New Kid in Blog-ville

Hello to anyone who may be reading this. Playtheguitar.com has been around for awhile but mostly as a static Q & A type of page. Recently I’ve been brought - kicking and screaming - into the blog world. My buddy and web-meister Chuck says this (blogging) is the think to do. When it comes to […]

Redemption Song - Bob Marley

tabledit file of Redemption Song

Getting Started on Guitar

I’m 13 years old, and i just got an electric guitar (Gibson) and i am so confused. Do you have any tips for me?
- yasmin
Yasmin,
Congratulations on getting a guitar for Christmas. The guitar is a great instrument – lots of fun to play but it takes a little effort to figure it out.
Here some good […]

Understanding the Fretboard

Many years ago I was playing with a band at Christian Coffee House in a Northeast Ohio resort town, just a seagull’s swoop from Lake Erie. Late in the evening, a fellow who had been imbibing freely at one of the many local watering holes wandered in. He stared at our bass player for over […]

Yet another question regarding tab

How can I read tabs in the guitar!!!!!
Tablature (Tab for short) is a kind of musical notation that works very well for guitar and other fretted instruments.  Unlike the piano and single note instruments such as the trumpet, flute and clarinet, the guitar can play the same note in more than one location.  An “A” […]

Finger stretches

I am having trouble playing notes on tabs because my fingers wont stretch far enough or they’re just too short. i try really hard to get it right, but it just doesn’t work. do you have any suggestions that would help me? Natalie
Natalie,
I’m not sure what specific problems you are having with stretches but one […]

Those knobs on the guitar

First off thanks for answering my last question it was really helpful. So here’s my next one you know those tone knobs on electric guitars, what are they supposed to do exactly? because whenever i turn mine the sound doesn’t change. Oh wait i just thought of another one is there such a thing as […]

Teaching a child to play guitar

(This response was given to a question regarding how to begin teaching a your child - 8 years old - guitar. - JDM)
Ellyn,
The first thing you want to do is get in tune. If you have some kind of reference point (i.e. a piano, keyboard, a pitch pipe or an electronic tuner) that would be […]

Tab - What does this mean?

What do the letters mean like the song?
Example:
e |——————————————————————|X2
B |——————————————————————B|
G |——————————————————————-|
D |——–6———4———6——-4p2—————————-|
A |-0-0-2—–0-0-2—–0-0-2—-0-0-2——————————–|
E |——————————————————————-| Caleb
 
Caleb,
The letters on the left side of the diagram are the names of the strings - the notes that each string is tuned to. The lower case “e” is the 1st string (unwound), the B is the 2nd unwound string, G […]

Strumming

Do you have to have a special right hand technique? In strumming the guitar, I mean. I’m using a book as a starting point for learning guitar and it teaches you how to strum the guitar when you are playing a chord and then go to just plucking (well, not plucking, but I don’t know […]

keep looking »