The Best Way To Learn Rock Guitar

If you really went to play rock guitar you have to be motivated. To be motivated you need to be playing rock music you love. To play the rock music your guitar heroes play is going to take a few years. So to help you start playing some great rock tunes let me show you the gear you must have to start. I will also give you some hot guitar tips for electric guitar players who want to know the best way to learn rock guitar.

The Gear You Need For Rock Guitar

You need just three things to start out. First look at the instruments your favourite band is playing. I can guarantee they all own Fender Stratocasters, Fender Telecasters and a Gibson SG. Sure they will sometimes have a flying V or a custom guitar. Forget these specials for now and get yourself a good copy of one of these 3 guitar models. My local music shop is selling these guitar copies for around $150 so you won't break the bank. Here is An Example...

The second bit of gear you need is an amplifier. Get a dedicated combined baby amp and speaker with about 20 watts of power. This is plenty loud enough for home use. It is also not so small that the sound doesn't sound so good. Make sure you get a free jack lead thrown in with the amp.

The final thing you need is an FX processor. This is what gives you a huge range of sound effects. If you do not have one of these your guitar playing will sound thin and lifeless. By adding some distortion, overdrive or delay effects you can sound fantastic from day one as you learn the guitar.

The Best Way To Play Chords On A Rock Guitar

This is an exercise I give my students when they start learning rock guitar. Finger the chord of E with your left hand and strum all 6 strings with a plectrum. Now see how long you can keep the strings sounding. You have 3 fingered strings and three open strings. To get them sounding for a long time you can try bending the strings, shaking the guitar or adding pressure on the strings. If you are more advanced try hammer on and hammer of techniques with your left hand

Work through the different sound effects on your FX box and see which ones give you the best sustain affect. This is the basis for Bruce Springsteen's “Born In The USA” which is basically one chord all the way through played with lots of strumming and sustain effects.