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You are never too young or old to learn anything, including music. Maybe you have a favorite song that you want to learn to play on the guitar. Perhaps you’ve picked a guitar to hone a hobby or a talent. Maybe you’re building a record of learning to play as many instruments as possible in a lifetime. Whatever the reason, learning to play guitar is strenuous but rewarding. It takes a lot of practice and perseverance, above all.
After you have decided to learn to play guitar, you may find yourself bubbling with questions like ‘which guitar should I buy?’ or ‘how do I get started?’. This article will help answer these questions and more. Here are 9 steps to guide you on how to learn to play guitar when you’re a beginner.
1. Find the Right Guitar and its Equipment
It is important to find the right guitar, especially beginner guitarists. Some guitars are more difficult to play than others. If a beginner gets stuck with the difficult one, they may blame their skills and quit in frustration.
There are a few factors to remember while buying your first guitar. Your guitar should be in proportion to your body shape and finger size. For younger guitarists getting a huge guitar will be counterproductive. Make sure you get a guitar based on if you are right-handed or left-handed.
You can buy an electric guitar, acoustic guitar, or classical guitar as per choice, but for beginners, it is best to start with acoustic guitars. Acoustic guitars are easy to play, requiring no additional equipment at the beginning, and hence ideal. Classical guitars can be difficult to play for people with smaller frames, such as children and electric guitars need amplifiers to be played.
1.1. Guitar Equipment

1.1.1. Guitar Picks
Guitar picks vary in size, thickness, and material. Picks are a personal preference depending on the player’s comfort. But for beginners, it is suggested to start with plastic picks of medium thickness because they have a better grip and are easier to hold.
1.1.2. Guitar Tuner
You can buy microphone-based tuners, vibration-based tuners, and pedal tuners or use online apps. Vibration-based tuners can tune in noisy environments, unlike microphone-based tuners. Pedal tuners are best for electric and electro-acoustic guitars.
1.1.3. Capo
A capo is a device that clasps a guitar’s neck to shorten the strings’ playable length. This increases the pitch of the music. Guitarists may choose to use capos after they have mastered the basics of playing guitar.
1.1.4. Guitar Strap
Guitar straps are useful while playing guitar standing up. Guitar straps come in different materials and sizes. Buy a strap that adjusts your height, has extra padding, and will help reduce neck and shoulder strain.
1.1.5. Amplifier and Cable for Electric Guitar
Use a small practice amp as you begin. Start with an instrument cable no more than 20 feet. Short cables help in decreasing signal and noise losses.
2. Learn the Basics of Guitar Before Anything Else
You’ve just bought your first guitar and can’t wait to start playing. Learning guitar basics will strengthen your foundation and help you become a good guitar player.
2.1. Tuning a Guitar
A guitar can sound terrible if it’s not tuned, even if played correctly. Tuning a guitar means adjusting the 6 plugs at the end of the neck. Tuning is typically done from the thickest (6th string at the top) to the thinnest string (1st string at the bottom).
You can use tuners or smartphone apps for this. Tuning using only ears requires practice and familiarity with the correct pitches of each string.
2.2. Getting Familiar with Guitar Strings

The guitar strings are named E, A, D, G, B, and E, starting from top to bottom. The top-most string is the 6th string, and the bottom-most string is the 1st string. Starting from the top, the string closest to your shoulder is the thickest string. The thinnest string is at the bottom, closest to your thighs.
E – 6th string (Thickest)
A – 5th string
D – 4th string
G – 3rd string
B – 2nd string
E – 1st string (Thinnest)
There are various mnemonic ways to remember the names and numbers of these strings. You can even invent your own phrase that will help you remember the strings.
- Elephants And Donkeys Grow Big Ears
- Every Apple Does Go Bad Eventually
Your forefinger, middle finger, ring finger, and pinky finger will be used to press down on the strings on the neck of the guitar for playing music. The thumb will be at the back of the neck for support while holding the guitar.
2.3. Pick Holding
You can never have enough picks. They are small and easy to lose. Buy as many picks as you can with varying sizes and thicknesses. Choose the most comfortable and best-sounding one of all.
Keep the pick between your thumb and index finger. Some people may hold it between their thumb and middle finger, but it won’t feel as natural or comfortable as with the index finger. Hold the pick far back, so only the tip (pointy end) sticks out from your fingers. Holding it too far back may loosen your grip on the pick and make you lose control while playing.
You may choose to use your fingers instead of a pick while playing. But using your thumb might develop into a bad habit that is not ideal for playing the guitar.
2.4. Reading Tablature
Tablature is a table format for reading guitar chords. The tables are divided into rows and columns. The rows signify the guitar strings in 6-1 order, and the columns are the guitar frets, the right-most fret towards the plugs being the first fret. Learning to read tablature will help you understand how to play guitar chords for any song, especially online.
3. Learn To Play Basic Guitar Chords

You will be surprised to find out how many songs you can play using only the basic chords on the guitar. Start by learning these guitar chords and practice the same chord till you master it.
If you are right-handed, use your left hand to play chords on the fretboard (neck of the guitar) and your right hand for strumming. If you are left-handed, use your right hand to play guitar chords on the fretboard and your left hand for strumming.
Your guitar chords may sound muted or choppy at first. Don’t worry; it’s part of the learning process. This happens if you’re not pressing the strings properly with your fingers. You may unknowingly press down on other parts of the strings that are not required. Use the tip of your fingers instead of the pads to press down on the strings.
Switching chords may seem difficult initially. But once the basic chords are memorized, changing between different chords will become easier with practice.
4. Learn How to Strum Your Guitar
You can play songs without melody or harmony but can’t play without rhythm. It would help if you learned to strum a guitar following the rhythm of the beats of a song, or your playing will sound odd and out of time.
Master the basic techniques of strumming. People often believe that they need to strum hard to play loud. This doesn’t seem right and can be damaging to the guitar strings. Please don’t use your full hand to strum the guitar. Instead, put more force on your wrists to make the notes clearer and easier to play.
There are a limited amount of chords. Strumming patterns can change the way a song sounds with the same chords. Try to learn as many strumming patterns as possible to be a flexible guitarist.
5. Learn Songs on Guitar
Notes, scales, and chords are the basics of guitar playing but can get boring and repetitive for a beginner guitarist. Make a list of your favorite songs and start by playing those songs on your guitar. You can also find guitar cover songs online. Pick the easier ones first as you begin.
Learning to play your favorite song on the guitar is a great motivation to keep you practicing the guitar. You are likely to learn faster and more accurately if you keep on practicing playing your favorite songs.
Leave learning music theory for later. It is important to enjoy making music rather than getting into the theory of it. Music theory will start to seem more appealing once you are familiar with playing and are curious to know more.
6. Find a Teacher or Peer Group

There are many tutorials available online and on YouTube teaching you how to learn to play guitar. Online lessons are more suited for learning songs and certain chords rather than learning guitar playing.
A guitar teacher will guide you based on your requirements. Not all guitar teachers are the same; finding one best suited for you takes some time. A guitar teacher will teach you how to play guitar chronologically. A teacher will also help in pointing out and correcting mistakes that you may not be able to identify if you learn through online lessons.
A teacher will take weekly guitar lessons and likely make you follow a timetable to keep you in practice. This won’t be possible with online lessons. The lack of discipline may lead you to learn guitar increasingly slowly.
Learning to play the guitar with a peer group will keep you motivated. You can even exchange ideas and learn through each other as it is the most efficient way to learn how to play guitar.
7. Practice and Practice
There is no shortcut to successfully playing the guitar. Any experienced guitarist will advise you on the same. Practice is the only thing that separates a good player from a bad one.
7.1. How to Practice?
7.1.1. Time
Practice regularly, even if it is just for 30 mins or an hour a day. Don’t cram a week worth of practice sessions in a one-day session. Small lessons learned steadily will help in retaining more information without feeling overwhelmed.
7.1.2. Warm Up
Warming up includes doing finger exercises and practicing a few scales before you start playing properly. Through this, you can also check if your guitar is in tune.
7.1.3. Find New Things
Even while practicing, find new things to practice. Don’t keep practicing the same scales or chords longer than necessary and bore yourself out. Try learning new scales or new ways of playing the same chords or learn a new song. See what sounds best and is more comfortable for you to play. Piece this together and apply it while playing new songs.
7.1.4. Use a Metronome While Practicing
Using a metronome or backing tracks online while practicing will help you play the guitar in a steady rhythm. Set the beats per minute (BPM) to a slower tempo when starting out.
7.1.5. Record Your Playing
Record yourself while playing guitar to keep a reference point of where you started and how much progress you’re making. This can help determine your mistakes and the components you are getting right.
8. Be Patient With Yourself, and Don’t Get Discouraged
It is a human tendency to want to be good at a skill from the get-go, but as we know, that’s not possible. The guitar journey, like any other, is full of ups and downs. Some days you may play the guitar better than other days.
Never set too high or unachievable goals while you’re still a beginner. Failing to achieve them will lead to disappointment. Start slow. Don’t be impatient. Impatience will lead to frustration which in turn will lead to making more mistakes.
Don’t compare your progress with those of other musicians. Everyone learns at their own pace. The only person you should be comparing yourself with is yourself. Ask yourself, ‘am I playing the guitar better than last month?’. If not, what do I need to change? Should I get a teacher?
9. Few Tips to Make Your Musical Journey Smoother

9.1. Listen to Music
If you’ve practiced a lot and are tired, your fingers are aching, or your wrists are strained, it’s time for you to take a break. You don’t want to damage any ligaments or tendons in your hands, so rest for a while.
During this time, listen to music instead. See how professional musicians play their instruments and try identifying notes and chords. Analyze their playing techniques. You may want to come up with your own after that.
9.2. Use Lighter Guage Strings
Lighter gauge strings lead to less pressure on the neck of the guitar. It is easier to press down on the strings this way. Hence, it is recommended for beginners to start with lighter gauge strings.
You may use .09 to .042 gauge strings for acoustic guitars, and electric or electro-acoustic guitars, you may use .010 to .046 gauge strings.
9.3. Train Your Dominant Hand
You may be too focused on training your hand that operates the fretboard. This hand is busy with chords, memorizing their shapes and sounds. But don’t forget about your dominant hand.
Take an easy chord and press down on it. Practice finger-style playing or with a pick on the same chord with your dominant hand. Your dominant hand should be developed for playing tricky solos with complex strumming patterns.
9.4. Don’t Grip the 6th String with Your Thumb
When you play guitar, make sure your thumb does not reach over to the fretboard, so it’s pressing down on the 6th string of the guitar. This is a habit many beginner guitarists make because they get tired quickly of holding the neck while playing. Place your thumb at the back of the neck of the guitar and use your fingertips to play guitar chords.
You may struggle to do so at first, but it will help develop a good habit while playing guitar which is better than trying to break a bad one later.
9.5. Train Using Silent Playing
Silent playing or silent rehearsing is a way to practice with only your hand making the chords on the fretboard without playing the tune out.
This technique can help you get familiar with the chords. Make a chord formation and try imagining its sound. This can also help in practicing switching chords while playing.
9.6. Learn Slow
Learning guitar is all about accuracy. This develops by playing each chord properly and at a slow tempo. Speed will automatically follow with accuracy when a chord or note has registered in your mind. Learning at a fast pace for the sake of it will not help build muscle memory to help in retaining knowledge.
9.7. Fingertip Calluses
It is natural for your fingertips to ache at the beginning of playing guitar. Guitars have metal strings that may make it impossible for a beginner guitarist to play for more than a few minutes at a time. During this time, take a break and start playing again later or the next day.
The solution for this problem is to develop hardened skin on your fingertips called calluses. Calluses are formed the more you practice. More practice means thicker calluses and easier guitar playing.

Final Words
Your guitar journey started from the very moment you decided to learn to play guitar. You will progress daily if you dedicate time to your instrument and practice playing.
Don’t compare yourself with others. Everyone has their way of learning. Don’t be disheartened if you feel like you are learning slowly. All good things take time. Remember that the best guitarists started in the same place as you are now.
Last Updated on by Shagufta