Mastering Guitar Method

The second book Rex introduces in his lesson plan for beginner guitar players is called Guitar Method (Book 1) by Hal Leonard. I remember the first edition of this book – I had received it with my guitar many years ago, and seeing that it’s still in use today goes to show that it must be an excellent beginner book. Rex employs the second edition of this book, an upgraded version which comes with a CD so you can hear what your music can sound like. I’m yet to find out what else is on the CD; I’ll follow up on that in a future blog.

Comparing to when I tried using the book on my own versus using the book with Rex’s guidance is like the difference between night and day. It makes it so much easier to decipher the techniques with the help of a knowledgeable instructor. I love how the book introduces some basics on your guitar such as the parts of guitar, how to tune it, proper playing position, and how to read music, before getting into how to play notes on each of the six strings.

My last lesson was especially informative as I learned the foundations of reading sheet music – read on for a quick overview.

1. The lines on sheet music do not represent guitar strings. Notes are written on a “staff” which as 5 lines and 4 spaces. A treble clef represents guitar music.
2. Every line and space represents a letter. From the bottom up, the lines are E, G, B, D, F. You can remember the letters with the phrase “Every Guitarist Begins Doing Fine“.
3. From the bottom up, the spaces are F, A, C, and E.
4. Measures divide the staff. A bar line signifies the beginning and end of a measure and a double bar ends a piece of music.
5. Guitar notes always have 4 beats per measure; each staff will have a time signature with the number 4 on the top half.
6. Last, notes represent number of counts (length) of music. There are whole, half and quarter notes which indicate how many beats to the note.

Mastering these concepts will make reading music more fluid and easy. Once you understand the basics, it will be less overwhelming and complicated! Happy practicing, my fellow musicians.