Learn to Play the Guitar

Caring For Your Guitar: Effects of and Solving Humidity Problems.

The major idea in understanding and being aware of facts about humidity is that what meteorologists refer to as “relative humidity”.

This applies to the air’s ability to take in water or retain or to dry up objects that contain moisture that air surrounds.

The best or perfect level of humidity for a guitar changes from one musical instrument to another, subject to the humidity situations in the workshop or factory where the guitar was assembled.

The humidity at the time that the instrument was being assembled set up the primary dimensions of your guitar. This configuration of dimension is permanently sealed into the entire structure when it is being assembled. Therefore, when humidity changes, each component will expand or shrink unevenly, yet the dimensions of the guitar’s structure will remain uniformly constant.

The most frustrating problem in the care and maintenance of a guitar of high quality is the wood’s tendency either expands or shrinks with humidity changes. Damage brought about by humidity changes requires costly repairs.

Guitars of high quality are made from solid wood all over, which is why these expensive kinds sound much better compared to low-priced instruments. However, solid woods are very much susceptible to changes in humidity because of the fact that they easily can expand or shrink.

High humidity connotes a “waterlogged” sound from your guitar; it will lack projection and volume having a lifeless and damp tone. The guitar can also be damaged structurally when in high humidity.

Usually “bloating” at the back is a problem, most especially when the back of the guitar is made of extremely hard wood, particularly rosewood. This problem is brought about by the expansion of wood causing the glue on the brace’s edge to detach.

When a guitar is kept in the basement, a problem that may occur is wood deterioration triggered by intense humidity resulting in a damp basement area.

The problems brought about by extremely low humidity levels are even more severe. Excessive loss of moisture in the tone woods makes the sound of the guitar brittle. At some point stress on the wood can result in cracks due to uneven shrinkage.
Some ways to fight humidity:

1. Watch your guitar closely. Examine it every so often so you can watch out for signs of humidity. Observe its back; when there is a drop in it will sink a bit and you can notice this clearly. When humidity rises, backs grow an arch. If the back becomes very, very flat, introduce some moisture, such as placing a dish of water in your storage area.

2. Store your guitar in its casing away from any heat, especially in winter. Keep the case lying flat on the floor and never let it lean or hang it on the wall.

3. During certain periods when the humidity is extremely high, keep your guitar in a room where there is available air-conditioning system as it dries out the air.

When outside conditions are not too hot, such as in spring or a rainy day, keep your instrument in a warm room, but do avoid the basement, as it tends to cool a lot.

4. There are many available devices to handle with extreme dryness. When low humidity occurs in your area only in chilly or cold weathers, a furnace-mounted of good quality humidifier can be very effective as well as hassle-free.

There are also console humidifiers having rotating belts that are very efficient and space saving, ideal when your space is limited.

“Dampit,” is a very effective device that is placed inside the guitar to discharge moisture that is directly inside your guitar.

A guitar that is good sounding now can be a wonderful sounding guitar even ten years later as long as it cared for properly and carefully.

The sound of a guitar is created by the echoing of wood. When the wood matures the echoing quality will improve, increasing your guitar’s worth. This, plus the model, make and style that later will not be produced anymore, your guitar could be valued many times your purchase price now, in 15-50 years.

Just keep in mind that a good quality guitar is also an investment worth your trouble.

A guitar can be an easy and fun instrument to play. Start by learning the correct method of handling the instrument. Here’s how:

Your body and posture:

You must be comfortably seated, resting your back adjacent to the backrest of your chair making sure that your legs are in front and feet flat to the ground. This position is now your “footing” or support that your guitar is going to rest upon.

Picking up the guitar, held it close to your chest or stomach ensuring that the back of the guitar’s body touches your chest and the neck’s bottom is parallel to the ground.
The guitars thickest string must be directed close to the face and the thinnest string must be directed close to the ground.

Generally, a right-handed individual holds the guitar in such manner so that the “headstock” is pointing towards the left, while a left-handed individual holds the guitar in such manner that the headstock is pointing rightwards.

To play the guitar in a seated position, the guitar’s body should be resting on either one of your thighs. In most guitar playing approach, the instrument should be resting upon a leg that is farthest from “the headstock”. Meaning, a right handed individual handling a guitar will naturally rest the instrument on his right leg, and a lefty will rest the instrument on his left leg.

Your right arm and hand:

Using the correct hand position is crucial in guitar playing. You will face many problems should your hand be in the incorrect position; your hands will easily tire, it will be difficult to for you to play particular chords and you could even hurt or injure your hand when you continue playing in the wrong hand position.

The right hand will be used to “strum” the guitar’s strings in order to produce the varying chord sounds. Rest your right hand and arm over your guitar. The bicep must rest on the topmost part of the guitar’s body and the hand must be properly placed directly on top of your guitar’s sound hole (where sound will be produced). Attune your body as needed, so that your position is comfortable.

A left handed individual, have two alternatives. The first of which is to purchase a guitar that is right-handed then re-string it (reversing the sequence of the guitar’s string), and the other option is to purchase a guitar that is left-handed.

Give focus to your “fretting hand” or the hand that is near the guitar’s neck, when seated in proper guitar position. Your fretting hand’s thumb must be resting at the back of the guitar’s neck, having your fingers positioned in a slight curled manner, balanced on top of the strings. Keeping these particular fingers at a slight curl at your knuckles is very important.

Your fingers:

Your fingers at your left hand should be bent as well as it should be pressed down onto the guitar’s strings that are located on the “fret board”. The neck’s back should be curved, in order that the hand is molded into the neck’s shape.

Remember that it is alright for you to press or push the thumb at the back of the neck when creating your chords, though this is common when one is “playing scales”. Sample out or test certain thumb positions so you will know which one you are most comfortable with.

Do not worry too much about the strings that the fingers in your left hand are pushing down at this time; as still, you are just in the process of acquainting yourself with your instrument.

Never worry too, when you can not play a good tune at this early stage. There are still many things to be learned, many stages to go through and practices to do, in order for you to get the right tunes and the right notes to play. You are just beginning, so be patient.

The important factor here, is that you can comfortably hold the guitar, being at ease with it, then the rest of techniques still to be learned will just automatically flow, at your fingertips!

Essential Guide to Tuning Your Guitar

The guitar is such a simple and convenient instrument: just open the case and start playing. Well, it’s not THAT simple. A good practice before playing the guitar is to tune it first.

Tuning the guitar prior to playing it will ensure that you will create harmonious music; for each string has a specific note to play and even if one goes out of tune, the rest will sound disarrayed. Note that some guitars may not need as frequent tuning (well constructed = expensive), but if ever it is well played (to the point of abuse, actually), then that just needs tuning as well. Read on for an essential guide on guitar tuning.

The guitar presents a particular kind of difficulty in tuning because it has six strings, each of which has an individual pitch or a place in the musical staff assigned to it. The string numbers, as more popularly known, from top to bottom are 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, while their musical counterpart are mi, la, re, sol, si, and mi or E, A, D, G, B, and E respectively.

In order to tune the guitar correctly, one must have an axis or a reference pitch. You will need the commercially available pitch pipe o, better yet, acquire a tuning fork in case you don’t have a reliable instrument at hand to give you an axis. Pitch pipes have a bad reputation of changing pitches after some time. Tuning forks are more reliable and easier to use.

First, make the fork vibrate by tapping it lightly on any hard object while holding the handle. Then, let the handle touch the guitar’s soundboard below or above the soundhole while gently moving it towards the bridge. This will locate the spot where the resonance is at its loudest. You are supposed to hear a high pitched A (la) which should be the same as the sound produced by striking the first string while it is being depressed on the fifth fret.

Now that you have tuned the first string (E/mi), its open sound is the same as the sound of the second string pressed on the fifth fret. The third string on the fourth fret is equal to the open second string (B/si). Furthermore, fourth string/ fifth fret equals open third string (G/sol); fifth string/ fifth fret equals open fourth string (D/re); and the sixth string/ fifth fret equals open fifth string (A/la).

In order to check the accuracy of your tuning, gently or lightly touch the fifth string directly above the fifth fretwire, without pressing the string to the fingerboard. By striking the string in this manner, it should sound similar to that high-pitched tone produced by the tuning fork. Sounds of the string produced this way are called “harmonics.”

Harmonic 5 (Harmonic on the fifth fret) of the sixth string equals harmonic 7 of the fifth string (which is also similar to the open sound of the first string). Harmonic 5 of the fifth string equals harmonic 7 on the fourth string. Harmonic 4 of the third string is equal to the harmonic 5 of the second strung and harmonic 7 of the first string. Incidentally, harmonic 4 may require lots of practice for some, so I suggest that harmonic 7 of the sixth string be used to tune the open second string. These pairs of harmonics, when sounded together, should produce only one steady tone. If the sound the produce clash or seem wavy, they are not in tune.

These two methods of tuning must always go together. You may use the harmonics method first then check with the other or vice versa. If, after crosschecking, the strings do not agree with each other, you may have to repeat the whole process. If you still cannot get them in tune, your strings might be defective. If your strings are new, this may even be worse—your ears need tuning!

To avoid all the hassles of manual tuning, costly electronic device called strobo tuners are available. Just turn the dial to the string’s name and it will pick the string’s sound through a condenser microphone and tell you if it is in tune through a meter

Other conventional methods of tuning are through imitation of pitches from different musical instruments like the piano, flute, etc. You can even use that portable but silly investment, the pitch pipe set. But you have been warned!