Music Hack: Anyone can learn to ‘sound’ like a pro on the guitar, instantly. Here’s how
I haven’t met one non-guitarist who wishes to remain that way. So I guess it’s safe to say that there’s a little rhythm in all of us. You’ve probably heard this before; you need to hear it again:
With enough time and practice ANYBODY can learn to play (read do) ANYTHING!
But becoming fluent at guitar can take a while. Who’s got the time, right?
Maybe you’re frustrated practicing boring scales or maybe your uncle gifted you a guitar, a 100 years ago, and now you want to pick some life into it, or, maybe you’re at a party and you want to impress that girl who just walked in. Whatever be your reason, you can use this trick to make you “sound” like a pro instantly –
Things you’ll need
- 1 capo (optional but recommended)
- 1 guitar tuner or app (Android / iOS)
- 1 guitar, and
- 1 awesome YOU
The trick is in the tuning
Set up the tuner and tune your strings in the following manner:
- 1st string (thinnest) – E
- 2nd string – B
- 3rd string – G#
- 4th string – E
- 5th string – B
- 6th string (thickest) – E
Which means, assuming that your guitar is in the standard tuning (EADGBE) all you’ll need to do is – tune the 3rd string half-step up and the 4th and 5th string a full-step up.
Fun fact: Music notes cycle from A to G with the sharp/flat notes at half-step increments (except for B and E).
Go on, let a strum. Ah do you hear it? That cowboy sound is an open E major chord. That’s why this way of tuning is called the ‘Open E Tuning’
Check out the other stuff I come up with: www.nowshoing.com
Playing different chords
To play a different chord just barre a fret (hold down all the strings in a fret). Use your middle and ring fingers as reinforcements incase you aren’t getting a clear sound.
Each consecutive fret plays the next chord. Refer the image below for chord transitions across the fretboard.
Incase the action on your guitar is too high and you’re not able to get a clean sound, use a trigger capo. You’ll have to clip and un-clip it at every chord change (sounds complex? it’s not). For a smoother transition you can use a rolling capo.
Pros
- It’s a good party trick to know
- Easy way to train your ear for different chords
- Fun way to practice strumming
Cons
- Tuning back and forth can get tedious
- Cannot play minor chords (easily)
There you have it: your shortcut to fake rock-stardom, hehe. You can similarly play around with other open tunings. Mail in your queries to nowshoing@gmail.com. This is my YouTube channel, drop by!
Also, if you think that this helped, hold down the ‘👏🏽’ button for as long as you like (:
