Learning the guitar is an amazing experience. Beginner guitarists are now left with too many options for how to start. There are no the best ways to learn guitar as its just too personal a journey. It doesn’t matter if you want to learn how to play acoustic guitar, or you want to learn electric guitar. And you will see later my argument as to why there are no best songs to learn guitar. These tips help a little bit in spelling out the essential things you should learn when first starting learning guitar. Some might seem obvious but read on for a little bit more depth into why you should do each of these things.

Also, if you are wondering why I am telling you all this have a look at who I am here.

Beginner Learn Guitar Tip 1: Learn the names of the guitar strings

This is the first thing – you must know where to put your fingers if you want to sound any good. There are some annoying things with guitar that can make it really confusing first up – people use different names for the strings.

So… strings are tuned to notes. These notes are how we name the strings. The E-string is the Note E when played (with nothing pressed down). But there are two E-strings right? Here is the main thing that confuses people – the High E-string is on the bottom of the guitar and the Low E-string is on the top. That is because in music Low means low pitch (like when you talk really deep) and High means high pitch. Here is a video to help explain pitch.

Now the strings from the Low E (which is the thickest) gradually get higher in pitch (as they get thinner). The strings in ascending pitch (getting higher in pitch) are E, A, D, G, B, E. Check out the diagram and just memorise your string names.

Some people will call strings the 6^th string and 3^rd string – I just think there is way too many numbers in music already. Stick to the names.

Next thing is to learn the A minor scale – this will help you learn the note names – try this video, and this one. Many sites will use TAB – this turns notes into fret numbers. It is very easy but also has a major flaw – no other instrument uses it. I firmly believe you should learn more than just TAB. It is a great tool for easily learning songs but is a very slow way to learn music properly. My explanation of TAB is here.

Once you know your strings you can start learning guitar from a thousand different websites including this one.

Beginner Learn Guitar Tip 2: Tune the guitar

It is essential to get your guitar tuned right. Its also one of the strangest things to do when you first start out. If you have a friend who plays get them to show you through how to tune – don’t get them to do it, you need t try it. It comes down to matching strings to notes. So from the first tip – the strings are notes. These notes have a set pitch. This pitch has a number. You can use a tuner to get your guitar to the correct number (either a app or a small pocket device). But the catch is when you tune one string others sometimes go out. It can be a right nightmare.

So steps:

1. Tune it once using an app – check this guide if you need one – Best guitar tuners 2022
2. Strum a nice easy chord – say E minor (you can find it here)
3. Now check each string again and tweak it
4. Check the strings match using the 5^th fret trick – hold the 5^th fret of a string and the string below should sound the same (use the 4^th fret on the G-string/ B-string)
5. Strum a few chords

This might seem a bit longer than just using the app but you will get an ear for tuning slowly but surely and it will be easier in the long run.

Check out the video for this here.

Beginner Learn Guitar Tip 3: Don’t just learn songs

Songs are great – they will make you enjoy learning an instrument. But don’t just learn others songs! There are so many parts to songs that are used to build them and to really understand music you need to break them down. This can be split into 5 main elements – Rhythm, Theory, Scale, Technique and Time. This is what 7 minute music does best – teaches you the building blocks of music.

Once you know the building blocks you start to recognise them in songs they really some to life. It is amazing seeing what other musicians are doing and how they write music. Don’t just copy them – learn their tricks. To do that you need the elements. That means practice scales, strumming patterns, chord progressions, riffs and time signatures. And above all write your own songs – there is no better way to learn than by doing. Use the forums out there to get feedback. Your own song writing is the best way to get better. It is so hard and scary to do but is by far the most satisfying thing in music. I am sure every original artist will agree that nailing a song of your own has a feeling that nothing in this world can match. So don’t just settle for covers!

We will have a series on writing songs using the building blocks coming out really soon.

Beginner Learn Guitar Tip 4: Hold the guitar properly

We all do it. I do it. Holding the guitar down with the neck sideways with it sitting on your knee is how you think you should play. Its not. Move the guitar body between your legs and lift the neck up to shoulder height. Put your foot (on the neck side of the guitar) up on a few books or a footrest. And have your thumb pointing up. It sounds so easy, but I bet you don’t do it! It just doesn’t look cool!

Honestly you will never get to full speed playing the guitar with the wrong position. It makes everything harder when you are out of place. You might need to know some of the parts of the guitar, check here. Then have a look at this video to see how to hold the guitar properly. And a least do a few of these things right. You can really end up with some pain if you don’t do things the right way.

Remember:

1. Guitar body between the legs
2. Prop the foot up on the neck side of the guitar
3. Lift the neck up so the head is about shoulder height
4. Thumb on fretboard hand points up from the neck
5. Try not to tense up – take 2 breaths to relax between intense learning

Beginner Learn Guitar Tip 5: Learn the language

Every instrument and music in general has a language. You should treat it like learning a real foreign language. Even put labels on things to remember the names. There are some things that are easy to define – like strings – and others that are harder – like melody. Each of these things are then interpreted slightly differently by different people. If you talk to someone classically trained they will speak a bit different to someone jazz trained. And then there is the majority of guitar players who are not formally trained who love to butcher the language that these guitarists hold sacred.

The important thing is to learn how to communicate. You need to navigate the different dialects of music by understanding what the concepts are. That is not easy and takes time. And people come to that understanding differently. A sound engineer understands pitch as a frequency where a session muso will know them as notes. So how do you get started? Well this video will give you a basic understanding . But the best way to learn is by asking questions. There are forums that are great for asking questions but be prepared for a variety of answers (people love to show off knowledge which is great but sometimes overwhelming). This is where a face to face guitar teacher is unbeatable. They can tailor a response to your current understanding in a way that no course (mine included) can. If you can afford it do private lessons – they are the best way to learn. If you want to get the best outcome do some of the 7 minute music levels first so you have some basis to then take your learning to the next level. Do be warned that private lessons can be expensive (In Australia an hour lesson is roughly $70, that’s the same as a year’s subscription to 7 minute music).

So what to do:

1. Watch the video
2. Write down words and explanations in a notepad (this helps you remember)
3. Use the language when talking to others – its ok to be wrong people will understand you are a beginner (if not they are probably not the best people)
4. Ask a forum but not before searching in the forum
5. Remember that there will be more than one name for something
6. Try to understand concepts – the fundamental basis for the language – then you will be able to translate different peoples language around music.
7. Learn classical music theory if you really want to be right!……or Jazz….

Learning the guitar

So, learning the guitar is a journey not a destination. Getting some tips is good but getting into a real set of lessons is essential. There are so many ways to learn an instrument and so many sites and schools. The big thing is to not pick the first thing you come across – try a few different methods. Get private lessons if you can. Don’t just smash out song after song – you will never really get good. And join in the community – it is truly amazing.

Of course I want people to use my site but I know it will suit a certain type of learner. So is this the best way to learn guitar? It depends on you. I have made my site for people who want to explore and understand music. People who want to create. What I do want you to do is have a look at it. Try a lesson or two. I have made it a paid site because I hate ads (there are no ads on 7 minute music), but the first 2 levels are free so you can get a good idea. If you do like it $7 is a bargain for a music lesson, let alone 211 of them. The main point though is to get started learning guitar. Learn. Explore. Get inspired. And please write your own music.