
Beginner-friendly guitar basics taught via fundamentals, tuning, care, and chord work, guiding you from first fingerings to a campfire-ready repertoire of chords and songs.
Identify the guitar parts: the strings (low and high), tuning pegs, nut, bridge, sound hole, pick guard, body, neck, and head; explain how frets stop vibration to shape pitch.
discover essential acoustic guitar accessories for beginners: picks, a strap, and spare strings. choose an armless chair or a stool and avoid pedals for now to protect the instrument.
Use a clip-on tuner or the D-tune smartphone app to detect sharp or flat notes, then adjust the sixth string E and fifth string A until in tune.
Learn to tune by ear using relative tuning, starting with one string in tune and then matching other strings by fifth fret and open string pitches.
Always use a down up down up motion for individual notes, even when leaping across strings. Practice this habit early until it becomes second nature for both picking and strumming.
Keep the left thumb on the neck's central line to maintain perfect position; arch the fingers and ensure every string sounds clearly when fretting.
Learn the little C chord by placing your first finger on the second string and arching it to let all three strings ring, then practice switching between open strings.
Master the D major chord with three fingers, place fingers in the correct frets, and practice slowly to build muscle memory for a clean, connected D sound.
Play the big G chord using all strings; third finger on first string third fret; first on fifth string second fret; second on sixth string third fret; strum all strings.
master the big C chord using first finger on second string first fret, second on fourth string, and third on fifth string third fret, then strum all strings except sixth.
Master the a minor chord, the first minor, by fingering b first fret, d and g second frets; strum open a and high e, avoiding low e.
Position your second finger on second fret of fifth string and your third finger on second fret of fourth string to form the e minor chord, then strum all strings.
Explore song no. 3 using e minor, a minor, and g, and achieve smooth transitions by using the middle two fingers for e minor to ease the a minor switch.
Learn the D minor chord by swapping fingers from D major and moving the second finger back one fret on the third string, then strum only the top four strings.
Form the e major chord by fretting the third string first fret. Practice transitions from e minor to e major, since the shapes are the same.
discover how bar chords are movable using the F shape to form every major chord across the fretboard, and learn four patterns to master major and minor barre chords.
Switch from open e major to a major, then move to b minor and f sharp minor as barre chords on the second fret.
100% Answer Rate! Every single question posted to this class is answered within 24 hours by the instructor.
I’ve been teaching guitar lessons for over 20 years, and in that time I’ve developed a quick and simple method for learning the fundamentals of playing the guitar.
In this class, you will have 50 different lessons, each about 3 minutes. All you have to do is watch one lesson a day, and then spend some time practicing the concept in the lesson. After 50 days you will be able to play the chords to any song, in any key, and you will be comfortable with any chord.
Topics covered include:
Choosing the right guitar
Differences in electric and acoustic guitars
Parts of the guitar
Accessories for the guitar
String names and numbers
Using a tuner to tune your guitar
Tuning your guitar by ear
Holding the pick
Strumming the guitar
Rhythmic strumming
Finger Picking
Half-steps and frets
Octaves and dots on the guitar
Reading chord block diagrams
Switching chords
Barre chords
All the common open chords
8 songs for you to practice with!
And much, much more!
And of course, once you sign up for this class, all my other classes are yours at steep discounts!
Praise for classes by Dr. Jason Allen:
"Without a doubt the best explanation and east of use that one can get. It leaves you enough room to go explore. The classes go by quickly, so you can be on your way to being proficient. What are you waiting for!"
"Amazing - Seriously Loved It! I took all his courses and have to say I'm so happy! Learned loads! Jason is an awesome teacher!"
"I have never had any formal training in music at all. Trying to learn all the notes and how everything translated was a serious challenge. After going through this class, Dr. J has totally brought down the barriers. The content was very useful and was easy to grasp for me."
"I like these courses because you can get up and running quickly without having to spend hours of time wading through TMI (too much information!). Jason hits the high points but shows you what you need to know. Thanks!"
"I've watched many other videos on scales and chords before, however, this one has been the best. I now understand minor scales and chords and even how to analyze songs. It really gave me the confidence to start producing music because I feel like I have some structure and guidelines to follow. AWESOME!"
"Clear and Informative - Jason has a clear uncluttered style (with the important dashes of humor) of presentation that is focused on the important key aspects of this course. Recommended for those starting out!"
"Dr. Allen does it again with his music theory series. This course really opened up everything I learned from the 1st section, and now I understand more about the composition side of things for music. I highly highly recommend this course to anyone!!! Really opened my eyes to many things I wasn't aware of."
"The Best Teacher Ever, who makes you understand the ins & outs of Music Theory by all means without giving what you don't want to know."