Beginner Lessons

Just getting started? No problem! We have lessons covering guitar basics (holding your guitar, tuning it), buying a guitar, learning chords, reading tab and more.

Your Very Own Rosetta Stone - A Guide To Reading Musical Notation - Part One By David Hodge A quick guide to reading music notation. This is something that many of you have asked for. It is also something that any and every serious musician needs.

Absolute Beginner Part 1: Chords By David Hodge So...you've just got your first guitar. Now what do you do? Well, if you haven't got a clue at all, perhaps we can help you. GuitarNoise welcomes you to the first of our Absolute Beginner articles. It is our hope to get you started playing the guitar as quickly and as painlessly as possible.

Timing Is Everything - A Guide To Reading Musical Notation - Part Two By David Hodge You know what notes the note is, now it's time to learn what else music notation can teach you. Turns out it's pretty vital information! This is the long awaited sequel to Your Very Own Rosetta Stone.

Easy Guitar Riffs By Paul Hackett My fascination with guitar riffs goes back a long way. I was still only playing the air-guitar and washing dishes in a restaurant when I ordered a tape from TV called Guitar Rock. This lesson contains examples of some of the most popular and easiest rock guitar riffs, including: Smoke on the Water, All Right Now, Layla, Purple Haze and more.

Easy Guitar Riffs of the Eighties By Paul Hackett Some things get better with age. Old sneakers, a well worn pair of jeans, classic cars, art, cheese, and sometimes even music. Oldies, retro, classic rock - whatever you call the music that you are nostalgic for - is likely to be a perennial favourite. Whatever can be recycled and resold eventually will be. And history will always repeat itself.

Changing Chords - Having a little trouble with those easy chords? By Jamie Andreas Many people begin to play the guitar by learning a few chord changes to their favorite song. In fact, I learned this way. There are many things to be aware of while doing this. There are things to know and do that can make it easier, and guarantee you will have success. There are also many things that can go wrong, and guarantee trouble.

Fretboard 101 part 1 - (or Where Did I Put My E?) By Nick Torres Some of the most interesting lesson articles start out on the forum pages. Nick outlines some basic steps to get you started on learning where the notes are on your fretboard. Provided you're in standard tuning, of course. Mr. Torres' methods are painless and fun.

Fretboard 101 part 2 - (or Fretting About The Board) By Nick Torres Knowing where the notes are on your fretboard is nowhere near as hard as you might think. Nick continues his series designed to help you painlessly learn the essentials of your guitar.

So You Want to Play Guitar huh? By Alan Horvath My desire was so strong that you couldn't stop me from learning if you tried! What else is there but desire? Can anyone teach you without it? Well, I'm assuming since you're here, you're of the same cut ... and are here, looking for ways of learning some stuff on your own.

Reaching The Limits By Abel Petneki Tried everything but still can't play that solo no matter how much you practice? This seems to be a common problem for beginners - let's try a different approach. The problem might not be you; it could actually be your guitar.

Busy Beginner on A Budget By Blue What annoys me most is how much discouragement there is out there for folks wanting to take the plunge and learn to play guitar. If you're someone other than a young man expressing a wish to learn, you can expect to run a gauntlet of criticism, confusion and plain bad advice.

A Few Tips for Beginners and others By Darryl Roberts A bunch of assorted tips, insights and unsolicited pieces of advice, from a beginner with 20+ years of experience.

Easy Riffs of the Nineties By Matt Heger While many guitarists complain about the lack of solos in 90s alternative rock, they contain many intense and memorable riffs. These songs have become essential to any guitarist's playing library.

Don't Give In - You're Never Too Old! By Paul Humphreys Reader Paul Humphreys offers us this inspirational piece on how to get through those tough first weeks and months of playing. His advice is great for people of all ages!

Standard Notation By Tom Serb Even people who don't read standard notation will tell you that it's a good idea to learn to do so. And it's easier to learn than people think. Tom's latest piece is a great place to start to pick up this skill that will last you a lifetime.

More Tips and Riffs From The Forty-Something Guy By Allan Abbott Allan's back and this time he's got a lot of good advice to pass along on the subject of power chords and double stops. As in his first article, Forty-Something Guy Learns Guitar From The Internet, this piece includes a lot of links to other helpful articles as well as numerous musical examples.

Standard Notation (part 2) By Tom Serb In the second installment of Tom's series on reading notation, you'll learn about ledger lines, repeat signs and other musical traffic signals, as well as delve into accidentals and key signatures. Plus you get an arrangement of Jingle Bells to get you going for the holidays!

Improving Your Chord Changes By Graham Merry Getting better at making chord changes is an early goal for every guitarist. Graham discusses how using the art of visualization can help you develop smooth chord changes, both in learning new chords and in practicing the ones you already know.

The 80/20 Law - Maximum Results With Minimum Time By Tom Hess Have you ever noticed how some players, who practice less, seem to make more progress than others who practice more? In his latest article, Tom tells how Pareto's Principle, also known as The 80/20 Rule applies to guitar players and how you can use it to get better in a short time.

How To Read and Perform Music on the Guitar By Peter Simms If one of your New Year's Resolutions was to start (or finally) learn music notation, then help is here in a big way! As Peter points out: the only obstacle is that reading music takes a while to learn. If you truly want to learn, patience and consistent practicing will get you there.

How To Read and Perform Music on the Guitar - Part 2 By Peter Simms Learning to read music is easier than you might think. Peter Simms returns to Guitar Noise with a lesson on the notes found on the second (B) string, complete with some simple exercises to help you easily learn the notes.

How to Read and Perform Music - Part 3: String 3 By Peter Simms Time to tackle the notes on the third string of our guitars! Peter's series on learning the notes of the guitar in standard notation continues along, complete with exercises and sound files.

On the Other Hand... - Mastering your chord changes By Josh Urban When you're starting out, sometimes it seems like your hands have a mind of their own. Maybe even two minds, since you have two hands! Josh Urban explores how using a little psychology can help you to get faster and cleaner in making your chord changes.

A Beginner's Guide To Soloing By Josh Urban Josh Urban takes you through the very first steps of soloing, making the process a little less mysterious than many of us think it is! And less scary, too...

Stretching Out - Soloing Part 2 By Josh Urban In his follow up to the basics of soloing, Josh demonstrates the major scale and the pentatonic and their usefulness in helping you improve your lead playing.

More Lessons »
Sign up for the latest site news and ramblings »

Learn To Play The Guitar in 30 Days
Is your guitar playing stuck in a rut? Fantastic results in 7 days. Guaranteed.
Become a serious guitarist. Complete, step-by-step method shows you how.