Guitar Articles

Cheat Sheet / Updated 04-27-2022

Guitar theory is an area of study that explains how you can play, improvise, and compose popular music on the guitar fretboard — and why certain elements of music go together the way they do. Dive into guitar theory by exploring a fretboard diagram showing notes along the 6th and 5th strings; some major scale patterns; Roman numerals and the major/minor chord sequence; and mode names.

Cheat Sheet / Updated 03-15-2022

This Cheat Sheet has some handy tips that you can keep in your practice area for quick reference. Use these techniques to review your basic rhythms and warm up your hands at the beginning of a playing session. Before you begin, trim and file the nails on your fretting hand so that nothing comes between your fingertips and the strings. Also, you may need a warm up before your warm up. Make sure your shoulders, arms, hands, and fingers are loose and warm. Stretch and massage yourself to get the blood flowing if need be.

Cheat Sheet / Updated 03-14-2022

Playing classical guitar starts with figuring out the notes, noting major and minor keys on the circle of 5ths, and knowing what situations in classical guitar call for playing the free stroke or the rest stroke.

Cheat Sheet / Updated 03-10-2022

Learning to play the guitar is a lot fun. Use this cheat sheet to help you get started with your guitar finger placement and guitar chords. If you need help with finger placement on your guitar, use tablature (tab) and fingerboard diagrams. Practice playing the most common open-position chords on your guitar to get that “jangly” sound, and make sure you know the notes on the neck of your guitar to change starting notes in scales, chords, and arpeggios.

Cheat Sheet / Updated 03-10-2022

Every guitarist seeks to produce an expressive and distinctive tone, but trying to figure out what kind of gear you need to create your sound can be baffling. This Cheat Sheet explains the three main equipment categories that comprise your music-making rig: your electric guitar, guitar amps, and effects pedals and units. These components all work together to create your sound. And because you can swap out equipment and change settings, the creative possibilities are virtually limitless.

Cheat Sheet / Updated 03-04-2022

To play blues guitar, first you have to know the basics of guitar in general, which means identifying the parts of a guitar and being able to translate a chord diagram. Then, you can get familiar with common open and moveable chord forms and create your own blues guitar style.

Cheat Sheet / Updated 02-24-2022

When you’re practicing guitar, use these diagrams to show the finger positions to play major and minor scales, as well as the notes on the neck of your guitar. The latter will help you change starting notes in chords, scales, and arpeggios.

Cheat Sheet / Updated 02-16-2022

On this Cheat Sheet, you find handy reference material that you can print and place conveniently in your practice area. Included are an explanation of guitar notation as it translates to actually playing the guitar, 24 common guitar chords, a fingerboard diagram showing all the notes on the guitar up to the 12th fret, and a list of essential tools and accessories that facilitate trouble-free and versatile music-making on guitar.

Cheat Sheet / Updated 08-31-2021

You don’t have to read music to play guitar, but knowing how to read a chord diagram and translate it to your guitar is a helpful skill. You can then use those chord diagrams to play a variety of songs, many of which use just a few basic chords.

Article / Updated 10-15-2020

Open position guitar chords sound twangy because they include unfretted strings that are permitted to ring open. This chart represents 24 of the most useful open chords you use to play guitar: