8 Simple Lessons
You don't need to be musicalyou need a few minutes a day
Eight straightforward lessons taking you from your very first note to real compositions. Each lesson builds gently on the last, so you're never out of your depth.
Contents
From your first noteto your first band
Lesson 1 starts with how to hold a guitar. By Lesson 8 you'll be reading tab and rhythm, switching between nine chords and jamming along with a band. Flip a card to see each step.
Lesson 1
Get acquainted with your guitar: its parts, ways to hold it, and how to hold a plectrum. Pluck and fret your first notes, learn to read tab, and copy back rhythms you hear.
- Play along
- 1 play along track
Lesson 2
Learn two short tunes by listening first, then reading the tab. Chord diagrams explained, plus how to make an effective practice routine.
- Chords
- G · Em
- Play along
- 2 play along tracks
Lesson 3
Get all four fingers working, learn to read simple rhythms and count the beats, then change chord in time.
- Chords
- C · Am
- New rhythms
- Whole · Half · Quarter
- Play along
- 6 play along tracks
Lesson 4
Drills for all four fingers on every string, Em and Am7 in full form, new melodies and rhythms to jam along with the band.
- Chords
- Em · Am7
- Play along
- 4 play along tracks
Lesson 5
Picking up as well as down so you can play faster, counting the offbeat and D and Am chords.
- Chords
- D · Am
- New rhythms
- Eighth notes
- Play along
- 6 play along tracks
Lesson 6
Trickier picking, a very stretchy chord, and silencing strings for staccato rhythms.
- Chords
- C
- New rhythms
- Quarter rests
- Play along
- 5 play along tracks
Lesson 7
A minor pentatonic scale, whole and half rests, E and Dm chords and a study piece.
- Chords
- E · Dm
- New rhythms
- Whole rests · Half rests
- Play along
- 4 play along tracks
Lesson 8
G major pentatonic scale, double stops, rhythm revision, A and G chords and putting it all together.
- Chords
- A · G
- Play along
- 5 play along tracks
Play Along
Scores that follow the musicso you don't lose your place
Listen to just the guitar, or the guitar with the whole band. Then mute the guitar and play it yourself. The score lights up so you can follow along. Twenty songs of funk, soul, rock, pop, blues and more.
Try the Player- Bar highlighterTo help you follow
- Too fast?Let's slow it down
- Your mixGuitar only, backing track, or full band
Pre(r)amble
Are youmusical?
Throughout my years of teaching I've taught hundreds of students and I've heard the phrase "I'm not musical" hundreds of times, so chances are a lot of you feel this way too. Natural ability is a fascinating topic and I have given a lot of thought to the question 'nature vs nurture' when assessing the progress of my students. Are some people born musical? Do you either have it or not?
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