Babysteps - The Beginners Guide To Guitar. Part 1

Hey it’s John Paul (more commonly known as JP or Johnny) here and this is my opening lesson in a series of guitar lessons. Clearly this lesson and the ones that follow it are aimed at the beginner guitarist. In these lessons I'm going to be passing on the information that I learned in my short life with my guitar teacher along with information and techniques that I've learnt from playing, experimenting, jamming, watchin other guitarists and teaching guitar part time. I'm predominantly self taught (having only gone to 5 lessons) and I rely more on my ear and theory. I think everyone here would agree that the learning and playing of guitar is meant to be an enjoyable experience. That being said, some aspects of practisin may prove to be less enjoyable..especially if you're having difficulty, but hindsight is twenty twenty and you will realise it was all worth it when yu gain a very admirable skill of the frets, and you never know this could lead to you starting your own band. It’s all down to you and your committment.

Who else is excited?

Guitar Holding And The Pick

There is no definite way to hold a guitar... I was never told how to hold it exact..and this has been a benefit. My guitar playing stance and position is an invention of my own and has been custom adapted to provide comfort and ease to my guitar playing which in turn makes me a better player. It corresponds to me and my body shape..which is uniquely me. As we know everyone is different. Different body shapes mean different people have different guitar stances for comfort. You should just hold the guitar in a position that is comfortable to you and doesn’t restrict your guitar playing. However I will reccommend a position I used starting out which later allowed me to develop my own stance and style.

# Sit Up, preferably straight to avoid any back pain.
# Rest the area of your arm just below your elbow on the top “corner” of the guitar.

Even if you just follow that roughly, you’ll still do fine. This same type of theory (theory already? Wow we're off to a start lol) applies to pick holding. Only real rule is not to use more than 2 fingers on the pick as this hinders playibility. Ready for the next step?

Strumming (A quick brief for your right hand)

As the title suggests, this is a quick talk on strumming before we hit open chords. Strumming is the most important aspect of guitar playing, but I'm probably biased in saying that. Your dreams of being the next amazing lead guitarist are lost if you don't have a strong rhythm guitar skill. So without fretting any notes I want you to use your strumming hand and do the following strums of all 6 strings - up, down, up, down etc. You should be using the area of your arm - from elbow to fingers_ to create a smooth flowing rhythm pattern. The resulting sounds should be smooth and not sound like each string is being picked at different times ( which is called arpeggiating.. A lil theory for you; )). Strumming shouldn't feel forced so avoid exerting too much energy and effort. If you start to feel your arm go stiff, stop and pretend you’re a dish cloth I.e. “floppy”. Try to keep the same timing with the strums, so strum them at the same pace or beat. Keep practising and it'll soon come easy.

Open Chords (Your New Friends)

Alright, open chords are the “easier to play” chords but that doesn't diminish their credibility in the slightest. They are called open chords because at least one of the strings are played “open” i.e. Not fretted by a finger. They are usually the first chords that I teach my guitar students and it is vital that you learn to change between them with ease and fluidity. So now I'm going to teach you how to read chord diagrams. Chord diagrams show you where to place your fingers, what strings to play and what fingers to use. To start off this segment of the guitar lesson, I’m going to show you an example of a chord diagram and how it works, then I’ll give you a list of the 12 basic open chords and their diagrams for you to practise off of. Now obviously there are more than just these 10 open chords but to begin with I'm going to show you these basic ones. Throughout the other lessons you will learn other open chords and their diagrams..plus loads of other chord types. Practise the basics over and over again until you get them right, know them off by heart and can switch between them easily. Okies so here's the chords and their diagram. Here is the sampler.

           A

  0  1   2   3   4   5

e|o|---|---|---|---|---|
B|-|---|-4-|---|---|---|
G|-|---|-3-|---|---|---|
D|-|---|-2-|---|---|---|
A|o|---|---|---|---|---|
E|x|---|---|---|---|---|

Alright this is an example of a chord diagram. The letter on top tells you what chord it is. It is an “A” a letter of the musical alphabet. There is nothing beside the A which means that it is a major chord. The chord is “A Major”. The horizontal line of numbers below the “A” tell you what frets are being shown. 0 is another name for the open strings. 1 is the first fret and so on. The horizontal lines are your strings. The letters to the left of these tell you the name of the string. The capital E is the thickest string on your guitar. A is the one below that and so on.. The vertical lines show your frets and the space between them is where you put your fingers. The numbers in these spaces tell you what fingers to use. 1 = index finger (beside your thumb), 2 = middle finger, 3 = ring finger, 4 = pinkie.

Alright so how do you play this chord? First look at the 0 column. The o’s at the “e” and the “A” mean that you play these strings open. The x’ at the “E” means that you don’t play this string. Now look at the 2 column. The 4 on the “B” string means you put your 4th finger on the “B” string at the 2nd fret. The 3 on the “G” string means you put your 3rd finger on the G string at the 2nd fret. The 2 on the “D” string means that you put your 2nd finger on the D string at the 2nd fret. When you have your fingers in place, strum all the strings except for the “E” string which we’re not meant to play. You’ve just played an A major chord (way to go newbie... You're on your way). Here are the other basic open chords.

           A                                         Am
  0  1   2   3   4   5                       0  1   2   3   4   5 

e|o|---|---|---|---|---|                   e|o|---|---|---|---|---|
B|-|---|-4-|---|---|---|                   B|-|-2-|---|---|---|---|
G|-|---|-3-|---|---|---|                   G|-|---|-4-|---|---|---|
D|-|---|-2-|---|---|---|                   D|-|---|-3-|---|---|---|
A|o|---|---|---|---|---|                   A|o|---|---|---|---|---|
E|x|---|---|---|---|---|                   E|x|---|---|---|---|---|
 
          B7                                          C
  0  1   2   3   4   5                       0  1   2   3   4   5 

E|-|---|-4-|---|---|---|                   e|o|---|---|---|---|---|
B|o|---|---|---|---|---|                   B|-|-1-|---|---|---|---|
G|-|---|-3-|---|---|---|                   G|o|---|---|---|---|---|
D|-|-1-|---|---|---|---|                   D|-|---|-2-|---|---|---|
A|-|---|-2-|---|---|---|                   A|-|---|---|-3-|---|---|
E|x|---|---|---|---|---|                   E|x|---|---|---|---|---|
 
          Cm                                          D
  0  1   2   3   4   5                       0  1   2   3   4   5 

e|x|---|---|---|---|---|                   e|-|---|-2-|---|---|---|
B|-|-2-|---|---|---|---|                   B|-|---|---|-3-|---|---|
G|o|---|---|---|---|---|                   G|-|---|-1-|---|---|---|
D|-|-1-|---|---|---|---|                   D|o|---|---|---|---|---|
A|-|---|---|-4-|---|---|                   A|x|---|---|---|---|---|
E|x|---|---|---|---|---|                   E|x|---|---|---|---|---|
 
          Dm                                          E
  0  1   2   3   4   5                       0  1   2   3   4   5 

E|-|-1-|---|---|---|---|                   e|o|---|---|---|---|---|
B|-|---|---|-3-|---|---|                   B|o|---|---|---|---|---|
G|-|---|-2-|---|---|---|                   G|-|-2-|---|---|---|---|
D|o|---|---|---|---|---|                   D|-|---|-4-|---|---|---|
A|x|---|---|---|---|---|                   A|-|---|-3-|---|---|---|
E|x|---|---|---|---|---|                   E|o|---|---|---|---|---|
 
          Em                                          G

  0  1   2   3   4   5                       0  1   2   3   4   5 

e|o|---|---|---|---|---|                   e|-|---|---|-3-|---|---|
B|o|---|---|---|---|---|                   B|o|---|---|---|---|---|
G|o|---|---|---|---|---|                   G|o|---|---|---|---|---|
D|-|---|-4-|---|---|---|                   D|o|---|---|---|---|---|
A|-|---|-3-|---|---|---|                   A|-|---|-1-|---|---|---|
E|o|---|---|---|---|---|                   E|-|---|---|-2-|---|---|
 
          Em7                                          Cm

  0  1   2   3   4   5                       0  1   2   3   4   5 

e|o|---|---|---|---|---|                   e|x|---|---|---|---|---|
B|-|---|---|-3-|---|---|                   B|-|-1-|---|---|---|---|
G|o|---|---|---|---|---|                   G|o|---|---|---|---|---|
D|-|---|-2-|---|---|---|                   D|-|-1-|---|---|---|---|
A|-|---|-1-|---|---|---|                   A|x|---|---|---|---|---|
E|o|---|---|---|---|---|                   E|x|---|---|---|---|---|

So these are the 12 basic open chords. As you can see I've put two different ways of playing C minor open. There is more than one way of playing a chord. These are called chord voicings and we'll get more into that later on. Quite a few of those chords will be used in upcoming lessons so learn them well. Okay so that’s it for my first lesson. Lesson 2 is on its way folks so dont worry... Peace And Thanks.

Comments

[Fieryhead]

good lesson. keep up the good work. although i know you said there is more than one way to play each chord but there are much simplier ways than the ones you used. but other than that great job!

[Rigo 44]

NJ this lesson helped me a lot

[xThorgärdx]

Gotta try this one as soon as I get home

[kelly159]

I'm playing like a pro. Thank you this really helped

[ashleeaak]

My fingers are not long enough to reach four frets at a time... is this a bad thing?

[guitar-guy01]

ashleeaak wrote:

My fingers are not long enough to reach four frets at a time... is this a bad thing?

nope this isnt a bad thing..it'll jus take some time for your fingers to stretch and adjust

[Maggi3]

these chords above, they're different than others http://www.guitaretab.com/s/sum-41/22260.html/ is there a difference in reading them?

[guitar-guy01]

well that link yu sent is predominantly lead guitar..which had very lil chords...the few chords that were in it were power chords..which will be featured soon in the lessons...there are many ways of playin the same chordds...as shown in the lesson

[bigtony1]

I bought my first guitar today (Galveston Sunburst ST6 Electric Guitar)and thank you for the time and energy to create this web sight. I hope I can learn how to play. I always wanted to since I was a good. I am 38 now,better late than never I guess. Thanks again,Tony

[bigtony1]

"since I was a good" I mean a kid.

[guitar-guy01]

bigtony1 wrote:

I bought my first guitar today (Galveston Sunburst ST6 Electric Guitar)and thank you for the time and energy to create this web sight. I hope I can learn how to play. I always wanted to since I was a good. I am 38 now,better late than never I guess. Thanks again,Tony

no prob dude, yur never too late to start

btw i didn start this site, i'm jus a guitar teacher who submits to the site

keep up the good work

[Kman2949]

I thought this was real helpful. I got my first electric guitar about 3 months ago and have recently hit a spot where i just dont know what to do to get better. This lesson is gonna help get me back on track. THANKS

[Lil'Dot]

Hey, you said that there are more than one ways to play any chord, now hows that? I mean can you elaborate more on this chord voicing thing please?....for my teeny tiny brain.

[chocolate milk]

I'm not really a beginner at guitar...like i know how to play a lot of songs and stuff...but i'm trying to practice my more technical stuff...like alternate picking (that's something my teacher gives me hell for not doing) and stuff. I just wanted to ask you when you say two fingers on the pick, does that include thumb? Because i hold the pick with my index and middle finger pressing it on my thumb...but my teacher plays it holding it with just his index pressing down on his thumb.

[kanis01]

Hey, what is the easiest way of 'not playing a string'? avoid strumming? or touch it with a finger from the fretting hand..? thanks!

[guitar-guy01]

chocolate milk wrote:

I'm not really a beginner at guitar...like i know how to play a lot of songs and stuff...but i'm trying to practice my more technical stuff...like alternate picking (that's something my teacher gives me hell for not doing) and stuff. I just wanted to ask you when you say two fingers on the pick, does that include thumb? Because i hold the pick with my index and middle finger pressing it on my thumb...but my teacher plays it holding it with just his index pressing down on his thumb.

yes i am including the thumb when i say two fingers..but its more bout comfort for yu

[guitar-guy01]

kanis01 wrote:

Hey, what is the easiest way of 'not playing a string'? avoid strumming? or touch it with a finger from the fretting hand..? thanks!

personally i place a finger on my frettin hand against the string lightly to mute it. not strumming can work if the string you're wanting not to play is an outer string like the two E's and the b and a

[guitar-guy01]

Lil'Dot wrote:

Hey, you said that there are more than one ways to play any chord, now hows that? I mean can you elaborate more on this chord voicing thing please?....for my teeny tiny brain.

well basically this comes down to music theory...every chord is made up of a formula of notes eg the triad of notes from the A major chord are A C# and E (these are the root, the third and the fifth respectively). now these notes appear in the open chord voicing for A major that is above, but these notes also appear elsewhere on the fretboard. Another voicing for the A major is

5 6 7 8 9
e|-5-|---|---|---|---|
B|-5-|---|---|---|---|
G|---|-6-|---|---|---|
D|---|---|-7-|---|---|
A|---|---|-7-|---|---|
E|-5-|---|---|---|---|

this is a 5th fret barre chord and will be more elaborated on in later lessons. As we go on i will explain more about chord voicings and show you some unusual voicings that add an interesting sound to you playing

[guitar-guy01]

the chart in my last comment didnt come out to well... the 5 6 7 8 9 should be over each individual fret as this chord starts on the 5th fret

[LiNdyLoUBluE]

This is awesome! Thank you so much for having this & for free!

[guitar-guy01]

no probs..glad i can be of assistance

[Grax123]

Heya. Thanks for the lesson. It is extremely helpful. However, I do have a question. For the very last open chord you gave (the alternate fingering for Cm) it says to fret the D and B strings with the index finger while leaving the G string open. I'm not sure how to do it, so I am using my index and middle fingers instead of just my index. Is there some special way to fret the chord with just one finger, or was that some sort of typo?

[guitar-guy01]

Grax123 wrote:

Heya. Thanks for the lesson. It is extremely helpful. However, I do have a question. For the very last open chord you gave (the alternate fingering for Cm) it says to fret the D and B strings with the index finger while leaving the G string open. I'm not sure how to do it, so I am using my index and middle fingers instead of just my index. Is there some special way to fret the chord with just one finger, or was that some sort of typo?

ah yes soz that was a typo (it seems its becomin a common incident for me lol) yu use fingers one and two for it

[zhangchim]

First of all, thanks to guitar-guy to make this guide for the beginner.
I had a Fender Squier Telecaster, i found some another guide online but got confused right at the first sight.
Im Vietnamese ^^ so dont blame me bcuz my English...
We, the beginners, are waitting for your Guides !!!!!
Peace ^^

[guitar-guy01]

zhangchim wrote:

First of all, thanks to guitar-guy to make this guide for the beginner.
I had a Fender Squier Telecaster, i found some another guide online but got confused right at the first sight.
Im Vietnamese ^^ so dont blame me bcuz my English...
We, the beginners, are waitting for your Guides !!!!!
Peace ^^

thanks dude, keep watchin, new lesson soon

[hortonheat02]

Is it okay if I don't use the exact same fingers but get the same resulting chord? A few of the basic chords I learned a long time ago using a slightly different finger layout and they turn out just as good... sometimes the "finger number assignments" mess me up.

[guitar-guy01]

hortonheat02 wrote:

Is it okay if I don't use the exact same fingers but get the same resulting chord? A few of the basic chords I learned a long time ago using a slightly different finger layout and they turn out just as good... sometimes the "finger number assignments" mess me up.

well tbh the ones i gave are jus general guidelines and are what most ppl find easiest

but in all honesty play it the way yu feel most comfortable when playin. but still learn it with those fingers as it lets ya see what fingers yu have free when yu want to embellish chords...so its important to try usin all yur fingers for playin chords so as to experiment

[Justin977]

Hi, this is a great guide, but I have a very noobie question:

I still don't fully understand the o's? Am I supposed to strum those or what?

[guitar-guy01]

sure this for noobs so yur question is valid

the o's stand for Open Strings.. these are strings that are played with out any notes bein fretted. i.e in the Cmajor chord the G string is open... you strum the o's

[Justin977]

ohh lol, wow that was simple

[bobates]

I already new that stuff but a great lesson 10 out of 10 keep them coming cause i suck at the guitar and need practice

[mastasora]

how should i position my fretting hand and fingers?

[guitar-guy01]

well there is the classical postion which involves the thumb bein at the back of the neck and goin perpendicular to the neck

then there is wats known as the base ball bat position which is where yur thumb can at sometimes go over the neck and onto the fretboard. guitarists like john mayer sometimes do this as it helps with fretting some chords

[granada18]

nice dude..
thnx)

[Alm3ga]

Nice guide, although I found your Chord charts difficult to understand. Not really difficult, just different. I'm just used to playing normal tabs.

[guitar-guy01]

Alm3ga wrote:

Nice guide, although I found your Chord charts difficult to understand. Not really difficult, just different. I'm just used to playing normal tabs.

what did yu find difficult to understand bout them?

[Alm3ga]

You made yours so you know what finger to use. Most tabs just say what fret you suppose to hold down. Yours aren't really hard to understand, just different from what I'm used to.

[Alm3ga]

So in your tab at first I fretted the 2nd fret of the d string, 3 fret of the g string, and 4 fret of the b. But it's supposed to be all three fingers on that fret, you see?

[guitar-guy01]

yea i get ya..i jus figured it would make it easier for beginners to start the chords

[ashcraftrahl]

Hi. I just bought my first guitar and was referred to this site by a friend who uses it. I'm trying to take it a little slow until my fingers get calluses, but I'm having some difficulty with my fret hand. I notice a lot of the time, I'm touching strings that are supposed to be open. I'm not holding my hand right I think. Any tips/pictures that show correct hand placement?

[guitar-guy01]

ashcraftrahl wrote:

Hi. I just bought my first guitar and was referred to this site by a friend who uses it. I'm trying to take it a little slow until my fingers get calluses, but I'm having some difficulty with my fret hand. I notice a lot of the time, I'm touching strings that are supposed to be open. I'm not holding my hand right I think. Any tips/pictures that show correct hand placement?

this is a common problem for beginners. A good tip is to form each chord finger by finger. So take the A major chord for example. start by just puttin your finger on the d string and play the A and D strings together and make sure they're sounding clearly. Then add your other finger to the G string then and sound out those 3 strings and so on till you've formed the full chord clearly

[ashcraftrahl]

Thanks, I will give that a try. So far your guide has been awesome. Can't wait to learn the chords and move on to the next lesson.

[guitar-guy01]

ashcraftrahl wrote:

Thanks, I will give that a try. So far your guide has been awesome. Can't wait to learn the chords and move on to the next lesson.

well don't hesitate to contact me if you have any more problems. Lesson 2 is fun as you learn your first song, but don't rush, take your time and it will pay off

[ashcraftrahl]

I only have about an hour or so a day to actually sit down and learn until the weekends. So I've been trying to learn a cord a time and switch between it and the ones I learned previously. Its working pretty well so far.

[guitar-guy01]

ashcraftrahl wrote:

I only have about an hour or so a day to actually sit down and learn until the weekends. So I've been trying to learn a cord a time and switch between it and the ones I learned previously. Its working pretty well so far.

well any practise is valuable as long as you make sure you do it properly and correct any mistakes

[sexxyemopunk13]

hey thanks this is relly cool it really helped me alot but im only having one problem, i am a girl and my nails are incredibly long(they're my real nails) and every time i try to practice they get in the way and interfere with the other strings, i really dont want to cut them but i also really want to learn to play my guitar..... any suggestions or ideas???

[guitar-guy01]

maybe just trim them back a little bit, one of my students is a girl and she had a similar problem, so she just trimmed them back a bit

[LankeyDwarf]

I've been struggling with chord playing so these lessons are a great deal of help, thanks :hug:

[guitar-guy01]

LankeyDwarf wrote:

I've been struggling with chord playing so these lessons are a great deal of help, thanks :hug:

No problem, glad to be of help, lessons 2 and 3 are up too

[S_Tuning56]

i'm having a problem with b7, i can get all my fingers placed but the B string wont ring and if i alter my hand so that its not hitting my ring finger, then it just ends upbeing muted by my pinky's nail....is this just flexibility or is it because i'm on a classical guitar and the strings are spaced a little different

[guitar-guy01]

a lot of people i have thought have had the same problem, its just how you're spacing your fingers, just try to arch them so that neither your ring or your pinky are touching the b string

[linde_lindström]

Awesome guide, i just got a Squier Stratocaster from my uncle 3 days ago, and with this guide i am a lot farther than i thought, i am able to play the solo form the song Gone With The Sin [HIM]

Again, amazing guides!

[Zakk5]

cool... some chords may be played in a more simpler way...
but the way shown above may be good in some cases where these fingering needs to be done so as to help in shifting between chords...

[Dylanj.Bailey]

how do u play cm when u need to put ur index finger on D & B when their not next 2 each other? plz msg me with answer some1

[guitar-guy01]

to above. i believe thats a typo on my behalf (typing chord diagrams can get to yu)....use two diff fingers for playing the cm chord

[Craige12]

Very cool of you. Thanks for helping us newbies. I have a friend who tried to teach me but it was frustrating. This way I can learn at my own pace and the first lesson is pretty straightforward. You do a great job at explaining and answering questions. Keep up the good work.

[thirteenburn]

Thanks JP!

One of the first things you stated was that practicing the guitar should be fun and that's the key thing to longevity - I should know. Back when I was in high school, I decided to become a "rockstar guitarist" and took up the lessons with a local music teacher. The very first hour went something like this:

Teacher: Blah, blah, blah ("I'm all this...I played there...played with this guy...I played with this band...here's my concept on the spatial-time-realativity theory...I'm just doing this between gigs...") blah, blah blah.

Me: "Uh, when do we get to the "lessons" part?"

Teacher: "Oh ya. Well, we've only got about five more minutes today, so why don't you go home and learn 'House Of The Rising Sun' by tomorrow and we'll take it from there?"

Me: "Uh, what?"

Teacher: "Ya. You know the song don't you?:"

Me: "Uh, yes."

Teacher: "Great. See you tomorrow."

The next day...

Teacher: "OK, show me how far you got."

Me: Gamely playing the first two chords, unable to finger correctly as I don't really know anything about the guitar, hence my taking lessons. "Not sure if I'm doing this right or not..."

Teacher: "That's as far as you got?!? Look, if you want to waste your time, be my guest, but now you're wasting my time." Yanks guitar out of my hand and blows through the song as though he's played it his entire life. "OK, now try it again."

Me: "Uh, you're an ******* and I prefer to not waste MY money on YOUR time."

Needless to say that I never went back and devoted my full attention back to the drums (my dad was a drummer and got me started when I was five) and only picked up the guitar over the next 20 years or so whenever I saw one and it wasn't until about three years ago did I start messing with it again, seriously for the past year.

Anyway, these lessons are great for someone like me and I appreciate the time and effort that went into making this one kick-ass guitar site. With everything in one place, it makes it easy to stay focused and practice, and above all, it's also hella fun.

Thanks again!

Cheers!!

[guitar-guy01]

*to above

it's comments like that that make it worth while

[simon0901]

hey great lesson (Y)
what songs would you recommend as a first song?
cheers

[guitar-guy01]

ha check lesson 2 for your first song

pick something nice and easy that you like, thats the best way about it

[Magna_Arma]

Ugh. Great lesson.:]

But I can't even get my hand to stay in the right posistion to play A Major:[
Why not?(I kinda think my frets might be too wide. They're XJ)

[guitar-guy01]

i have XJ frets on my electric too.....they shouldnt really hinder your playin...they should make it handier to finger chords

[Pankescence]

This is so much better than the lessons on about.com... :~P
Thanks A Lot, Guitar-Guy... :~D

[mikeytelsen23]

awesome for complete noobs like me, ive been having trouble finding good lessons. thanks a TON.

on the g chord, i'm having trouble holding the e string all the way down with my 3rd finger, and i end up muting it instead. do i just have to practice until my fingers stretch and adjust?

[whitespace]

Hi... I think your Cminor numbering is wrong... there are two '1's. Thanks for the great lesson!

[guitar-guy01]

to mikey, yes its really just practise and you'll get it

and to whitespace its already been pointed out but thnks for your keen vigilance

[Judge_Scum]

Thank you. up untill now i could not for the ****ing life of me understand chords, but now i can read them and play them, keep up the good work.