Free Guitar Lesson 1
We will start by getting you set up on your guitar. If you've already covered holding your guitar, sitting and standing positions and holding a pick then feel free to more on to part 2 of this lesson.Part 1 - Getting into position
Sitting Positions
There are two sitting positions for holding the guitar; classical and casual.- Pick up the guitar and make sure that the guitar body is supported by your leg.
- Position yourself at the edge of your chair.
- Ensure that your back is relaxed but straight.
- Lean the guitar back towards you slightly.
Casual Position
Classical PositionStanding Position
- Pick up the guitar and place the strap over your shoulder. Adjust the strap so that the guitar is positioned mid-body.
- Use your left hand to support the neck of the guitar.
- Rest your right hand over the bridge of the guitar.
Hand Positions
It is important that you relax your wrists and hands. Straining them can cause injury.
Front view
Rear viewFretting
When you play the guitar, you use your left hand fingers to press down the strings on the fret board of the guitar and use your right hand to pluck or strum the stings at the bridge end of the guitar. Using your left hand to press the strings on the fret board is called fretting. Here are some tips you will need to know:- Short fingernails are essential.
- Use only the tips of your fingers to press the strings.
- When making a chord, be sure that each fingertip is placed directly behind the fret. We will cover chords in lesson one.
- Check each string that it rings clearly and is not muted or buzzing. As a beginner guitarist, it may hurt your fingers to play. This is normal. Every guitarist starts this way for the first couple of weeks. With practice, you will develop guitar fingers (hard skin on your fingertips).
Holding the Pick
Position the pick between thumb and index fingers like in the diagram below:
Time to take a break
Well done, you've just completed the first part of this newsletter. Take a few minutes to reinforce what you've just learnt.Coming Up
- Learn about chords
- Start using the A and D Major chords
Part 2 - Chords
Now you are ready to start your first theoretical lesson. Your aim in this lesson is to learn the A and D major chords and to introduce yourself to reading guitar tablature. This lesson is very important, so I want you to really focus.Remember! It is more beneficial for you to practice several times during a week than to practice for one long session. This is because your brain processes information in chunks at a time and it can only hold a certain amount in short term storage.
For example, with phone numbers, it is very difficult to remember any more than 7 digits at a time. Yet if you give yourself time between practicing, even if it is just 10 minutes, you’ll find that your brain is much more efficient at turning your short term practice into long term knowledge.
Ok, let’s get started on the lesson. To start with, I want you to have a look at the guitar neck diagram below and make note of all the relevant pieces of information. For example, with phone numbers, it is very difficult to remember any more than 7 digits at a time. Yet if you give yourself time between practicing, even if it is just 10 minutes, you’ll find that your brain is much more efficient at turning your short term practice into long term knowledge.
Frets
The guitar neck is divided into what we call frets, making a fret board. Most guitars have around 20 frets. In this first book, we will focus on the first four, also known as the first position. In book 2, we will move beyond that. Notice that we number each fret starting at 1 at the head of the guitar.
Note: Each string on the guitar is numbered. When you hold your guitar as you would when using the casual playing position, the 1st string is at the bottom and the 6th string is at the top. Notice also the term, ‘Tuning’ at the bottom of the above diagram. Tuning refers to the notes that the guitar strings are tuned to. In the above diagram, I have given a very common tuning called standard E tuning that consists of the notes E, A, D, G and B. Strings 1 and 6 are both tuned to the note E. The open 6th string is called low E. The open 1st string is called high E as it is two octaves higher than the 6th string open E. I will explain notes and octaves to you in a later newsletter, but for now, you only need to know the names of the notes in standard open E tuning.
Now make sure that your guitar is tuned to standard E tuning (the most common tuning). If you don't know how to tune your guitar, then download my free guide to tuning your guitar from here. Or if you are already a member of Jamorama.com, you can use our guitar tuning software to help you tune your guitar.
Note: To open the above tuning.pdf file you'll need a copy of Adobe Acrobat Reader. You can download a free copy here.
We will stick to standard E tuning throughout this newsletter.
Note: To open the above tuning.pdf file you'll need a copy of Adobe Acrobat Reader. You can download a free copy here.
We will stick to standard E tuning throughout this newsletter.
Introduction to Chords
Now we are going to look at guitar chords. Guitarists use many different chords to make progressions or riffs that can then be used to create songs. If you are not familiar with some of these terms, it’s ok. We will cover everything that I am talking about in good time.A chord is defined as a combination of 3 or more notes played together. To examine this, I want to take a look at chord diagrams. Chord diagrams are used to illustrate how a chord is played. They are very easy to use because they look very much like the neck of the guitar, in fact, the Jamorama chord diagram is a guitar neck.
As I said above the Jamorama chord diagrams are going to be pictures of an ‘actual’ guitar neck so it’s easy to make the connection between strings and fingering. There is also a picture of the type of chord diagram that appears in most other Guitar learning guides. I want you to be aware of that form of ‘standard’ chord diagram because you may want to use it when writing up chords on paper at home. So, now that you know what a chord diagram looks like and how it matches with the neck of your guitar, it’s time to come back to what I said earlier about a chord being a combination of 3 or more notes played together. Finger placing symbols are added to the chord diagram so we know which notes to play. To start with, let’s look at your fingers.
We give each playing finger a number that we can then match up on the chord diagram (see below).
And now, let’s look at a full chord diagram. We will use the example of the A major chord:Chord Diagram - A Major Chord
In the chord diagram below you can see that the A major chord uses fingers 1, 2, and 3. Take note of how this chord diagram looks - we will use this style from now on.The A major chord is constructed of the notes A, C# and E. We will cover notes a little later.
Note that there is a red dot marking the 6th string on the above chord diagram. The red dot tells you that you are not to play that string. The sixth string of the A major chord is not played, but you play the rest. Throughout this newsletter series, every chord diagram will be accompanied by a picture of the chord being held on the fret board and video of the chord being played for you to check with. Pictured below is the A major chord being played and you will find the video further down the page.
Exercise: Playing the A Major Chord
Position each finger with care, according to the above diagram. Make sure that each fingertip is placed directly behind the fret. Firstly, pluck across the strings one by one with your right hand, checking that each string rings clearly and is not muted or buzzing.Now that we’ve looked at chord diagrams, I want to move on to strumming.
Introduction to Strumming
In a strum there are two types of guitar stroke. They are up stroke and down stroke. Throughout this book these strokes will be notated as follows:
When you play a stroke, you strum across the strings just in front of the bridge of the guitar with the pick in your strumming hand. When strumming a chord, make sure that you play all of the necessary strings in the chord. The stroke direction will depend on which stroke is indicated; up or down as shown above. Exercise: Strumming the A Major Chord
Position each finger with care, according to the A Major chord diagram (above). Make sure that each fingertip is placed directly behind the fret. Firstly, pluck across the strings one by one with your right hand, checking that each string rings clearly and is not muted or buzzing. Once you are sure that you are holding the A major chord correctly, practice strumming the chord in single downward strokes as indicated below:
While you play this, see if you can say out loud an even 4 count. Another option if you are a Jamorama.com member is to use the jamorama metronome - it will help you to stay in time. Tip: You can watch a video example of the above exercise to see and hear it for yourself.
Try your best to start your strum from the fifth string each time you strum. A major, doesn’t sound bad if you accidentally hit the top string, although if you want your music to sound professional, you’ll want to play this chord properly. Remember to stay relaxed. Your fingers may hurt a little but they will get stronger.
Now that you are playing the A major chord properly, let’s take a look at strumming another chord...
The D Major Chord The D Major Chord is constructed of the notes D, F# (F sharp) and A and is played using fingers 1, 2 and 3:
As with the A major chord: try strumming the D major chord in downward strokes with your right hand.Video - D major chord
Note: The top two, or fifth and sixth, strings are not played in the D major chord. Make sure that you start your stroke from the forth string each time you strum D major, it doesn’t sound bad if you accidentally hit the fifth string, although as with A major above, if you want your music to sound professional, you need to play this chord properly.
End of Lesson
Congratulations on getting through your first lesson. Before you go, I want to mention one last thing. You have the power to transform your guitar playing, even if you don't think it. That's because learning guitar is easy when you are in the right frame of mind and have the right materials. If you transform your attitude towards learning and motivation, you can achieve an amazing level of skill. Guitar fluency begins with you!In lesson 2 we will review the 'A' and 'D' chords, we will also be learning how to read TAB. TAB is a special kind of guitar music. The lesson will be no problems because TAB is easy to read and easy to use.
Each lesson will follow on from the last and build skill upon skill to constantly lift your ability.
In between lessons it's important that you practice what you have learnt for at least 15 minutes a day to reinforce it and make sure you are ready for the next lesson.
Before we finish for today let me ask you a question, where do you see your guitar skills a year from now? Are you going to be the guitarist you really want to be?
The key to success is GOOD GUITAR LESSONS and commitment. This FREE course gives you a taste of the Jamorama guitar learning method first hand, and YOU KNOW THAT IT WORKS.
But I can't possibly teach you everything in just six lessons. That's why I've put everything into my course, Jamorama the Ultimate Guitar Learning Kit! It's got so much more. It's packed with comprehensive step by step lessons to fast track your guitar learning.
If you are serious about taking your guitar
playing to the next level FAST, get Jamorama today!
Until next time!
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