If you’re like most aspiring guitarists, you want to learn to play songs on acoustic guitar because you’ve got a few favorite tunes that you really wish you could play. Well, the good news is that modern technology has heard your cry and come to your aid. There are probably hundreds, if not thousands of Internet sites that can make it easy to learn songs on acoustic guitar. Not only that, but you can teach yourself to read guitar music, learning the notes for the acoustic guitar songs you want to play.
Chord Charts
Reading a basic chord chart is the way many beginners start to learn songs on acoustic guitar. Once you master a few basic chords, there are literally thousands of songs you can play. The chord chart is like a diagram of the guitar fingerboard, with lines running vertically to represent the strings, and lines running horizontally to represent the frets. Usually, numbered dots are placed on the strings to represent your fingers as they press on the proper places to create the chord. Knowing the finger positions for the chords, plus a basic strumming technique, will have you quickly on your way to learning songs on acoustic guitar.
Guitar Tabs
Tablature (“tabs”) is another form of music notation invented specifically for the guitar. With tabs, you are reading horizontally, rather than vertically, as with chord charts. In other words, the horizontal lines on guitar tabs represent the strings, and the vertical lines, instead of standing for the frets, actually represent the divisions in the song you’re learning to play on acoustic guitar. Numbers correspond to the fret where you’re supposed to press to create the desired note. Once you’ve got the hang of reading guitar tabs, you can start learning “Stairway to Heaven” or any other song you might want to learn on acoustic guitar.
Basic Scales
Even though it may summon up horrific visions of childhood piano lessons, you should learn a few basic scales and practice them regularly. The important thing about learning and playing scales is that they are the basic building blocks of most melodies, and by learning them, you’ll be preparing yourself to quickly learn acoustic guitar songs you’re interested in. Once you know your scales and they are “in your fingers,” you’ll be amazed at how fast you can pick out the tune of your favorite songs! And that’s when the fun really starts!
