Beginner Guitar Chords Made Easy (Final Part 4)

The Barre Chord

You learned all the basic open chords, and practiced until you can move between them smoothly and even start to learn guitar easy songs. Now it's time to take a guitar string more challenging beginner: the barre chord.
This is a form of chords that can be played on any fret on the guitar because it does not use any open strings. Instead, the finger makes a bar across the fretboard, playing three notes at once. To make this work you need to rotate your wrist so forward, get that finger as flat as possible, and dive on the fretboard. Here is what it seems at first fret, which gives the chord:

F major barre

0 1 2 3 4 5

E |—|- 1 -|—|—|—|—|

B |—|- 1 -|—|—|—|—|

G |—|—|- 2 -|—|—|—|

D |—|—|—|- 4 -|—|—|

A 3 |—|—|—|- -|—|—|

E |—|- 1 -|—|—|—|—|

In terms of learning guitar chords, This is the rite of passage: the master of officially barre chord and you learned to play chords beginner guitar. It is not easy, but do not give up! Pick each string one at a time and make sure you can clearly hear every note ring. If the notes on the first finger is not clear, make sure the finger is flat and pressed against the Tigh strings. This is not a natural position, so do not be discouraged if not perfect in the first place. This will strengthen your fingers, improve their coordination, and make it easier to learn guitar chords that are more advanced and require large areas.

Once you've mastered the barre chord, is easy to play a minor chord: just lift the middle finger, like this:

F minor barre

0 1 2 3 4 5

E |—|- 1 -|—|—|—|—|

B |—|- 1 -|—|—|—|—|

G |—|- 1 -|—|—|—|—|

D |—|—|—|- 4 -|—|—|

A 3 |—|—|—|- -|—|—|

E |—|- 1 -|—|—|—|—|

Now you can move one way up the neck to play any chord you need the name of the chord is simply to note the index finger is touching the two sequences E.

That's it for this lesson: you are a master of chords beginner guitar, learned a rhythm guitar novice, and know the barre chord, which opens up many possibilities. The next class will continue with more chords, the rhythms, and music to liven things up. See you there!
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Beginner Guitar Chords Made Easy (Part 3)

There is a chord more open to learn. Here's D major (D, F #, A):

D Home

0 1 2 3 4 5

E |—|—|- 2 -|—|—|—|

B |—|—|—|- 3 -|—|—|

G |—|—|- 1 -|—|—|—|

D | -0 -|—|—|—|—|—|

A |-x-|—|—|—|—|—|

E |-x-|—|—|—|—|—|

There are some variations of that chord worth learning. You can add the string to open a little more depth, and you also can add an F # on the low E string:

D Major with low F #

0 1 2 3 4 5

E |—|—|- 2 -|—|—|—|

B |—|—|—|- 3 -|—|—|

G |—|—|- 1 -|—|—|—|

D | -0 -|—|—|—|—|—|

A | -0 -|—|—|—|—|—|

E-|—|—|—| |—|—|- T

The 'T means "you need to wrap your thumb around the neck and wear F #. It is almost impossible in a lot of noise, but if you're playing an electric, and especially if you want to play any type of hard rock, is a valuable form of knowledge. If you can not get it now, do not worry: it is usually taught when you're learning to play guitar chords beginner, think of it as an optional extra challenge.

Get Those Dancing Fingers

Now that you know some major chords, try to move forward and forth between them. You may notice that some of the chords sound better together than others: for example, G, C, D and good sound in a pattern together, as do E, A and D, while that G and E may sound a little strange playing one after another. Try and listen closely, you already know enough chords to start creating your own songs, so practice, practice, practice! Here's a fast-paced guitar beginner to make the practice more interesting start on any string and strum it four times. Switch to another string and strum four times. Now switch to a third string, strum it twice, switch back to the second chord twice, and then back to the chord initial and strum four times as well. Using G, C and D, which would be something like this: G, G, G, G, C, C, C, C, D, D, C, C, G, G, G, G See? Even if you do not know how to read guitar notes, however, you can still make music!

Minor Chords

The difference between major and minor chords is the second note of the strings (the tone of the third dimension). Minor chords in the third is a half-step lower than in major chords. Thus, for example, and contains the main notes E, G #, A and B, while E minor contains E, G and B. Here is the fingering for E minor:

E minor

0 1 2 3 4 5

E | -0 -|—|—|—|—|—|

B | -0 -|—|—|—|—|—|

G | -0 -|—|—|—|—|—|

D |—|—|- 3 -|—|—|—|

A 2 |—|—|- -|—|—|—|

E | -0 -|—|—|—|—|—|

Notice what is a huge difference that change makes a note to the sound of the chord! As you learn guitar chords, always make sure to compare the major and minor ways, paying attention to the sound of strings and fingerings. Here's A minor:

The lower

0 1 2 3 4 5

E | -0 -|—|—|—|—|—|

B |—|- 1 -|—|—|—|—|

G |—|—|- 3 -|—|—|—|

2 D |—|—|- -|—|—|—|

A | -0 -|—|—|—|—|—|

And |-x-|—|—|—|—|—|

Note that skip the second and third fingers' of a sequence of E minor. Try strumming back and forth between the two chords: the transition is easier than it sounds good. Now let's look at D minor:

D minor

0 1 2 3 4 5

E |—|- 1 -|—|—|—|—|

B |—|—|—|- 3 -|—|—|

G |—|—|- 2 -|—|—|—|

D | -0 -|—|—|—|—|—|

A |-x-|—|—|—|—|—|

E |-x-|—|—|—|—|—|

Note that the fingering is a little different of D major. That's good, because it is very unlikely that you move between the two chords in a song. As always when practicing how to play guitar chords beginner, focus on a clean sound and avoiding strings that should not sound.
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Beginner Guitar Chords Made Easy ( part 2)

You can also play G major with a string of B open:

G Major

0 1 2 3 4 5

And |-|—|—|- 3 -|—|—|

B | 0 |—|—|—|—|—|

G | 0 |—|—|—|—|—|

D | 0 |—|—|—|—|—|

A 1 |-|—|- -|—|—|—|

And |-|—|—|- 2 -|—|—|

This form is more commonly used in folk and country, while the first form is more common in the rock. This has to do with B, which is the third largest: a distorted sound with the third can cause some ugly connotation when played on the strings above. As you learn guitar chords, make sure you try to play them with a variety of tones and pay attention to what sounds best for you. Also practice, getting your fingers in the right places as quickly as possible. Be patient: guitar chords learning takes time and practice. Focus on getting a clean sound all the notes and you'll improve quickly.

Let's take a look at another very common chord, E major (E, G #, B):

E Major

0 1 2 3 4 5

E | -0 -|—|—|—|—|—|

B | -0 -|—|—|—|—|—|

G |—|- 1 -|—|—|—|—|

D |—|—|- 3 -|—|—|—|

A 2 |—|—|- -|—|—|—|

E | -0 -|—|—|—|—|—|

The chord guitar and is very easy to friction and, again, you see that all the strings are strummed. Pay attention to the fingerings: learn the fingerings wrong now and you have bad habits that will hold you back later. Now let's look at a large:

A Major

0 1 2 3 4 5

And | -0 -|—|—|—|—|—|

B |—|—|- 3 -|—|—|—|

G |—|—|- 1 -|—|—|—|

D |—|—|- 2 -|—|—|—|

A | -0 -|—|—|—|—|—|

E |-x-|—|—|—|—|—|

Note that 'x' the low E string? This means that the string is not supposed to be scratched. And even that is part of the chord A major (A, C #, E), the bass makes the chord sound very muddy and hides the note of a root. Then, after you have twisted the fingers of your left hand around the rope, pay attention paid only to choose the five strings. In addition, make sure you can hear the high E string. This is really one of the beginner guitar chords you will learn difficult, simply because fingers are in an area so small. Stick with it, though, and follow the suggested fingering.

Once you can play an important role try switching between E major and a major. Take your time: a very slow transition, clean, with all notes sounding clearly sounds much better than a handful of notes lost and muted strings. Once you can back and forth, try a simple rhythm guitar beginner: Strum And twice, then A twice, and so on. Start very, very slowly, then try to pick up the speed a little. You'll quickly see why the fingering suggested should be followed: noting that the first finger remains in the same sequence and only moves up a fret, while the other fingers kind of bounce around the first finger.

Now let's add another chord, and then we try a transition tricker. Here's C major (C, E, G):

C major

0 1 2 3 4 5

E | -0 -|—|—|—|—|—|

B |—|- 1 -|—|—|—|—|

G | -0 -|—|—|—|—|—|

2 D |—|—|- -|—|—|—|

A 3 |—|—|—|- -|—|—|

E |-x-|—|—|—|—|—|

Note that once again the low E string is not touched. About this chord can let the third finger to touch the E string a little, which can help silence any unwanted noise in the chain. Make sure to keep strong pressure on the string, however.

Now, here's another rhythm guitar beginner: try strumming G twice, then C twice, and so on. This transition is more complicated because all fingers jumping too fast. Take it slow: as you're learning guitar chords the focus must be on a clean tone. Keep practicing this rate until you can move back and forth between G and C quickly and cleanly.
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Beginner Guitar Chords Made Easy (Part 1)

One of the skills you need to master as a guitarist is playing chords. While there are literally thousands of different possible ways of chords on the guitar, we focus on a few guitar chords beginner basics that can be moved and altered chords for many later. These can also be used right away to learn guitar songs easy.

Different flavors

You will learn chords guitar all types, but ultimately, there are two basic types of chords in music: big and small. All possible chords can be grouped into one of these two types. Major chords are built on larger scales and have a sound 'happy', while minor chords come from scales smaller and tend to have a sound 'sad'. While some songs use only one type of an agreement, most of the songs and progressions blend of major and minor chords. Let's start with chords larger.

Home Chords

Major chords are based on larger scales and use the notes first, third and fifth scale. We begin focusing on five major chords: C, A, G, E, and guitar chords D. Learning how this will open a whole world of music for you. Each chord diagram below shows where each string should be fretted, and with his finger. Let's start with open chords, which means that one or more open (not as junk) strings are included. Strings loose are shown with a '0 'in front of the first fret. Let's take a look in G major, which contains the notes G, B and D:

G Major

0 1 2 3 4 5

And |-|—|—|- 4 -|—|—|

B |-|—|—|- 3 -|—|—|

G | 0 |—|—|—|—|—|

D | 0 |—|—|—|—|—|

A 1 |-|—|- -|—|—|—|

And |-|—|—|- 2 -|—|—|

Notice that you need to get your middle finger all the way to the third fret on the bottom rope with his finger the first fret second string. Be sure to scroll wrist back and curl the fingers so that all the strings may move clearly. Try to choose only the sequence A: If you can not clearly hear the note B, wrap the middle finger a little more for it prevents the string. This will be a constant focus as you learn how to play guitar chords beginner: all the notes ring clearly need to sound good. Strum down with your choice, then up: you want all the notes sound as closely as possible, so strum quickly.
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Speed Playing

In this lesson were going to cover all aspects of playing fast guitar, including speed picked runs, legato phrases and economy picking phrases. Hopefully at the end of this lesson you should have some useful warm up excersises, tips on all picking aspects and lots of excersises to practise with.
This lesson will be split into 5 sections :
1. Warm up excersises
2. Alternative picking
3. Economy picking
4. Legato playing
5. Using these tips musically

Warm Up Excersises

These are a list of simple excersises that are useful for quickly warming up both your hands before playing these excersises. I use these almost everyday and they don't take long but they get your hands all warmed up, getting blood into your hands and getting the muscles pumped into your fingers so after a quick few excersises you feel like youve been playing for hours.
First were going to warm up, were going to give all your fingers are work out. The main focus of warming up fast though is to aim to get your index and pinky fingers warmed up as the rest of the hand will follow. Lets get started:

E|----------------------1h2p1------------------------------------------2h3-
B|------------------1h2-------2p1----------------------------------2h3-----
G|--------------1h2---------------2p1--------------------------2h3---------
D|----------1h2-----------------------2p1------------------2h3-------------
A|------1h2-------------------------------2p1----------2h3-----------------
E|--1h2---------------------------------------2p1--2h3---------------------

E|--3p2-----------------------------------------3h4p3-----------------------
B|------3p2---------------------------------3h4-------4p3-------------------
G|----------3p2-------------------------3h4---------------4p3---------------
D|--------------3p2-----------------3h4-----------------------4p3-----------
A|------------------3p2---------3h4-------------------------------4p3-------
E|----------------------3p2-3h4---------------------------------------4p3---

E|----------------------4h5p4-----------------------------------------5h6---
B|------------------4h5-------5p4---------------------------------5h6-------
G|--------------4h5---------------5p4-------------------------5h6-----------
D|----------4h5-----------------------5p4-----------------5h6---------------
A|------4h5-------------------------------5p4---------5h6-------------------
E|--4h5---------------------------------------5p4-5h6-----------------------

E|--6p5-----------------------------------------6h7p6-----------------------
B|------6p5---------------------------------6h7-------7p6-------------------
G|----------6p5-------------------------6h7---------------7p6---------------
D|--------------6p5-----------------6h7-----------------------7p6-----------
A|------------------6p5---------6h7-------------------------------7p6-------
E|----------------------6p5-6h7---------------------------------------7p6---

This is an excersise which can be replayed with any 2 fingers. To also aide your picking hand you can alternate pick descending ( up, down, up) and sweep (up, up, up) ascending, or mix it up, but don't worry the main aim is to warm up your fretting hand fingers. With this excersise use:1. Index and middle
2. Middle and ring
3. Ring and pinky
Next:

E|----------------------1h3p1-----------------------------------------2h4-
B|------------------1h3------3p1----------------------------------2h4-----
G|--------------1h3--------------3p1--------------------------2h4---------
D|----------1h3----------------------3p1------------------2h4-------------
A|------1h3------------------------------3p1----------2h4-----------------
E|--1h3--------------------------------------3p1--2h4---------------------

E|--4p2-----------------------------------------3h5p3-----------------------
B|------4p2---------------------------------3h5-------5p3-------------------
G|----------4p2-------------------------3h5---------------5p3---------------
D|--------------4p2-----------------3h5-----------------------5p3-----------
A|------------------4p2---------3h5-------------------------------5p3-------
E|----------------------4p2-3h5---------------------------------------5p3---

E|----------------------4h6p4-----------------------------------------5h7---
B|------------------4h6-------6p4---------------------------------5h7-------
G|--------------4h6---------------6p4-------------------------5h7-----------
D|----------4h6-----------------------6p4-----------------5h7---------------
A|------4h6-------------------------------6p4---------5h7-------------------
E|--4h6---------------------------------------6p4-5h7-----------------------

E|--7p5-----------------------------------------6h8p6-----------------------
B|------7p5---------------------------------6h8-------8p6-------------------
G|----------7p5-------------------------6h8---------------8p6---------------
D|--------------7p5-----------------6h8-----------------------8p6-----------
A|------------------7p5---------6h8-------------------------------8p6-------
E|----------------------7p5-6h8---------------------------------------8p6---

Ok this time use:1. Index and ring fingers
2. Middle and pinky fingers
Next:

E|--------------------------------1h2h3p2p1---------------------------------
B|--------------------------1h2h3-----------3p2p1---------------------------
G|--------------------1h2h3-----------------------3p2p1---------------------
D|--------------1h2h3-----------------------------------3p2p1---------------
A|--------1h2h3-----------------------------------------------3p2p1---------
E|--1h2h3----------------------------------------------------------3p2p1----

E|--------------------------------2h3h4p3p2---------------------------------
B|--------------------------2h3h5-----------4p3p2---------------------------
G|--------------------2h3h4-----------------------4p3p2---------------------
D|--------------2h3h4-----------------------------------4p3p2---------------
A|--------2h3h4----------------------------------------------4p3p2----------
E|--2h3h4----------------------------------------------------------4p3p2----

E|--------------------------------3h4h5p4p3---------------------------------
B|--------------------------3h4h5-----------5p4p3---------------------------
G|--------------------3h4h5-----------------------5p4p3---------------------
D|--------------3h4h5-----------------------------------5p4p3---------------
A|--------2h4h5----------------------------------------------5p4p3----------
E|--3h4h5----------------------------------------------------------5p4p3----

E|--------------------------------4h5h6p5p4---------------------------------
B|--------------------------4h5h6-----------6p5p4---------------------------
G|--------------------4h5h6-----------------------6p5p4---------------------
D|--------------4h5h6-----------------------------------6p5p4---------------
A|--------4h5h6----------------------------------------------6p5p4----------
E|--4h5h6----------------------------------------------------------6p5p4----

E|--------------------------------5h6h7p6p5---------------------------------
B|--------------------------5h6h7-----------7p6p5---------------------------
G|--------------------5h6h7-----------------------7p6p5---------------------
D|--------------5h6h7-----------------------------------7p6p5---------------
A|--------5h6h7----------------------------------------------7p6p5----------
E|--5h6h7----------------------------------------------------------7p6p5----

This time use:1. Index ,middle and ring fingers
2. Middle ,ring and pinky fingers
Next:

E|--------------------------------1h2h4p2p1---------------------------------
B|--------------------------1h2h4-----------4p2p1---------------------------
G|--------------------1h2h4-----------------------4p2p1---------------------
D|--------------1h2h4-----------------------------------4p2p1---------------
A|--------1h2h4----------------------------------------------4p2p1----------
E|--1h2h4----------------------------------------------------------4p2p1----

E|--------------------------------2h3h5p3p2---------------------------------
B|--------------------------2h3h5-----------5p3p2---------------------------
G|--------------------2h3h5-----------------------5p3p2---------------------
D|--------------2h3h5-----------------------------------5p3p2---------------
A|--------2h3h5----------------------------------------------5p3p2----------
E|--2h3h5----------------------------------------------------------5p3p2----

E|--------------------------------3h4h6p4p3---------------------------------
B|--------------------------3h4h6-----------6p4p3---------------------------
G|--------------------3h4h6-----------------------6p4p3---------------------
D|--------------3h4h6-----------------------------------6p4p3---------------
A|--------3h4h6----------------------------------------------6p4p3----------
E|--3h4h6----------------------------------------------------------6p4p3----

E|--------------------------------4h5h7p5p4---------------------------------
B|--------------------------4h5h7-----------7p5p4---------------------------
G|--------------------4h5h7-----------------------7p5p4---------------------
D|--------------4h5h7-----------------------------------7p5p4---------------
A|--------4h5h7----------------------------------------------7p5p4----------
E|--4h5h7----------------------------------------------------------7p5p4----

This one uses:1. Index ,middle and pinky
Next:

E|--------------------------------1h3h4p3p1---------------------------------
B|--------------------------1h3h4-----------4p3p1---------------------------
G|--------------------1h3h4-----------------------4p3p1---------------------
D|--------------1h3h4-----------------------------------4p3p1---------------
A|--------1h3h4----------------------------------------------4p3p1----------
E|--1h3h4----------------------------------------------------------4p3p1----

E|--------------------------------2h4h5p4p2---------------------------------
B|--------------------------2h4h5-----------5p4p2---------------------------
G|--------------------2h4h5-----------------------5p4p2---------------------
D|--------------2h4h5-----------------------------------5p4p2---------------
A|--------2h4h5----------------------------------------------5p4p2----------
E|--2h4h5----------------------------------------------------------5p4p2----

E|--------------------------------3h5h6p5p3---------------------------------
B|--------------------------3h5h6-----------6p5p3---------------------------
G|--------------------3h5h6-----------------------6p5p3---------------------
D|--------------3h5h6-----------------------------------6p5p3---------------
A|--------3h5h6----------------------------------------------6p5p3----------
E|--3h5h6----------------------------------------------------------6p5p3----

E|--------------------------------4h6h7p6p4---------------------------------
B|--------------------------4h6h7-----------7p6p4---------------------------
G|--------------------4h6h7-----------------------7p6p4---------------------
D|--------------4h6h7-----------------------------------7p6p4---------------
A|--------4h6h7----------------------------------------------7p6p4----------
E|--4h6h7----------------------------------------------------------7p6p4----

This one uses:1. Index ,ring and pinky fingers.
Last one now:

E|------------------------------------------1h2h3h4p3p2p1----------------
B|----------------------------------1h2h3h4---------------4p3p2p1--------
G|--------------------------1h2h3h4-------------------------------4p3p2p1
D|------------------1h2h3h4----------------------------------------------
A|----------1h2h3h4------------------------------------------------------
E|--1h2h3h4--------------------------------------------------------------

E|-----------------------------------------------------------------------
B|-----------------------------------------------------------------------
G|--4p3p2p1-------------------------------------------------2h3h4h5------
D|----------4p3p2p1---------------------------------2h3h4h5--------------
A|------------------4p3p2p1-----------------2h3h4h5----------------------
E|--------------------------4p3p2p1 2h3h4h5------------------------------

E|----------2h3h4h5p4p3p2------------------------------------------------
B|--2h3h4h5---------------5p4p3p2----------------------------------------
G|--------------------------------5p4p3p2--------------------------------
D|----------------------------------------5p4p3p2------------------------
A|------------------------------------------------5p4p3p2----------------
E|--------------------------------------------------------5p4p3p2-3h4h5h6

E|----------------------------------3h4h5h6p5p4p3------------------------
B|--------------------------3h4h5h6---------------6p5p4p3----------------
G|------------------3h4h5h6-------------------------------6p5p4p3--------
D|----------3h4h5h6-----------------------------------------------6p5p4p3
A|--3h4h5h6--------------------------------------------------------------
E|-----------------------------------------------------------------------

E|----------------------------------------------------------4h5h6h7------
B|--------------------------------------------------4h5h6h7--------------
G|------------------------------------------4h5h6h7----------------------
D|----------------------------------4h5h6h7------------------------------
A|--6p5p4p3-----------------4h5h5h7--------------------------------------
E|----------6p5p4p3-4h5h6h7----------------------------------------------

E|--7p6p5p4--------------------------------------------------------------
B|----------7p6p5p4------------------------------------------------------
G|------------------7p6p5p4----------------------------------------------
D|--------------------------7p6p5p4--------------------------------------
A|----------------------------------7p6p5p4------------------------------
E|------------------------------------------7p6p5p4----------------------

You can pretty much guess what fingers are required here. Now you should be very warmed up, as mentioned earlier some of these hammer-ons and pull offs are quite hard and instead just pick the notes if it's easier.

Alternative Picking

Alternative picking is probably the hardest, used by players like Michael Angelo and Buckethead, this picking style involves picking up and then down repeatly. Even if your changing strings you will have to have a constant up, down, up, down pattern. Alternative picking gives an aggressive, attacking sound when played. Below is a small excersise and we will discuss tips on getting your alternative picking accurate:

E|-----------------------------------------------------------------------
B|-----------------------------------------------------------------------
G|-----------------------------------------------------------------------
D|-----------12-13-12----------------12-13-12----------------12-13-12----
A|--12-14-15----------15-14-12-14-15----------15-14-12-14-15-------------
E|-----------------------------------------------------------------------
    D  U  D  U  D  U  D  U  D  U  D  U  D  U  D  U  D  U  D  U  D  U

This is a simple repeat lick excersise, you can play this sort of thing almost anywhere to feel comfortable but we will use this one now for starters. Play this lick constantly using the up, down, up, down motion. So the main issue I'm sure you'l find here is the upstroke on the string change down and the downstroke on the string change up. Practise this likc super slow and build up speed then try these:

E|--8-7-------------------7-8-7-------------------7-8-7------------------
B|------8-7-----------7-8-------8-7-----------7-8-------8-7--------------
G|----------8-7-5-7-8---------------8-7-5-7-8---------------8-7-5--------
D|-----------------------------------------------------------------------
A|-----------------------------------------------------------------------
E|-----------------------------------------------------------------------
   D U D U D U D U D  U D U D U D U D U D U D U D U D U D U D U D

E|--------------------12-14-15-14-12----------------------------------12-
B|-----------12-14-15----------------15-14-12----------------12-14-15----
G|--12-14-15----------------------------------15-14-12-14-15-------------
D|-----------------------------------------------------------------------
A|-----------------------------------------------------------------------
E|-----------------------------------------------------------------------
     D  U  D U  D  U  D  U  D  U  D  U  D  U  D  U  D  U  D  U  D  U  D

E|-----------10----------------10----------------10----------------10----
B|--------11----11----------11----11----------11----11----------11-------
G|-----12----------12----12----------12----12----------12----12----------
D|--11----------------11----------------11----------------11-------------
A|-----------------------------------------------------------------------
E|-----------------------------------------------------------------------
    D  U  D  U  D  U  D  U  D  U  D  U  D  U  D  U  D  U  D  U  D  U

That last one may seem tricky, as it's so tempting to sweep/economy pick it, but if you can pull it off it's very useful for training your picking hand. Remeber the key to this picking style is the ability to hit a new string below on an upstroke and a string above on a downstroke.

Economy Picking

Economy picking is a bit like alternative picking, up and down, but when you change string you pick in the direction of the change. So if you going to change to a string down you down stroke and a string up you upstroke. Try this example using economy picking:

E|---------------------------------------------------------------------
B|---------------------------------------------------------------------
G|---------------------------------------------------------------------
D|---------------------------------------------------------------------
A|----------9-12-10-9-10-12------------9-12-10-9-10-12------------9----
E|--9-10-12-----------------12-9-10-12-----------------12 9-10-12------
    D  U  D  D U  D U  D  U  U D U  D  D  U  D U  D  U  U D U  D  D

Notice how your up and downpicking but on the string change you follow the direction of the strings, it's seems easier than alternative picking and gives are a more smooth, flowing sound, players like Yngwie Malmsteen use this technique a lot and it sounds great with legato playing. Try these out:

E|-----------12-14-15-17-15-14-12-------------12-14-15-17-15-14-12-------
B|--12-14-15----------------------15-12-14-15----------------------15----
G|-----------------------------------------------------------------------
D|-----------------------------------------------------------------------
A|-----------------------------------------------------------------------
E|-----------------------------------------------------------------------
    D  U  D  D  U  D  U  D  U  D  U  D  U  D   D  U  S  U  S  U  D  U

E|--------12-10-------------12-10-------------12-10-------------12-10----
B|-----13-------11-------13-------11-------13-------11-------13------11--
G|--14-------------12-14-------------12-14-------------12-14-----------12
D|-----------------------------------------------------------------------
A|-----------------------------------------------------------------------
E|-----------------------------------------------------------------------
    D  D  D  U  U  U  D  D  D  U  U  U  D  D  D  U  U  U  D  D  D  U  U U

E|--------12-15p12---------12-15p12----------12-15p12----------12-15p12--
B|-----13---------13----13----------13----13----------13----13-----------
G|--12---------------12----------------12----------------12--------------
D|-----------------------------------------------------------------------
A|-----------------------------------------------------------------------
E|-----------------------------------------------------------------------
    D  D  D  U   U   D  D  D  U     U   D  D  D  U   U  D   D   D  U

Last one look familiar, it's a sweep picking shape. Economy picking is often refered to as sweep picking. So remeber, alternative pick on one string, pick with the direction of the string change when you change.

Legato Playing

Allthough technically not a picking style, it's is useful in playing fast. Some players don't prefer using legato and accuse it of "cheating". Legato is just as technical and useful in fast playing as any other of the techniques were using. Joe Satriani uses a lot of legato playing in his songs and they're incredibly fast. Legato is latin for "smoothly" and this technique does give an incredible smooth sound when played right. When hammer-ing on, make sure you hammer the string quickly and firmly, a lot of players only really use their middle or ring finger for this, but if you can train your pinky to do it you can reach whole new areas and create interesting licks. For pulling off, one of the main flaws players have is that when they pull off the accidently bend the string that they're pulling off to downwards, this makes the pull off sound out of tune. Make sure the finger your pulling off to holds the string firmly in place and your pulling finger to pluck strick forcefully to get a loud, full pull off.Try these licks out:

E|-----------------------------------------------------------------------
B|-----------------------------------------------------------------------
G|-----------------------------------------------------------------------
D|-------9-7h9------9-7h9------9-7h9------9-7h9------9-7h9------9 7h9----
A|--10p7-------10p7-------10p7-------10p7-------10p7-------10p7----------
E|-----------------------------------------------------------------------

E|--12h13p12h13-------------------------------------12h13p12h13----------
B|--------------12h13p12h13-------------12h13p12h13----------------------
G|--------------------------10h13p10h13----------------------------------
D|-----------------------------------------------------------------------
A|-----------------------------------------------------------------------
E|-----------------------------------------------------------------------

E|----------7p5--------------7p5-------------7p5-------------------------
B|-----------------------------------------------------------------------
G|------5h7-----7p5------5h7-----7p5-----7p5-----7p5---------------------
D|-----------------------------------------------------------------------
A|--5h7--------------5h7-------------5h7-------------5h7-----------------
E|-----------------------------------------------------------------------

For the first excersise a good technique is to barre the A and D strings with your first finger and then use your pinky and/or ring fingers to handle the hammer-ons and pull offs. As for the last excersise many players have difficulty changing to a lower string for a pull off, remeber to firmly place your first finger on the 5th fret and pluck the 7th fret downwards with your other finger to get an accurate pull off.

Using These Tips Musically

So we have warmed up, learnt pciknig styles and legato playing, now what? Well if you wanna play a fast lick, a lot of players simply use small licks like the excersises together, a combination of a few licks you've used can create a large, fast solo. As long as your playing is in key with the song you can make lots of speedy solo's using these small repeat excersises, like so:

E|--------------------12-14-15-14-12----------------------------------12-
B|-----------12-14-15----------------15-14-12----------------12-14-15----
G|--12-14-15----------------------------------15-14-12-14-15-------------
D|-----------------------------------------------------------------------
A|-----------------------------------------------------------------------
E|-----------------------------------------------------------------------

E|--14-15-14-12-------------------------------------14h15p14h15----17b(19)
B|--------------15-14-12-----------------12---------------------14-------
G|-----------------------15-14-12--12h14----15b(17)----------------------
D|-----------------------------------------------------------------------
A|-----------------------------------------------------------------------
E|-----------------------------------------------------------------------

E|-----------17-15-14----------------------------------------------------
B|--17-15-14-------------------15-14-12----------------------------------
G|--------------------15-14-12-------------------14-12-10----------------
D|--------------------------------------14-12-10-----------------12-10-9-
A|--------------------------------------------------------12-10-9--------
E|-----------------------------------------------------------------------

E|-----------------------------------------------------------------------
B|-----------------------------------------------------------------15p12-
G|-----------------------------------------------------------15p12-------
D|------------------------------------------------9-10-12-14-------------
A|----------------9-10-12-10-9------------9-10-12------------------------
E|--12-10-9-10-12--------------12-9-10-12--------------------------------

E|--15p12----------------------------------------------------------------
B|--------15b(17)--------------------------------------------------------
G|----------------9h12---------9h12---------9h12---------9h12---------9--
D|---------------------12-9h12------12-9h12------12-9h12------12-9h12----
A|-----------------------------------------------------------------------
E|-----------------------------------------------------------------------

E|-------9-12p9---------9-12p9---------9-12p9---------9-12p9-------------
B|----10--------10---10--------10---10--------10---10--------10b(12)-10--
G|--9--------------9--------------9--------------9-----------------------
D|-----------------------------------------------------------------------
A|-----------------------------------------------------------------------
E|-----------------------------------------------------------------------

As you can see all I did was use small licks together to create a large solo, now make your own. Source

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Parts Of An Electric Guitar

Since there is no other guide on the parts of a guitar (yet), I'll post one myself.


Body - this is the part of the guitar that holds the bridge, pickups, strings, strap holders, tremelo inputs, and volume/tone controls. The body is also usually made of some type of wood and comes in many different colors.


Strings - usually every guitar has 6 strings. You pluck and pick the strings to produce noise. Each string has a different level of thickness. The thicker the string, the lower the sound and vice versa. Sometimes, the strings can break and you need to get them replaced.


Bridge - the part where the strings sit at the body end of the guitar. The bridge may be Tune-O-Matic, Floyd Rose, Hardtail, Bigsby or Tremolo.


Pickups - the electronic devices that pick up magnetic fluctuations in the area around the pickup which can be disturbed by the string to make sound. They are can be found on the body under the strings.


Tremelo Inputs - most electric guitars include these, but some require installing to put one on. Located on the body, the temelo input produces a wavy sound by pressing down on the tremelo bar. Tremelo bars are sort of like sticks you push into the tremelo input.


Strap Holder - these are little stubs around the edge of the body of the guitar. They are used for keeping your strap on.


Volume/Tone Controls - are on the body of the guitar. If you mix the settings up a little, you can produce a unique sound. These controls can also be found on an amplifier.


Headstock - every guitar has a headstock. The headstock is the little piece of wood that sits on top of the fretboard. The headstock holds tuning pegs and the ends of the strings.


Tuning Pegs - without the tuning pegs, your guitar will sound like a most people who try out for 'American Idol.' Bad. Good thing, we have these little guys to tune our guitars with. The tuning pegs are little silver stubs on the side of the headstock.


Fretboard (frets and fret markers) - this is the neck part of the guitar. It contains frets and fret markers.


Frets are little metal ridges along the guitar that you would press the strings on to produce a different note.


Fret Markers are indicators of which fret is where on the fretboard. Fret markers can be found on the 3rd, 5th, 7th, 9th, 12th, 15th, 17th, 19th, and 21st fret. The 12th fret has a mark that differs from the rest of the marks on the fretboard. This is because the 12th fret produces the same note as an open string.
So this is a basic guide on the parts of an electric guitar. I hope you guys enjoyed it and I hope it helped you out.
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Basic Guitar Chords-3 different ways to understand and learn

Click on an image to zoom in

 

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Linkin Park - Meteora - Numb

Acoustic version of Linkin Park's "Numb". A great song, which also sounds great
on acoustic guitar. Hope you enjoy it!!

Capo on 2.

Intro: EM C G D * 2

Verse 1:

  EM         C
I'm tired of being what you want me to be
   G             D
Feeling so faithless lost under the surface
  EM                       C
Don't know what you're expecting of me
   G                        D      C      D
Put under the pressure of walking in your shoes

(Caught in the undertone just caught in the undertone)
       EM  G                C        D
Every step I take is another mistake to you

(Caught in the undertone just caught in the undertone)


Chorus:

  EM             C         G
I've become so numb I can't feel you there
   D      EM 
I've become so tired so much more aware
       C   G
I've becoming this all I want to do
   D       EM
Is be more like me and be less like you

Verse 2:
          C
Can't you see that you're smothering me
    G         D       EM
Holding too tightly afraid to lose control
        C
Cause everything that you thought I would be
       G           D                C        D
Has fallen apart right in front of you

(Caught in the undertone just caught in the undertone)
       EM              G        C       D
Every step that I take is another mistake to you

(Caught in the undertone just caught in the undertone)
      EM                G       D
And every second I waste is more than I can take


  EM             C         G
I've become so numb I can't feel you there
   D      EM 
I've become so tired so much more aware
       C   G
I've becoming this all I want to do
   D       EM
Is be more like me and be less like you

 D
And I know
       EM  G  EM   D   C
I may end up failing too
 D
But I know
           B (hold)
You were just like me with someone disappointed in you


  EM             C         G
I've become so numb I can't feel you there
   D      EM 
I've become so tired so much more aware
  C   G
I've becoming this all I want to do
   D       EM
Is be more like me and be less like you


                C         G
I've become so numb I can't feel you there
     D
(Tired of being what you want me to be)


 EM              C         G
I've become so numb I can't feel you there
     D
(Tired of being what you want me to be)


Ending: EM C G D

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song:VIVA LA VIDA by COLDPLAY album:VIVA LA VIDA or DEATH AND ALL HIS FRIENDS

These are all basic chords if you use a capo on the first fret.
if you dont have  a capo, C becomes C# , G becomes G#,
Em becomes Fm, D becomes D#, Bm becomes Cm.

Weird synthetizer/violin thingy arranged for guitar. Try to change between
normal and power chords when you feel like it, or it just will be too monotonous.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

STANDARD TUNING - CAPO 1

INTRO: C - D - G - Em    x2

(Em)      C        D
I used to rule the world 
           G                    Em
Seas would rise when I gave the word 
                     C       D
Now in the morning I sleep alone 
          G                 Em
Sweep the streets I used to own

C - D - G - Em    x2

(Em)      C         D
I used to roll the dice 
          G                 Em
Feel the fear in my enemy's eyes 
              C            D
Listen as the crowd would sing: 
          G                 Em
"Now the old king is dead! Long live the king!"


(Em)         C        D
One minute I held the key 
         G                    Em
Next the walls were closed on me 
                          C        D
And I discovered that my castles stand 
     G                    Em
Upon pillars of salt and pillars of sand 

  C              D
I hear Jerusalem bells are ringing 
G             Em
Roman Cavalry choirs are singing 
C                D
Be my mirror, my sword, and shield 
   G                 Em
My missionaries in a foreign field 
C                 D
For some reason I can't explain 
G                     Em              C      D
Once you go there was never, never an honest word
         Bm               Em 
That was when I ruled the world 

C - D - G - Em    x2

(Em)                  C     D
It was the wicked and wild wind 
              G               Em
Blew down the doors to let me in. 
                          C        D
Shattered windows and the sound of drums 
       G                    Em
People couldn't believe what I'd become

(Em)     C      D
Revolutionaries wait 
        G               Em
For my head on a silver plate 
                   C      D
Just a puppet on a lonely string
   G                         Em
Oh who would ever want to be king? 


  C              D
I hear Jerusalem bells are ringing 
G             Em
Roman Cavalry choirs are singing 
C                D
Be my mirror, my sword, and shield 
   G                 Em
My missionaries in a foreign field 
C                 D
For some reason I can't explain 
  G                     Em              
I know Saint Peter will call my name ,
   C            D 
never an honest word
              Bm               Em 
But that was when I ruled the world  

C - Em x3
D x2


C - D - G - Em    x2
(Ohhhhh Ohhh Ohhh)

  C              D
I hear Jerusalem bells are ringing 
G             Em
Roman Cavalry choirs are singing 
C                D
Be my mirror, my sword, and shield 
   G                 Em
My missionaries in a foreign field 
C                 D
For some reason I can't explain 
  G                     Em              
I know Saint Peter will call my name ,
   C            D 
never an honest word
              Bm                Em 
But that was when I ruled the world  

C - D - Bm - Em              and fading...
Oooooh Oooooh Oooooh

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How Electric Guitars Work - All you Need to Know

Guitars come in various shapes, sizes, looks and design. The music world has classical acoustic guitars, semi-acoustic guitars, electric guitars, hollow body guitars, jumbo guitars, ‘S' hole guitars etc. Each of these guitars has its own characteristic generic looks, characteristic sound and tonality, which attract their own respective following. Overall, guitars can be classified into two broad categories: acoustic guitars and electric guitars.
How Does a Guitar Work?
To know how guitar work, let us first see what is common to the working of any guitar. Every acoustic guitar has a minimum of six parts - the guitar neck with guitar nut and headstock, fret board, tuning keys, Guitar Bridge, sound box and guitar strings. Each of these parts is crucial to the good working of the guitar and plays its own roles to dole out music.
The guitar strings are long strands of metal or nylon wire, which stretch along through the major length of the guitar. There are normally six strings in a guitar (for the most common six-string guitar). All of these six strings run parallel to each other and are interspersed with a small gap between them. There are the sound generators of the guitar.
Strings generate sound for the guitar by vibrating along their vibrating length. The guitar bridge on one end and the guitar nut on the other end fix the vibrating length of a guitar string. The strings are tied onto a guitar under tension. The strings are plucked by fingers or with a pick. The tension in the string (varied about with the help of tuning keys) makes the string to vibrate.
Up to this point, the working of all guitars is the same. What happens next is what categorizes whether the guitar is an acoustic guitar or and electric guitar.
Working of Acoustic Guitars
All guitars have strings that vibrate which are the principal sound generators of the musical instrument. If you pluck a string tied under tension (no, no! not on a guitar!) you will find that the sound produced is not what you will want to hear again and again as you would like to hear the sound of a good guitar. Moreover, the sound from bare strings is very soft and you will barely be able to hear them. The sound has to be amplified so that people far and near can hear them. This is where the sound box from the acoustic guitar comes in. The sound box of an acoustic guitar is made as an hollow body constructed out of wood. It uses the ‘acoustics' of the shape of the hollow body, material characteristics etc to amplify the sound generated by the string. The sound box of a guitar gives it its characteristic sound.
How Does An Electric Guitar Work?
Electric guitars amplify the sound generated by the guitar strings electronically. Instead of the sound box of an acoustic guitar, an electric guitar has pick-ups and other electronic components. The pick up from an electric guitar picks up the sound waves generated by the strings and converts them into their corresponding minute electrical signals. There are different types of pickups. Commonly used ones are magnetic pickups, piezo electric pickups, condenser pick ups etc.
The converted electric signal then passes through the various electronic components mounted on the guitar and finally into the sound amplifier which electronically amplifies the sound. The electronic components on the guitar modulate the converted electric signal to suit the guitarist. Most commonly found components on guitars are the volume control knob (which enables the guitarist to control the volume of the guitar sound) and tone control knobs (which enables the playing guitarist to determine the sound tonality).
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Reason why James Blunt made the song: You’re Beautiful

James Blunt’s “You’re Beautiful” can be found on his “Back To Bedlam” album which sold 2.37 million copies across the UK in 2005 making it the year’s top selling album.
According to James he came up with this song after seeing his ex-girlfriend with a new man on a train. He says that during the brief eye contact he had with her, they shared a lifetime.
During an interview with the Daily Record, James was asked if he was tired of the song whereby he replied with the following:
“If I had the radio on all the time and they kept playing that song then yes, I’d probably turn it off. But do I still like the song? Absolutely. It’s a really personal song about a moment which meant a great deal to me. And I’m sure plenty of guys have seen their ex-girlfriend with a new man at some stage. It bites into you and I captured that in a really honest song. I love that song for capturing that moment. I’m saddened by what it reminds me of, and I appreciate what it did which is advertise an album I’d made.”
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Gibson Les Paul Guitars – Why Does Paul Continue To Get Screwed?

Ask ten experts about the first Gibson Les Paul guitar and you will get ten different answers. The most popular belief is that the Gibson Guitar Corporation and electronics inventor, and jazz guitarist Frean Donni. With the release of the Fender Telecaster the electric guitar began to catch on like wildfire. Not wanting to be left behind James Verdon who was at the time the president of Gibson Guitar hired Les Paul as a consultant.

Rumors had been circulating that Les Paul had been experimenting with various guitar designs for years. Paul did have a prototype that he called, “The Log.” If you were to ask some industry experts they would say that this was the first solid-body Spanish guitar ever built.

Another fact that not many know is that Les Paul had pitch his prototype, “The Log” to Gibson, but his design was rejected. Things changed in 1951 when the same design became a collaboration between the Gibson Guitar Corporation and Les Paul.

Among the guitar community Les Paul is still on of the most commonly debated topics. Enthusiast still argue over exactly what his contributions were. Some say that Paul was nothing more than a consultant and only contributed ideas for the trapeze tailpiece, and the color of the final guitar which was named, “Les Paul.”

Ted McCarty the president of the Gibson Guitar Corporation said that Les Paul only contributed his name and allowed them to imprint it on the headstock to increase model sales. McCarty went on record stating that Les Paul only contributed to the tailpiece and the fitting of a maple cap over the mahogany body.

For whatever reason people have continued to minimize Les Paul’s contributions to the historical guitar. The strange thing is the original guitar only has Les Paul’s name on it.
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How to use a guitar tuner?

The quickest and most accurate way to tune your guitar is by using a guitar tuner. A guitar tuner is an essential tool for the guitarist; no guitar gig bag should be without one.  A guitar tuner tells the guitarist whether the note he is playing on each open string of his instrument is at the correct frequency; it allows you to tune the guitar with precision. Before you use your guitar tuner, make sure to read the instructions that it came with, it will have helpful information about the tuner that you may need to know.

Here is how to tune a guitar using a guitar tuner:

*Turn the tuner on

*For the acoustic guitar, placed the built-in microphone next to the guitar sound hole and for the electric guitar, plug the guitar into the tuner then pluck the string that you wish to tune.

*Observe the indicator on the tuner it should be in the center position and showing the name of the note when the string is in tune. If the indicator has past the center position, this means that the string is too tight or sharp, release and adjust the tuning key until the indicator the remains in the center position. If the indicator stays below the center position, the string is too flat, tighten tuning key until the indicator remains in the center position. You should repeat this procedure for the remaining strings.

 Alternate methods of tuning the guitar

You may not always have a guitar tuner at your disposal so here are some alternative ways to tuning your guitar.

 Tuning by Ear

*Place a finger on the fifth fret of the sixth string. Now, play the sixth string and the open fifth string. Listen to the two pitches they should sound alike. If the open fifth string sounds lower than the sixth string then tighten the fifth string tuning key until the two notes sound alike. If the open fifth string sounds higher than the first note then loosen the fifth string tuning key. Remember; always adjust the tuning key of the open string, not the fretted string.

*Next, play the fifth fret on the fifth string and the open fourth string. Listen to the two pitches carefully and adjust the open fourth string accordingly just as you did in step one.

*Now repeat for the fourth string at the fifth fret. Listen and tune the open third string to it.

*Tune the second string by playing the third string at the fourth fret and tune the open second string to it. This is the only string that does not use the fifth fret as the reference. It is tuned to a major third rather that a fourth like the others are.

*Lastly, play the second string with your finger back at the fifth fret and tune the open first string to it.

 Tuning Using a Keyboard or Piano

You can tune your guitar to a keyboard or piano by making the E A D G B E notes on a keyboard match the open strings of a guitar. Strike the note on the keyboard or piano then strike the corresponding note on the guitar. Try aiming to make the notes sound as closely as possible. Happy tuning.

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What is the difference between an accoustic guitar and an electric guitar?

Acoustic guitars and electric guitars differ in many different ways. The first way is obviously sound production. The way an acoustic guitar makes sound and the way an electric guitar makes its sound, it very dissimilar. This accounts for the two totally diverse sound you can get out of each instrument. An electric guitar makes sound from its pickups. Pickups are basically high powered magnets which can be configured in any way to produce the desired sound of the guitar player. The pickups detect the vibrations of the strings as you pluck. The pickups then convert these vibrations into sound which is heard from the amplifier.

An acoustic guitar makes sound drastically different from an electric guitar. An acoustic guitar produces sound using the little "chamber" or whole you can see under the strings. The string's vibrations are funneled down into the little hole and reflected back out as sound waves. This makes a crisp clear sound, but is much softer than an electric guitar.

Although there is a fine line between electric and acoustic guitars, developers are now bridging the gap. Now, electric guitars can sound like acoustic guitars and acoustic guitars can sound like electric guitars. How is this possible you ask? This is possible because of a new pickup now called a hybrid pickup. This pickup is usually much smaller than a regualr sized one. It is planted between the end of the neck and first regular pickup of the guitar. It produces sound waves almost identical to that of an acousitc guitar which makes the two sound so similar.

There are also pickups on acoustic guitars. The guitars that have these pickups are called acoustic-electric guitars which you might have heard of before. The pickups detect the sound waves of the guitar, and produce the sound waves electronically. This is why it is an acoustic electric guitar. It makes the guitar much louder than it normally would be. It can be hooked up to an amplifier and is great for use at concerts which feature acoustic guitars.

With modern advancements in technology, it is now possible to have the best of both worlds in guitars. Many recording guitarists use acoustic electric guitars for recording acoustic guitar sounds. This is because it is much easier to hook it up to recording devices. Also it is now possible to have guitar effects hooked up to an acoustic guitar . This expands the horizons of both producers and musicians alike.

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How To Read Tabs (Part 2)

Now for the special symbols used in tabs:

p = pull off
      h = hammer on
      \ = slide (downward)
      b = string bend
      / = slide (upward)
      ~ = string vibrato

let's explain these symbols with a tab:

e     |------------------------------------------------|
B     |------------------------------------------------|
G     |-----------------------9-11-11h12 12p11--9h11---|
D     |-9-9h11--11p9--9-11/12--------------------------|
A     |------------------------------------------------|
E     |------------------------------------------------|

first, D string at 9th fret is played. Then we notice 9h11. This means you put your finger at 9th fret, pick the string than hammer the 11th fret. Hammering means you pick a string with your finger at one fret, then without picking that string again you use your fretting hand to hit another fret (in this case 11th fret) hard enough to creat sound. Remember, you pick once but get 2 notes when hammering. Next we see 11p9. This means pick the string at 11th fret then 'pull-off' that finger while another finger is already placed at 9th fret. It's like pincing the string at 11th fret with the fretting hand while you have a finger placed at 9th fret. The effect is like reverse hammering. 2 notes are played with one picking of the strumming hand. Hammering and pull-offs are often done in a row like 9h11p9. It's playing the 9th fret, then hammering the 11th fret and then pulling-off to 9th fret again. All with just one pick of the strumming hand. Sound difficult? You will learn it if you practice. It's not that hard.
As we move along the tab, we notice 11/12. This means you hold down 11th fret and pick the string, then without releasing the pressure, you 'slide' the finger to 12th fret. Again, you pick once but get two notes when sliding.
\ is just sliding in the other direction. So 5\3 means slide from 5th fret to 3rd fret, picking onle once (at 5th fret).
~ means just vibrating the finger when you hold down a string at a fret. It gives a nice effect.
b means bending the string at a fret to give the sound of another fret. For a beginner I would suggest, avoid string bending for now, and don't try to play the tabs that has a lot of string bending.
My final advice for the beginner who is now ready to read his first tab: start with a simple tab like 'Come as you Are' - Nirvana or 'Hurt' - Johnny Cash.
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How To Read Tabs (Part 1)

Tabs tell you how a song is played in guitar. Reading tabs is easy, you won't have to go through this lesson twice.
Guitars usually have six strings (there are 7 string and 12 string guitars also, we'll ignore them now). The first thing you have to know is the name of the six strings. The top string is the thickest string, and it is called the 6th string or E-string because it plays E note at open fret (when you don't hold down any frets and just pick the string), assuming standard tuning. The next string is called 5th string or A string for similar reasons. The other string in order are 4th or D string, 3rd or G string, 2nd or B string and 1st or e-string (thinnest string). As the 1st and 6th string are both E notes, we distinguish the 1st string by writing it in a smaller case 'e'.
Now we are ready to move to tabs.
The first thing you will notice about tabs is that there are six lines. They represent the six strings of the guitar. They look like this:

e ------------------------
 B ------------------------
 G ------------------------
 D ------------------------
 A ------------------------
 E ------------------------

I have written the string names (the note each string plays when you don't hold down any frets) on the left, this may not be given in all tabs. If it is not given, you have to assume that it is the same as I have written. Note that the top string of your guitar (the 6th or E string) is written at the bottom of the tab, and the bottom string (1st of e string) is written at the top. Many beginners get confused at this, but this is the standard way to write tabs (don't ask me why).
Also note that in some cases the string names may be writter differently. These are the cases when the song is not played with standard tuning. That means the open strings don't play the notes E,A,D,G,B,e but some other notes. As this lesson is for beginners, we will stick to standard tuning guitar tabs.
The next thing you notice on a tab is the numbers. The numbers represent frets. 1 means 1st fret, 2 means second fret and so on. A 0 (zero) means open string. For example:

e --------2-----------------
 B ------3---3---------------
 G ----2-------2-------------
 D --0-----------------------
 A --------------------------
 E --------------------------

The tab is read from left to right. So, this tab means, first you play D string at open fret, then G string at 2nd Fret, then B string and 3rd fret and so on. If you know your chord, then you would notice that this tab plays the notes of D-major chord.Another example:

e --0--0--0--2--2--------------
 B --0--0--2--3--3--------------
 G --1--1--2--2--2--------------
 D --2--2--2--0--0--------------
 A --2--2--0--x--x--------------
 E --0--0--x--x--x--------------

The difference between this tab and the first tab is that in this tab, multiple strings are hit at the same time, so this indicates strumming. At first you hold down and A and D string and 2nd fret and G string at 1st fret and play all 6 strings. If you know chords, then you would notice that this is E-major chord. According to the tab, E-major chord is strummed twice. The next chord is A-major which is strummed once and then D-major is strummed twice.The x indicates that that string is not played. Meaning you don't hit that string with your strumming hand. It could also indicate a dead note. This means that you play that string with your strumming hand but it doesn't make a sound becuase you muted that string with your other hand. Holding a string lightly (rather than pressing it firmly down at the fret board) and hitting it creates a dead note. Wheather or not a string in not played or a dead note can be confusing as they are both represented by x. Listining to the song will often give you a clue. For a beginner, assume that the x indicates that the string is not played.
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