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I recently got an e-mail from a reader asking about getting their guitar “set up”.  I realize that I often recommend folks get their guitars set up, but I don’t often explain it.

Sometimes you may hear a guitar player talk about their set up.

But what does it mean to get your guitar set up?

Should you get your guitar set up?

Short Answer:

A while back I got a question from a fat-fingered Severn River Music reader (sorry Robert, but you said it, not me).  Here’s what Robert said:

I just started (1 week ago) teaching myself to play on an old classical acoustic guitar that was given to me. Eventually want to learn to play some old and new rock/pop songs so is learning on a classical guitar ok? I’m just doing basic dexterity/scales practice for about 20-45 mins a day and started learning a few chords. I do have some issues due to having smaller hands/fat fingers and was wondering if that will always hold me back or will it just take longer to get the needed dexterity? Also, calluses are coming along nicely so it’s not as painful now!

Hey Robert – Ahhh yeah, the old fat/stubby/little/short finger issue. A few things that may help:

Use A Big Fat Guitar

Using a classical guitar will probably help anyone who has thicker fingers. Generally, classical guitars have wider/thicker necks, which usually means that the strings are further apart. This lessens the issue of your fingers rubbing up against the wrong strings.  Rubbing up against the wrong strings mutes the strings (or gives you that buzzy sound).

Unfortunately, wider necks can make it more difficult for players with small hands.

Capo That Baby Up!

Using a capo on the 4th or 5th fret (or playing your scales on higher frets) may help as well.

As you get further down the neck of the guitar, the frets become closer together.  This means that you don’t need to stretch your fingers as much as you would in the first position (up near the headstock of the guitar).

Closer frets means less stretching which can make playing guitar easier for people with small hands.  

Examples of Famous Guitar Players with Fat Fingers (or no fingers)

Check out this post (and video) of Django Reinhardt. One of the best guitar players ever, and he only used two fingers.  He lost the use of his pinky and ring fingers, leaving him only able to play guitar with his pointer and middle finger.

Read the full post for all of the details, but the bottom line is: don’t let your physical limitations, limit your guitar playing.

Another example is Richie Havens – who had super large fingers that made normal open position chords tricky to play.  Basic things like G, Am, Em, F, etc  – so he relied on open tunings to get the sound he wanted.  You can see a video of Richie Havens (and his fat fingers) in action here.

From the New York Times...

His hands were very large, which made it difficult to play the guitar. He developed an unorthodox tuning so he could play chord patterns not possible with conventional tunings. The style was picked up by other folk and blues singers.

“A person looking at him might think he was just flailing about,” the guitarist Barry Oliver said in the magazine Guitar Player. “But the way he flailed about was so musical, and it went perfectly with what he was portraying. He’s a good example of not having to have to be a technically perfect guitarist in order to come across.”

I love that quote:  “not having to have to be a technically perfect guitarist in order to come across”.  I also love the his style was picked up by other folk and blues singers!  He couldn’t play using traditional methods so he created his own method out of necessity!

Real Life Examples (from Normal People)

Meet Gus.

My 48 year old student.

He plays a Gibson Les Paul.

He has smallish hands and thick fingers.

Sound familiar?

I have yet to find a song that Gus can’t play.  Now granted, he does a lot of power chords.  But he also plays solos and intricate arpeggiated chords.  I’m talking bar chords… C shaped bar chords.

He loves Red Hot Chili Peppers.  These aren’t the easiest songs to play… and play well.  But Gus can do it.

It takes him a little longer to find the chords.  He has to really focus his efforts.  It certainly doesn’t come as easy to him.  But he loves the music and he loves guitar so he makes it work.

I’ve had other students with gigantic bear sized hands and sausage fingers.  Yet they still execute chords and scales perfectly.  It takes patience and deliberate practice.

Thanks for everyone that comments and asks questions.  If it weren’t for you, I would never be able to address questions like the one in this article.  That’s it!  If I missed anything (or if you have any questions) let me know in the comments below!

Jake Posko is the owner of Severn River Music – proudly and happily providing in-home guitar, piano, drum and music lessons in the Maryland area including: Annapolis, Edgewater, Severna Park, Pasadena, Crownsville, Arnold and Kent Island, inquire about lessons by e-mailing him at jake@jakeposko.com

This post may contain affiliate links.  Please read my disclosure for more info.

Note:  If you’re serious about learning to play the guitar (especially if you want to teach yourself guitar), I strongly suggest you check out something like this online guitar app.  I have a detailed review of JamPlay and other services here). 

Ok, so maybe you’re feeling good about playing chords on the guitar and now you’re ready to learn how to play some riffs, solos, or melodies.

You could learn how to read music (also known as standard notation).

You know, the stuff that looks like this:

While that would work, I’m not a fan of learning to read music (as a beginner).

Reading music is extremely beneficial but it has a steep learning curve (which is probably why a lot of beginners quit before they ever get started).

Fortunately for guitar players, there is another option.

See this stuff:

That is tablature. Pronounced TAB-la-ture.  Let’s call it “tab” for short.

At first glance it looks confusing.

Like some kind of weird algebraic formula.

I assure you it’s not.

Before I teach you how to read tablature (which is super easy), I need to explain what tab is and what it isn’t.

Tab is a shortcut for learning how to play melodies, lead, or solo guitar (and to a lesser extent, chords).

Tab is a sort of common sense way of learning to translate guitar from the page to the actual instrument.

It’s a way to play music using the guitar, without actually reading music.

Tab tells you exactly which strings to press down.

It tells you the exact order of the notes you should play.
By the end of this article, you will be able to read tab… and if you can read tab… you can learn to play any song that you are familiar with.

Note: Here’s the trouble with tab: You generally need to be familiar with the music/song you want to play. Tab doesn’t tell you anything about the rhythm of the song. This is a serious downside – but one I wouldn’t worry too much about. For our purposes, we just want to get you playing some basic melodies – and tab will do just fine for this purpose.

Part One of Tablature:

First, I suggest printing out this tablature example here (so you can reference the example and read at the same time).

Ok, so here’s how tab works:  Each horizontal line represents a string on your guitar.

In the example above, we have six horizontal lines (just like we have six strings on the guitar). The bottom line labeled “E” (uppercase E) is the fattest/thickest string on your guitar (the Low E string). When holding your guitar properly, it’s the string furthest from the floor (closest to the ceiling). It’s called “low” because it’s low in pitch. When you pluck the low E String it has a deep bass sound.

Go ahead and pluck low E with your thumb.

Good? Ok.

Now let’s move on to “High E”. On our tab above, “high E” is indicated by a lower case “e”. This isn’t always the case, however, when reading tab, the “High e” string will always be represented by the top line on our tablature.

Go ahead and pluck the high E string with your thumb.

All of the lines in between the High and Low E strings represent other strings on the guitar. Each line is labeled with the name of the guitar string.

Pretty self explanatory.

Part Two of Tablature:

Ok – if the horizontal lines are the strings. What are the numbers? Frets. Right.

Each time you see a number on one of the lines, it is telling you to press down at a particular fret.

Using the example above, the first number we see is “4” and it is listed on the “high e string”. Here’s what to do:

Take your index finger, and place it just above the metal fret on the high e string. It should look like this:


Notice how the finger is placed just above fret. Also, notice how the tip of the finger is used to press down the string (not so much the fingerprint part of your finger).

Just like when we play chords, we want to make sure that your finger is in the right place.

Right Place:
1. Right next to the fret.
2. Using your finger tip
3. Pressing down firmly

Wrong Place:
1. Too far away from the fret.
2. On top of the fret.
3. Using your “finger print”
4. Pressing down too lightly (which will produce a buzzing noise).

Placing your finger like this may work occasionally, though as you begin to play more complex pieces, or start to play chords, this type of finger placement can cause trouble.

All of these incorrect fretting/finger-placement techniques are very common among beginners. Try to be aware of how you’re placing your fingers. It’s best to start with good habits.

Ok. Now that we’ve played the 4th fret of the high e string. Let’s move on to the next number in the sequence. This happens to be “2”. So what do we do? Place your finger on the second fret of the high e string. Pluck it.

Got it?

Next we have a “0” listed on the high e string. What does this mean? It means you just play the high e string without pressing down any of the frets. We just play the open e string.

Got it? Good.

Now, start over from the beginning of the tab sheet (start at the beginning with the fourth fret).

Using your index finger, play all the way through the entire series of notes.

When done, the melody should sound something like “Mary had a Little Lamb”.

If it doesn’t, try again. Go slowly through the series of notes.

Make sure you press down firmly on the strings using the tip of your index finger.

Make sure you place your finger directly behind/next-to the fret.

Don’t worry if it’s slow. Don’t worry if it’s choppy. It will get better.

Keep practicing!

And that’s it!   Hopefully that clears some things about about reading tablature on the guitar.  If not, leave me a comment below and I’ll try to help!

(Jake Posko does Online Guitar Lessons and Coaching as well as in-home lessons in the Annapolis, Maryland area including: Annapolis, Edgewater, Severna Park, Pasadena, Crownsville, Arnold and Kent Island, inquire about lessons by e-mailing him at jake@jakeposko.com).

This post may contain affiliate links.  Please read my disclosure for more info.

After teaching guitar for a number of years, you start to see a pattern questions asked by beginners.

I’ve decided to compile these questions in the post below.  In some cases the questions are answered in this article, in others I’ll direct you to previous articles (with more in depth and better answers.

Here are the questions we’ll cover (scroll down for responses)

• What is a capo for?
• Do you need to use picks?
• When do I change strings?
• How much are guitar lessons?
• What happens if a string breaks?
• Do I have to learn to read music?
• How much should a practice guitar?
• How long does it take to learn a song on guitar?
• Is it better for a child to learn on electric or acoustic?
• Do I need a guitar teacher? (or Should I take guitar lessons)

Answers below:

This post may contain affiliate links.  Please read my disclosure for more info.

Ok…

As much as I’d love to get a new guitar as a gift (and will never turn one away), I would caution anyone to purchase a guitar as a christmas present.

Unless you’re buying a guitar for a beginner, do NOT buy a guitar as a gift.

Here’s why….

Why you should NOT buy a guitar as a gift.

Guitar players are finicky.

And guitars are personal.

There are so many different styles, makes, models, and variations.

For example, let’s say you want to purchase an electric guitar for your spouse.

Well, what kind of electric guitar?

Are we talking solid body, hollow body, semi-hollow body?

What kind of pickups?  Single coil? Humbuckers?

What brand? Fender? Gibson? PRS?

Already my head is spinning.

There are so many choices.

Not only that – there are choices within choices.

For example, let’s say you want to get a Fender Stratocaster.

Go check out these Amazon listings.

The price range will vary by hundreds, sometimes thousands of dollars.

When you SHOULD buy a guitar as a gift.

There are two circumstances when you should buy a guitar as a gift:

1. When you know EXACTLY what to get.
2. When you’re buying a beginner guitar.

When you know EXACTLY what to get.

If your guitar-player-gift-recipient has told you precisely what they want… go for it!

If YOU are a guitar player (or if you are extremely knowledgable)…. go for it!

In these cases there is little room for error.

You probably have a budget set and (hopefully) know what you’re looking for.

When you’re buying a beginner guitar.

If you’re buying a guitar for a beginner or a guitar for a child then it’s probably ok to surprise them with a gift.

Do you’re research before getting a guitar for a kid… make sure that you buy the correct size.

Regardless of age, make sure you buy the appropriate type of guitar.   Do they want electric, acoustic, or classical?

Well… what gift SHOULD I buy for a guitar player?

Don’t be dismayed!  There are still plenty of gifts you can buy for the guitar player in your life.

The easiest (but most boring) would be a gift card to Guitar Center or Amazon.

If you want some guitar-related stocking stuffers you can check out this list of guitar accessories.

If you know what kind of guitar they have, you may want to get them a nice guitar case or guitar stand.

Or, if you may want to consider getting them a subscription to a service like this (full detailed writeup here).

Any of these things would be great alternatives to a guitar (that may or may not fit the needs of the guitar player).

There you go!  Let me know in the comments below if you have any questions (or suggestions for other guitar-related gifts).

This post may contain affiliate links.  Please read my disclosure for more info.

A few years ago I started exclusively teaching in-home guitar lessons.

This means that I would go to a new student’s home.

I would ask the parents or student which room we should conduct our lesson.

Inevitably we’d end up in the living room with comfy armchairs or sofas.

Or maybe an office with a swivel office chair and a loveseat.

And sometimes we’d end up in my favorite: the dining room.

Yes.  The dining room.

Why?

Dining room chairs.

What’s so great about dining room chairs?

Well… most of them have no arms.

When it comes to playing guitar, no arms = good chair.

It’s kind of a weird thing to think about: A specific guitar playing chair.

Well it’s a thing.

We guitar players are a finicky bunch.

Guitar teachers may be more so.

So here are the best things to sit on when playing guitar….

What EXACTLY is an Acoustic Electric Guitar?

This post may contain affiliate links.  Please read my disclosure for more info.

An acoustic-electric (sometimes referred to as acousto electric, or electro acoustic) is simply an acoustic guitar that you can plug in to an amplifier.

(For those who don’t know, a pickup is an electric device that is used to amplify your guitar.  On electric guitars they are the devices underneath the strings, built in to the body of the guitar).

With most electrified acoustic guitars, the pickups are tucked away within the hollow body of your guitar. Unless you really poke your head in there, you won’t see the pickup.

You will however, see an input jack on the body of your guitar where you can plug in a guitar cable.

You may also see some kind of control panel on the body of the guitar.

The control panel may include things like a built in tuner, a battery case, a gain/volume control knob, and/or tone controls.

There’s a lot more to it… here are some common questions….