Learn to play guitar, and you’ll open up a world of musical possibilities that can bring joy for a lifetime.
I remember when I first picked up a guitar – my fingers hurt, the chords felt impossible, and I wondered if I’d ever make it sound good.
If you’re feeling that way, that’s okay!
Everyone starts somewhere, and I’m here to help you begin your guitar learning journey.
The great thing about learning guitar is that it’s so personal.
A guitar may be the perfect companion if you dream of jamming around a campfire with friends, performing on stage, or just wanting to unwind after a long day.
And while those YouTube stars might make it look effortless, remember they all started just like you – one chord at a time.
In this article, I’ll share some practical, beginner-friendly tips to help beginner guitarists like you start learning guitar without feeling overwhelmed.
And when you’re ready to take your skills further and faster, I’ll show you how our structured approach can help you avoid the common frustrations that make many beginners quit too soon.
Table of Contents
Step 1: Find a Beginner Guitar
If you already have a guitar, you can skip this section.
You don’t need a brand new fancy guitar to get started. Ask some friends and see if you can borrow theirs. Or visit a pawn shop and pick up a cheap acoustic guitar. Acoustic or electric, it does not matter. If you’re trying to decide between the two, check out our recommendations for electric guitars vs. acoustic guitars to see which is better for guitar beginners.
The quickest way to get started is to go to your local guitar shop and tell them you want a good beginner guitar.
Step 2: Learn Guitar Basics
String Names
The names of the strings are the first thing to learn. Starting at the thickest string, the strings are E, A, D, G, B, E. The smallest string is the first string. The thickest string is the 6th string.
Finger Names
The fingers are referred to as the first (pointer), second (middle), third (ring finger), fourth (pinky finger).
Frets
The little metal bars across the neck of the guitar are the frets. Most guitars have around 20-24 frets. When learning the guitar, you will hear things like, “Put your first finger on the 2nd string 3rd fret.” Now you will know what this means.
Notes on the Guitar
The guitar fretboard is intimidating, but it’s simple once you learn it. Starting with the low E string, the notes start at the 1st fret and continue up in this manner:
- E String – F, F#, G, G#, A, A#, B, C, C#, D, D#, E
- A String – A#, B, C, C#, D, D#, E, F, F#, G, G#, A
- D String – D#, E, F, F#, G, G#, A, A#, B, C, C#, D
- G String – G#, A, A#, B, C, C#, D, D#, E, F, F#, G
- B String – C, C#, D, D#, E, F, F#, G, G#, A, A#, B
- E String – F, F#, G, G#, A, A#, B, C, C#, D, D#, E
I stopped at the 12th fret for simplicity. But the notes keep on going! You don’t need to memorize these notes unless you want to. I didn’t know the names of notes until I was years into playing.
Here is some basic music theory real quick.
The notes of the musical scale are A, B, C, D, E, F, and G. After G, it repeats back to A.
The notes with the # symbol are sharps. G# is pronounced G Sharp. Notice there is no E# and no B#.
You don’t need to worry about the reason for this right now.
Step 3: Learn Chords to Start Playing
Learning some basic guitar chords are what beginners say is the hardest part of starting to play. Holding the strings down with your fingertips hurts. You put your fingers where the chart says, you strum, and it sounds like a dying cat. This is normal.
New players finger tips are soft. Fretting the notes will hurt when you first get started. Take breaks. Practice until your fingers are hurting, then come back the next day. Within a week you wont notice your fingers hurting anymore and you can continue on.
To start, you want to learn the first position major chords. These are:
Click on any chord diagram to learn more about how to play it:
Hint: The O means you play that string open. The X means you don’t play that string.
Then you want to learn these minor chords:
I left B out because it’s a barre chord. Most beginners learn these after the open position chords. Here it is if you are feeling saucy:
Step 4: Practice
Now, here comes the hard part.
To play songs, you have to have the chords memorized. You have to be able to change your hand from one chord position to the next without missing a beat. Practice your chord changes.
Once you can change chords, you can play the guitar. It’s that simple. You won’t be shredding solos like Jimmie Page, but you will be able to strum and sing along.
Start by practicing the G, C, and D chords. With these 3 chords you can play songs like Sweet Home Alabama, Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door, and Ring of Fire.
Do one simple downward strum for each chord. Start with G to C, then work on C to D. Then tie it all together G to C to D then back to G. It will take time and be hard at first. Trust me when I say that soon you will be switching these chords without thinking about it.
When you master the above chord changes you can move onto these ones:
- A to D
- A to E
- G to D
- A, E, D
- C, F, G
- G, D, F, C
As you learn these chords and changes, there may be a few that are harder than others. Spend extra time focusing on nailing these chord changes. Focus on your weaknesses when you are practicing. It’s the fastest way to improve.
Rhythm
For beginners, rhythm is often described as strum patterns. There is the downstroke and the upstroke. You’ll see these shortened to down and up. These are further shortened to D and U.
If the strum pattern is down down down up down, you strum that pattern then change the chord. That’s the quick and dirty beginner way of learning the rhythms.
Play Guitar Better with Online Guitar Course
Now you have the fundamentals to begin your journey to learn to play guitar. With these basics, you’ll be able to start playing simple songs and build your skills step by step.
Our comprehensive online guitar course might be perfect for you if you want to progress faster and avoid common beginner frustrations.
We’ve designed it specifically to help beginners learn to play real songs quickly without getting stuck on boring theory or endless exercises. You’ll see how to play each technique with helpful guitar tricks and detailed video lessons.
You’ll learn how to play your favorite songs and build confidence in your playing – all in just 10 minutes per day.
Would you like to take your guitar playing to a whole new level? Check out our course page to get started today.
