This first thing to do when learning to read standard notation is to get familiar with the different notes and rests. See the fancy G-looking thing in front of each line. This represents the Treble Clef or the G clef. It’s the clef guitar music is written in. Notice the 4's one on top of each other. It’s the Time Signature. These numbers are not always 4's. The top number tells you how many beats there are per measure. A measure is the space between bar lines (the vertical lines in the music). The bottom number tells you which note receives 1 beat. When it is 4 the quarter note gets 1 beat. When the number is 8, the eighth note gets 1 beat. When the number is 2, the half note gets 1 beat, and so on. Most of the time in guitar music you will use the stacked 4's which is called Common Time. Sometimes it is signified by a "C" put in place of the numbers. Other times you will see a "C" with a vertical line through it. This is called Cut Time. It is the equivalent of stacked 2's. Sometimes you'll see a ...

If you're serious about learning guitar then you have to know the notes on your guitar's fretboard. The notes on a guitar go up chromatically. This means they go up half a step at a time. If you where to start on A, the notes would ascend like this... A, A#/Bb, B, C, C#/Db, D, D#/Eb, E, F, F#/Gb, G, G#/Ab, A. See how there are no sharps or flats between B and C, or E and F. (Sharps, flats, and half-steps will all be explained in later lessons.) The numbers on the bottom of the diagram represent the fret numbers..

First, there are fifteen major key signatures. Certain key signatures employ sharp signs (#), and some employ flat signs (b). Now, I have no intention at this juncture to itemize every key signature for you in this article. However, I will give you a few tips on tonality and recognition of key signatures. The rest will be an assignment for you to complete. // The first example we'll study is the key of C major, also referred to as the key of no sharps, no flats. The key of C major does not contain any sharp signs or flat signs. All of the notes are natural. Taking this one step further, each and every major scale represents its own respective major key signature. For example, by reciting the notes contained in the C major scale (C-D-E-F-G-A-B-C), we discover all of the notes contained in the key of C major. Any other note, is considered chromatic (does not belong) to the key of C major. For those who are interested, any major scale (Ionian) contains half steps between the 3rd and 4th degrees and also between the 7th and 8th degrees of the major scale. This is the specific criteria for a ...

When holding your pick (Plectrum) between the tip of your first finger and thumb. Don’t hold the pick too far out nor too far back. Try not to hold it too tight or too loose. At first when you play the pick will move around in your fingers. That doesn’t mean you are not holding it tight enough. You simply need to practice the up and down (strumming) movement. In this picture the player is showing you her pick, she plays with her hand closed. While some others with leave the last three fingers extended. It’s really up to you, what feels more comfortable. Some common errors we often see are people who hold the pick to high up on the index or leaving the pick stinking out too much. Doing so will interfere with the sound of your picking and slow you down. I used to hold the pick like this myself. I felt I could control it better. Then one day something awful happened. Someone wanted to show me how to pick and use my third finger…It was a bad habit that was hard to kick off so get used top it right from the start. Plectrums There are a wide variety of picks to choose ...

AC/DC BACK IN BLACK drive at 6 treble at 5 mid at 6 bass at 8 reverb at 3 overdrive on BLACK SABBATH - PARANOID DRIVE AT 7 treble at 3 mid at 6 bass at 6 reverb at 4 distortion on BLINK 182 - ALL THE SMALL THINGS drive at 5 treble at 7 mid at 4 bass at 8 reverb at 1 distortion on DEEP PURPLE - SMOKE ON THE WATER drive at 7 treble at 3 mid at 7 bass at 9 reverb at 3 with overdrive GUNS AND ROSES - SWEET CHILD OF MINE drive at 10 treble at 3 mid at 5 bass at 7 reverb at 3 with overdrive JIMMY HENDRIX - PURPLE HAZE drive at 8 treble at 7 mid at 9 bass at 6 reverb at 3 with overdrive JOE SATRIANI - SURFING WITH THE ALIEN drive at 7 treble at 6 mid at 3 bass at 6 reverb at 0 with distortion LED ZEPPELIN - WHOLE LOTTA LOVE drive at 7 treble at 3 mid at 6 bass at 7 reverb at 5 with overdrive METALLICA - ENTER SANDMAN drive at 7 treble at 8 mid at 3 bass at 3 reverb at 2 play clean MUSE - PLUG IN BABY drive at 9 treble at 8 mid at 7 bass at 3 reverb at 1 with distortion NIRVANA - SMELLS LIKE TEEN SPIRIT drive at 6 treble at 7 mid at 4 bass at 3 reverb at 2 with overdrive PENTERA - COWBOYS FROM HELL drive at 10 treble at 10 mid at 0 bass at 5 reverb at 0 with distortion PINK FLOYD - MONEY drive at 5 treble at 6 mid at 7 bass at ...