Disclaimer: This is for Acoustic guitar mainly!
Hello! If you clicked on this, congrats! Youâve already taken the initiative to start learning, which was the first step!
But here is a little intro. In this thread there is going to be loads of info about starting your guitar journey. I will put every topic in a hide details that way if you just want to know certain things, you donât have to read the whole thing.
Also, I have been playing guitar for a little over 1 1/2 years, which I know isnât very much, but I also have a very musical background including piano for 8 years. And Iâm well past the beginner stage of guitar. I will also be pulling info from loads of YouTube videos that I watched during my journey, along with linking some videos and creators. So, I donât want to hold you up from beginning, so click on what ever info you want!
Where should I get my guitar?
Okay. I spent about 2 months researching for a cheap, yet good quality guitar. And I found one that I still use. Now, to some of you the price might seem like a lot, but most guitars out there that have good quality are like $400-700. So this is an amazing price for the quality of it. Trust me, itâs not a rip off.
Here is the guitar:
I got the bundle, but in the natural color as shown in the second one. The first one includes guitar picks, strings, a strap, a little booklet, and a thingy that Iâm sure of itâs use⌠I got it from this very website so I can insure you thatâs itâs not a knock off!
What should I do now that I have a guitar?
What you should do now is well read everything in this. But what you should do first before anything else is to get familiar with guitar terms. Here is a list of the basic and most used ones.
Neck: the long wood thing sticking out of the guitar containing the frets, strings, and tuning knobs
Frets: the spaces in between the metal lines on your guitar neck. Youâll see the frets get smaller as you get closer to the body of the guitar
Body: the biggest part of the guitar that contains the sound hole and bridge
Bridge: the thing that holds down the ends of the strings on the body
Chords: the formations or shapes your fingers make to make different notes/multiple notes played together
Barre Chords: the tougher chords in which your index finger holds down most of a fret, DO NOT START ON THESE RIGHT AWAY
Strumming patterns: the pattern of ups and downs you use
Up strums or âupsâ: strumming the strings from the bottom string to the top string. Played on the âandsâ of beats
Down strums or âDownsâ: strumming the stings from the top string to the bottom string. Played on the beats. The most basic strumming pattern would just be 4 downs played on the beats of course
Capo: a device you place on different frets to put the chords in a different key, or make them higher.
Picks: used to strum the guitar. Held between your index finger and thumb.
Licks or Riffs: a series of single strings played, usually very complicated
Fingerpicking: playing the guitar by plucking certain strings instead of playing them all like you would while strumming
These are most of them, but to better understand, I would really just spend some time looking up the basics of music like beats, notes, chords, keys, and time signatures if you are not familiar with them already. It will make understanding everything much easier.
How do I start playing stuff?
Well everything on guitar is made up of chords. (see previous section for definition) But the thing about guitar is you can learn only like 4 chords and play soooo many songs. Youâd be surprised how many hit songs youâd be able to play with just 3 or 4 beginner chords. Like itâs kinda insane.
But anyways. Letâs get started on the beginner chords. Here are their names.
- G
- Em
- C
- D
I will show you how to play these in a minute, but master these chords before moving on to any other ones such as barre chords. I CANNOT STRESS ENOUGH THAT YOU SHOULD NOT LEARN BARRE CHORDS RIGHT AWAY. You will get so frustrated and annoyed. This being said with the same amount of stress though, DO NOT AVOID THEM. Once youâve mastered normal chords, then you need to learn barre chords. Donât avoid them. They will unlock even more songs. They will be so annoying and youâll be like âwhy canât I play thisâ or âwhy canât I transition to them fast enough!â But power through, they will come I promise.
But thatâs enough said of that. Here are some more common chords
- Am
- Bm (beware this is a barre chord)
- F
Now. Iâm going to link videos that explain this in an easy way!
Lesson 1 - https://youtu.be/W1nFxdPFJ-0
Lesson 2 - https://youtu.be/6ny8htqHHuM
Lesson 3 - https://youtu.be/hb9G4EqA-LI
Lesson 4 - https://youtu.be/l2Ioh1iw8DE
Lesson 5 - https://youtu.be/TRZilL-BDbI
Now youâll notice these are all by Marty Music. He will come up later, but because you are reading this now I will tell you, he literally is a god and has made so many amazing videos to get you started! But weâre not going to go there yet 
Look at my next section to find out how to now play these chords!
Strumming Patterns?
Ok. Strumming patterns can be super confusing and seem super un-natural at first. But with time and time only, they will become part of you. I sometimes and just sitting I class and start strumming patterns on my leg. 
It will become more natural I promise. And I donât want to confuse you too much with this, so Iâm just going to link a playlist that teaches you many of the main strumming patterns. But here is the thing, they have no rules. For many songs, I just make up a strumming pattern that seems to fit. Or I listen to the song and copy that. But that comes with time so donât try to rush making some up. Just stick to the basics first. If you get ahead of yourself, you will only hurt your journey.
Playlist - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLP3kvqg_Ut84SdgE4V0Cn6Hb7Rvxrd_A3
Now that playlist has way more than just the strumming patterns, but itâs only one with all of them on it. So just do them in order stating with the first lesson of strumming patterns. This playlist will show up later too.
Playing Songs?
Okay so now that youâve learned some chords, itâs time to put them together to learn some songs that you know! I have some that I have put together and I will show pictures of those, but here are some playlists of songs that include really simple chords, but really fun songs!
Marty Musicâs -
Finger Picking?
Now this is yet another thing you shouldnât rush into. I have the definition of what this is in the second section. But the further explain it:
Finger picking in essentially putting your left fingers on certain strings, or forming chords with them, and then only playing (or plucking) one or a few strings. Songs like this include Shallow from a Star is Born, Before you go by Luis Capaldi, and Sweet Home Alabama. But these songs can all be played without plucking the strings. Itâs just how the original songs are played. Here is yet again Marty.
Why am I getting buzzing when I play chords like F and C?
My friend. Everyone who has ever played guitar has asked themselves this question. And I have a few answers to it.
- You arenât pressing down on the strings hard enough. Usually itâs just because your finger is in an odd position and you donât realize your not pressing down with it. Though it shouldnât take much to press down on a string and get a sound
- Your nails are too long. This was the case for me as I like my nails long. Basically, if your nails are too long, they slightly touch other strings which causes that buzzing sound.
- It just takes time. Your fingers wonât be used to bing in those uncomfortable positions such as C and F right away. But soon enough they will become easier. I promise.
Those are really all the reasons I can think of. But trust me, in time it will go away.
Oh my gosh my fingers hurt so bad and have dents in them!
Okay this part sucks. And guess what, it takes time once again. Your fingers are soft, and wonât be used to pressing down on the strings like that. The dents are obviously from the strings if you didnât get that. But here is how it will go away over time: overtime your fingers will develop sort of callouses where they hurt right now, so that when you play, you can play for hours and not feel a thing because the skin isnât soft anymore.
The only advice I have for this is just when your finger tips start to hurt, power through for 5-15 minutes, and then STOP. You have to power through a little, or your callouses will take forever to come, but donât go to the point where they are like black and blue or bleeding. Cause thatâs not good.
Where can I find songs to play for free?
I have a couple answers to that. All of which I will link below.
The most wide range is on YouTube. You can literally look up almost any song on YouTube and find a guitar tutorial. And many versions too depending on your skill level. Here are the channels I usually go to when Iâm looking for songs
Marty Music - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmnlTWVJysjWPFiZhQ5uudg
The Groovy Guitar Dude - https://www.youtube.com/user/Codyjoyce13
Guitar Goddess- https://www.youtube.com/user/michellesings89
Marty Music has songs for all skill levels! Which is why Iâve been using him forever. The other two making are just songs for beginners or just something easy to play!
Now to websites. I have two I use. The first one is SheetMusicDirect. Nowwww this isnât free, but I highly recommend it. It has music for almost every song, and literally you can find sheet music for instrument. I have a subscription which is only $10 a month but what that does for is: I get access to every single song online for free, half off every purchase I make so I can print the music out. I highly recommend this site, however I know not everyone wants to pay money. So the other website I use is Ultimate Guitar. This is also an app, but you can get most everything online. The only thing with this cite is that sometimes itâs not very accurate. So before using this, I recommend looking at the YouTube channels I linked to see if they have it. Pay attention to the âtuningâ on it though because for some songs youâll need a capo.
SheetMusicDirect - Account Log In at SheetMusicDirect.com
Ultimate Guitar - ULTIMATE GUITAR TABS - 1,100,000 songs catalog with free Chords, Guitar Tabs, Bass Tabs, Ukulele Chords and Guitar Pro Tabs!
I hope these places help you guys!
Do I *need* a teacher?
The answer to this is tough. Especially because people are all over the music knowledge board when it comes to people that want to learn guitar. For me the answer was yes. I am self taught. The reason for this is that I live in a small town and there isnât anyone who teaches guitar. But in my opinion, for every instrument your first option should always be to look for a teacher first. I know that might be awkward for some of you, but itâs the truth. A teacher that has experience can help you so much. Thatâs why I am looking into starting online lessons.
But a teacher is probably mandatory if you have no musical experience. If you donât play any other instrument, donât try to self teach. Even if your in a music class but donât play an instrument, donât self teach!
A teacher is a step that is almost inevitable. There will come a time where YouTube videos arenât enough anymore. Thatâs where Iâm at. I mean sure, if you just wanna play casually, YouTube videos and websites will be fine. But if your like me and are always wanting to improve, a teacher will come into play at some point. Just another reason I am looking into online lessons. You can find more videos on YouTube explaining the importance of a teacher.
Two useful links
A beginner guitar playlist - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLP3kvqg_Ut84SdgE4V0Cn6Hb7Rvxrd_A3
How to tune your guitar - https://youtu.be/5jTsSvkBv60
Ahhh! At last I finished!
I really hoped this thread helped at least one person out there. Fellow guitar players let me know if I missed anything! I easily could have as sometimes we forget what questions we had when we were starting out! Thanks for reading! Took me like 2 1/2 hours to finish it 
I love playing instruments but I canât play that many⌠
Iâm not good at practicing by myself. (Or I know how to play the flute, thatâs it.)
