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Build a solid guitar foundation first, then pick a strumming & singing, fingerstyle or classical track; want to start with four strings instead? Begin with the ukulele.

Ukulele

Tuning, reading, open chords, barre chords, theory and the fretboard — lay a solid foundation first.

This track: 54 guitar basics
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Survival Skills

BeginnerGuitar basics

A few things to know before you pick up the guitar · Goal: Tune the guitar, read a chord diagram, and sound every string with good posture.

  1. 1Your First Sound: Pick It Up and Make NoiseDon't worry about the terminology yet — pick up the guitar, strum the open strings, press two fingers into an Em, and within minutes you'll hear your first chord. Get a taste and build some confidence; the names and details we'll fill in as we play.5 min
  2. 2Get to Know Your GuitarA quick tour of the parts of an acoustic guitar, and what a beginner-friendly guitar looks like.6 min
  3. 3Holding the Guitar & Hand ShapesA good sitting position and hand shape make fretting easier and your sound cleaner — and keep you from grinding in bad habits.8 min
  4. 4Tuning Your GuitarA guitar that's out of tune will never sound good no matter how you play. Learn to use a tuner to set all 6 strings to standard pitch: E A D G B E.7 min
  5. 5Reading Chord Diagrams & TabChord diagrams and tablature (TAB) are the guitar's two most common “maps.” Once you can read them, you can teach yourself almost any song.8 min
  6. 6Your First Sound: Plucking & DownstrokesFirst let the right hand “get going” on its own: pluck single strings cleanly, then practice an even downstroke rhythm.7 min
  7. 7Counting & Time Signatures: 4/4 and 3/4Rhythm is the skeleton of playing-and-singing. Learn to count and to hear time signatures first, and every strumming pattern later will stand on solid ground.8 min
  8. 8Left-Hand Warm-up: The Spider WalkThe “spider walk” is the classic left-hand fundamental — it builds finger independence, agility and economy of effort. A few minutes before each practice and you'll improve fast while avoiding injury.7 min
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Play Your First Song

ElementaryGuitar basics

With just two easy chords · Goal: Use Em and Am with one strum to back a short passage end to end.

  1. 1Your First Chord: EmEm uses only two fingers, making it the easiest chord to start with — your first real chord.6 min
  2. 2Your Second Chord: AmAm has a hand shape much like Em's, and once you've got it you can switch back and forth between the two chords.7 min
  3. 3Chord Change: Em ↔ AmStumbling over chord changes is a hurdle every beginner hits. Smooth it out with “slow practice + shared fingers.”8 min
  4. 4Add a Strum: Your First AccompanimentPut the chords together with a right-hand strum and the rough shape of an accompaniment emerges.8 min
  5. 5Full Practice: Play Your First PassageString together everything you've learned and play a full passage over a simple chord progression — you can already accompany yourself!9 min
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More Chords & Changes

IntermediateGuitar basics

C, G, D and switching between them · Goal: Get the common open chords down and switch between them fairly smoothly.

  1. 1Your Third Chord: CC is one of the most-used chords in folk music, and you can fret it with just three fingers.7 min
  2. 2Your Fourth Chord: GG has a full, rich sound — all six strings ring out — and it's a regular in playing-and-singing.7 min
  3. 3Your Fifth Chord: DD crowds three fingers together — just remember to play only the four thin strings.7 min
  4. 4Open Chords A and ERound out A and E, then grab Dm while you're at it — by the end of this lesson the “eight essential open chords” are complete, and your folk playing-and-singing toolkit is fully stocked.8 min
  5. 5The Big Chord-Change WorkoutSmooth out the common switches between C, G, D, Em, and Am, and playing-and-singing stops tripping you up.9 min
  6. 6One-Minute Chord Changes: The Smart Way to Get FasterStuck switching chords? Use the “one-minute changes” method — proven by countless courses — to smooth out any two chords in a measurable way.8 min
  7. 7Play Your First Pop Progression: G–D–Em–CThis four-chord loop is the “universal progression” behind countless pop and folk songs — all open chords, no barre required.9 min
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Barre Chords & Music Basics

AdvancedGuitar basics

Conquer F, read tab, and just-enough theory · Goal: Nail the full barre, read tablature, and understand common chord progressions.

  1. 1Conquering the Big Barre: FF is almost every beginner's first roadblock. Get the pressing technique right, lean on a simplified version to bridge the gap, and you'll get past it.10 min
  2. 2How the Barre Works: One Shape, the Whole FretboardBarre chords slide as a unit — learn one shape, and you unlock a whole region of chords at once.9 min
  3. 3Reading Tab and Rhythm NotationGet a bit deeper into the rhythm and technique markings in tab, and you'll be able to teach yourself almost any song straight from the page.8 min
  4. 4Just Enough TheoryNo piling up terminology — just what playing-and-singing actually uses: note names, keys, and where chords come from.9 min
  5. 5Chord Families and Common ProgressionsGet to know the “chord family” and a few all-purpose progressions, then add a little flavor to your accompaniment with seventh chords.9 min
  6. 6Color Chords That Sound Great and Are Easy to PlaySame chord progression, but swap in a few “color chords” and it instantly sounds more sophisticated — and most of these are even easier to play than the originals.9 min
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Chords & Theory, Deeper

TheoryGuitar basics

Scale degrees · how triads are built · seventh chords · Goal: Understand where chords come from, scale degrees and function, and color your backing with sevenths.

  1. 1Scale Degrees & Chord FunctionWhy do certain chords sound good together? Because they come from the same key, each with its own “scale degree” and function.9 min
  2. 2How Triads Are BuiltYou don't have to memorize chords — they're stacked up layer by layer in “thirds.” Once you understand how they're built, you can work out any chord yourself.8 min
  3. 3Intro to Seventh ChordsStack one more note on a triad and you get a seventh chord — and your accompaniment instantly takes on a jazzy, folky sophistication.9 min
  4. 4Intervals: Number & QualityAn interval is music theory's “ruler” — how far apart two notes are. Once you can measure intervals, how chords stack up and why progressions sound good finally make sense.9 min
  5. 5Secondary Dominants & CadencesWant a progression that's “catchier, more eager to push forward”? Secondary dominants create extra tension, and cadences decide how a phrase “lands.”9 min
  6. 6Putting the Circle of Fifths to WorkThe circle of fifths isn't a diagram to memorize — it's an all-purpose map for looking up key signatures, finding chords, and changing keys. Learn to read it and theory suddenly gets intuitive.8 min
  7. 7Inversions & Slash Chords: Get the Bass Line MovingPut a chord's 3rd or 5th in the lowest voice and you get an “inversion” (written as a slash chord like C/E or G/B). Its biggest payoff: a smoothly stepwise bass line that lifts the sophistication of your accompaniment and arrangements in a second.9 min
  8. 8The Four Magic Progressions in PracticeYou've learned scale degrees — now it's time to “use” them. Four “magic progressions” that cover most pop songs: remember them as scale degrees and you can use them in any key, backing up a song on the fly.9 min
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Fretboard & Scales

FretboardGuitar basics

Five positions · CAGED · finding root notes · Goal: Connect the whole fretboard with the five scale positions and CAGED — no more being stuck in first position.

  1. 1The Five Positions: Connecting the Whole FretboardStop being “the player who only knows the first position.” With the five shapes — Mi, Sol, La, Ti, Re — one scale can cover the entire fretboard.9 min
  2. 2The CAGED System: Linking Chords and ScalesThe shapes of the five open chords — C, A, G, E, D — can be shifted into any chord, and they line up one-to-one with the five scale positions.9 min
  3. 3Find Any Chord Instantly with Root + DegreeWhen you see “the such-and-such chord in such-and-such key,” use the root note's position plus the major/minor triad shape to find it on the neck in a second.8 min
  4. 4Relative Major/Minor & the Natural Minor ScaleWhy does a minor key sound “sad”? Learn relative major/minor and you'll discover that a minor scale actually shares the very same notes as its major — it's just that “home” has moved.8 min
  5. 5Intro to Modes: Dorian and MixolydianThe same set of notes, but with a different note as “home,” gives you a different mode “color.” Start with the two most useful ones: Dorian and Mixolydian.9 min
  6. 6Arpeggios: The Skeleton of ImprovisingA scale gives you all the “usable notes”; an arpeggio picks out only the “most stable chord tones.” It's the skeleton of an improvised melody, and the bridge that connects chords to your solo.8 min
  7. 7Seventh-Chord Shapes: Play Them All Over the Neck by Root StringSeventh chords aren't just the few open-position ones. Like CAGED, memorize seventh-chord shapes by “which string the root is on,” and you can grab maj7 / 7 / m7 anywhere on the neck to color your accompaniment and solos.10 min
  8. 8Three-Notes-Per-String (3NPS): A Map for Fast Runs and LicksAnother scale system beyond the five positions: exactly three notes on every string. The fingering is tidy and easy to speed up — a powerful tool for licks, legato, and shred, and it ties the whole fretboard together once again.9 min
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Extras · The Practical Handbook

HandbookGuitar basics

Buying & care · how to practice · learning a song · gigs & recording · reading & ear · Goal: The practical stuff beyond playing: choosing a guitar, changing strings and upkeep, practice methods, learning songs by ear, and getting to know more styles — drop in anytime.

  1. 1Choosing Your First GuitarYour first guitar doesn't have to be expensive, but it can't feel too rough to play — a guitar that's too hard to press will scare a beginner off fast. Here are a few principles for picking one that's good enough and easy to play.8 min
  2. 2Changing Strings, Maintenance & a Gear ChecklistStrings get old and break, and a guitar needs care. Learn to change your own strings, do basic maintenance, and stock a few cheap but genuinely useful accessories.9 min
  3. 3How to Practice So It Works: Planning, Warm-up & PlateausWhat makes practice pay off isn't how long you put in — it's how you do it. Learn to plan a practice session, warm up sensibly, and break through when you hit a plateau.9 min
  4. 4Follow Your Ears: Rhythmic Feel & Hearing ChordsMusicality isn't something you're born with — it's something you build. Start by playing along with the original recording and finding chords by ear, and slowly lay down that foundation of “hearing.”9 min
  5. 5Take a Song You Love From Zero to DoneThe biggest motivation for learning guitar is “playing that song.” This lesson gives you a complete workflow from finding the chart to a finished song — follow it and you'll get there.10 min
  6. 6A Style Map: Getting to Know More GenresBy now you've got the foundation to roam across all kinds of styles. This “style map” helps you recognize the hallmarks of each genre and find the next direction you want to dig into.9 min
  7. 7Playing & Singing in Front of People for the First Time: How Not to PanicNerves are normal — even masters get nervous on stage. The goal isn't to “eliminate the nerves,” but to shift your attention from “will I make a mistake?” to “I'm handing music to someone.”8 min
  8. 8Record Your First Track on Your PhoneRecording isn't just a “self-reflection tool” — it can also produce a track you can put out there. You can get started with just a phone, so don't let gear scare you off.8 min
  9. 9Livestreaming / Short Video & a Jamming PrimerWant to share your playing-and-singing, or make music with others? How to keep the sound from getting muddy, what to watch for with copyright, and how to “get into the song” when jamming — this lesson lays it out.9 min
  10. 10Taking a Step Forward: Upgrades, Pickups & ToneOnce you practice your way to wanting to perform or record, you'll naturally run into “upgrade the guitar, plug in or not, how to dial in the sound.” This lesson gives you a mental map — no sales pitch, no piling on gear.9 min
  11. 11Reading Numbered Notation & Standard NotationTab only records “finger positions,” not pitch directly. Learn numbered notation (jianpu) and standard notation, and you'll truly be able to “read the pitches” and teach yourself far more songs.9 min
  12. 12An Ear-Training Ladder: From Single Notes to Hearing ProgressionsMusicality is built. Train your ear up a ladder from easy to hard, and “hearing it, singing it in tune” will slowly grow.8 min