Learn to Play the Guitar Part 18

Now that you have learned all the major and minor chords on your left hand, it’s time to put some effort into strengthening your right hand movement.

There are two common ways to play the guitar, in regards to the right hand. One is using your fingers and the other is using a pick or plectrum. I use a pick and only sometimes resort to finger style. Whichever you choose is a matter of preference. When I say preference, I really mean that in two ways. The first is the preference for what feels right to you personally. However, you really have to ask yourself what kind of music you want to be playing on the guitar. If you fancy AC/DC and the like, you had better stick with a pick. You’ll likely never get the sound you’re looking for without a pick. If you like prettier sounding guitar songs, classical or singer songwriter stuff, finger picking is what you should practice. There are advantages to both but a person tends to go primarily with one more than the other.

I recommend taking time playing around with both ways and doing some soul searching for what you want to do with the guitar for the most part.

If you want to use your fingers, practice plucking one of the lower notes of the chord with your thumb while strumming the strings downward and upward with your index finger. Then try plucking with your thumb and playing individual notes with your index, middle and ring fingers, as though you were playing a harp.

Similarly, practice plucking one of the lower notes of the chord with a pick and then strum up and down with the pick immediately afterward. Then, pluck the strings individually with your pick moving up and down the strings as you play your chords.

Do these right hand exercises with one chord at first. Gradually practice these right hand exercises while transitioning between different chords with your left hand. This should help you gain coordination between the two hands and this coordination is absolutely crucial. Though this may seem tedious, if you master this, you are well on your way to calling yourself a guitar player.