How to Play Guitar

Materials needed: A guitar 

Get a guitar and make sure it is in standard tuning (EADGBE)

Familiarize yourself with which string is what note by playing them from the top string down to the bottom one at a time. Know the names of the strings in order (EADGBE)

Familiarize yourself with the frets. You can see clearly each fret on the guitar therefore if I say put your pointer finger on the high E 2nd fret, then you know what to do.

Now you know the different frets and strings. Lets learn some chords. The first chord to learn can be D. To play a D put your pointer finger on the G string 2nd fret. Then Put your ring finger on the B string 3rd fret. Finally, put your pointer finger on the high E string on the 2nd fret. Strum the bottom four strings, leaving out the low E and A. Thats a D chord.

 Put your pinky finger on the high E string 3rd fret. Put your middle finger on the A string 2nd fret. Finally, put your pointer finger on the low E string 3rd fret. Strum all of the strings. Thats a G chord.

 Put your pointer finger on the B string first fret. Then put your middle finger on the D string 2nd fret. Finally, put your ring finger on the A string 3rd fret. Strum all of the strings. That’s a C chord.

Em stands for E minor. Well learn the E chord later but for now E minor is slightly easier and is more commonly used. First put your middle finger on the A string 2nd fret. Then put your ring finger on the D string 2nd fret. Strum all of the strings. Thats a Em chord.

First put your middle finger on the D string 2nd fret. Then put your middle finger on the G string 2nd fret. Finally, put your ring finger on the B string 2nd fret. Strum all of the strings. Thats an A chord.

Am stands for A minor. First put your middle finger on the D string 2nd fret. Then put your ring finger on the G string 2nd fret. Finally, put your pointer finger on the B string 1st fret. Strum all of the strings. Thats an Am.

 First put your middle finger on the A string 2nd fret. Then put your ring finger on the D string 2nd fret. Finally, put your pointer finger on the G string 1st fret. Strum all of the strings. Thats an E.

The F chord is slightly more difficult than others. To play an F chord first put your pointer finger on both the high E string and the B string first fret. Put your middle finger on the G string 2nd fret. Then put your middle finger on the A string 3rd fret. Finally, put your pinky finger on the D string 3rd fret. Strum all of the strings. Thats an F.

F# stands for F sharp and F#m stands for F#m. To play an F# simply take the same fingering you have for an F and move it all down one fret. Then to play an F#m keep your ring finger and your pinky finger in the same position and then Barr all the strings on the 2nd fret. Barring can be very difficult for a beginner and may take a lot of practice so don’t get frustrated.

Bm stands for B minor. First put your pointer finger on the high E string 2nd fret. Then put your middle finger on the B string 3rd fret. Then put your ring finger on the D string 4th fret. Finally, put your pinky finger on the G string 4th fret. Strum every string except for the low E string. Thats a Bm. Take that same shape and move it down the fret boards to play every single minor chord on the scale. As you slide your fingers down the order goes: Bm, C#m, Cm, D#m, Dm, E#m, Em, F#m, Fm, G#m, Gm.

 First put your middle finger on the G string 2nd fret. Then put your pointer finger on the B string first fret. Finally, put your ring finger on the high E string 2nd fret.

Play an A chord without the ring finger.

 Play the E chord without the ring finger.