How To Play Acoustic Guitar In Flat Pick Style
September 26th, 2011
Here are the basics of how to play acoustic guitar in flat pick style. You will need a guitar, a flat pick, and a chord chart. Sit straight, using a firm chair, with the instrument on your lap. The right arm goes over the body.
The flat pick should be held with the thumb and forefinger. Point the tip perpendicular with the thumb. The thumb needs to be on top of the last segment of the finger, pointing the opposite way.
The left hand thumb pad should be against the neck. Curve the fingers under the neck and bring the tips of the fingers to the strings. Press the tips on the right strings and frets to make the chord.
Strum the pick on the strings. Do not hold the pick tightly. Only hold it tight enough to keep it in your grasp. Only strum the strings that are supposed to be part of the chord. A C major ope chord uses only the last five strings. For chords like this, you can drape your left thumb over the largest string to keep it from playing.
When learning to play a chord, take your left had away after each strum, then try to play it again without looking. Keep working at it until it is easy for you. After you have mastered a few chords, practice changing between them, again without looking.
Common keys in flat picking guitar songs are the keys of E, G, and C. Practice the changes for these keys. These are: E-A-E-B7; G-C-G-D; and C-F-C-G.
Rather than practicing for hours on one day, and then skipping a day or two, you will progress better if you practice a little every day. Your finger tips may start to hurt. If that happens, it is okay to skip a day. As you form callouses, that will become unnecessary.
At this point, you can start adding bass notes to your playing. Pick the lowest note in a chord and then strum the other strings. Try other patterns by plucking other strings and strumming more times. Experiment in 2/4, 3/4, 4/4, and 6/8 time signatures.
Make sure you have fun. Practice daily. Learn your favorite songs. Eventually, you can take the step of singing along as you play. Don’t get frustrated, as learning takes a while. But, remember that the guitar is one of the easier instruments to begin having a good time with, right away.
If you are serious about learning the guitar, please take a look at – How To Play Acoustic Guitar
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