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<div class="item-wrap"> <div class="trail {{crumbs|red"> |3 <span class="text">[[|Guitar Parts and Functions|Parts]]</span> <span class="text">[[|Holding the Guitar and Pick|Playing]]</span> <span class="text current">[[|Basic Technique|Technique]]</span> <span class="text">[[|Tuning and Harmonics|Tuning]]</span> <span class="text">[[|Music Theory Basics|Theory]]</span> <span class="text">[[|Position|Position]]</span> <span class="text">[[|1st String|1st String]]</span> <span class="text">[[|1st and 2nd Strings - Intervals|Intervals]]</span> <span class="text">[[|2nd and 3rd Strings|2nd/3rd Strings]]</span> <span class="text">[[|4th, 5th, and 6th Strings|Other Strings]]</span> <span class="text">[[|C Major in Open Position and Alternate Picking|Alt. Picking]]</span> <span class="text">[[|C Major Chord|C Major]]</span> <span class="text">[[|G Major Chord|G Major]]</span> <span class="text">[[|F Major Chord|F Major]]</span> <span class="text">[[|E Minor, D Minor, and A Minor Chords|Minor Chords]]</span> <span class="text">[[|Music Theory - Diatonic Chord Progressions|Progressions]]</span> </div> </div>}}
<div class="item-wrap"><div class="trail {{crumbs|blue"> |1 <span class="text current">[[|Basic Technique#Picking|Picking]]</span> <span class="text">[[|Basic Technique#Left-Hand Fretting|Fretting]]</span> <span class="text">[[|Basic Technique#Muting|Muting]]</span> <span class="text">[[|Basic Technique#Left-Hand Grip|Grip]]</span> </div></div>}}
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<div class="item-wrap"><div class="trail {{crumbs|blue"> |2 <span class="text">[[|Basic Technique#Picking|Picking]]</span> <span class="text current">[[|Basic Technique#Left-Hand Fretting|Fretting]]</span> <span class="text">[[|Basic Technique#Muting|Muting]]</span> <span class="text">[[|Basic Technique#Left-Hand Grip|Grip]]</span> </div>}}</div>
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<div class="item-wrap"> <div class="trail {{crumbs|red"> |3 <span class="text">[[|Guitar Parts and Functions|Parts]]</span> <span class="text">[[|Holding the Guitar and Pick|Playing]]</span> <span class="text current">[[|Basic Technique|Technique]]</span> <span class="text">[[|Tuning and Harmonics|Tuning]]</span> <span class="text">[[|Music Theory Basics|Theory]]</span> <span class="text">[[|Position|Position]]</span> <span class="text">[[|1st String|1st String]]</span> <span class="text">[[|1st and 2nd Strings - Intervals|Intervals]]</span> <span class="text">[[|2nd and 3rd Strings|2nd/3rd Strings]]</span> <span class="text">[[|4th, 5th, and 6th Strings|Other Strings]]</span> <span class="text">[[|C Major in Open Position and Alternate Picking|Alt. Picking]]</span> <span class="text">[[|C Major Chord|C Major]]</span> <span class="text">[[|G Major Chord|G Major]]</span> <span class="text">[[|F Major Chord|F Major]]</span> <span class="text">[[|E Minor, D Minor, and A Minor Chords|Minor Chords]]</span> <span class="text">[[|Music Theory - Diatonic Chord Progressions|Progressions]]</span> </div> </div>}}
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no edit summary
Tuning and basic technique form a kind of chicken-egg situation - you can't practice technique without being relatively in-tune, and you can't tune the guitar without any knowledge of how to get it to make sound. I'm covering basic technique first - this doesn't require the entire guitar to be in-tune, only that the strings have sufficient tension to sustain string resonance. If they currently don't, tighten them up using the tuners - just don't go so tight that they feel like they may snap.
== Picking ==
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.
The motion is similar to waving hello to someone. You are "chopping", not "slapping" or "flapping". The relative distance from your hand to the guitar body should not change much during your picking motion. You want to "push through" the string, applying greater and greater pressure against the string until it slides off the tip of the pick. You do ''not'' want to apply some tension to the string then move the pick from the body, which I call "pecking", like a bird trying to eat a worm. The motion you use to play a single string should also work for multiple strings by simply continuing it (if you are "pecking" it will require a pecking motion for each string).
=== Manipulating Dynamics ===
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 ===
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.
The '''pick angle''' ''can be manipulated to subtly alter your tone''. I do not mean the angle in relation to the body. The pick should be relatively perpendicular to the body. I'm talking about its angle in relation to the strings. Normal position for me is slightly angled - the pick is almost parallel to the string. If it were completely parallel, the string would touch the entire face of the pick during the picking motion and may not slide off of it as easily, especially if you hold the pick tight. On the other hand, turning the pick completely perpendicular to the string feels very awkward - you will find it hard to apply pressure to the string, as the string quickly and easily slides towards the tip of the pick. These different feels don't simply affect feel - they translate into the tone the string produces. '''My advice is to get comfortable picking in general before starting to manipulate tone in this manner.'''
===Downstrokes and Upstrokes===
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 ==
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.
* Use only as much pressure as necessary, no more
=== Fingering ===
You can leave your '''i'''ndex finger on the first fret the entire time. You could also leave your '''m'''iddle finger on there except for the first and last notes. This is less overall motion than if you were to press each fret down then unfret that one for the next note. Think about the nut - it is always "fretted", but when you fret any fret, the fact that the nut is fretted doesn't matter.
== Muting ==
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.
Note: the muting described here is different from the technique ''palm muting'', covered later.
== Left-Hand Grip ==
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.
As I said neither technique is correct, and you will likely always be somewhere between both extremes. I would suggest attempting to use more ''proper technique'' when starting, as it is more difficult to develop. As we move more into lead playing and bends you will want to gravitate more towards ''modern technique''.
== Homework ==
* [[Contents#Techniques|Techniques]]
[[Category:Guitar]]
[[Category:Technique]]