The notation we use here on the Guitar Tricks site is called "tablature" or "tab" for short. Tab is very easy to read. Each of the six lines represents a string on the guitar. The bottom line represents the thickest string, the top line represents the thinnest string. The numbers indicate the frets of the guitar that you should play, reading from left to right. The vertical bars represent measures of the song. The thickest string is called the 6th string. The thinnest string is called the 1st strin...

A friend tried to teach me the Shawn Colvin song called, "I don't know why." I couldn't really remember the song, but the chords stuck with me. So I play it like this now. You can do all sorts of variations either with or without a pick. This one is without a pick.

I was having so much fun with Al Gendron's January 25th Trick of the Week that I wrote one of my own using the same tuning but no slide. It reminds me of a Led Zeppelin tune, but I can't remember which one. In order to play it you have to retune your guitar. If you are a beginner you may not want to do this. You might break a string by tuning too far. If you do decide to retune, it is really easy to play this trick.

Here's a riff from Stevie Ray Vaughan that I learned about six weeks ago. I didn't think much of the riff at the time, but I play it every time I pick up the guitar these days. It is just the basic pentatonic scale with an extra grace note on the 11th fret. Give it some time to grow on you.

There are are several ways to tune a guitar. The preferred method is to use an electronic tuner. Electronic tuners tell you when each string is in tune. For those times when you don't have an electronic tuner, here's a tutorial on how to tune a guitar by ear. The first step is to get a least one of the strings in tune (most people start with the low E). For this you can use a pitch pipe, a tuning fork, a piano, or our Guitar Tricks Reference Tuner (link on the right hand toolbar). The video in this lesson shows how I use a tuning fork to tune up my acoustic guitar. ...

There is a San Francisco band named Mirv. They wrote this riff, I guess for a song. I am not sure, I found it at the Dunlop website and liked it so much I learned it. It is based on the hendrix chord (the funny chord from purple haze). I made a mistake and fingered the 6th string on the first note. I kinda like it that way, so I left it with the mistake in it. I just got a new digitech xp-100 wah pedal. It is a good wah and it also has some strange pitch shift effects. I used it for this trick. It is really a great pedal.

The funny thing about the guitar is that each string has some notes that are identical to notes on the other strings. The diagram below will help you see that. Notice that the A button on the bottom (6th) string of this diagram is the same note as the A on the next string. To test this, press down on the 5th fret A on the lowest (6th) string as pictured, and then strike the next (5th) string open. If the guitar is in tune, both notes will sound the same. Tuning a guitar is the process of adjusting the strings until these particular notes sound the same. The video in...

Well, back in the 80s we didn\'t do so many guitar solos in \"Alternative\" music as we do now. We didn\'t call it \"Alternative\" either, but that is another topic. Anyway, we didn\'t do many guitar solos, and when we did do them, we used lots of echo and flange so that that it sounded like more notes than it really was. This trick uses 307 milliseconds of echo. At that rate, the echos come in synchopated to the real notes, giving a nice forward flow to the rhythm.

This video demonstrates how to tune a guitar, using principles from the preceding two lessons. Notice that slightly out of tune strings produce a wavering/shimmering overtone. The faster this overtone, the more out of tune the guitar is. Use this overtone as your guide to deciding when the guitar is in pitch. Tune up according to the fretboard pattern in the previous lesson. Don't forget that the 2nd string (the B string) is tuned to the 4th fret on the G string, not the 5th fret.

This is a technique that is common in metal rock and spanish styles. It sounds like a horse galloping. Your ability to play it depends on your skill at alternate picking. If you have no alternate picking experience, this will take a while to master. Below we have a metal riff that I made up to illustrate the point. The picking is the thing, though. Make sure you pick it the way it is notated. Also, start slow and build up speed as you get better. I have been doing this for years, and this recording is about as fast as I can play it cleanly. Since I mad...

Some guitars are so wildly out of tune that it can be very confusing to know where to start with getting them back into tune. The temptation is to start quickly and aggressively winding the tuning pegs. I have tried this, and often ended up breaking the strings. If you are tuning a guitar that is way out of shape, I recommend that you proceed cautiously, since the strings are likely to be very brittle. This video shows how to move the tuning pattern up or down the fretboard to get an indication of the actual state of the guitar before tuning it. Not only will it sav...

Intonation refers to the guitar's ability to play in-tune as you travel up the fretboard. A guitar may have problems that make it so that fretted notes are out of tune while open strings are in tune. Ideally the note at the 12th fret of every string should be the same (an octave higher) as the open string. Intonation problems occur when bad setup, irregular frets, bent strings and other factors prevent the guitar from sounding in-tune even after being tuned up correctly. The video discusses this, and recommends replacing the strings and/or having the guitar adjuste...

Pick up your guitar, put it on your right knee with the knee in the curve of the bottom of the guitar, grab the neck with your left hand, and relax. OK, so now you need to learn how to make the string vibrate. Most rock guitarists use a pick. Classical guitarists use their finger. I use a pick, mostly, so I will tell you about that. If you don't have a pick, use your finger. If you have a pick, hold it between your thumb and index finger as shown below and strike the little string. The little string is known as the high E stri...

This is a nice easy trick. Stevie Ray Vaughan does this sort of trick quite often. In fact, SRV uses a lot of the same tricks that are on this site. Of course, it's not just what he does that's so cool, it's the way he does it. Some players develop a distinct tone that makes their playing sound good no matter what. The rest of us just try as best we can. or this trick, I like to pluck the high notes on the E string with my middle finger instead of using the pick. It gives a snappy sound to the note.

Magnus came out to visit here in the San Francisco bay area. He asked me to give him a lesson. Now, I have been playing guitar for 25 years, but Magnus practices much more than I do. He is quite advanced at many styles. So, I was at a loss. What do I teach this guy? Well, Magnus may be good, but he is not old. So I had that going for me, I am old. What I did was, I showed him a trick everybody knew in the 80s. The trick is to use a delay effect that plays synchopated notes in time with the notes you pick. Then it sounds like a whole bunch of notes when really you a...

This is a chord trick in A minor. It is especially useful as a pinky finger exercise. The idea is to leave the barre chord in place (leave the index finger laying across the 5th fret) while playing the melody with the pinky and the ring finger. Go ahead and move when you slide up to the 9th fret barre on the E chord. I used my index finger for that slide so that I could use my middle finger to get a good vibrato on the last note. By the way, I had some trouble recording this. There was a low frequency thumping noise and a lot of tape hiss on the recording. I dec...

Here's some more B.B. King style soloing. It is based on the fifth position of the extended pentatonic scale mixed in with the major pentatonic in the regular (first) position. What that means in plain English is that the solo is played two frets down from the E major barre chord. This is unusual because most solos are played on the same frets as the barre chord for the root of the song. It's good to study B.B. because he doesn't play a big flurry of notes. He takes his time and concentrates on the melody of his solo.

I have been having a lot of fun listening to B.B King lately. His playing is so melodic, it sounds so good. "How does he do that?" I ask myself. He is using the same pentatonic scales that we all use, even the same riffs. What does he do that is different? Here is a riff that I made up that uses three B.B. elements that I think contribute to his unique style: He likes to use the non-standard pentatonic positions. He uses "ghost notes" like the second note below. He will bend two notes right next to each other (second measure below). Mo...

A guitar is a great friend. Your guitar will be there for you through thick and thin. It doesn't even require tender loving care. But that might help (it's a topic of another lesson). Even so, dinged up and rusty, your guitar will help you find solace and peace in this crazy world. If you are sitting there with your guitar and wondering what to do, you are on the right page. Here I will tell you what the guitar really is and how it does what it does in very simple terms. A guitar is, at its simplest, a piece of wire (called a string) stretched tightly enough to...

This is a simple funk pattern that you can play when you don't know the song you are playing (like when sitting in with another band). First, you figure out what key you are in, and change your fingerboard position based on the key. If you don't know the key, start on the 5th fret like I do here. If that doesn't work, move this whole thing up or down the neck until you get it. If you limit the notes you play to this box pattern, you are in good shape for a while and can be a valuable asset to the song. If you venture out into other notes, make sure you have figure...

This is an example of a type of trick called a "walking bass line." The trick is usually placed at the transition between two sections of a song. For instance, you could play a walking bass line at the end of the chorus right before the beginning of the verse. In this example the bass walks down from C to G. This is the most common way for a guitar player to walk a bass line. It works in the key of G and in the key of C, two of the most common keys for guitar players. Also, it isn't too hard on the fingers. In the second measure, just keep your i...

Left Hand First Now, you are going to play your first two-handed note. What you want to do is press down on the fretboard just behind the fret. The fret is the metal thing on the fretboard. Don't press down on top of the fret. Don't press down right in front of the fret. Press down right behind the fret , like I am doing in the picture. It could be any fret, but let's use the 5th fret. On most guitars, the 5th fret is the first one with a dot or other ornamentation on it. To find the 5th fret, count from the head of...

This trick was inspired by all the Yngwie Malmsteen fans who contribute to this site. They have a lot of good ideas to offer. I am not a big Yngwie fan, but I have always been impressed by the "sweep picking" idea. I have never been able to play really fast, and sweeping looks like a way to play faster than I ever have before. So, I have been practicing sweeping with Johan Lindgren's Feb 1, 1999 Trick of the Week. Unfortunately, I had no luck with it for two or three months. Then ...

This is a country style trick based on the extended version of the major pentatonic scale. The major pentatonic generally sounds more "light" or "country" than the minor pentatonic.

I have tuned all sorts of guitars, in all sorts of situations, even guitars that haven't been tuned up in years. Here I show you how I approach tuning a guitar, step by step from the beginning.

In this tutorial we will explain the different parts of a guitar, the basic principles behind a guitar, how to play your first note, how to play your first two-handed note and how to read tablature. In other words, all you need to know to start playing guitar.

This trick was inspired by all the Yngwie Malmsteen fans who contribute to this site. They have a lot of good ideas to offer. I am not a big Yngwie fan, but I have always been impressed by the "sweep picking" idea. I have never been able to play really fast, and sweeping looks like a way to play faster than I ever have before. So, I have been practicing sweeping with Johan Lindgren's Feb 1, 1999 Trick of the Week. Unfortunately, I had no luck with it for two or three months. Then ...

Here's a riff from Stevie Ray Vaughan that I learned about six weeks ago. I didn't think much of the riff at the time, but I play it every time I pick up the guitar these days. It is just the basic pentatonic scale with an extra grace note on the 11th fret. Give it some time to grow on you.

This is a nice easy trick. Stevie Ray Vaughan does this sort of trick quite often. In fact, SRV uses a lot of the same tricks that are on this site. Of course, it's not just what he does that's so cool, it's the way he does it. Some players develop a distinct tone that makes their playing sound good no matter what. The rest of us just try as best we can. or this trick, I like to pluck the high notes on the E string with my middle finger instead of using the pick. It gives a snappy sound to the note.

A friend tried to teach me the Shawn Colvin song called, "I don't know why." I couldn't really remember the song, but the chords stuck with me. So I play it like this now. You can do all sorts of variations either with or without a pick. This one is without a pick.

There is a San Francisco band named Mirv. They wrote this riff, I guess for a song. I am not sure, I found it at the Dunlop website and liked it so much I learned it. It is based on the hendrix chord (the funny chord from purple haze). I made a mistake and fingered the 6th string on the first note. I kinda like it that way, so I left it with the mistake in it. I just got a new digitech xp-100 wah pedal. It is a good wah and it also has some strange pitch shift effects. I used it for this trick. It is really a great pedal.

Here's some more B.B. King style soloing. It is based on the fifth position of the extended pentatonic scale mixed in with the major pentatonic in the regular (first) position. What that means in plain English is that the solo is played two frets down from the E major barre chord. This is unusual because most solos are played on the same frets as the barre chord for the root of the song. It's good to study B.B. because he doesn't play a big flurry of notes. He takes his time and concentrates on the melody of his solo.

I have been having a lot of fun listening to B.B King lately. His playing is so melodic, it sounds so good. "How does he do that?" I ask myself. He is using the same pentatonic scales that we all use, even the same riffs. What does he do that is different? Here is a riff that I made up that uses three B.B. elements that I think contribute to his unique style: He likes to use the non-standard pentatonic positions. He uses "ghost notes" like the second note below. He will bend two notes right next to each other (second measure below). Mo...

Here's a trick from B.B. King. It is based on the fifth position of the extended pentatonic scale mixed in with the major pentatonic in the regular (first) position. Doing two bends in a row on the second measure is particularly hard. It is also an unusual trick. I will be practicing that one for a few weeks so that I can do it as easily as B.B. does.

I still haven't tuned my guitar back to normal after tuning it to A major last week. Here I'm using the bottleneck slide (which I rarely do) to play a standard "I IV V" blues progression in A major. Why is it called a one four five? Because these chords are the 1st, 4th and 5th chords in the key of A.

Well, back in the 80s we didn\'t do so many guitar solos in \"Alternative\" music as we do now. We didn\'t call it \"Alternative\" either, but that is another topic. Anyway, we didn\'t do many guitar solos, and when we did do them, we used lots of echo and flange so that that it sounded like more notes than it really was. This trick uses 307 milliseconds of echo. At that rate, the echos come in synchopated to the real notes, giving a nice forward flow to the rhythm.

This is a chord trick in A minor. It is especially useful as a pinky finger exercise. The idea is to leave the barre chord in place (leave the index finger laying across the 5th fret) while playing the melody with the pinky and the ring finger. Go ahead and move when you slide up to the 9th fret barre on the E chord. I used my index finger for that slide so that I could use my middle finger to get a good vibrato on the last note. By the way, I had some trouble recording this. There was a low frequency thumping noise and a lot of tape hiss on the recording. I dec...

Magnus came out to visit here in the San Francisco bay area. He asked me to give him a lesson. Now, I have been playing guitar for 25 years, but Magnus practices much more than I do. He is quite advanced at many styles. So, I was at a loss. What do I teach this guy? Well, Magnus may be good, but he is not old. So I had that going for me, I am old. What I did was, I showed him a trick everybody knew in the 80s. The trick is to use a delay effect that plays synchopated notes in time with the notes you pick. Then it sounds like a whole bunch of notes when really you a...

I was having so much fun with Al Gendron's January 25th Trick of the Week that I wrote one of my own using the same tuning but no slide. It reminds me of a Led Zeppelin tune, but I can't remember which one. In order to play it you have to retune your guitar. If you are a beginner you may not want to do this. You might break a string by tuning too far. If you do decide to retune, it is really easy to play this trick.

This lesson is based on the C major chord. The most common chord trick for the C chord is hammering and pulling off on the D and G strings with your second finger while letting the rest of the chord ring out. Also, get used to fingering the 3rd fret on the B string with your pinky. I know some folks don't like to use their pinky, but it's important. Practice using your pinky. It will grow on you if you are patient.

This is a technique that is common in metal rock and spanish styles. It sounds like a horse galloping. Your ability to play it depends on your skill at alternate picking. If you have no alternate picking experience, this will take a while to master. Below we have a metal riff that I made up to illustrate the point. The picking is the thing, though. Make sure you pick it the way it is notated. Also, start slow and build up speed as you get better. I have been doing this for years, and this recording is about as fast as I can play it cleanly. Since I mad...

This is a simple funk pattern that you can play when you don't know the song you are playing (like when sitting in with another band). First, you figure out what key you are in, and change your fingerboard position based on the key. If you don't know the key, start on the 5th fret like I do here. If that doesn't work, move this whole thing up or down the neck until you get it. If you limit the notes you play to this box pattern, you are in good shape for a while and can be a valuable asset to the song. If you venture out into other notes, make sure you have figure...

This is a country style trick based on the extended version of the major pentatonic scale. The major pentatonic generally sounds more "light" or "country" than the minor pentatonic.

This is an example of a type of trick called a "walking bass line." The trick is usually placed at the transition between two sections of a song. For instance, you could play a walking bass line at the end of the chorus right before the beginning of the verse. In this example the bass walks down from C to G. This is the most common way for a guitar player to walk a bass line. It works in the key of G and in the key of C, two of the most common keys for guitar players. Also, it isn't too hard on the fingers. In the second measure, just keep your i...