If you haven't tried your hands on a guitar but you are really interested to play the instrument, it is always better to start the right way. If you are looking for guitar lessons for absolute beginners, you can actually find some helpful resources that would help you start your lessons correctly.
You can find guitar lessons for absolute beginners on the internet through some eBooks, online tutorials, some video tutorials or you can also enroll in guitar classes. To prepare for your guitar lessons, of course you will need your instrument and a guitar pick - that small piece of hard material that will help you in strum the strings of the guitar. If you still don't have a guitar, it is best to let somebody who knows how to play the instrument to accompany you in buying. They will guide you in choosing a good guitar with a quality sound.
1. Familiarization of the instrument
Most likely, guitar lessons for absolute beginners will start with the familiarization of the instrument. Of course, you can best play the instrument if you are familiar with how it works. If you are starting with an acoustic guitar, which is the most common for beginners, you may want to know the function of its basic parts and familiarize the tuners, the neck and the sound of the strings. Also know what is a fret and where you can locate the first fret, the second fret, etc.
2. The proper handling of the instrument
Holding the instrument properly is also a key in producing good sound and in maintaining proper posture when playing. The tendency for beginners is to watch their fingers on the string that leads them to slouch. From the beginning, practice good posture to avoid bad habits in playing the instrument.
3. Tuning your guitar
To own a guitar also means knowing how to tune it. It may be a little difficult at first, especially if you have not yet developed the skill to distinguish the correct tune of the strings, but it will be a lot easier as soon as you learn to play. You can however ask a friend to do it for you or you can buy yourself a guitar tuner which is readily available in music stores. Online resources on guitar tuning are also available.
4. Learning the basic chords
Here you may have to use your guitar pick and your knowledge on the basic chords. You will need a chord chart to know how to play the basic chords. To start with, you can try with the simplest chords like G, C, D, E, A and F. The chord chart will guide you what finger you will use in what string. It is important in guitar playing to memorize the chords and the positioning of your fingers. Mastery of the chords plus constant practice will allow you to gain muscle memory and you can learn to play guitar without even looking at it.
5. Strumming and finger picking
Guitar lessons for absolute beginners may start with strumming, as it is easier for beginners. When you eventually know how to play the chords, you can then move on to finger picking so you can learn one step at a time. Strumming a guitar may be difficult at first. Most often, you will not produce a sound on your first strumming sessions, or if you do, it would not be music to your ears. With constant practice, it can however improve fast.
6. Practice.
You may find it difficult to transfer from one chord to chord to create the music but one thing you can do about it is to memorize the chords with your hand and do it repeatedly until you can do it without looking. For instance, you can practice shifting the chords that are near each other such as C - A - D then repeat so you will get the hang of it. Find a familiar song with these chords. This will help you master the shifting of your hands, the strumming and the timing.
