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Everybody dreams of being a rockstar on-stage. It’s a great dream to have – frenetically playing instruments as the audience roars and screams from the auditorium. With flames on the side or the effects behind the stage to further add to the drama and the excitement. Yes, rockstars are indeed living the life. To fulfill your dreams or achieve anything your aspire to, you will have to do some serious work. There is lots of information you will need before you are ready to become a guitar great, such as Santana or Eric Clapton or be in a band like Coldplay. You have to start with guitar for beginners.

Probably one of the most popular instruments throughout its history, the guitar remains the choice of many people with musical aspirations, specifically those who would like to someday play solo acoustic or electric guitar. Many guitar players (and music lovers) have dreams of being a star. Guitars are ideal for playing many types of music genres such as pop, rock, jazz, blues and folk. The guitar is also a very convenient instrument; you can easily carry it around with you. You just don’t have that kind of mobility with a drum set or a baby-grand piano.

Basic Strumming

In playing the guitar, there are a few beginner guitar basics to remember. Basic strumming is one of the first things to learn on the guitar. To change chords and play notes that ring true, it is advisable to keep the fret hand’s nails trimmed. Keeping the fingernails of one hand trimmed helps you have better leverage as you press the strings down. Begin with learning the little things and grow your skills to include the more difficult aspects of making good guitar music.

For instance, how much do you know about the parts of the guitar? Start out by knowing about the guitar body and the guitar strings. Other guitar parts include the headstock, the neck and the tuning pegs. Most guitars have six strings (though there are also 12-string guitars). The thinner string which would be at the bottom is for higher notes and the thicker string at the top is for lower notes. The neck of the guitar is divided into segments called frets and of course, there are the strings. You could start getting acquainted with all you need to play the guitar by taking a guitar lessons for beginners course.

Learning the parts of the guitar is just the beginning

Knowing the parts of your guitar is just one thing. The way you hold the guitar is also very important in becoming better at playing the guitar. Tuning the guitar is one of the basics you’ll need to learn (and rremember to tune up each time you play). Tuning simply involves adjusting the pitch of each string to create the right note. Some teachers show their students how to tune the guitar by ear or buy just starting with one note. You can get the tones to tune strings using a piano, from online or by using an electronic tuner. Then comes the part where you create music by playing chords and learning the notes, and eventually you might learn to play guitar scales. Indeed, there are a lot of beginner guitar basics required to learn and master guitar playing.

Learning a few songs and guitar basics won’t make you a rock and roll star, but you will be able to enjoy playing the guitar and keep improving your skills. Starting out by learning all the basics and later intermediate and advanced guitar techniques will get you closer to your dream of being a guitar idol!

Okay, I’m sure you’ve gotten in an argument with your buddies at some point, comparing who you think are the top guitar players of all time. We’ve all been there, but here’s the thing that few realize. Rock and Roll isn’t competition, it’s not about who’s better at this or that. Plus, there are so many musical genres, that to compare let’s say a metal master and a blues king doesn’t really work all that well. It’s like comparing apples and oranges.

When all is said and done, there’s still many guitarists that most people consider to be the best, and every time these types of lists come up, you will typically find their names are mentioned. These guitar players are arguably the most skilled at a specific technique, or are the most influential guitarists to other aspiring musicians, and that’s why they appear on my 15 real guitar hero list.

I’m not going to say these choices are the top 15 because that is subject to ones opinion. Instead I offer you 15 real guitar heros:

1. Jimi Hendrix

Enough said? Jimi Hendrix is usually at the top of every “top rock guitarists” list! He turned the electric guitar from a novelty into a laboratory, experimenting with sounds never even dreamed of before on the electric guitar. Hendrix’s style of raw, fuzzy, feedback-y sound is instantly recognizable, and he has been the influence for very many younger guitarists. You won’t find a more powerful and electrifying stage presence than his. “Purple Haze” and “All Along the Watchtower” set the foundation for a towering monument of rock that stands to this day.

2. Robert Fripp

Robert Fripp of King Crimson like Jimi Hendrix has taken the guitar to dimensions that one would have never thought possible.  His guitar playing is unconventional to say the least showcased in classics like the superb “Fracture” found on the Starless and Bible Black album.  Robert and Brian Eno created “Frippertronics” a tape looping system that adds tremendous depth to the electric guitar experience.

3. Jimmy Page

Another Jimmy! The Led Zeppelin guitar master has been very influential to a lot of rockers nowadays, and his guitar licks are legendary and instantly recognizable. His solo of “Heartbreaker” is legendary, and “Black Dog” and “Stairway to Heaven” are earth shattering rock classics. And no one else I know has ever had a guitar solo using a violin bow? That’s from “Dazed and Confused”,

4. BB King

When you say blues, everything all boils down to its master and ambassador: BB King. He paved the way for the newer generation of blues players, from Eric Clapton to John Mayer. BB King’s powerful bending and vibrato are classic blues techniques, still used today. Also, his guitar is also legendary – who else names their guitar Lucille?

5. Chuck Berry

You know that four-note riff that always reminds you of 50’s rock n’ roll? That came from Chuck Berry. Modern rock n’ roll wouldn’t be possible without the awesomeness that is “Johnny B. Goode”!

6. Keith Richards

Keith Richards is a member of one of the longest-lasting, most influential active rock bands The Rolling Stones. I know you are aware of that classic fuzzy three-note riff from “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction”! For all the hits the Stones put out that became foundations of other hit songs, Keith Richards also deserves a spot on this guitarists list.

7. Kirk Hammett

Metal was changed forever once Metallca arrived on the scene. Kirk Hammett rewrote hard rock history with the pounding solos of “Master of Puppets” and, arguably their most popular song, “Enter Sandman”. My favorite album solo by Kirk is on the track “No Remorse” from the album Kill Em All.

8. Carlos Santana

If you’re talking of instantly recognizable tone, there’s the master of Latin-infused rock, Carlos Santana. Before he started collaborating with other musicians, he was a Latin-rhythm purist, improvising with solos that are full of passion and spiritual meaning. Before hits like “Smooth”, there were the soaring, sustained instrumental solos of “Oye Come Va”, “Black Magic Woman” and other magical hits like these.

9. Frank Zappa

A truly talented and original guitar player not afraid to play any kind of music and say what was on his mind.  He produced many memorable guitar solos on such classics as “Rat Tamago” and “Willie the Pimp.”

10.  Tony Iommi

Tony Iommi is the father of heavy metal guitar with those unforgettable monster riffs.  He essentially created a new genre and inspired so many artists to follow.  Tony deserves to be on this list even if critics attack Black Sabbath’s technical skills.

11. Kurt Cobain

The misunderstood genius, Kurt Cobain pretty much ended the era of 80’s “glam” metal in a totally unique way. He favored simple, heavy tunes instead of hair metal’s theatrical style, and it reflected better the angst of the time. His most defining contribution to society was the original anthem of misunderstood generations, the four-chord monster “Smells Like Teen Spirit”.

12. Eddie Van Halen

Eddie Van Halen ushered in the era of the guitar virtouso.  He also introduced the guitar neck tapping technique that many great guitar players have adopted and integrated into their own styles since.

13. Eric Clapton

A true son of the blues, Eric Clapton had influences in rock, creating classics like “Layla” with his early band Derek and the Dominoes, and progressing to one of the most recognizable blues guitarists, from “Bell Bottom Blues” to his heartbreaking “Tears In Heaven”.

14. Mark Knopfler

The guitar player that refuses to use a pick.  Mark Knoplfer is an awesome player that I would describe as the virtuoso smooth blues rock man.

15. Rickie Blackmore

Richie Blackmore master hard blues rock extraordinaire that created the legendary “Smoke on the Water” riff for which he’s best known for.  He really can make a guitar go with his technically proficient solos that scream greatness.

There are so many great guitar players that I need to mention a few more here and please excuse me if I didn’t mention your favorite. A few more guitar heroes:

Duane Allman
Mike Bloomfield: Often forgotten, he could really play the blues.
The Edge: Many say he’s great for not overplaying.
Bo Diddley: You gotta love the way he strums.
Joe Satriani
Randy Rhodes
Stevie Ray Vaughan
Robert Johnson: Not many recording but highly influential.
T-Bone Walker
Buddy Guy
Dave Mustaine

I know for a fact that most people will have a much different list of 15 guitar real guitar hero players than mine, but that’s the effect of growing up with varying musical backgrounds. There are countless talented guitarists from many different genres to choose from. Whoever we pick says a lot about our favorite styles, criteria and our personality as guitarists. Till then, happy rocking!

What makes Jimi Hendrix’s sound easily recognizable from Carlos Santana? How can you easily tell metal from funk, even if let’s say the metal player and the funk player are playing the same song (very unlikely, but bear with me here)? The answer: guitarists use effects to color their sound and give it a kind of modification suited to the type of music involved.

Normally these effects can be housed separately in small effects pedals, or in multi-effects hardware, or built into amplifiers, or simulated in computer software. They can be used singly, or you can turn on combinations of effects to get a particular sound. We will identify the different types of guitar effects so you can choose the one that is perfect for creating the sound you want.

Distortion effects are popular in genres like rock, metal, etc. This is what produces the heavy, rough, raw sound you hear in these genres. Distortion effects can be divided into categories like overdrive/distortion (this is the well-known rough sound), fuzz (which is used to copy the sound of a vibrating torn speaker – thus being “fuzzy”), and high-gain (the thick, loud, “chugging” sound used in heavy metal). Almost all rock bands have these as a given, and is a good, basic investment.

Filtering effects are effects which shape the sound by enhancing or minimizing certain frequencies. Here you can find equalizers (similar to how normal equalizers work), and wahs (a foot-operated pedal that lets through increasingly higher or lower frequencies by rocking the pedal). The wah pedal is named because it sounds like a person saying a long “wah” when rocked (the low frequencies are the “w-“ and the high frequencies are the “-ah” part). You can hear this mostly in funky grooves.

Volume effects are just that, they modify the volume in different ways. Examples of these are volume pedals (these are just volume knobs in the shape of a pedal which you can rock back and forth), tremolos (which is used to copy the sound of a volume knob being turned up and down quickly, making the tone “fluctuate”), and compressors (used to preserve a certain volume level as the signal gets louder).

Time-based effects take a sound signal and copy it, making a kind of echoing sound. Delay pedals can change the delay time between the original sound and the copied sound, up to very long delay times, making a rolling echo-like sound (a notable user of delay effects is U2’s The Edge). Reverb pedals, however, duplicate the sound produced in a large space, where small echoes pile up and decay rapidly. Aside from distortion effects, these are also well known, and may be an essential part of your rig.

Modulation effects are effects which actually change how the sound sounds. Examples of these are phase shifters (which makes a sort of whooshing sound by copying the original signal and then putting it out of phase regularly), flangers (which create a kind of speeding-up or slowing-down sound), chorus pedals (copying the sound of several guitarists playing at the same time), and rotary speakers (copying the sound of a signal going through spinning speakers, making a kind of wavy pitch-changing effect). These types of effects are used to create those experimental, space-age-sounds.

Pitch shifters change the pitch of a signal, then combines it with the original sound so that it sounds like two guitars blending together in harmony. It can even be used as a bass guitar if you set it one octave lower than normal, or produce a video-game sound if set one octave higher.

You can experiment with combinations of pedals and connect them in chains to figure out what type of sound you want to create. After a while you can tell which effects were used in your favorite songs, and I hope this introduction can help you on the road to creating your own sound, and adding new dimensions to your musical adventure.

Sure you can be the life of the party or someone who is really adored by music lovers or, the list goes on. You can play exceptional music through the playing of your guitar. And people would scream out “Play More!” That would be really nice isn’t it? Do you like the idea? Well, read on as this article shows you some of the most exciting and fulfilling advantages when you have learned to master the techniques and chords in the world of guitar music.

Advantage #1

Playing a guitar enhances your thought process to work hard and to command your hands on mentally memorizing where to place your finger on a particular fret, pressing on the right chord and learning the right way to strum.

Advantage #2

The pleasure of gratification is satisfied. Thus, your self-esteem is working its way through your personality. A book once said, a psychological book to be exact, that men has to satisfy basic needs to be able to advance to his self to the highest level which is the self-actualization. Something like that.

Advantage #3

The fact is that a guitar is one of the most convenient instruments there is. You can’t bring your drums wherever you go. It would be exhausting on your part to carry a drum set around your campus and constantly beat it. It can cause so much distraction. Whereas if you have been a full pledged guitarist your whole life, you could play music where you can.

Advantage #4

Being able to take your guitar everywhere, might as well earn something from it. A talent like that would eventually be discovered. Playing along the streets of the city is not the idea but if you want to try it, then yes, you could try. You could ask some of your friends to back you up.

Advantage #5

You, yourself, is a unique individual. Out of ten people only one becomes a pure musician. And by some luck, that person is a guitarist. Or can be someone with ultra musical talent who can play not only the guitar but many different instruments and even some percussion ones. Some say it is learned but real talent comes from the soul. It is that spirit within you that makes you distinct.

Advantage #6

Nobody can call you a guitarist with no specific talent. Yes, you could fail all of your tests and miss every graded recitation during school hours but when those various parties come, you are the star. Even an A+ won’t come close to the recognition you can achieve from being an accomplished artist.

Advantage #7

You are the “it” guy. Everyone can hate you or mess you up. But the moment you have mastered your own craft, everyone will soon realize how good you are. Even those people who didn’t know you existed before will find an effort to. People will love you for the talent that you are.

More advantages are seen by simply playing the guitar. Playing is one thing but mastering is another. So if you are still struggling to play such tunes, don’t give up that dream. Although it may be only a hobby or past time, you never know, with skill, it may take you to new heights. Something brighter. Something more intense. Something close to stardom.