How to Play Electric Guitar

Learning how to play electric guitar is fun – but there are a few precautions you need to be aware of before you start.

Essentially, learning how to play electric and/or acoustic guitar are the same thing. You have to learn the exact same chords, scales, theory, picking and strumming techniques etc.

Electric guitar just adds some other ‘variables’ such as pickups, volume and tone knobs, amplifiers and effects, for example.

The real issue is all about understanding what it takes to become a good guitarist in general – without regard to whether you play electric guitar or acoustic guitar. Because – as already pointed out – you have to learn the exact same things.

So your main concern should be in finding a method that provides a solid foundation in all the basic skills and knowledge that apply to making music on a guitar – electric and acoustic. In other words, you need to establish a solid foundation of basic guitar paying skills and music/theory knowledge. That’s your foundation. . .

. . . then you can apply those skills and knowledge to BOTH your electric and acoustic guitar playing.

When learning to play an electric or acoustic guitar, the differences are usually ‘physical’ – i.e., you hold the guitars differently, an acoustic may have less frets and it’s harder to go high on the fretboard, your electric may have lighter guage strings… things like that:-

BUT . . . the chords and scales you learn – and the strumming and picking techniques – are the same for both.

I guess what I am saying here is that don’t fall into the trap of believing how to play electric guitar is different from learning acoustic. They are the same.

Your primary focus should be on learning skills that all good guitar players need to make steady progress and not become bogged down. You do that by working on the core foundation guitar playing skills and from gaining knowledge of how modern music actually works.

And while learning the physical skills is very important, it’s the head skills that will provide the most benefits to you in the long run. It’s interesting to note that most people focus almost solely on the physical skills and neglect the head skills. But the fact remains, your physical actions are all directed by your brain from the ‘knowledge’ you have of how to apply ideas and concepts to different situations:-

- For example: you can take a simple lick and apply it over many different chords, songs etc., and each time it will sound completely different. You then learn how to transform that simple lick into two or three different versions. So ‘one’ simple idea ends up being able to be used in many different ways – and can have 10-20 different uses, or more. And it is only the ‘knowledge’ you gain about these sorts of ideas that allow this to happen.

I have heard a simple lick used by Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Buddy Guy, Jimmy Page, and many others… but it sounds different because they put their own ‘feel’ into it and use it in their own unique way.

So remember, focus on the basics of building a solid foundation of skills – they work for both electric and acoustic guitar. Doing this will ensure your progress is fast and steady.

Click here to see the course I recommend for building a solid foundation for BOTH electric and acoustic guitar.