The strings run between the headstock of the guitar, where they are affixed to tuning pegs that can be rotated to tighten and slacken them, and the bridge, where they’re fixed to the guitar’s body. On an acoustic guitar, the strings are fixed to the bridge with removable pegs, and on an electric guitar the strings are generally strung through an eyelet. The neck of the guitar is the long wooden piece of wood, flat on one side (this is called the fretboard) and curved on the other. The fretboard is inlaid with metal frets that demarcate the different notes. An acoustic guitar will have a sound hole in the body where the sound will resonate, while an electric guitar will have as many as three magnetic pickups which will channel the sound through an amplifier.
To play your guitar, sit up in a straight-backed chair or stool. When you orient the guitar to your body, the smallest string should be pointed toward the ground and the thickest string should be pointed up at the ceiling. Hold the back of the guitar so it touches your stomach and chest and rests on the leg of your strumming/picking hand. The guitar should be held mostly with your leg and by cradling it in your body. Your left hand is used to stabilize the neck and fret the strings. Hold the neck in the V created by your thumb and forefinger. You should be able to smoothly move your left hand up and down the neck without having to hold it up. Even if you hold the guitar correctly, you may experience some discomfort while getting used to playing. Do not become discouraged if your shoulder hurts in addition to your neck, arms and hands. You will eventually get used to it.
Learn the name of each string. From the lowest to highest pitch (thickest to thinnest strings) the strings are named E, A, D, G, B, and E (after the note played when the string is plucked with no fingers touching it). Use a mnemonic to remember this order, such as “Eddie Ate Dynamite, Good Bye Eddie!” Electric tuners are easy to use and very accurate. Hold it to the guitar and pluck the high E. The tuner will tell you if the guitar is “sharp” (too high) or “flat” (too low). Pick each note and tighten the string to make it go higher, or give it some slack to lower it. Make sure the room is quiet when using a tuner because the microphone on the tuner can pick up other sounds. If you cannot afford a tuner, you can also tune your guitar without one by matching each note to the corresponding note on the piano.
Every time you move from one fret to another, the resulting pitch will be half a step higher as you move toward the body and a half step lower as you move toward the headstock. Practice moving up and down the fretboard, pressing the frets and getting a feel for the pressure you need to use to play a note.
Make a fist with your picking hand and your thumb flat on top of your curled fingers. Hold the pick by grasping it perpendicular to your fist between your thumb and index finger, with no more than a few centimeters of the smaller end sticking out of your hand. [4] X Research source
Commonly major chords are C Major, A Major, G Major, E Major, D Major. When you’ve got the shapes down, practice switching between them as quickly as you can. Write out more or less random arrangements of the chords you want to play and switch between them, strumming once. Make sure you play the appropriate notes. In A Major, for example, the low E string is not strummed. They’ll be marked on the tablature with an “X”. Develop good habits now for success in the long run.
C-chord: Place your ring finger on the third fret of the fifth string. Place your middle finger on the second fret of the fourth string, and your index finger on the first fret of the second string. Strum all but the sixth string. Then, go back and play each string individually, while still playing the chord. Make sure each string rings out clearly. A major: Take your index, middle, and ring finger, and place them on the second frets of the second, third and fourth strings on the guitar. It is simply one line down these three strings. Play every string but the top one. G chord: Place your middle finger on the third fret of the sixth string. Place your index finger on the second fret of the fifth string, and your ring finger on the third fret of the first string. Make sure each string rings out clearly. E Major: This is one of the easiest chords there is. Place your middle and ring fingers on the second frets of the fourth and fifth strings. Your index finger should go on the first fret of the third string. D Major: Place your index finger on the second fret of the third string. Place your middle finger on the second fret of the first string. Place your ring finger on the third fret of the second string. Only play the bottom four strings. E minor: This is exactly like E major, except you don’t use your index finger. Put your middle and ring fingers on the second frets of the second and third thickest strings. A minor: Place your middle and ring fingers on the second frets of the third and fourth thickest strings, and your index on the first fret of the second thinnest. This is the exact same shape as E major, just moved down one string. Again, ignore the top string. D minor: Again, very similar to D Major. Place your middle finger on the second fret of the third thinnest string. Place your index finger on the first fret of the thinnest, and your ring finger on the third fret of the second thinnest. Play only the bottom four strings.
If the notes are not ringing out properly, chances are that you are not pressing hard enough or parts of your fingers are touching that string which prevents it from sounding out clearly. Are any unused fingers touching strings? Keep your fretting fingers curled above the fret board when they’re touching the strings as if you had your fingers resting over an imaginary glass ball, or a marble in the knuckle of each finger. [6] X Research source This leaves space for the open strings to ring out unmuted.
Using the same claw-like finger positioning on the second fret, you can play an F# chord. Move to the third fret, and it becomes a G chord. It’s a difficult finger positioning to learn, but you can start playing the chords to any rock or pop song relatively quickly when you learn to strum and play barre chords. The Ramones, for example, used nothing but barre chords to great effect.
Ice your fingers after playing or soak them in some apple cider vinegar to alleviate some of the pain. Dipping your fingers in rubbing alcohol after playing can speed up callus build up. Just don’t do it before you play. [9] X Research source
Start off slow and speed up gradually as you get used to the rhythm. It can be frustrating how mechanical you will sound at first, but the more comfortable you get switching between the chords, the closer you’ll be to rocking out on stage. As you master easier songs, move on to more complex pieces. “Sweet Home Alabama” by Lynyrd Skynyrd is basically a repetition of D, C, and G in that order, but it sounds much more complex on the record because of the lead guitar licks.
E|————————————————-|| B|——-3———3———-3——————–|| G|———2———0——–0—————2p0–|| D|-0-0————————0–0—-0h2p0——–|| A|————3-3————-2—0p2——-0——|| E|———————–3-3–3——————–|| Switching between lead-style licks and chords is exciting. You’ll feel like you’re really making music and not just “learning guitar. " Make sure you’ve got your chord shapes down correctly and that you’re not losing the rhythm entirely when you play a quick lick.
YouTube tutorials can be extremely helpful for beginners and for advanced players alike. Watching Stevie Ray Vaughn rip through a solo or seeing how Jack Johnson fingers your favorite song can be a great learning experience. If you’d like to play classical or jazz guitar, or even if you’d like to learn to read sheet music, formal lessons are a good idea. Teaching yourself is a great way of developing your own style, but there is only so much you can learn without a knowledgeable mentor.
