How To Play Guitar
Notes
So you want to know how to play guitar notes. Single line playing can be a major
part of your playing style. How you choose to play notes can depend on your basic playing style.
The two basic techniques for learning how to play guitar notes are with a pick and finger style.
Let’s take a look at the basic technique for playing with a pick.
There are two basic methods for playing notes with a pick: a down pick and an up
pick. Start with playing single notes on the first string in groups of four, counting
one-two-three-four to yourself or out loud using a down pick only. Yu can also use a metronome set
at a lower tempo, say about 60 beats per minute. Try to match each down pick with the click of the
metronome. Strive for a clear, full and even sound in volume.
Now you can learn how to play guitar notes by playing across all six strings from
the lowest to the highest and back down again, four notes per string, again: simple down picking
only, and counting aloud.
Once you have this basic string crossing exercise under control, play a simple
scale in open position, using a simple down pick in groups of four. You can use the following tab.
It is built from a C major scale across all six strings:
Playing with a down pick on each beat in a single line melody will become an effective way to learn
rhythms and how to play guitar notes and will be an important part of your technical
development.
For developing speed, try playing notes by alternating up and
down picks. First, adjust your counting to:
one-and-two-and-three-and-four-and.
Now go back to the first single string exercise, using alternating
picking and the new counting pattern. The main beats: one, two, etc,
will still be played with a down pick while all the ands, the off-beats, will be
played with an up pick. This is the standard method for playing single line melodies and solos.
Once you are comfortable playing with alternating picking, try it with
the above tab. Once again, strive for a clear sound where each note is at the same volume. Don’t be
concerned about playing fast yet, just build the coordination.
A final exercise in learning how to play guitar notes is to try and
play with the up pick only. Use the same counting pattern and tab as with alternating picking, but
play only on the off-beats, the ands. Give yourself some time to work this out as it may
take a few attempts before you can do it consistently. That's fine. Taking your time to learn to
play on the off beat with an up pick will be worth the effort later on.
That’s it! We’ve covered here the basic technique of how to play
guitar notes in single line melodies. Our three basic exercises are: 1) play with a down pick only
on the beat, 2) play with an alternating pattern – pick down and pick up and 3) play with an up
pick only on the off beats. These three basic picking techniques will help you learn how to play
guitar notes and take you far in developing your speed as well as your accuracy.
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