WhereToStart_Blog

Where to Start?

There are tons of free lessons out there. I have tons of free lessons on this very website, but how do you know what you need to know? This is here to help.

I have explicit walkthroughs for Beginner, Intermediate & Advanced players that can guide you through this site and how to gauge where you are. This is a simplified 15 step overview for all players to see what lies ahead of them and fill any gaps that might have been missed. The order is subjective… there’s really no straight line on the best way to learn guitar. If I had to start over I think this would be the order I’d choose for myself:

  1. Basic Open Chords
  2. Strong Stumming Technique
  3. Barre Chords
  4. 7th Chords (Both open 7th Chords & Barre Chords)
  5. Open Major/Minor Scales
  6. CAGED Chords
  7. Fretted Pentatonic Scales
  8. Theory
  9. Arpeggios
  10. Fretted Major/Minor Scales
  11. Triads
  12. 7th Arpeggios
  13. 7th Chord Inversions
  14. Modes
  15. Diminished Arpeggios

All this is useless without putting everything into context by playing songs. Not sure of what songs to learn? Pick out your favorites, not what you think is most impressive. If it’s above your playing ability, use it as an excuse to learn something mentioned above. If it’s below your playing ability, try utilizing some of the things you know that aren’t implemented in the song, into the song. For example, here’s all the things I can practice with a simple chord progression:

G – D – Em – C

  1. Play them as open chords
  2. Strum using different rhythms, rhythmic techniques or finger picking
  3. Play the chords as barre chords, utilizing 6th string, 5th string and combinations of both strings
  4. a. Start playing my Open G Scale Over that chord progression
    b. Start Strumming the chords like in #2 but use notes from the scale to move between the chords
  5. Start playing them as different CAGED shapes, trying to move the least amount between each chord, starting my G chord as every CAGED shape I can.
  6. Start playing different shapes of my fretted G major pentatonic scales over the chord progression.
  7. Analyze the chord progression and start putting it into different keys (using Chords as Number?! video).
  8. Using theory what would the 7th chord versions of each chord be? It’ll definitely sound different, but just as a thought/practice exercise.
  9. Play the chord progression as open and barred 7th chords.
  10. Practice my arpeggios over this chord progression, using various shapes spanning the whole fretboard, but focusing on one area at a time.
  11. Practice my Major Scale Shapes other this chord progression using various shapes spanning the whole fretboard, but focusing on one area at a time.
  12. Practice my triads across each set of strings over this chord progression, trying to move as little as possible between each triad shape.
  13. Practice my 7th Apeggios over this chord Progression
  14. Practice my 7th chord inversions over this chord progression
  15. Try combining a variety of this stuff in both rhythmic and lead fashions.
  16. Rule the world

Maybe #16 was a bit much, but as you can see, from 4 chords, I can make it as simple or complex as I’d like. 4 chords, gives me an endless amount of material to practice.

I hope this gives you ideas on where to go, what to review and what to work on. I have video lessons on all the above topics on my Free Lessons page, then click the category or search using my search bar. Each bold word is a link to a video but the free lesson categories/search bar/walk-through blogs might be better for you to find exactly what you need.

Oh and here’s a backing track of G – D – Em – C to begin your journey of ruling the world. 🙂