Playing Rock Music on the Guitar

Playing Rock Music on the Guitar Becoming a Guitarist: Learning Rock Chords ChaptersSome Advice for Starting with Rock GuitarStep 1: Learn the Notes of the GuitarStep 2: Guitar Power ChordsStep 3: Playing Riffs on the GuitarStep 4: The Minor Pentatonic Scale on GuitarRock Guitar Vocabulary“Music is the last true voice of the human spirit. It can go beyond language, beyond age, and beyond color straight to the mind and heart of all people.” - Ben HarperThe musical instrument market is growing and more and more people are choosing to learn a musical instrument. You won’t necessarily change the world by learning the guitar.There are several stages to becoming a guitar player and the first consideration is the type of music you like and would like to play. If you’re interested in rock music, you can learn on an electric guitar or a folk acoustic guitar.That said, it also completely depends on the style of rock music you’re interested in! From Jimi Hendrix to Eric Clapton, it’s often a couple of chords that make all the difference.Nirvana - Smells Lik e Teen SpiritWhy play only others' music when you could find out how you can compose music for the guitar!Step 4: The Minor Pentatonic Scale on GuitarThis is often the first scale guitarists learn as it’s very common in rock and blues music.  Penta means five and tonic means note. A pentatonic scale, therefore, includes just 5 notes.  While there are many pentatonic scales, most guitarists will be familiar with the pentatonic minor scale in particular. It’s used very commonly in solos and improvisation. Listen to:Led Zeppelin - Stairway to Heaven (A minor pentatonic)Metallic - Nothing Else Matters (E minor pentatonic)The pentatonic minor scale is easy to remember, easy to play and can be used almost anywhere. It’s used in punk rock, funk, and blues. It’s called a minor scale because the third is a minor.Rock Guitar VocabularyIf you’re teaching yourself how to play the guitar, you’ll need to be familiar with some of the commonly used vocabulary. We've also included a glos sary in our other articles on the guitar so make sure you read them all!Barre ChordsThis is a chord where a finger is used to press down on all the strings on a given fret.TablatureThis is a graphic representation of the music to play. You don’t need to be able to read sheet music to read tablature.Now learn how you can play different styles of music on your guitar...