A simple route into playing
- Get ready for your first practice. Find the strings and frets, and choose a manageable task.
- Learn to read a chord diagram. Connect the picture to the guitar in your hands.
- Try an E-minor chord. Place two fingers and check each string.
- Make the notes clearer. Find the particular string that needs attention.
- Build a repeatable ten-minute routine. Keep the next session easy to start.
What you need
A guitar, a suitable tuner and somewhere comfortable to sit are enough for these first exercises. Acoustic and electric guitars use the same standard string names and basic chord shapes; an electric guitar does not need to be loud for you to examine a finger position.
Check tuning before judging how a chord sounds. If you do not yet have a tuner, an external tuner or a reputable tuner app can help. This website does not currently provide a microphone-based tuner.
Questions belong in learning
It is normal to need a shape explained more than once. Practise one small action, check what happened and adjust. Speed can wait until you can repeat the movement steadily.
We’re developing Alister to put conversation at the centre of that process. Live lessons are coming soon; the guides here are available now.