The complete beginner’s guide

Learn to Play Guitar: The Complete Guide for Beginners

From your first guitar to your first song: a clear step-by-step plan, with articles at every step that take each topic further.

Short answer: To learn to play guitar, start with a guitar that suits you, a good posture and a guitar that is in tune. Then you learn a few open chords like Em, Am, C, G and D, practice switching between them with a simple rhythm and play your first song. With 20 to 30 minutes a day, most beginners get there within a few weeks.

Start with step 1

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Woman playing an acoustic guitar at a table in a cafe

20 to 30 minutes a dayis enough to get started

At a glance

What to know before you start

Anyone can learn it

The basics are within reach without reading music and without a teacher. Chord charts and tabs are quick to learn.

Choose the right guitar

Classical, acoustic or electric: pick the guitar that suits the music you want to play.

Start with open chords

With Em, Am, C, G and D you can already play along with a lot of songs. Above all, practice switching.

Practice short and often

A fixed 15 to 30 minutes a day works better than a long session now and then. Playing smoothly takes a few months.

Before you start

Can you teach yourself guitar?

Yes. With a guitar, a tuner, good learning material and regular practice, you can get a long way without a teacher. You don’t need special talent or the ability to read music: most beginners play from chord charts and tabs. Read how that works in learning guitar without reading music.

Not sure guitar is for you? Read can anyone learn to play guitar, which also covers small hands and starting late.
How to get through the tough first weeks: is guitar hard to learn.
No teacher nearby? Read learning guitar without a teacher.

Two hands on an acoustic guitar while playing

Is guitar hard to learn?

A little, in the first weeks. Your fingertips hurt, chord changes are slow and your fretting and strumming hands have to learn to work together. For almost everyone, that passes if you keep practicing.

Step 1

Choose your first guitar

The best guitar to start with suits the music you want to play, your hands and your budget. There are three main types.

Type	Strings	Good for	Keep in mind
Classical guitar	Nylon	Classical, flamenco, quiet songs, kids	Gentle on your fingertips, but the neck is wider
Acoustic (steel-string) guitar	Steel	Pop, singer-songwriter, campfire songs, singing and playing	Fuller sound; steel strings press harder into your fingers at first
Electric guitar	Steel, thinner	Rock, blues, metal, funk	Plays easily, but you need an amp and a cable

Low string action

Strings close to the neck are much easier to press down. A badly set-up guitar makes learning harder than it needs to be.

Stays in tune

Good tuning machines mean you don’t have to keep adjusting. Still, tune before every practice session.

Comfortable size

You should be able to sit with it in a relaxed way. If you are left-handed, read about playing left-handed first.

Guitar for left-handers →

Which type is easier is covered in which is easier: electric or acoustic guitar, and what to look for in each type in the best guitar to learn on. For a sense of the cost, see how much a good beginner guitar costs. Beyond that you need very little: a tuner, a few picks and maybe a strap and a capo. You’ll find the full list in what you need to learn guitar at home.

Step 2

Posture, tuning and your first week

In your first week you lay the foundation: holding the guitar properly, tuning it and strumming your first chords. That way you avoid habits you would have to unlearn later.

Close-up of a hand playing chords on an acoustic guitar

Posture

Sit up straight on a chair without armrests, with the guitar on your right leg (the other way around if you play left-handed) and the neck angled slightly up. Press with your fingertips just behind the fret, and keep your shoulders loose and your wrist as straight as possible. More in how to hold a guitar with good posture.

Tuning

In standard tuning the strings are E, A, D, G, B and E, from thick to thin. Tune before every session with a clip-on tuner or an app, because an out-of-tune guitar makes even good chord shapes sound wrong. See how to tune a guitar with a tuner.

Learning guitar in 7 days: what is realistic?

You won’t learn to play guitar in 7 days, but you can build a solid foundation. With 15 to 30 minutes a day, this is a realistic plan for the week:

Day 1

Practice your posture, tune the guitar and pick the open strings one at a time.

Day 2

Learn Em (two fingers) and play four slow downstrokes per bar.

Day 3

Add Am and switch slowly between Em and Am.

Day 4

Learn C and switch between Am and C.

Day 5

Learn G and switch between G and Em.

Day 6

Learn D and switch between D and G.

Day 7

Play G, C and D in a row at a slow tempo and pick out a simple song.

Sore fingertips are normal

After a few days your fingertips get tender. That fades as calluses form; take a break if it really hurts. You’ll find a more detailed plan in how to start guitar as an absolute beginner and in the 30-day practice schedule.

Step 3

Your first chords

Start with the open chords Em, Am, C, G and D: with these you can already play along with a lot of songs. Open means that some strings ring without being fretted, which makes the shapes relatively easy.

Em022000

E022100

Amx02210

Ax02220

Cx32010

G320003

Dxx0232

Dmxx0231

Read the diagrams from left (low E string) to right (high e string): an x means don’t play that string, an open circle lets the string ring open and a dot is a finger on that fret. Many beginners start with E and Em, because those shapes are close to each other; see learning your first chord: E major. A full overview with progressions is in learn guitar with chords.

Practice changes in pairs

Count four beats on one chord, switch and count four beats on the other. Leave fingers that stay in the same place where they are.

Change chords faster →

Save F for later

F (133211) is a barre chord: your index finger presses down all the strings on the first fret. Start on it once the open chords go well.

Learn barre chords →

Tabs alongside chords

Six lines for the six strings, numbers for the frets: that’s how you play riffs and melodies without reading music.

How to read tabs →

Step 4

Rhythm and your first songs

You can play a song as soon as you can switch between two or three chords in a steady rhythm. A chord that arrives on time but doesn’t sound perfectly clean yet sounds better than a perfect chord that comes in late.

1

Four downstrokes

Start with four downstrokes per bar, one on each beat.

2

Count out loud

1, 2, 3, 4: that keeps you in rhythm while you change chords.

3

Use a metronome

Play at a slow tempo and only speed up once it goes well a few times in a row.

4

Down, down-up, up-down-up

Once that works, try this well-known strumming pattern.

5

Hum the melody

Then you’ll naturally hear where the chord changes fall.

How to connect counting and strumming is explained in how counting rhythm on guitar works. For your first song, pick one with two to four chords and a relaxed tempo; many pop, folk and campfire songs run on G, C, D and Em. You’ll find ideas in easy guitar songs with 3 chords, and how soon you can play your first song tells you what to expect.

Singing and playing at the same time?

First practice the chords until you no longer need to look at your hands, and only then add the vocals. With a capo you can move a song higher without learning new shapes, so it suits your voice better.

Step 5

Practice smart

As a beginner, practice 20 to 30 minutes a day, ideally (almost) every day. Regular practice pays off more than long sessions, because new movements become automatic through repetition and rest. Here is how to split up half an hour:

5 min warm-up

Finger exercises and picking the open strings.

10 min chord changes

Two chords at a time, at a slow tempo.

5 min rhythm

A strumming pattern with the metronome.

10 min a song

From start to finish, even if it isn’t perfect yet.

Why this works is explained in how long to practice guitar each day. Want a fixed plan? Use the 30-day guitar practice schedule or choose from the 10 daily guitar exercises for beginners.

Common beginner mistakes

Pressing the strings too hard, so your hand tires quickly.
Rushing: playing a song at full speed before the chord changes work.
Not tuning, so everything sounds off and you think you’re doing it wrong.
Only practicing what already works and skipping the tricky change.
Quitting in the first weeks, just before your fingertips get used to it.

Read about more pitfalls in mistakes to avoid when learning guitar.

Expectations

How long does it take to learn guitar?

That depends mostly on how often and how focused you practice. With 20 to 30 minutes a day, you can often play a simple song within a few weeks, and after a few months you switch smoothly between the open chords.

The first weeks
Posture, tuning, picking the open strings and your first chords like Em, E and Am. Your fingertips get used to the strings.
The first months
The open chords C, G, D, A, Em and Am, smooth chord changes, simple strumming patterns and your first complete songs.
Advanced beginner
Barre chords, reading tabs, scales and techniques like hammer-ons, pull-offs and slides.
After that
Your own style, improvising, playing by ear and more complex chords.

See this as a rough route, not a fixed schedule. A detailed explanation of each stage is in how long it takes to learn guitar. Above all, don’t compare yourself with others: people who already play another instrument or have more time move faster at the start.

Learning method

Self-taught, online or with a teacher?

The best way to learn guitar is the one you stick with. Teaching yourself is flexible; a teacher gives you direct feedback and structure. Many beginners combine the two.

Videos and apps

You set your own pace and schedule, but nobody corrects your posture or mistakes.

The best guitar apps →

With a book

A fixed structure you follow step by step, at your own pace.

The best guitar books →

Lessons with a teacher

Personal feedback, a regular appointment that keeps you motivated and material at your level.

Guitar lessons for beginners →

Without expensive lessons

With free material and a good plan, you can get far too.

Learn guitar without expensive lessons →

Record yourself

If you’re teaching yourself, film yourself with your phone now and then. That way you see and hear what a teacher would otherwise point out, like a string you accidentally mute or a rhythm that keeps speeding up. Want guidance from a distance? Read about learning guitar with online guitar lessons.

All topics

Choose your next topic

The articles on this site are grouped into ten topics that together cover the whole route, from your first guitar to performing and recording.

Getting started with guitar →

The first steps and answers to typical beginner questions.

Guitars, gear and maintenance →

Choosing a guitar, strings, amps, tuning and maintenance.

Chords and music theory →

Chord charts, progressions, tabs and the theory behind them.

Technique and practice →

Practice schedules, strumming, fingerpicking and lead techniques.

Songs and songwriting →

Easy songs with chords and writing your own songs.

Styles and guitarists →

Blues, rock, jazz, flamenco and famous guitarists.

Guitar lessons and learning online →

Lessons, apps, online courses and books.

Guitar for kids →

The right age, guitar size and children’s songs.

Health and ergonomics →

Posture, sore fingers and preventing injuries.

Performing and recording →

Playing with others, your first gig and recording at home.

Go deeper

New in Getting started with guitar

All beginner articles

FAQ

Frequently asked questions about learning to play guitar

Is your question not listed? Browse all articles or pick a topic in the menu.

How long does it take to learn to play guitar?

That depends on how often you practice. With 20 to 30 minutes a day, you can often play a simple song with two or three chords within a few weeks. Switching smoothly between all the open chords usually takes a few months.

Can you teach yourself to play guitar?

Yes. With a guitar that is in tune, a fixed practice plan and learning material such as videos, apps or a book, you can learn the basics on your own. Record yourself now and then, so you catch mistakes in posture or rhythm yourself.

What is the best way to learn to play guitar?

The best way is the one you stick with. Start with a few open chords, practice briefly but almost every day and connect everything to a song you enjoy as soon as you can. A teacher helps if you want structure and direct feedback.

Is learning guitar hard?

The first weeks are the hardest: your fingertips need to get used to the strings and chord changes are still slow. Those hurdles shrink quickly if you practice regularly. The basics are within reach for almost everyone.

Can you learn guitar in 7 days?

You won’t learn to play guitar in 7 days, but you can build a good foundation. In a week you learn to tune and hold the guitar, a few chords like Em, Am, C, G and D and a simple rhythm. With that, you can then start practicing your first song.

What should you learn first on guitar?

The basics are good posture, tuning the guitar and a few open chords. Start with Em, because it only takes two fingers, and expand to Am, C, G and D. Then practice switching between them in a steady rhythm.

How can you learn guitar quickly and easily?

You learn fastest by practicing short and often and tackling one thing at a time. Choose easy songs with three or four chords and play at a slow tempo with a metronome. Save tricky chords like F for later.

Do you need to read music to learn guitar?

No. Most guitarists play from chord charts and tabs, which you learn to read much faster than sheet music. Reading music only becomes useful if you want to play classical guitar or learn more music theory.

Ready to start?

Grab your guitar, tune it and play your first Em chord today. After that, it’s a matter of practicing short and often.

Follow the 30-day schedule