How to play the acoustic guitar just like

Andy McKee -  even if you don’t

even know what a chord is. Guaranteed!

1975

I had just ditched my bike in favor of my new moped. I was soo proud! Finally freedom!
I took a drive for more than two hours around the city, and then parked it outside our house.
Well inside I passed my brother´s room and….hey!

That guitar…

I had heard my brother playing the guitar to Black Sabbath and Wishbone Ash tunes.
But I never really thought about playing myself.
But… My bro wasn’t home. Hm….

I snatched his guitar AND the “Beatles Complete” book I found in his room.
I ran back to my room, and a whole new world revealead itself!

And then I learned how to play Norwegian Wood.
Note by note, chord by chord and word by word it took me weeks to finally be able
to play the song without too much errors. But I made it!

A few tips…

As time went by (years, actually) I picked a few tips here and there, some small tricks to make the learning and playing much easier.
Simple things, most of the time, but oh so effective! Let me give you some of those tips right here, right now.

* When struggling with your most unwilling fingers to try and get the guitar chords right; try this: Put your top finger (the one closest to you when you look down at the guitar) first of all. Then the others, from the top and downwards. This is a much easier way to make your fingers obey your orders, than to try and press all the fingers down at the same time.

* Changing chords. This was NOT easy – I still remember my frustration… More often I got a ‘Klonk’ than a real clean chord. For example, switching from A major to D major – easy enough for me now, after 35 years of guitar playing. But for someone who is just starting to learn? A whole different thing. What I did was in some way “exhaust the fingers” to stop them from disobeying me. For about 1 minute, play the A, then D, then A, then D etc… Keep switching chord for a whole minute. Count the amount of chord changes you can do in a minute and then try to beat yourself! Then continue practicing with different chord progressions.

*Buy a guitar that is the right size! If you’re 5′ 2″, maybe, just maybe a dreadnaught is not the perfect choice? Guitars comes in all sizes, from small to Jumbo, and if your guitar is too big, you will have problems reaching around the body, or reach around the the fingerboard.

* Fingernails. I used to have very long fingernails as a teenager. Not very compatible with guitar playing, I’m afraid. They make the act of pressing down your fingers so much more difficult, and your guitar produces so funny sounds you can’t believe it…  Keep your fingernails short!

* Study the physical instrument itself, first. Learn the names and functions of the guitar parts, and how they work together to make sounds. A half hour spent on this basic understanding will be repaid many times over throughout your learning and playing time.

* Does your fingers hurt after playing for a while? Sorry, but there is no shortcuts available here… You will eventually build up calluses, all it takes is that you continue playing. Play, play play! In time the pain will go away, and you will build up strength in your hands and fingers.

So – did you watch (or listen to, even) that video above?

Well, I found a method to learn to be like him, to be able to play the acoustic guitar in a much easier way than my own. And now you can, too!

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