May162018 by lrojas12345No Comments

Guitar Range

Guitar, Instruction
The following diagrams illustrate the range of the guitar compared to the piano keyboard.  Guitar notation is written one octave higher than it sounds. So if you are tuning the guitar to a keyboard, the high E string on the guitar is tuned to the E key above middle C on the keyboard . High E string: B String: G String: D String: A String: Low E String: Copyright © 2015 Luis Rojas. All Rights Reserved.
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May162018 by lrojas12345No Comments

Finger Names

Guitar, Instruction
The following diagrams show the names typically used for fingers in most guitar notation and instructions books. The use of ‘C’ for the pinky finger is less common because most traditional guitar instruction text only use PIMA notation for the thumb, index, middle and ring fingers for the plucking hand. These initials are derived from the Spanish names for fingers dating back to early  classical guitar instruction books from the Romantic period (approximately 1790 to 1830). For right-handed players: For left-handed players: Copyright © 2015 Luis Rojas. All Rights Reserved.
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May162018 by lrojas12345No Comments

Understanding the Fretboard

Guitar, Instruction
The following diagrams show the names and positions of notes on the guitar. One of the challenges of learning to play and read music on the guitar is that the same note can often be played in several different positions on the fretboard. We will cover more on where to play specific passages on the fretboard in a future post. For now it’s more important to develop a thorough knowledge of the fretboard and memorize the note names and positions. This can seem like a daunting task at first but it will become easier as you progress. Like with anything new and unfamiliar, start by breaking the task up into smaller chunks and don’t try to learn it all in one go. Diatonic* notes and positions: The corresponding fretboard diagrams are: *Diatonic…
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May162018 by lrojas12345No Comments

Notation Styles

Guitar, Instruction
There are a number of ways to write or notate music for the guitar. The most useful one to learn is standard musical notation because that is used by all musicians universally regardless of what instrument they play. For beginners and intermediate players, it’s also useful to be familiar with tablature notation (abbreviated as TAB) and fretboard or chord diagrams. Tablature (TAB) TAB notation is a graphical format where each horizontal line represents a string, with the  high E string at the top and the low E string at the bottom: Numbers located on a line indicate the fret position to be held down at that string. For example, a 3 on the second line from the top means to hold down the B string at the third fret. A zero on a line…
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May162018 by lrojas12345No Comments

Introduction to the Guitar

Guitar
The guitar is part of the chordophone family of instruments. That’s a fancy way of saying that guitars are stringed instruments. Chordophones are musical instruments that produce sounds through vibrating strings. The strings are usually at tension stretched between two points and the sound is made by plucking, bowing, or striking the strings. Acoustic instruments usually have a cavity or resonator that amplifies the sound of the strings. Electric instruments can have either a hollow, semi-hollow, or solid body and one or more  electro-magnetic pickups that convert the movement of the strings or the vibration of the body to electrical signals that are then converted to sound using an amplifier. Guitar Types Guitars come in all kinds of styles and variations. If you are trying to decide what type of guitar…
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May22018 by lrojas12345No Comments

Guitar Fretboard

Guitar, Instruction
The following table shows the names and positions of the notes on the guitar fretboard(1). Fret 6th String 5th String 4th String 3rd String 2nd String 1st String (open) E A D G B E 1 F A#, Bb D#, Eb G#, Ab C F 2 F#, Gb B E A C#, Db F#, Gb 3 G C F A#, Bb D G 4 G#, Ab C#, Db F#, Gb B D#, Eb G#, Ab 5 A D G C E A 6 A#, Bb D#, Eb G#, Ab C#, Db F A#, Bb 7 B E A D F#, Gb B 8 C F A#, Bb D#, Eb G C 9 C#, Db F#, Gb B E G#, Ab C#, Db 10 D G C F A D 11…
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