If you’re playing with a friend, please don’t both play exactly the same thing!

The point with this mini-series is to try to give you a few ideas to help you think outside of the box a little bit. You’ll find that playing something different than your friend actually sounds much cooler than playing the same thing, and once you get started on this, you might find it kind of addictive trying to find new sounds where both guitars complement each other!

Anyways, in this lesson we’ll take a look specifically at how you can use three note guitar triads to produce a cool sound.

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Source: Using Guitar Triads for Rhythm Riff Ninja - Riff Ninja Guitar Lessons

The basic concept you will need to understand is that of ‘tones’ and ‘semitones’ – the frets are one semitone apart, just like each key on the piano – and once you know how the notes are laid out on one string, you will be able to work it out at any position on the fretboard. These ‘tones’ and ‘semitones’ are also referred to as ‘whole steps’ and ‘half steps’, so don’t let that confuse you.

What’s also easy when we’re figuring out the guitar fretboard is that we only have seven notes to work with: A, B, C, D, E, F and G. And all you will need to know to get started is the note names for each string.

Introduction to the Guitar Fretboard:

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Source: Introduction to the Guitar Fretboard Riff Ninja - Riff Ninja Guitar Lessons

One more thing, before we dive in. If you like what you learn here, you can help out by spreading the word! Share this page with all your guitar-playing buddies to help them make better choices on their next acoustic guitar! There are share buttons at the top of this post. Ok, let’s get started!

The Ultimate Electric Guitar Buying Guide

There are so many models of electric guitars out there, and you can find some really good buys if you take the time to look around a bit. Don’t buy by color, brand, or model! Once you have a price range, your next thing is the shape of the neck. Yes, the guitar has to be visually appealing (would you be motivated to play an ugly guitar?), but don’t let looks be the basis for your purchase. You need to go by the feel of the guitar, not the look of a guitar.

Also, don’t buy an electric guitar from a department store. Go to a music store. The people who work at music stores want you to be happy with your instrument so you will recommend them to other people, so they will put in the effort to help you find a guitar that’s perfect for you. Music stores also know how to properly store and transport instruments, so the guitars will be better in quality there than at a department store.

An important thing to remember is that it’s okay to not start off with a really good guitar. Get to know what you love with a guitar after playing for awhile before buying a really expensive guitar.

Feel and Sound of the Guitar

You need to buy a guitar that is proportionate to your size. If you are a smaller bodied person, you need to get a smaller guitar that won’t strain your arms while you’re playing it. You also need to keep in mind the thickness of the neck of the guitar. People with small hands should not buy a guitar with a thick neck, or they will have trouble playing bar chords.

You need to ask yourself if you can see yourself playing that guitar for the next several years. Picture yourself playing it for hours – would you be satisfied with the guitar? Play a few chords on it – do you like the sound? For an electric guitar, you need to play the guitar with all the different pickup options; use distortion, play it without distortion. Play around with every option on the guitar, and make sure you like it.

Hollow Body Guitars

You can get all kinds of thicknesses of hollow body guitars – from decently thin to a rounded back. A hollow body guitar means exactly what you think – the guitar is hollow in the middle. They’re usually built by taking the two frames of the guitar and attaching them together. These guitars will sound different from solid body guitars, so you need to go by what sound you like. The hollow bodies will have a softer tone to them – a smoother tone. You don’t have to limit them to softer music though – you can play rock and roll with a hollow body. When you crank the juice up on your amp with these guitars though, it will cause more feedback than a solid guitar.

Tremolo Bar Guitars

Tremolo bar guitars have the floating bridge that allows you to loosen all the pressure on your strings, and then bring it back up to its normal playing tension without going out of tune. This was invented when Eddie Van Halen collaborated with his neighbor, Floyd Rose, and created the locking bolts on the nut and bridge to keep the strings taut and in tune. When you use the tremolo bar, it brings the pressure on the neck of the guitar from over a hundred pounds of pressure down to no pressure at all. This causes the “dive bomb” sound.

The downfall of a Floyd Rose is that if you break a string, your guitar will go completely out of tune. You can’t quickly change a string either, so you need to have a backup guitar if you’re going to be playing a gig with this guitar. They’re also temperamental to tune, and may be more challenging for a beginner to learn with.

Parts of an Electric Guitar

The binding is the trim of the guitar. It’s mostly ornamental, but it also covers up any imperfections from when they glued the guitar together.

It doesn’t matter if you pay hundreds or thousands for a guitar, it still needs to be tweaked by a technician. So work that into your budget. Make sure you go to reputable music store or someone that is recommended to you. You don’t want to take your guitar to an unreliable source. Regardless of if you buy a new or old guitar, you need to have it looked at by a technician. Even if it’s considered new in a store, it could be a several months old even though it’s just been sitting in the store. Many people have probably played around with it as well, so it’s a good thing to get it checked out. Plus, if you’re a beginner, it’s good to have the action lowered which makes it easier to play. A technician will tweak that for you.

Having a guitar in bad shape can be very discouraging for a new beginner. If the guitar won’t stay in tune, the strings are too hard to press down, or the frets hurt when you move your hand along the neck, these things can all be detrimental in your motivation to keep playing. If the action is too high, it can be impossible for a beginner to learn how to play a bar chord. These are all mechanical adjustments that a good technician can take care of for you.

If you want to clean your guitar – DON’T USE WATER. Use a dry cloth, and a little bit of your own spit. You can get a mechanic to professionally clean it as well.

Extra Budget Considerations

You need to buy a guitar case. You should never transport your guitar anywhere (even from the store to your house) without putting a case on it. You can buy a hard case, or a gig bag, which is a nylon bag with padding. Why would you go through all the hard work of setting the guitar up just to transport it without protection? Temperature and weather will affect your guitar as well, so it’s best to transport it protected.

For an electric guitar, you also need an amp. You can buy smaller, practice amps, that don’t cost a lot of money. However, if you are buying an electric guitar, you need to have an amp to plug it in to. Otherwise, it won’t sound right, and you will lose your enthusiasm to play. It doesn’t have to be a big amp – just good quality.

I hope my Ultimate Electric Guitar Buying Guide helps you make a good, educated decision when you go buy your guitar. Once you’ve got a guitar, I’d recommend checking out our free three day trial of the Riff Ninja Academy. Or, signup for my new series of beginner lessons. So go, buy a guitar, then come back to the website to learn how to play! And remember, have fun!

Related Posts: The Ultimate Acoustic Guitar Buying Guide

Source: The Ultimate Electric Guitar Buying Guide Riff Ninja - Riff Ninja Guitar Lessons

One more thing, before we dive in. If you like what you learn here, you can help out by spreading the word! Share this page with all your guitar-playing buddies to help them make better choices on their next acoustic guitar! There are share buttons at the top of this post. Ok, let’s get started!

The Ultimate Acoustic Guitar Buying Guide

This lesson is a combination of all the different comments I’ve received from teaching online, and it seems that there is a real need for this topic. A lot of my students could have used this guide long before they even started their guitar lessons. This lesson won’t go into things like what type of wood is used for each guitar, but is going to discuss the practical aspects for buying a guitar.

First thing I’d like to end is the notion that you should start on an acoustic guitar. That’s not true. It’s your choice. Electric or acoustic, it doesn’t really matter – the finger movements are the same. For portability, there’s no difference between the electric or acoustic guitar. Nowadays, you can get a little battery-powered amp that clips right onto your belt so you can travel easily with an electric. You can also buy 3/4 size guitars, which are also more portable than full sized ones. So portability is not an issue. You’re probably picking the acoustic guitar because it has a sound that you love, and you can do things like play around a campfire with it. However, don’t restrict yourself to just an acoustic, because you can do things like that also with an electric guitar and a battery powered amp.

Department Store vs Music Store

Should you buy your guitar at a department store? NO. What most people need to understand about buying a guitar at a department store is that the price and quality may be deceiving. The problem with those guitars is sometimes they are lower in quality than what you would buy at a music store. Usually those instruments are built specifically for department stores, so right there the quality is a little less. However, quality aside (because mechanics can fix any issue with a guitar), the biggest issue is department stores don’t always store and handle their guitars properly. This causes problems like the wood shifting, which can make an instrument difficult to play and stay in tune.

Go to a music store for your guitar. The people there know how to properly handle and store guitars, plus they are knowledgeable about the instruments and can help you out.

Listen to the Guitars

Music stores don’t want to sell you something that you’re unhappy about. Plus, they all know how to play a little bit as well. Get them, or a friend, to play the different guitars for you. Sit back and listen to the guitar. Stand close to the guitar, and then walk away from it a little bit. Listen to the sound. Listen to the guitar in different rooms, because the guitar will sound different at home than in the store.

Don’t buy based on color! Don’t buy on shape or looks, either. Buy by the sound and the feel of the guitar.

Feel of the Guitar

Once you’ve found a guitar that you like the sound of, you need to sit with it and think about things like your body size. If you’re a small person, you don’t want a big guitar. Watch your hand size as well. Do not buy a guitar with a blocky neck if you have a tiny hand. My advice is sit down with the guitar, and put your hand around the neck. Ask yourself, “Can I reach all the strings easily with my fingers? Can I picture myself playing this instrument, and having my hand wrapped around it in different ways?”

Don’t be shy to pick up the guitar and sit with it. The people at the music stores don’t mind; you just have to be polite, and careful with their instruments.

Price

If there’s one thing I’d like to convey in this acoustic guitar buying guide, it is to find a guitar that makes you want to play. This is what a guitar is all about. The guitar does not have to be expensive to achieve that. More expensive doesn’t necessarily mean better. It’s a personal thing. Work within your budget and find a sound and feel that you like.

Don’t grind: shop first. This way if you find a guitar that you like the sound of in one store, but another store has the same guitar for a cheaper price, you are aware of that. Go to the store manager and say that you found the same guitar at a different store, but you prefer the sound of this one: can they match the price or come close? Be nice about it. More than likely, they’ll either match or throw in some picks or another set of strings or something. So don’t grind about a price right away. If you find a guitar you like, go check out a few more first. You never know what’s out there till you check.

Action

Action is the height of the string to the fret board, or in other words, how much movement/distance the string has before it connects to the fretboard. A guitar with a lower action means it’s easier to play, but it can also cause fret buzz. You want every note you play to be clear and beautiful.

If you’re buying a cheaper guitar, you might want to ask the sales person to play chords in both the lower and the higher register of the guitar. The action makes a difference the further up the neck you go.

A mechanic can change the action if the guitar is adjustable or not too far out, so it’s not a make or break thing.

Parlor Guitars

Parlor guitars are smaller bodied guitars. The neck is narrower, and not as thick. The parlor guitars can be really nice and sound great. A lot of women are more comfortable with this guitar because of its smaller size.

Parts of an Acoustic Guitar

At the top of your neck you have a string nut. This bar keeps your strings evenly spaced along the neck. It also maintains the tension on your guitar, and this is where the vibrations start.

The wires that go across the neck of the guitar are called the frets. Be careful with a cheaper guitar – if you run your hand along the edge of the neck you should not find sharp frets. Sometimes manufacturers cut the wires a little too long, or the wood shrinks over time. This happens with international guitars sometimes. Wood has its own personality, and can shrink sometimes, causing the frets to be sharp along the edges.

At the base of the guitar you have the saddle, which is usually a white bone-like material. The role of the saddle is it works with the string nut to keep the strings evenly spaced.

At the top of the guitar are your tuning pegs, also known as machine heads. The tuning pegs are what your strings are wrapped around, and this is how you tune your guitar.

The bridge pins are on the body of the guitar, and they hold the ball end of the string. They hold the strings in place on the body end of the guitar, while the tuning pegs hold the other end of the string.

The hole in the middle of the body is called the sound hole.

If the guitar has a design that goes down the neck, this is called inlay. It’s strictly ornamental, and should not be considered when looking for a guitar. Always go by the sound, not the looks.

Mechanics

Always go with a mechanic that comes recommended – either by a music store or by someone you know. If they’re going to be tweaking your guitar, you want them to be reliable.

Every guitar should be looked over by a mechanic before you start to play it. Also, if you notice your guitar is not sounding the same after you purchased it, it may mean the guitar has settled a bit and you just need to take it in for a little check up.

String Tension

String tension can affect your guitar neck. More tension can cause the neck to bow more. A good guitar will have a tension adjustment on the neck. There’s a rod that goes down inside the neck, and it compensates for the huge tension on the strings. You don’t want your neck to have too much of a curve because your strings vibrate more to the center.

Buying a Used Guitar

Don’t fix up the finish if you buy an old guitar. You’re better off to leave the finish that it still has on. Sometimes when you take the old finish off the guitar, you can ruin it. Plus you can take away from its vintage value, if it has any.

An advantage to getting an old guitar is that once it gets cleaned up by a mechanic (if it needs anything tweaked at all), you shouldn’t have any more problems with it as it’s already settled.

Pickups

For the guitars that have pickups built into them, the pickup can have the controls either built into the top of the guitar, or around the sound hole. Some don’t have any controls, but they have a jack out where you connect your guitar to an amp and control it from there. It depends on what you want to use your guitar for.

Guitars that have pickups can be played unplugged as well. However, they will usually sound really good when they’re plugged in.

It’s cheaper to buy a guitar with the pickup already in it than to buy a guitar and have a pickup put in. If you buy a pickup separately, you need to pay for a technician to put the pickup in, which usually tends to be more expensive.

Cases

Buy a case for your guitar!!! If you don’t have a case, it’s like buying a brand new car and replacing your new tires with worn out tires. Even a gig bag is better than no protection at all. A gig bag is a nylon bag with padding.

Include a case in your budget. You are spending money on a guitar – protect it! If you’re moving your guitar around at all (even from the store to your house), you need to have a case!

A lot of stores won’t warranty your guitar if you won’t buy a case for it.

Steel String vs Nylon String

Nylon string guitars will sound different from steel string guitars. The tension on a nylon string guitar is less than with steel strings. Guitars are built for one or the other: you don’t want to put steel strings on a guitar that was built for nylon ones! It will wreck the guitar. You also don’t want put nylon strings on a guitar built for steel strings because it won’t sound good or project very well.

The downfall to a nylon string guitar is that the necks are usually wider, so bar chords may be more difficult. Nylon strings are easier to press down because there’s less tension on the neck. They are also less painful on your fingers when you’re a beginner, as you’ll build your calluses slowly as opposed to right away. They are also softer sounding, and really good for people want to just strum.

If you have a weak hand or you’ve never played before, ask your technician if he can lower the action as low as possible, and put on really thin strings (10-guage). This is usually more beneficial for children.

So to recap: Do not buy by color, do not buy by brand, and do not buy by looks. Buy by sound, the feel of the neck, and how it feels when you’re sitting with the guitar. Buy a guitar that suits your body stature. You want to be able to sit comfortably with it. You want to love playing it!

I hope my Ultimate Acoustic Guitar Buying Guide helps you make a good, educated decision when you go buy your guitar. Once you’ve got a guitar, I’d recommend checking out our free three day trial of the Riff Ninja Academy. Or, signup for my new series of beginner lessons. So go, buy a guitar, then come back to the website to learn how to play! And remember, have fun!

Related Posts: The Ultimate Electric Guitar Buying Guide

Source: The Ultimate Acoustic Guitar Buying Guide Riff Ninja - Riff Ninja Guitar Lessons

The scale used in this lesson is the B pentatonic minor scale. This lesson has picked a couple skeletal riffs that are very universal while using this scale. A riff is a group of notes composed out of a certain scale. One of the riffs shown here will use a string bend, and the other one won’t. The basic riffs will be show, then these riffs will be put together.

The first section is basically the scale being played in the lower octave.

The second section is played in the upper octave, and involves a stretch.

Both these outlines will now be used in multiple different ways, by just changing the timing of the notes, and the intervals between the notes might slightly change. It’s always best to start slow, and then speed things up.

The idea is that none of these notes are wrong, and you play it the way you hear it. It’s really important to realize that the notes in this scale and the riffs come directly out of the scale. There are no modifications, or additions to the scale.

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Source: Guitar Improvising Lesson #2 – The Riffs Riff Ninja - Riff Ninja Guitar Lessons

The scale used in this lesson is a pentatonic scale, meaning a five note scale. It’s universal, and all the notes in the scale line up with whatever key you’re in. In this case, the key being used will be Bm. The scale starts at the 7th fret. What you have to realize is that all the notes in this scale are in that key – they all have a harmony relation to each other. In other words, it’s a no brainer. If you play the scale that matches the key, you can’t loose. There’s not one bad note in the scale. You can look like a pro by simply knowing the scale really well. There’s so many riffs that can come from this scale.

Watch the fingerboard carefully to see that the only notes being played are the ones in the scale.

Once again, the only notes being played are part of that Bm scale.

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Source: Guitar Improvising Lesson #1 – The Scale Riff Ninja - Riff Ninja Guitar Lessons

This blues guitar lesson will teach you how to play a riff using a hammer on, and the hammer on is on the second string. The guitar used in this lesson is tuned standard, E A D G B E. You can play this riff in other tunings, but to keep you on the same page, it’s just the standard tuning. The second string is the B string.

You’re going to pick the B open, and with your third finger on the third fret, you’re going to hammer. Now the trick with a hammer is that to get it down quickly with some force, don’t hesitate. If you do it too slow, it mutes the string before you can get it down, and it kills the ring. You have to do it with a quick motion. Be aggressive, and use the tip of your finger to hammer that string down on to the fret.

The next trick is to get it nice and even. It’s good practice to just go back and forth, because you’ll find lots of riffs that use the hammer technique.

So the next thing you’ll have to deal with is the problem of the fleshy end of your finger touching the high E string. You don’t want to touch that E string – you want both of those to ring out. Start with a down pick, and hammer on, then while that hammer note (3rd fret) is still ringing, pick up on the high E string. The trick is to make those three notes even.

The next thing is to join it with notes in the scale. Use different combinations, and play that riff over as many times as you want. To finish that riff, play the 3rd string 2nd fret with your second finger (middle), then open 3rd string, then your tonic, the E on the 4th string 2nd fret. This resolves the blues guitar riff.

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Source: Easy Blues Guitar Riff For Beginners Riff Ninja - Riff Ninja Guitar Lessons

For example, if you’re in A major, the fifth note (perfect fifth) is E.

If you are a bass player that has converted from being a guitar player, the one and five is like your power chord on a guitar. You can do that on a bass too. It usually sounds better on a higher register. If you play them singly though, this creates your bass line. When you’re in a lower frequency, hitting both your one and five together might cancel each other out of simply sound too droney.

There is a pattern that happens between your octave and your fifth. When you’re doing your fifth, it’s always your root first, then the fifth. So if A is the root, the fifth will always be one string and two frets up, which is the E. It’s the same for root of D, the fifth, A, will be one string and two frets up. Always hit your root first, because this establishes your change. After that, then you can add the fifth.

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Source: Bass Lesson: Using Ones and Fives Riff Ninja - Riff Ninja Guitar Lessons

With the G when you alternate, always start with the root. There are a few examples in music where they didn’t start with the root, but 99.9% of the time you’re going to start with the root. So start with the 6^th string as your bass note, then go to the 5^th string. It’s a down, down, up strum, with the bass note as the first down, then down up for the strum. You count it out by saying 1 + a  2  + a  3  +  a  4  +  a. So you alternate for each beat.

When you go to the C, it depends on what fingering you use for the C chord. If you do it with a G bass, you can start with the C bass note, then go to the G bass note, and back and forth.

You can do the same thing with Em. You can’t go any lower than the E bass note, so you can go up. Play the 6^th string as your bass, then 5^th string. When you get to the D you can do the inversion. Start with your high D which is your root, then go to the low A. Same goes for the Am, jumping between the A and the E notes. Careful not to let the low E ring out too much over the A. Try and mute it a little bit.

Feel free to contact us at riffninja.com/suggest with any suggestions or interests you may have.

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Source: Alternate Guitar Picking and Bass Lines Riff Ninja - Riff Ninja Guitar Lessons

There are several ways to play G major. One of the ways to play it is with your first finger (pointer finger) on the 5^th string 2^nd fret, second finger (middle finger) on the 6^th string, 3^rd fret, third finger (ring finger) on the 2^nd string, 3^rd fret, and then your pinkie underneath that on the 1^st string, 3^rd fret. You can play your G chord with just your third finger on the first string, if you’re a real beginner. You strum all six strings to play this chord.

For the C chord, the standard way to play it is by using your first finger (pointer) on the 2^nd string, 1^st fret, then the second finger (middle) on the 4^th string, 2^nd fret, and the third finger (ring) on the 5^th string, 3^rd fret. If you want to add the G bass, then put your third finger instead on the 6^th string, 3^rd fret, and your pinkie underneath it on the 5^th string, 3^rd fret. If you play the C chord without the G bass, don’t play the 6^th string, or it will sound really bad. The low E takes away from the C chord. If you play this chord with the G bass, you can play all six strings.

For D major, the standard way is to play it with your first finger (pointer) on the 3^rd string, 2^nd fret, second finger (middle) on the 1^st string, 2^nd fret, and third finger (ring) on the 2^nd string, 3^rd fret, and you just play the bottom four strings for the D chord.

For the Em chord, you use your second finger (middle) on the 5^th string, 2^nd fret, and third finger (ring) on the 4^th string, 2^nd fret. You can play all six strings for this chord.

Now with these chords, you can play an incredible amount of songs. This lesson will go through some famous chord progressions. One of the more famous chord progressions goes I (G), VI (Em), IV (C), V (D). Another one is: VI (Em), IV (C), I (G), V (D). You can change it up again and do: I (G), V (D), VI (Em), IV (C).

You can throw on a capo to the fifth fret, and then you’re playing in the key of C. Play the same chords, but now instead of playing the song in G you’re playing the song in C.

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Source: Beginner Acoustic Guitar Lesson – Song Chord Progression Riff Ninja - Riff Ninja Guitar Lessons