subject: Skills For Guitar - 3 Important Skills Every Beginner Should Learn, Part 2 [print this page] Guitarists usually have so many flashy skills to show off their game, but you really only need a few to perform your favorite guitar tunes. Here is the second half of a list of skills for guitar players to make a good performance.
1. Harmonics and Pinch harmonics. These two skills are a little more difficult to achieve in the category of skills for guitar. They require a very light touch on the strings and lots of practice to execute well.
To produce a standard harmonic, you take one of your fret fingers and lay it gently on top of a string over a specific fret and strike the string while pulling your fret finger away quickly. I know this sounds confusing, but if it's done correctly, you'll hear a very pure and high-pitched tone.
Pinch harmonics are more commonly known as "squeals" and these are created in a very similar fashion. Use the same placement with your fret finger on a string, but when you go to strike with your pick, allow your thumb from the picking hand to brush the corresponding string as you pull away.
You should hear a very pronounced squealing sound if this is done correctly, and it helps to choke up on the pick in order to give your thumb a closer placement to the string.
2. Palm-muting. Palm-muted notes and chords are definitely the easiest skills for guitar-playing you'll come across. However, they are the most commonly used. Palm-muted chords occur again and again in verses and bridges of guitar music to allow difference from the open-strummed melodies.
For palm-muted notes or chords, you simply allow your picking hand to rest on top of the strings while you pick them. If done correctly, the notes should come out more rigid, staccato, and harsh.
3. Vibrato. If you've heard a vocalist using one form or another of vibrato, then you probably already have an idea of what guitar vibrato can mean. This skill can be described as quick wavering in the pitch of a note to create variation and interest in a string of notes.
Place one of your fret fingers onto any string against the fret board and pick that note once. Once the note sounds, either bend the string up and then down in a quick motion or attempt to tug the string slightly from side to side. With these movements, you'll move the note above and below the pitch to produce a wavering tone.
These are only just a few of the more important and common skills that guitarists use when playing, so that doesn't mean you should stop learning! Whenever you have the chance to learn a new guitar skill, that's a chance to improve and become a better player.
