To Learn and Master the guitar will require some knowledge of the basics before you actually begin playing notes and chords. This is important because you’re progress will be a lot slower without covering the basics to playing the guitar.

Therefore the purpose of this article will be to run through some of the guitar playing basics.First of all you need to decide whether you want to learn and master the electric or acoustic guitar. The electric guitar tends to be more expensive. This is due to the expense of buying an amplifier and the construction of the guitar tends to be more expensive. However, the electric guitar requires less strength in the finger tips to play.

You can also get a good variety of sound with the sound effects and you can sustain the notes for much longer. The acoustic guitar is cheaper is generally used for learning to play the guitar.

One of the drawbacks of using a a steel string acoustic guitar is the sensitivity of the fingers. However you soon build up a layer of hard skin to protect the finders. The basics to learning the guitar involves correct body and hand positions and posture to protect your lower back and shoulders from over straining. It is advisable to use a support strap and to be seated when first starting.

This will enable you to balance the guitar nicely on the leg with your right arm supported by the superior rim of the guitar enabling your fingers to be correctly position over the strings. Your left hand should be able to hold the neck in a relaxed position with you thumb behind the fret board. For protecting the finger tips and for accurate string picking you can use a spectrum. The spectrum is a plastic teardrop shaped piece of plastic which is held between your right hand thumb and index finger.

You should have your fingers as close to the tip as possible for better control over the strings. For tuning your guitar I use a electronic tuner. I started using pitch pipes which is a cheaper option but you have to train your ear to the different pitches. It is so much easier using an electronic tuner.

The tuning unit I use has a built in microphone and all that was required was to reduce or increase the tension of the strings to get the needle on the electronic display dead centre. A well tuned guitar makes all the difference to your sound quality and is one of the basic skills needed to learn and master guitar.

About the Author
James Joyce has written a number of books and has a several websites on the subject of learning the guitar. If you would you like to know more about learning the guitar check out http://www.stxx2.jamorama.hop.clickbank.net/?tid=LG for more information about the above topic!