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Beginners Learning Path

The beginners learning path guides you through the first important steps to becoming a guitarist, looking at the basics you need to know as well as some essential chords to get you playing your first songs.

The Basics
Before you attempt to play anything you'll need some basic knowledge to enable your tutor to communicate to you what they need you to do. The pages suggested here guide you through things such as string names, what frets are, and how to read chord diagrams, tabs and song sheets. The more technical aspects such as how to hold the guitar, fret notes, and use a pick, are best shown in person by your tutor.

Parts of guitar and string names
How to read chord diagrams
How to read guitar tablature
Strumming

Your First Tunes
Now you know the basics it's time to start making music. Here are a couple of riffs/songs to get you started:

Single note riffs
Your first song

Essential Beginner Chords
Chords are a fundamental of all music and every guitarists needs to know how to play them. Guitarists start off learning open chords - open because they use open strings as well as fretted notes and are therefore easier to hold than say bar chords. The chords listed below are the 7 most essential open chords:

A major
A minor
C major
D major
E major
E minor
G major

Here are some 2 or 3 chord songs that between them use all of the essential chords listed above:

Horse With No Name - Em
Silence is Easy - A & E
For What It's Worth - A, D & E
Love Me Do - G, C & D
Eleanor Rigby - C & Em
Drunken Sailor - Am & G

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