Printable guitar ebooks in PDF format
I have made two collections with melodies for guitar beginners. If you have never played guitar before you might need some help from an experienced player!
Guitar Tablature (PDF)
Easy guitar tab melodies for guitar in progressive order. New compositions for guitar and popular melodies like Jingle Bells, Happy Birthday To You, Ode To Joy, Love Me Tender and Amazing Grace!
Classical Guitar (PDF)
Easy melodies for classical guitar in progressive order. This ebook in PDF-format focuses on learning to read the notes in the first position of the guitar fretboard with melodies with one voice and two voices with open bass strings. For beginners.
How To Progress As A Guitarist
It is a very satisfying feeling to experience that you are progressing
as a guitarist. In other words, to have the confidence that you are becoming
a better guitar player day by day. By small means you can change your practicing
habits towards success! To practice guitar and become a better guitarist
is like filling a bucket with water. Filling the bucket is the hours of
practicing. But, the bucket has some holes resulting in leaking water.
The holes symbolizes the bad practicing habits that actually prevent
you from progressing in the pace you should. Let us start by looking at
those holes in the bucket. What type of bad habits can hinder you from getting
better? Here are some suggestions:
1. You do not have any idea what
type of guitarist you want to become. This makes it difficult to set goals.
If you do not focus on the things you have to learn to progress towards
your goals you will have so many things to practice that it will be overwhelming.
No guitarist has time to practice everything if he wants to succeed!
2. You are not practicing an exercise long enough. Maybe you are aimlessly
wandering between guitar exercises that are good but has to be practiced
with concentration over a period of time to really be incorporated and become
part of your skills.
3. You are practicing things that are above
your level of proficiency. Probably you have some very accomplished guitarists
that serves as models for what you want to become. That is good! It gives
you inspiration! But, you are probably not as good as those guitarists yet.
If you try to play as fast as they do and the things the play you might
hinder your progression!
4. You do not pay attention to your hand
posture and body posture as you play. The way you practice a guitar exercise
will also be the way you perform it in front of an audience. Bad posture
will only take you so far and then your progressing will level away.
5. You are practicing too fast. A very common and understandable mistake.
Every guitarist wants to play fast sometimes. However, playing fast can
be the most effective way to stop your progression!
6. You forget
that playing guitar is about creating music. Without this overall goal you
will not enjoy playing guitar for very long and your listeners will also
lose interest in your playing!
Let us mend those holes in the bucket and you can practice for a shorter
period of time every day and still progress faster! Here are some suggestions:
1. Take time to ponder your feelings regarding your guitar playing.
Write down a goal as to what type of guitarist you want to become. This
makes it much easier to choose exercises that are appropriate and that leads
you towards your goal. It will also be much easier to evaluate your progression
when you know what you want to become. You do not need to be too nervous
about this as you probably will change your goals over time.
2. If
you prepare your own homework as a guitarist remember to practice the exercises
well enough to learn the skills involved completely and long enough to commit
them to your long-term memory. When you have incorporated a skill completely
into your repertoire it will become a building block that helps you learn
other exercises easier.
3. Choose exercises that are challenging
but not too difficult. If your exercises are too hard to learn you will
lose interest in practicing them long before you have accomplished your
homework.
4. Remember to always practice your exercises with correct
hand posture. This means to hold and use your hands in a way that minimize
tension. This will prevent muscle injuries, hasten your development and
secure a pleasant experience for you when you play.
5. When you learn
new things on your guitar it is very important to practice slowly, sometimes
very slowly. The paradoxical truth is that you will progress much faster
if you practice slowly. What will happen is that you avoid making many of
those mistakes that slow down your progression.
6. Give yourself
the pleasure of listening to good music, this means, music that is performed
in a musical way. Listening to any instrument in any musical setting helps
you develop as a musician and as a guitarist.
Also remember to learn
pieces of music by heart thus building up a repertoire of your favorite
pieces to play to your friends. It is a satisfying feeling to know that
if someone asks you to play you are actually prepared to play pieces you
have practiced and can perform well!