What Comes to Mind When We Say Playing The Guitar?

Guitar; It is a type of instrument that, by its nature, has a wide usage area in music. By its nature, the guitar is a very loud and easy to carry the instrument. Polyphony in music means the simultaneous resonance of different sounds. These features put the guitar in a position where anyone can easily reach and play it, which is a good thing. It’s a good thing, but when it comes to playing the guitar, everyone thinks of different techniques. Playing chords, playing solo, fingerstyle, classical guitar etc.

Playing Chords and Singing

Today, when it comes to playing the guitar, many people think of playing chords and singing. In fact, it can be said that this guitar-like instrument has been the most basic task in history. I say guitar-like instruments because the form that we often use now and which we call the classical guitar was produced in the middle of the 19th century (1850). In other words, we can say that the guitars we use today have become the most refined as a result of centuries of accumulation.

The guitar is the most important accompaniment instrument today. Like the guitar, the piano is a polyphonic instrument, so we use it as an accompaniment instrument. In fact, if we are talking about polyphony, we can place the piano in front of the guitar. But the thing that makes the guitar stand out is its portability. With the guitar, we can make music anywhere, anytime.

When it comes to playing chords… Okay Am, we necessarily know open position chords like E. But after a while, it won’t be enough. You must know the bare chords. Seven, six, diminished, hush etc. If you know the chords, you really start to make a difference. Especially when you add small bass walks while playing the chords, it’s okay 🙂

Playing a Solo/Melody

Playing a melody on the guitar is enough for many people who are just starting out. In fact, many people do not want to play chords, even playing small melodies is enough.

Playing a melody on the guitar or any other melodic instrument (like the violin) really takes a lot of work. When you say melody, don’t just think of simple melodies, you always come across melodies that may seem very complex according to your level. To play a melody really well, you need to master the guitar. Vibrato, legato, slide etc. You should know the techniques. If you play a little fast and fluently, you really play the guitar.

In my opinion, even if you only play chords or just melody, you are playing the guitar. What matters is how you feel while playing. Forget the rest.

When you want to advance the work, that’s when you need to make an effort. Unfortunately, it is not enough to say that I only play the melody, I only play chords, you should know both. You can shift the balance a little to one side, the choice is up to you.

Both of these techniques have some disadvantages. If you’re only getting chords, it’s a necessity to sing along, at least for those who listen.

If you just play the chords one after the other, nobody will understand anything. Become the best guitarist in the world if you want 🙂

If you’re just playing the melody, you’re in luck, it shouldn’t be a problem as the listeners hear the melody. But after a while, just playing the melody on the guitar becomes very insipid, the listeners want to hear different things.

What to do

Play chords, melody and learn to play polyphony. So learn to play Classical Guitar or Fingerstyle. Both of these techniques are challenging. Let’s go over Fingerstyle.

When I say fingerstyle, I mean being able to somehow play the chord and melody at the same time. You need to know how to play both the melody and the chord in order to hear both at the same time. It is challenging, but after a while, both the player and the listener can understand that there is really a different situation. Being able to do the work of two guitars on one guitar is a pleasure for both the player and the listener.

The classical guitar (classical technique) is the same. Yes, it requires a different discipline, perspective and effort, but the result is beautiful in the end.

You don’t need to play loud music for them to tell you “the man plays the guitar very well”. Crazy solos, tricky chords, or whatever. As I mentioned above, what you feel or how much is enough for you is more important. Even with only 3 chords, we play and sing or compose beautiful songs. If we’re enjoying it, you don’t care what anyone thinks.

What does playing the guitar mean? After all, it doesn’t matter if you do one or all of these, you’ll be playing the guitar. You can also consider my humble advice for something different.