If you are learning, sooner or later, you are going to meet somewhere with a guitar and someone who knows that you are learning.

• And that request that you fear will come.
• “Hey, here’s a guitar, and you can play it!”
• “Play a song on the guitar!”

The time has come, and you have no escape.

It doesn’t matter if you’ve been playing the guitar for four days. Anyone who has never tried to play guitar thinks that you can play songs simply because you have been studying guitar for a while. And he is going to ask you.

You have two options:

• Deny you. Making it understood that you are still not capable or excusing yourself with the first thing that comes to mind. Leaving a load of disappointment in the environment.
• Willingly accept and stating how difficult it is to play and sing songs ask for their collaboration so that they accompany you singing that one song that you have managed to learn for now!

At the beginning and depending on how you are, it can be a relief to have that great excuse not to play, but over time, it is a bummer not being able to play the guitar, sing and enjoy that moment.

How to start to stop looking at the role of chords and lyrics

• Chop the song into smaller parts. Usually, the songs have a refrain that is repeated in several places and a few verses. The chorus is usually the part we can sing because we know the tune and the lyrics by heart.
• Learn the chord structure of the chorus by heart (the order in which they are played and the length of each). Taking advantage of the fact that you know the chorus, you have to look at the chords it uses.
• Make sure with your practices that you are able to make the chord changes of the chorus with confidence. (No lyrics or tune).
• Once achieved, enter the letter and notice the syllable in which the chord change occurs. It can also help to count the number of bars you play each chord before the change hits and to practice the entire length of the chorus by playing only the chords with the change in turn.
• Next, you have to join the guitar and the melody. Sing and match the syllable of the change with the chord change. Play and sing only the chorus without looking at the paper. This step is not easy, and you will have to practice it over and over again. Do not despair.
• When you have it, play and sing the entire song looking at the paper in the verses and stopping looking at the chorus! Make an effort to look away from the chorus. Do not cheat!.
• Get comfortable doing it like this.
• Repeat the process with the stanza part. Learn their chord structure, make changes, but the lyrics, and place the chord changes.

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