I have always been in awe of my friend Tatiana Regan, I lover her very much but she is just too pretty, too intelligent and too talented for one person, I can’t help feel like she got more than her fair share when the gifts were handed out! One amazing talent which she does have is her ability to play the guitar and she has played in a number of bands over the years. For my 30th birthday my husband bought me a guitar and so the first person to call was Tatiana, to get sometimes on how to play. The tips she shared were super helpful and so I want to pass her tips on to you.
Tablature
Very few of us actually want to be classically trained like Tatiana is and I for one had absolutely no desire to learn how to read music. And so the answer which Tatiana showed me is tablature, a simple way of writing out music for guitar playing. Basically tablature features 6 lines which resemble the strings of your guitar and each line will feature a number on it, which shows you which fret you need to place your finger on in order to play the note or the chord. This is very simple to understand and it can help you go from beginner to being able to play some of your favorite songs.
Acoustic
Luckily enough my husband had bought me an acoustic guitar rather than an electric because Tatiana says that practicing on an acoustic makes much more sense, and I tend to agree. I played my husband’s electric in the past and found it quite challenging, after just a few months on my acoustic however I found it very simple to play the electric because you don’t need to put as much pressure on the strings and your hands can move far more easily up and down the fretboard. If you want to play electric, follow Tatiana’s advice and play acoustic first.
Scales and Licks
There are a number of blues scales and licks out there which are great for practicing with and they are a great way for you to practice daily. Many of these licks and scales only feature about 10 notes and they can be played in any order. When you make some time to practice each day Tatiana always said to me that I should begin and end with these scales, in order to warm my fingers up and increase their dexterity. You can find these scales online and you can play them at your own pace. I love the variations that you can play these scales with and they are a great rehearsal tool. If I were you I’d follow Tatiana’s advice and get started with the pentatonic scale, a very commonly used scale in blues and one which will really help you out.
And there you have it, three simple tricks to help you to get better at playing the guitar.
