Lesson 1 / 30 4 min
Welcome: how to learn guitar
What you will learn, what you need, and how to practice so you improve fast.
Welcome! This course takes you from never having held a guitar to playing chords, riffs and solos — and understanding the music theory behind them. Every lesson is short, and almost every example on this site makes sound: click a fretboard, a chord box or a riff to hear it.
Try it now — click any dot below:
What you will learn
The course has four sections. Work through them in order — each lesson builds on the previous one.
- Getting started — the parts of the guitar, posture, tuning, reading chord charts and tabs, your first chords and strumming.
- Music theory — notes, rhythm, intervals, scales, keys and how chords are built. Explained with the fretboard, not with dusty textbooks.
- Rock & lead guitar — power chords, palm muting, barre chords, the pentatonic scale, the blues and lead techniques like bends and vibrato.
- Going further — seventh chords, the CAGED system, modes, arpeggios, alternate tunings, ear training and building a practice routine.
What you need
- A guitar. Acoustic or electric — both work for this course. If you play electric, you also need an amplifier (or headphones with an amp app).
- A pick (plectrum). Start with a medium thickness, around 0.6–0.8 mm.
- A tuner. You can use our free online tuner with your phone or computer's microphone.
- 15–30 minutes a day. Short daily practice beats long weekend sessions.
Acoustic or electric?
Electric guitars have thinner strings and a lower action, so they are easier on the fingers. Acoustic guitars build finger strength faster. Play the one that makes you want to pick it up every day — that matters most.
How to practice
Learning guitar is mostly training your hands and training your ears. A few rules will make you improve much faster:
- Slow is fast. Play every new thing slowly enough to do it perfectly. Speed comes from clean repetitions, not from rushing.
- Little and often. Your brain consolidates movements while you rest. Ten minutes every day beats two hours once a week.
- Use a metronome. Keeping time is what makes music sound like music. Our metronome is free.
- Expect sore fingertips. For the first two or three weeks your fingertips will hurt a bit. Take breaks; calluses form quickly.
- Have fun. Mix exercises with songs you love. Motivation is the most important skill of all.
You don't need to read sheet music to follow this course. We use chord diagrams, tablature and interactive fretboards — and we'll teach you how to read all of them.
Ready? In the next lesson we will take a guided tour of the guitar itself.