Best Guitar Tricks to Impress Your Friends or Colleagues at Parties
It's a fact of life that everyone loves music. So what better way to impress your friends and colleagues than showing off some awesome guitar tricks? Surprising people with impressive moves will make them think you've been playing for years!
The guitar is a great musical instrument that can croon and strum to your preference. You can play a low sultry song or a nice upbeat track. Beyond the strings, the structure and build of a guitar allow you to beat and tap on it, creating unique notes. So, if you have a guitar and want neat party tricks, we got you. Once you get the crowd going, it's only a matter of time before your guests come back for more. Here are a few guitar tricks to impress your friends, colleagues, and family at parties.
- Slapping
There is a neat trick that you can do called slapping while bass players are already familiar with the concept. If you have an electric guitar, you can mimic the skill but if you want to slap your guitar, here is what you will do. First, with your right hand's thumb, you will slap up the pickup and slap the strings atop your fretboard with the fingers of your left hand. Finally, using your right-hand fingers, pluck the notes. You'll be surprised at the sounds you produce, including the variety of sounds emitting from your guitar.
- Take Guitar Lessons
However, if you need to prepare for an event, it would be wise to refresh your skills. If you live in Colorado, there are excellent places for you to learn guitar. All you need to do is Google ‘guitar lessons in Colorado near me' and start right away by selecting the best options. Whether you're new to the guitar or you have some skills, consider taking classes. You will learn new tricks and shortcuts that can make you an attractive guitar player. Plus, a refresher course with the friendliest and skilled professionals only prepares you better.
- Tapping
You should use tapping if you want more dynamics to the way you play. If you're going to be a successful tapper, you need to get efficient with pull-offs and hammer-ons. If you're new to the game, try tapping with one string before you can tap multiple chords. You can also hit a particular string using the right-hand finger. Then the rest of the strings with your left-hand finger. Once you get comfortable switching between hands, you can tap the first note with the right hand. Once you hit the first note, follow it up with your left hand.
- Octave Skipping
If you want your instrument to sound bubbly and smooth, you should go for octave skipping. The method is straightforward. All you need to do is pick a note and play it at a higher octave. Then it would help if you produced the maximum impression by playing the same note fast. That will help you skip an octave and create a pleasant tone.
- Natural Harmonic
If you want your guitar to sound like a lyre, you should try playing natural harmonics. A natural harmonic is played with an open string. If you're going to work with natural harmonics, you should touch your strings lightly. The harmonic performs naturally at 12th, 7th, and 5th frets. It sounds enjoyable and easy to control. You'll look extremely professional as you play the guitar following natural harmonics.
- Bridge Picking
If acoustic guitars are your thing, try bridge picking. The bridge is the base of your instrument linking the cords to the body. You need to pick the rake near the bridge and let the note reverberate. The distinctive note that bridge pick produces is charming to hear. So you should try bridge picking if you want to leave a distinct impression on your friends.
- Watch YouTube Tutorials
There are legends immortalized on YouTube. You should go online and watch the likes of Jimi Hendrix, Slash, and even Santana do their thing. Sure, you won't get their moves right away, but you can make great music with little practice and determination. You can mimic the way they move their fingers and time each note. You don't need to play an exact copy, just enough to be among the legends.
- String Bending
Jimi Hendrix is known for bringing the technique of string bending to the field. It adds character to the way of playing. The concept works through fretting. Fretting is the process in which you push the notes down on the fretboard. On the other hand, bending and stretching means pushing the original note using the fretting hand fingers. So when you push down the original note, you expand it over the fretboard giving it a low pitch. The maneuver requires you to have a good command over your fingers. So, don't attempt it unless you know how to fret correctly.
- Vibrato
To achieve the effect of vibrato, you need to move your hand back and forth smoothly. The result of waving your hand in a vibrato fashion is to make your guitar sing. While strumming, try using your wrist and fingers together so that the strings follow a periodic hand action. You don't need many fingers when you're trying to achieve a subtle effect. So if you want soft music to surround you go for vibrato.
Wrap Up
When you have friends and family over, you want to make sure you are entertaining them properly. Food and drinks only add a part of the enjoyment, but great music can brighten the atmosphere. You can amuse your guests with your savvy guitar moves. There are many moves you can try, including slapping and vibrato. However, it is good to follow a YouTube tutorial or take professional classes to help you out. Once you figure out how to move your fingers, it's only a matter of strumming to captivate your audience. So, if you want to impress friends and family, bring out the guitar.