Foundations
Know the instrument, tune it, hear the open strings, and meet the capo before you stack chords. Built for beginners, intermediates, and advanced players — solo or with a teacher in the room.
Parts and hold
A guitar has six strings, a neck with metal frets, and a body. The thickest string is the low E (closest to the ceiling when you hold the guitar); the thinnest is the high e.
Sit tall. Rest the body on your right thigh (right-handed hold — lefty support comes later). Left hand on the neck; right hand strums or picks over the soundhole (acoustic) or pickups (electric). Any guitar in standard tuning works here.
Standard tuning — E A D G B e
v1 stays in standard EADGBE only. From low to high:
| String | Name | Hear it |
|---|
Tune so each open string matches the pitch above. Use the live Tuner (mic) or a clip-on tuner; the buttons here are a pitch reference.
Open strings on the neck
Click a string at a fret to hear it. Open notes sit left of the nut (unfretted). High e is on top — the same orientation as TAB later.
Each fret is one half step — the same twelve-note grid as piano. A finger just behind the fret, not on top of the metal, keeps the note clean.
Capo — teach it early
A capo clamps across a fret and shortens every string. Open shapes then sound in a new key. That is how you keep easy chords while matching a singer’s Sa or a song that sits too low or high.
- Capo fret 2 + open G shapes → music that feels like A major.
- Capo fret 3 + open G → like B♭ — useful for many film / folk keys.
Place it just behind the fret, snug but not crushing. If a string buzzes, shift it a millimetre toward the fretwire.
How to read TAB
TAB is six lines — one per string. The top line is high
e, the same way the neck is drawn on this site. A number is a
fret, not a finger. 0 is open. A lead-sheet under the
letters (G | D | Em | C) is the count of the change — that is the “standard” half of
TAB + names. Full staff notation waits until a song earns a score.
Open strings, low to high as you hear them, written the TAB way (high e on top):
e|--0-- B|--0-- G|--0-- D|--0-- A|--0-- E|--0--
Play them on the table above, then on the neck. When a song page prints TAB, it is showing left-hand seats for a chord, not a melody to copy.
Three tracks
Beginner
The 4-week plan below. Tune, open strings, first six chords, downs, then one loop. A teacher can sit beside you and tick the week.
Intermediate
Skip to Month 2 when the first six ring clean. Sevenths, capo as a key tool, 12-bar, folk bass-strum, Quest on the middle setting.
Advanced
Month 3: barre in time, 16th and mute patterns, 2-beat changes, start/stop silence. Advanced here means tightness — not jazz, not CAGED, not a scales course.
4-week plan
Same idea as Piano’s month plan — one focus a week, not a race. Teacher-friendly: sit together and tick the week. 15–20 minutes a day is enough if the click is on.
- Week 1 — sound (15 min). Tune. 5 min open strings on this page. 5 min Em and G, one down per click. 5 min downstrokes.
- Week 2 — six chords (20 min). Add C, D, Am, E on Open chords. Pattern D-DU-UDU. Play the four-chord loop.
- Week 3 — songs and capo (20 min). Ghar loop. Capo fret 2 or 3 to match a singer’s Sa. Add A and Dm. Kids path: the two songs on Kids.
- Week 4 — stretch (20 min). Preview F and Bm on Barre. Chord-change Quest. 5 min chromatic or the Exercises left-hand family. Tick the first-ten checklist.
Sources: Hal Leonard Book 1 pacing (chords before barre, capo before new keys) · Berklee “click first” for the right hand.
Month 2 and 3
Same 15–20 minutes. The click stays. A teacher can assign one track and hear it back.
Month 2 — intermediate
- Sevenths. G7, D7, C7, E7, A7, B7 on Open chords. A 7th is often one finger lifted or added.
- Longer forms. 12-bar blues and the 50s loop. Capo 2 or 3 as a key change, not a new shape list.
- Right-hand split. Boom-chick and alternating bass on Folk drills. Pattern D-DU-UDU while the left hand changes.
- Check. Quest on Intermediate — more chords, full first-position notes, a time window on the change game.
Month 3 — advanced
- Barre in time. F and Bm on the click, then the movable I–IV–V on Barre.
- Tighter songs. Blues with 7ths, quick-change 12-bar, four-chord at 2 beats. Mute on 2 and 4. 16th-feel strum.
- Stamina and silence. Metal start/stop, 16th alternate pick, half-step bend control on Metal and Solo.
- Teach it. Walk a beginner through Week 1. If you cannot explain the hold and the downstroke, the advanced layer is not finished.
What’s next
Beginners start at Open chords. Intermediate players jump to Month 2. Advanced players use Month 3 and the Advanced cards on each page — same room, deeper work.