Guitar Mastery Simplified: How Anyone Can Quickly Become a Strumming, Chords, and Lead Guitar Ninja

by Erich Andreas

Many people believe so fervently in this idea of an innate need for talent – as opposed to sheer practice – that they talk themselves right out of excellence! Defenders of the talent theory like to use examples of great icons that excel in a particular field or genre and say “there, you can’t tell me that they are not talented!” They assume that the person was simply born with the ability they are displaying in their excellent performance.

  This assumption, however, is very insulting and negates the thousands – or even tens of thousands of hours – that a person has spent “perfecting” their craft.

  What do Jimi Hendrix, Amadeus Mozart, Michael Jordan and Thomas Edison all have in common? Well, depending on who you ask, some might say they were gifted or talented. Others who have taken the time to step back, will realize that their gains are because of dedication, innovation, organization and perseverance. They understand that the more one practices, the better one gets.

  Now I know that concept sounds logical, but see if you can step outside yourself for a moment and watch yourself slip into the “talent camp” when something appears to be out of your reach.

  What I’m saying is, and I know this from personal experience because I used to do it often, it’s easy to look at someone who has “mastered his craft” and say that they have some leg up on you. I’ve done it so many countless times throughout my life. I used to do it most often with musicians, but my love of illusions (magic), martial arts, etc., have also made me assume that somebody had a hidden key that I was not able to find.

  I have played guitar for several decades now, have learned thousands of songs and have attempted to imitate hundreds of guitar players. I have seen success in all of these areas. I’ve had many people comment on how “talented” I am. The funny thing is, when I started playing guitar, I was TERRIBLE! Why is that?

  It is that way because everybody is terrible when they just pick up the guitar! It’s just that some folks forgot the process and how long it actually took them. Jimi Hendrix was terrible when he first picked up the guitar! Eric Clapton was terrible when he first picked up the guitar! Yngwie Malmsteen was terrible when he first picked up the guitar!

  Are you getting the picture?

  We would be much better off to replace the word talent with perseverance. Now that is a pill I can swallow! If someone said to me “the reason that a particular player does not play as well as Jimi Hendrix is because he doesn’t have the talent,” I would never concur. If someone said to me, “the reason that someone does not play as well as Jimi Hendrix is because they don’t have the same perseverance that he had,” I would wholeheartedly agree!

  Perhaps to define it better, instead of the word perseverance we could even replace it with “efficient practice time.” Now how unromantic is that? I know, it kind of makes you want to call it “talent” again right? How much cooler to think that we would not have to work and that we could just be born into such a thing. Let’s not fall into the trap. It’s lame and it’s lazy and it’s NOT the truth.

  Jimi Hendrix started playing guitar somewhere around 10 years old. If he were so “talented”, he would not have had to practice so much? Why didn’t we hear of him breaking into the music scene at 10 or 11? What about Amadeus Mozart, Michael Jordan and Thomas Edison? Mozart was known to utterly surround himself with music. He was constantly immersed in it from a very young age. It’s true that some people catch “the music bug” earlier than others, giving them several years more practice than others. That is a truism that you can’t escape.

  If someone starts playing guitar at age 4 as opposed to age 14, when both reach the age of 15 the one guitarist will have been practicing for 11 years while the other will have been practicing for one year. It’s simple math. Can you see which player might sound better? Is this what we’re calling talented?

  I heard a story about Michael Jordan where he did not make the high school basketball team because he SUCKED! YES, that Michael Jordan!

  However he was determined to play basketball. So he got that basketball out and started shooting hoops and still sucked for a bit, until continuous suckyness turned into kind of sucking, which turned into not so sucky, which turned into kind of good which turned into pretty good which turned into the best NBA basketball player to ever grace the courts!

  Have you got it yet? It DOES NOT happen overnight! He made his own destiny by being determined and practicing. In essence he became talented.

  What about Thomas Edison? Who the heck is that you ask? He’s the guy that invented the light bulb. Yep, pretty important huh? He also invented hundreds of other things that we use today. Look him up on Google if you want to see a man who has changed the lives of billions of people.

  When Thomas Edison was creating the light bulb he used hundreds of different filaments before finding the right one. The filament of the light bulb is that little thing in the middle that glows. He used everything under the sun including horsehair but to no avail. Finally he got it right. Enter sarcastic Sage voice, “Boy, that talented Thomas Edison. He is just so lucky. Stuff just comes to him SOOO easily.” Can you see how insulting that is when he worked his hind end off to create such a technology?

  In fact, it was Thomas Edison who said, “genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration” or in my words 1% talent and 99% practice. So that little 1% seed that was dropped into Jimi Hendrix, Amadeus Mozart, Michael Jordan, Thomas Edison and YOU, must be watered and fed and given all the conditions to make that seed grow into fruition. That’s the harder part. Seeds like that are dropped all day long but rarely do they find fertile ground. If you’ve gotten this far in my diatribe, I would guess YOU are fertile ground and are going to run with this information.

  There is NO-thing stopping YOU from becoming the next Jimi Hendrix or Eddie Van Halen IF you practice like they did. THAT'S the tricky part. You were already born into this world with the ability!

  Now that you know this, I want you to be aware of how you view great accomplishments. It does take a little bit of the wonderment away, but empowers you to create that wonderment for yourself. There is no task too great, or goal too lofty that you cannot attain if properly mapped out and walked through step-by-step.

  This is not a pep talk, as I rarely have time for pep talks. This is a truism and is good news for those of us that are willing to work hard and smart. It’s bad news for those that are waiting for talent or the Publisher’s Clearinghouse sweepstakes guy with a big check to knock on their front door. Now, DON’T go easy on yourself. Go practice as if you are the next Jimi Hendrix, because you ARE!

  Click here to receive free videos on right and left hand techniques and exercises that will quickly boost your guitar playing ability.

  How to Master Strumming Quickly and Easily

  Strumming the guitar can be frustrating if you are not shown the proper way to think and if you don’t allow yourself some time to master some basic guitar rhythm skills. Here are some fundamental concepts that I want you to think about when practicing strumming.

  Mute the guitar strings with your fretting hand (if you are a “righty,” this would be your left hand). This will allow you to focus all of your attention on your strum.

  For the following exercises, the numbers will ALWAYS be “down strums” (strumming towards the floor), while the “+” symbol (also known as the “and” of the beat) will ALWAYS be an “up strum.” This is the KEY to good strumming. Be diligent with this basic principle.

  Each strum should be equal distance from the last. If you are counting 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 +, the count should be smooth and even like a watch or clock ticking (unless you are “swinging the beat,” which is not recommended before learning a basic straight strum).

  Say the rhythm out loud, slowly. Once you get the idea, try to say that same rhythm in a seam less “loop”(meaning, don’t stop at the end of the 4+). Once you get the hang of this, it should stream together like 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 +

  Once you can count it smoothly like this, strum it s
lowly and steadily. If you are new to strumming, try the very first strum, which is 4 down strums on the down beats.

  When the strum calls for a space or void like 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 or 1 + 2 + 3 4+, your hand should STILL move as if it were going to hit the strings. This way your down strums will always be where your down beats are and your up strums will be where your up beats are. Get it?

  For a video representation of this technique, check out:

  Guitar Strumming Method

  NOW for the exercises! For this study, take it slow and go through ALL levels in order.

  If you find that you are having trouble with a rhythm or two, check out this video which will teach you a couple of ninja guitar tricks and will help you through the rough patches and allow you to master any rhythm:

  Master ANY Guitar Strumming Rhythm With This Secret Technique.

  Remember to TAKE IT SLOW and don’t get the fretting hand involved until you feel consistent about the strumming hand. With diligent time and practice you will get REALLY good at this.

  Click here to receive free videos on right and left hand techniques and exercises that will quickly boost your guitar playing ability.

  How to Read Chord Charts

  Learning to read chord charts is fun and easy. It will open a new world of songs to you, as you will now be able to unlock the “code”. I use charts all the time in the studio, live and as a teacher, especially for songs that I am not familiar with, or don’t have the time and need for memorizing. This method of playing music is not too dissimilar to preparing a speech and then reading it, or referring to your notes throughout the speech. Most bands that play together a lot don’t use charts because they have played the songs enough times to have them memorized.

  There are many chart types, but only a few that you see often. The type that we will be covering today, is the most common and most useful. The charts we will be covering are standard and “number” charts. There are several things that need to be covered before we can unlock these charts.

  Meter – Most songs begin and end with the same “meter”. Meter is defined as: rhythm that continuously repeats a single basic pattern. About 99% of today’s music is in “4”, which means that the basic pattern repeats every four beats. Most other tunes are in 8 or 6, where the pattern repeats every 8 or 6 beats respectively.

  Every now and then, you will find a song written in an “odd” time signature like 5 or 7. “Money” by Pink Floyd is in 7. If our chart says, “In 4,” that means that pattern for the most part will repeat every four beats. If there is a strumming rhythm, it will typically repeat every four beats as well. If you have trouble counting to the music, here are some things that will help you.

  1. Most songs emphasize the “1” beat. It’s when most chords transition from one to another.

  2. The snare drum (the very loud beat that you can hear easily on recordings) is usually the “2” and “4.” The snare drum is that high pitched, loud drum that sits between the drummers knees. It sounds a bit like a clap.

  Feel and Capo – If the song needs a capo, it will typically be denoted like “Capo 3,” etc. This would mean that you would put the capo at the 3rd fret. Using a capo, “transposes” the actual chords. Often times, charts won’t mention the feel of the song. (feel = what key the song feels like, for example – C or G major) That’s no problem though. Just capo where requested and act as if the capo is the “nut” of the guitar.

  If you move the capo to the 3rd fret, you will need to play your chords 3 frets higher than you would if you did not use a capo. I will often denote the feel of the song, especially if it’s a “number” chart. This way you know what chord to play for the number represented. More on that later!

  Groupings – Chords will be separated from each other when they represent a “measure.” If a song is “In 4,” you will see a chord separated by a space, and then another chord, etc. For a song like Carrie Underwood’s, “Before He Cheats,” each chord represents 4 beats. So there would be a total of 16 beats for the following chord progression (E- D C B7). If a measure has more than one chord in it, it’s called a split measure and is denoted, by an underline.

  For example, in the song “Hallelujah”, by Rufus Wainwright and written by Leonard Cohen, the 10th measure of the verse is split, C D. Since this is still a measure of “4,” “C” would get two beats and “D” would get two beats. In Feist’s, “1.2.3.4.,” the intro and verses are all split. Since that song is in 4, each chord would get two beats because they share the measure. Then in the chorus it would be back to our normal full measure of four beats per chord. Sometimes you will see “hash” marks over the chords if it’s not an evenly split measure.

  In Rascal Flatts’ “What Hurts The Most” you will find an “uneven” measure, in the 1st bar (measure) of the bridge. The “C” chord would normally be held out for 3 beats, and the “D” for one beat, but we have yet another notation to consider. The “p” above the “D,” means that you “push” the D chord. Basically, you just play it a little earlier than you would normally play it. To be exact, you play the “D” on the “and of 3” not on the 4. If we count 1+2+3+4+, the C is held for 1+2+3, and the D is played on the + of the 3 and held out for +4+. This last part is a bit complex, so if you don’t get it right now, don’t worry.

  Come back to it though, because even though you won’t run into it very often, you will hear a difference.

  Inversions – Inversions are chords that have another note from that chord that is played in the bass, instead of the “root.” A “C” chord has a C in the root. A “D” chord has a D in the root, etc. Sometimes you will see a chord symbol like “C/E” as we see in the 3rd measure of the chorus of The Beatles, “Eleanor Rigby”. Simply put, this is a C chord with an “E” in the bass. Normally when we play a C chord, we mute the low E string (6th or thick string) with our thumb, or we don’t strum it at all. That would produce a sonically correct “C.” However, when a “/” chord is represented, that usually means that another instrument (usually the bass) is playing that low note, instead of the root of the chord (i.e. “C”).

  Other examples that you will see often times are G/B, which means a G chord, with a B in the bass (2nd fret/fifth string). C/G is C chord with a G in the bass (3 fret/6th string). D/F# is a D chord with an F# in the bass (2nd fret, 6th string). I like to reach my thumb around the neck and play that F# with my thumb (difficult for smaller hands). Often times you will have to change your fingering in order to produce this new inversion. If you don’t quite get this section on inversions at first, don’t worry. Learning is a process. Come back to it and eventually, it will make sense.

  Also, whenever you see a “/” chord, you can safely play the chord to the left of the slash. If it’s a C/E, you just play the C. If it’s a D/F#, you can just play the D. If you are playing with a bassist, he would usually play the lower notes and your ear won’t be searching for it. If you are playing by yourself (solo guitar), you might find something “missing” with the chord if you don’t include the lower note.

  Number charts – Often times, studio musicians (especially in Nashville) will prefer a “number chart”. These charts refer to numbers instead of letters. The reason that studio players like these types of charts is that they are easy to transpose (change keys). Refer to the colorful “number system matrix chart” for these examples. For “Hallelujah,” the 1 represents the G and the 6 represents an E. However, there is a minus (-) after the E. That means that you make the E, an E- chord, instead of an E. The fifth measure of the verse is a 4, which in the key of G is a C chord.

  The sixth measure is a 5, which in the key of G is a D chord. If we were in the studio and the singer wanted to try this in the key of C, instead of G, we wouldn’t have to rewrite our charts. We would just have to “rethink” in the key or feel of C. In this scenario, the 1 would be a C, the 6- would be an A-, the 4 would be an F and the 5 would be a G. Another reason that we might want to change keys (other than the singer), is playing ease
. This song is easier played with a G feel, so that our 5 chord is a D instead of an F (in the key of C).

  However, in the 14th measure of the 1st verse, we find a 3-. In C, that would be an E-, which is an easy chord to play. In G, the 3- would be a B-, which is a bar chord and a more difficult chord to play. Using the capo helps us to limit bar chords, but sometimes they are unavoidable. Everything else however is consistent between number charts and standard charts. In a nutshell, number charts substitute numbers instead of letters.

  Symbols and Notation – Since charts are condensed versions of actual music, there is often much left to the imagination. We can’t hear a piece of music. It is lifeless, until a musician brings it to life! Symbols and notation help musicians get a better idea of what the composer or arranger wants, like road signs when we drive.

  Since these are fairly impromptu and different from each chart writer to the next, sometimes you just have to use common sense. (i.e. if a chorus is followed by 3x, it typically signifies that you should play the chorus three times). However, you will see these symbols “[:” and “:]” or something similar fairly often. These denote a repeated section of music. If you were to see, “[: E- C G D:],” you would play E-, C, G and D and then repeat it. If the “:]” were followed by a 3x you would play for a total of three times.

  How to practice – If you are still new to chords and moving between them, it’s best to 1st practice your transitions. To do this, move your fretting hand (relax the strum hand) back and forth between two chords. Just toggle back and forth without strumming. Try this for a bit with all the chord transitions in a song. Once you get the left hand “working,” you can strum to make sure the chords sound nicely.

  Remember that every great guitar player struggled with the same chords that you and I struggle with. DON’T GIVE UP!! Just be observant to your hands when you hear something that’s not right. Once you have the transitions down, it’s best to play the chord on the “1” and hold it out for the full measure or four beats (if the song is in 4). Often times this is called a “diamond.” You will see this written in many of my charts when a chord is to be held out for a full measure.