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Guitar

Four chords, then your first full song.

3levels, ending in playing songs around a fire
20 mina Step, on average
$0to start Level 1
FreeLevel 1, always

The path

  1. 1
    Level 1Free

    First Chords

    A full song, start to finish

    14 Steps, about 26 minutes each. Total beginners with an acoustic or electric guitar. No music reading needed.

    1. Chapter 1: First chords, first song. A tuned guitar, the D, A and E chords, and your first full play-along from start to finish.
    2. Chapter 2: Seven chords and a strum. G, C, Em and Am added, the most common strumming pattern, and four chords looping smoothly.
    3. Chapter 3: Play a real song. A whole song learned, a song you chose from a chord chart, and a recording of you playing it start to finish.
    1. 1
      Tune up and play a D chord
      Your guitar is in tune and you can hold a D chord that rings clearly.
      JustinGuitar, 8:33Fender
      Show your group
    2. 2
      Learn the A chord
      A clean A chord and your first slow switch between D and A.
      JustinGuitar, 6:22Guitar World
    3. 3
      Speed up with one-minute changes
      You know your score: how many D to A changes you can do in one minute.
      JustinGuitar, 6:08JustinGuitar
    See all 14 Steps
    1. 4
      Add the E chord
      A clean E chord and switches between D, A and E.
      JustinGuitar, 6:35Guitar World
    2. 5
      Strum along to your first song
      You played a whole play-along with A and D, start to finish, without stopping.
      JustinGuitar, 4:47JustinGuitar
      Show your group
    3. 6
      Learn the G chord
      A clean G chord and the change from D to G.
      JustinGuitar, 5:30Fender
    4. 7
      Learn the C chord
      A clean C chord and changes between C and G.
      JustinGuitar, 5:49Fender
    5. 8
      Add the minor chords Em and Am
      Clean Em and Am chords and a feel for the minor sound.
      JustinGuitar, 6:02Fender
    6. 9
      Learn the most common strum
      You can play D - D U - U D U steadily on one chord, then while changing.
      JustinGuitar, 8:35GuitarLessons.com
    7. 10
      Four chords, smooth changes
      You can loop G, D, Em, C with the strum pattern and no gaps.
      JustinGuitar, 3:02GuitarLessons.com
      Show your group
    8. 11
      Learn a whole song
      You can play Knockin' on Heaven's Door start to finish with the video.
      Andy Guitar, 9:18GuitarLessons.com
    9. 12
      Clean up the rough spots
      Your hardest change in the song is noticeably faster than yesterday.
      JustinGuitar, 5:22GuitarLessons.com
    10. 13
      Learn a song from a chord chart
      You learned a new song using only a written chord chart, with no lesson video.
      Guitar World
    11. 14
      Play your song start to finish
      A full performance of your song, recorded, with no stops.
      JustinGuitar
      Show your group
  2. 2
    Level 2Unlocks after Level 1

    Rhythm and Riffs

    A recorded three-song set

    20 Steps, about 35 minutes each. Players who finished Level 1 or can already play the main open chords and strum a song without stopping.

    1. Chapter 1: New chords and a capo. Fmaj7, sus chords and power chords learned, a capo on, and a song played in a new key.
    2. Chapter 2: Rhythm. Eighth-note strumming, palm muting, syncopated patterns, steady time on a metronome, and a song with real groove.
    3. Chapter 3: Riffs and the blues. Tab read fluently, classic riffs played, hammer-ons and pull-offs, and a 12-bar blues played start to finish.
    4. Chapter 4: Barre chords and your set. The F barre chord, a fingerpicking pattern, singing while you play, and a recorded three-song set.
    1. 1
      Learn the Fmaj7 chord
      A clean Fmaj7 chord, and changes between Fmaj7 and C.
      JustinGuitar
      Show your group
    2. 2
      Add sus chords
      Dsus2, Dsus4, Asus2 and Asus4, used to decorate D and A.
      JustinGuitar
    3. 3
      Play power chords
      Power chords on strings 6 and 5, moved up and down the neck.
      JustinGuitar
    See all 20 Steps
    1. 4
      Use a capo
      A capo on the guitar and a song played in a new key with chords you know.
      GuitarLessons.com
    2. 5
      Play a song with a capo
      A whole song played start to finish with a capo and at least one new chord from this chapter.
      Fender
      Show your group
    3. 6
      Eighth-note strumming
      Steady eighth-note strumming, down on the numbers and up on the &s, with your hand never stopping.
      Fender
    4. 7
      Palm muting
      Palm-muted power chords and open chords with a tight, chunky sound.
      Guitar World
    5. 8
      Add syncopation
      Two syncopated strumming patterns played over a chord loop.
      GuitarLessons.com
    6. 9
      Lock in with a metronome
      Your strumming patterns played with a metronome at 70 and then 90 beats per minute.
      Guitar World
    7. 10
      Strum a song with groove
      A song played with a syncopated pattern, palm muting in the verse and open strumming in the chorus.
      Fender
      Show your group
    8. 11
      Read tab
      Tab read for single notes and chords, with three short tab exercises played.
      Fender
    9. 12
      Play classic riffs
      Two classic riffs played from tab, in time.
      Fender
    10. 13
      Hammer-ons and pull-offs
      Hammer-ons and pull-offs that ring clearly, used in a short riff.
      Guitar World
    11. 14
      Learn the 12-bar blues
      The 12-bar blues chord pattern and the shuffle riff played in E.
      GuitarLessons.com
    12. 15
      Play the blues through
      Three times through the 12-bar shuffle in E, with an ending, recorded.
      GuitarLessons.com
      Show your group
    13. 16
      Your first F barre chord
      A full F barre chord with most strings ringing, and a change from C to F.
      JustinGuitar
    14. 17
      Learn a fingerpicking pattern
      A basic fingerpicking pattern played over C, Am, G and Em.
      JustinGuitar
    15. 18
      Sing while you play
      A song you know played and sung together, all the way through.
      MusicRadar
    16. 19
      Build your set
      Three songs chosen, arranged and practiced as a set, with a plan for each.
      GuitarLessons.com
    17. 20
      Record your set
      Your three-song set recorded start to finish and shared.
      Guitar World
      Show your group
  3. Level 3Unlocks after Level 2

    Barre Chords

    Any song in any key

Where it ends: playing songs around a fire

Free lessons in First Chords come from JustinGuitar, Fender, Guitar World, GuitarLessons.com, Andy Guitar, JustinGuitar Songs. We link to their work and never copy it.

Cover photo by Jefferson Santos on Unsplash

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