Learning all the notes and all the chords on the guitar is one thing. But there are certain techniques and tricks many people desire to do on the acoustic guitar other than just the basics. Some are simple, and some are far more difficult. Here are a few of them to practice before your next lesson.
Most people who play the acoustic guitar are familiar with the standard seven chords and can work their way around the neck of the guitar okay. But there are certain techniques and styles that are really difficult and take the knowledge of a skilled acoustic guitar instructor to learn.
The first one is called finger picking. Finger picking is a lot different than the standard strumming most people are used to. To strum, most people either use a pick or only use their thumb turned sideways. But with finger picking you are not just strumming all the strings, you are selectively plucking the string with multiple fingers on the strumming hand. This can be very difficult because the placement on your plucking hand has to be perfect, otherwise you will be plucking muted notes. It is a skill that takes a long time to master. But is one that can be learned quicker with a good acoustic guitar teacher.
Another technique that is cool with the acoustic guitar is the palm mute. A palm mute is traditionally used on the electric guitar. It is when the strumming hand rests on the bridge that is on the body of the guitar and mutes the strings. But the left hand can still hold down notes and chords. So when the strumming hand strums it makes this almost chunk sound. It is used a lot in the metal genre of music. But on the acoustic guitar it sounds equally as cool. Most people are familiar with the sound, whether they realize it or not, but few people have heard it on the acoustic guitar. So when you get comfortable doing it, you can bust out metal songs on the acoustic guitar and people will be blown away. It is a technique that any guitar teacher should be familiar with and should have no problem showing you. However it will take some time to get comfortable with. Most times beginners just mute the strings and allow no sound to come out. It is difficult to learn at first.
These are just a few techniques that any good acoustic guitar instructor should be able to show you. However they are not techniques that you will learn over night. They take a lot of time to master, but will sound amazing when that time comes. Happy strumming.
Benjamin J. Cloyd is a guitar instructor and has a website called best acoustic songs where you can find and print great songs for beginners to intermediate to advanced. He is also a guitar teacher in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.
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