the pick. Similarly, how tight you hold the pick will also determine how far from equillibrium you displace the string before it begins to slide and snaps off the tip of the pick. Both of these variables should be kept within a comfortable range. You don't want to use either method to the point of discomfort without trying to incorporate some of the other method first. Eventually, it will become very natural to vary both the amount of pick used and right hand tension at the same time without even thinking about it.
=== Manipulating Tone ===
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<span class="text current">[[#Picking|Picking]]</span>
<span class="text">[[#Left-Hand Fretting|Fretting]]</span>
<span class="text">[[#Muting|Muting]]</span>
<span class="text">[[#Left-Hand Grip|Grip]]</span>
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<span class="text">[[#Manipulating Dynamics|Dynamics]]</span>
<span class="text current">[[#Manipulating Tone|Tone]]</span>
<span class="text">[[#Downstrokes and Upstrokes|Down/Upstrokes]]</span>
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The main method to manipulate tone is ''where you pick the string''. Moving close to where the strings touch the bridge, you get a very bright, metallic sound, similar to sitar. Moving closer to the middle of the string (12th fret), you get a more hollow, bell-like sound, similar to a harp.
===Downstrokes and Upstrokes===
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<div class="trail dblue">
<span class="text current">[[#Picking|Picking]]</span>
<span class="text">[[#Left-Hand Fretting|Fretting]]</span>
<span class="text">[[#Muting|Muting]]</span>
<span class="text">[[#Left-Hand Grip|Grip]]</span>
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</div>
<div class="item-wrap">
<div class="trail blue">
<span class="text">[[#Manipulating Dynamics|Dynamics]]</span>
<span class="text">[[#Manipulating Tone|Tone]]</span>
<span class="text current">[[#Downstrokes and Upstrokes|Down/Upstrokes]]</span>
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A downstroke is when you push the pick from closest to your head towards your feet. It feels like you are pushing the pick down through the string(s). This is the most common picking stroke, similar to a hammer motion or how you hit a table top with a stick. An upstroke is the reverse, almost like you are pulling the pick up through the string(s). An upstroke may feel a little strange at first. It's not necessary to master it at first - just be aware that you eventually will need to use both. You don't want to start making big circular movements with your hand where you are picking the strings going down but moving your hand far away from the strings when coming back up. Naturally you will have to move it slightly away from the strings when coming back up if you are only using downstrokes, but it shouldn't be drastic. This will only make upstrokes that more difficult to master when you start to incorporate them into your playing.
== Left-Hand Fretting ==
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<span class="text">[[#Picking|Picking]]</span>
<span class="text current">[[#Left-Hand Fretting|Fretting]]</span>
<span class="text">[[#Muting|Muting]]</span>
<span class="text">[[#Left-Hand Grip|Grip]]</span>
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As for the left-hand, the important thing is the ''quality'' of your fretting. (''Fretting'' is the act of pushing the string down against a fret.) You want to push the string down right "behind" (towards the nut side of) the fret, so that it is held firmly against the fret. This gets a ''clean'' sound. If you hold the string lightly against the fret or far away from it, the string has the ability to come off and slam down against the fret as it resonates, which sounds like metal hitting metal. It is noisy, making it more difficult to hear the note you are trying to play. It also dimishes sustain, causing the note to fade out more quickly. A badly-fretted note will sound like "pinck" whereas a well-fretted one will sound like "biiiiiinnnngggg". Open strings are automatically fretted perfectly and make a good reference to determine how well you are fretting; however, they do have a bell-like quality that you cannot get from a fretted note. They are also less likely to have fret buzz - there's only so well that you can fret a fret.
== Muting ==
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<span class="text">[[#Picking|Picking]]</span>
<span class="text">[[#Left-Hand Fretting|Fretting]]</span>
<span class="text current">[[#Muting|Muting]]</span>
<span class="text">[[#Left-Hand Grip|Grip]]</span>
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Something that always gets glossed over is muting. '''Just as important as being able to create sound is being able to mute it'''. Guitar strings will naturally convert any energy they encounter into resonance. That means any bump to the guitar, even things as slight as fretting or bumping a string, will induce audible resonance in other strings. Even sound waves hitting the strings will induce vibrations, which is particularly evident on cranked up electric guitars in the form of feedback.
== Left-Hand Grip ==
<div class="item-wrap">
<div class="trail dblue">
<span class="text">[[#Picking|Picking]]</span>
<span class="text">[[#Left-Hand Fretting|Fretting]]</span>
<span class="text">[[#Muting|Muting]]</span>
<span class="text current">[[#Left-Hand Grip|Grip]]</span>
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As for left hand position or how you "hold" the neck, there are basically two different extremes. Neither is "correct" - you will vary this depending on what you are trying to play.
<div class="item-wrap">
<div class="trail blueorange">
<span class="text">[[Guitar Parts and Functions|Parts]]</span>
<span class="text">[[Holding the Guitar and Pick|Playing]]</span>