A Beginner's Guide to Mastering Guitar
GuitarCram is a resource for those who are complete beginners. Starting on this page you will find lesson 1 of a free beginner course. Each lesson builds upon the one before it. In addition to the free course there is also a series of pages with different fundamental concepts for you to reference. Sign up for our newsletter at the bottom of this page for different tips and tricks and reach out to enroll in a free video lesson over Skype or Zoom.
The first thing you need to understand as a complete beginner is how to play an individual note. This is done through frets. On your guitar you will see small metal bars running across the neck of the guitar, which are called frets. This is how notes are produced.
Think of them like keys on a piano. Each key you press produces a different note. The same goes with frets on the guitar.
By placing your finger firmly down directly on the outside of the fret (away from your body), and either plucking the string with your finger or using a guitar pick (I recommend a pick) you produce a note.
Below are photos showing how to press down on frets 1 and 2 respectively. You would follow this same pattern up and down the neck, on any string of your choice.
The first thing you need to understand as a complete beginner is how to play an individual note. This is done through frets. On your guitar you will see small metal bars running across the neck of the guitar, which are called frets. This is how notes are produced.
Think of them like keys on a piano. Each key you press produces a different note. The same goes with frets on the guitar.
By placing your finger firmly down directly on the outside of the fret (away from your body), and either plucking the string with your finger or using a guitar pick (I recommend a pick) you produce a note.
Below are photos showing how to press down on frets 1 and 2 respectively. You would follow this same pattern up and down the neck, on any string of your choice.
Think of each fret as having a number. The 1st and 2nd frets of the low E string were depicted in the images above (more on strings later). When you the play the string without holding down any frets it is referred to as "open" and will have a number of "0" assigned to it.
If you look on top of the fret board you will most likely see dots. This is a quick and easy way to know which fret you are on. If you count the frets, the dots will typically be over the 3rd, 5th, 7th, 9th, 12th (with two dots), 15th, and 17th.
If you look on top of the fret board you will most likely see dots. This is a quick and easy way to know which fret you are on. If you count the frets, the dots will typically be over the 3rd, 5th, 7th, 9th, 12th (with two dots), 15th, and 17th.
Experiment by playing different frets on different strings. Try to get a clear sound from each fret. If you don't press down firmly enough you might hear a buzzing sound.
Once you are comfortable with it's time to learn your first song...
Happy Birthday
You may be wondering why I chose such a lame song, and this is a fair question. The answer being legality- I don't want to get sued and this song is in the public domain.
But that being said with anything you learn it's important to put it into a context you are familiar with.
This first song is going to be kept simple, and will be played on only one string. You can choose any string you would like, but it will probably be easiest to choose the top string to begin with.
On the string of your choice, play the following sequence. And remember, the number "0" represents the string open with no frets held down. You may want to practice one part at a time until you have the basic idea down.
Fret Sequence:
0 0 2 0 5 4
0 0 2 0 7 5
0 0 12 9 5 4 2
10 10 9 5 7 5
Once you are comfortable with it's time to learn your first song...
Happy Birthday
You may be wondering why I chose such a lame song, and this is a fair question. The answer being legality- I don't want to get sued and this song is in the public domain.
But that being said with anything you learn it's important to put it into a context you are familiar with.
This first song is going to be kept simple, and will be played on only one string. You can choose any string you would like, but it will probably be easiest to choose the top string to begin with.
On the string of your choice, play the following sequence. And remember, the number "0" represents the string open with no frets held down. You may want to practice one part at a time until you have the basic idea down.
Fret Sequence:
0 0 2 0 5 4
0 0 2 0 7 5
0 0 12 9 5 4 2
10 10 9 5 7 5
Congratulations! You now officially know how to play the guitar :)
If you enjoyed this lesson then click the link below for Lesson 2.
If you enjoyed this lesson then click the link below for Lesson 2.
In addition to these lessons there is also a series of pages that overview different concepts on the guitar. Reference these as you are going through the course.