Kid Guitars
Posts Tagged ‘guitar techniques’
Coordinating Guitar Playing with Lyrics
It’s no secret that most kids are eager to emulate their heroes from the moment they get their hands on a guitar. Back in my day, it was all about emulating Slash, the virtuosic and mysterious guitarist from Guns ‘N’ Roses. Luckily, learning to play the guitar like Slash did not entail any singing lessons. Axl Rose handled the bulk of the band’s vocal duties. Still, I learned to value the importance of singing and playing guitar at the same time.
Learning to excel at this can be tricky, and it’s important for children to take it slow. Playing the kids electric guitar should remain the overriding concern, while singing remains secondary for the moment. It’s not a bad idea to start out with the most basic kids’ songs – the ones where you can sing the words without a second thought. With time and practice, you’ll be able to do the same with rock lyrics.
Those who don’t know any better might associate the word “slur” with the incoherent ramblings of someone who’s had too much to drink. To the seasoned musician, however, the word has an entirely different connotation. Slurring is a technique used by classical guitar players; it’s basically the same as what an electric guitarist would call hammer-ons and pull-offs.
The technique can be performed easily on kids guitars; like anything else, it just requires some practice to perfect. To perform a hammer-on, the fretting fingers should be holding a note after a single pick. Then, without a second pick, a few fingers are used to slap out the next note on a higher fret. Pull-offs are achieved by literally pulling a few fretting fingers off the fretboard to reveal a lower note that’s already being held by a single finger.