How to play a six-string guitar. Guitar lessons: watch video online

Guitar – universal musical instrument, sounds great both as an accompaniment and as a solo. The soft and deep timbre of the classics, the sonorous and loud acoustics make people fall in love with this music. Many of them, once hearing guitar music, are inspired by the idea of ​​learning how to use the instrument. Those who want to get into this business ask themselves the question: “is it possible to learn to play the guitar by yourself?”, “how to learn to play the guitar from scratch at home?” etc. Below we will provide answers to these burning questions. So, let's go!

But before you study

Answer yourself - “why?” Yes Yes! This is not a joke or an attempt to demotivate you. There are several types of guitars, and each of them is used to perform different genres. musical works. Therefore, before you start learning, you need to understand what exactly you want to play on a six-string guitar. Let's take a short excursion. Typically, guitars are divided into two types: classical and acoustic.

The former have soft nylon strings, a deep sound and are suitable for performing classical works, flamenco, ballads, romances and other instrumental compositions. Acoustics are equipped with loud and ringing metal strings designed to play chords and perform accompaniment. Instrumental compositions are also performed on it, but they sound completely different. In general, the difference between guitars only matters if you want to play classical music or play chords. In the first case, ONLY a classical guitar will suit you, in the second - an acoustic one, for the remaining options it is better to go to the store and listen to the difference in sound. So, if you have already decided on a guitar, let's move on.

How long should you practice?

The second question that arises for beginning guitarists is “how long does it take to learn to play the guitar for beginners?” There is no clear answer. Professional musicians study for 6-7 years at school, 3-4 at college and 4-6 at the conservatory. But don’t be alarmed, the duration of training depends more on what exactly you want to achieve and how much effort you are willing to spend on the road to your goal.

For example, to learn a very simple song from scratch with chords, it will take 1-2 weeks, for an easy instrumental piece it will take about a month. You can usually master techniques like barre, slides, harmonics, and legato only after 6-12 months of playing. Therefore, if you are looking for an answer to the question “how to quickly learn to play the guitar,” then the only answer is “no way.”

Understand that learning is not an easy process, but often a tedious task where you have to hammer on the same thing for hours to achieve a result. But the sound of music coming from under your fingers is worth it, believe me. If you're planning on learning to play "seriously", you'll need to practice every day for at least 20 minutes for as many days as it takes to learn all the songs and compositions you want.

Is it difficult to learn to play the guitar? Undoubtedly, it is both difficult and time-consuming, but when you are truly passionate about the process, you won’t mind the time and effort spent. But if you can’t wait to start playing, we’ve made it for you

General principles of the game

WITH technical point From a perspective, playing a guitar is a process during which you pinch the strings on the frets with your left hand, and pluck them above the rosette (hole in the body) with your right hand or hit them with your hand/pick.

The first thing you need to start with is placing your hands. That is, the position of the hands that they take during the game. At first glance it may seem like a trifle, but both the technique and the convenience of the game depend on it. If you miss this moment, which plays a significant role, then after a while your hands will quickly begin to get tired, and some techniques will not work. Therefore, pay attention to the placement of your hands.

The next step is to learn sound production - the hand movements that are made to produce sound. When you have learned, combine your right hand with your left and try to pinch the strings with your left hand and at the same time produce sound with your right. At this point, find several special exercises and play them.

You can find out about the correct placement of hands and sound production on the pages of our website. If you don’t find suitable information, write in the comments. We will definitely help you with the right lesson! At the same time, it is useful to read information about the structure of the guitar, frets, strings, finger symbols, etc. If you have enough enthusiasm, start learning music theory.

How to play chords

When you can already extract sounds from the guitar on different frets, learn chords. Yes, we recommend starting with general chords and leaving the songs aside for now. Look on the Internet how to play the most common chords on the guitar (A, am, C, D, dm, E, em, G). First, learn to place your fingers on them so that all the strings sound good and do not rattle. Then practice moving from one chord to another, slowly at first, and then speed up. Try playing longer chord progressions in a row; the sequence am, C, em, dm sounds nice. When you feel confident, choose an easy song and learn combat or busting to it.

List of the simplest compositions:

  1. Carefree angel - Aria.
  2. Eighth grader - Cinema.
  3. Chunga-Changa.
  4. Perfect – Pink.
  5. Love the way you lie – Emineb ft. Rihanna.
  6. Paparazzi – Lady Gaga.

How to play bust

Picking is a way of playing where you pluck the strings one at a time in some order. The verses of many songs are based on it (the same careless angel). There are many options for searching, there is no need to learn everything at once. To learn how to pick on the guitar, play any chord and play it slowly several times according to the pattern; when you remember it, gradually speed up, and then play a sequence of several chords. This the best way studying. Here are the diagrams for the simplest searches:

The bottom line in the picture indicates the highest string on the guitar - the bass.

Learning to fight

It is better to learn to play strumming on the guitar using the same method as fingerpicking. You can learn them as needed or learn a few of the most popular ones at once. The second option is useful for those who want to try composing their own songs. The most common battles and their schemes:

The arrows indicate the direction of movement of the hand or pick, the “x” sign indicates the muting of the strings. There are also battles “six”, “eight” and many others. From the names it is easy to understand that they determine the number of impacts and jamming. There are many variations, the main thing is that the battle fits into the score (six is ​​a score of 6, eight is a score of 8, and so on), and so you can experiment and try to make a combination yourself.

How to learn to play instrumental or classical pieces

After the first stage, start studying the simplest etudes and melodies like “grasshopper”. But first, master the skill of reading music or tablature.

Notes are a graphic recording of musical works on 5 lines, where one symbol indicates a sound of a certain pitch. The difficulties that can arise here are a lot of time spent on memorizing notes on the frets of the guitar and on recording. But the plus is that most works are written down with notes and having learned them once, “all doors” will open for you. So playing the guitar by notes is cool, although difficult.


Tablatures are visual schematic images that show which fret should be pressed on which string. The main advantage is that they are easy to learn to understand and read faster than sheet music. But not all musical compositions can be found in tabs.

Choose a simple melody and slowly begin to learn it in small parts. First, we achieve ease in playing one part, and then we move on to studying the other, connecting them, adding another piece, and so on until the end of the melody.


When you have learned several compositions, learn the following techniques:

  • legato;
  • barre;
  • harmonic;
  • farshlag;
  • glissando.

Their descriptions are easy to find on our website. Gradually complicate the compositions; we recommend that you download some kind of sheet music archive or collection of tablatures.

The learning process occurs gradually, in small steps. You learn to play songs on the guitar and pieces that are more complex than the previous ones, and with them new techniques and techniques. Every success brings you joy and pleasure, but before it you have to work hard and make an effort. How long will it take? Learn while you enjoy it.

This section of the site is dedicated to guitar tutorial. Training is carried out on a six-string guitar, this means that any guitar, classical guitar or other acoustic guitar will do, the main thing is that it has six strings.

The tutorial consists of lessons, each lesson is presented on a separate page, the list of lessons is at the end of this article or in the main menu column (on the left). Training takes place from scratch, images and sound files presented in each lesson.

Now let's identify those who cannot learn to play the acoustic guitar with the help of this tutorial:

Those people who cannot bring themselves to study.

Those people who are going to learn only one song.

Those people who think that an acoustic guitar is primarily a decoration and not a musical instrument.

Those people who are going to learn how to play in a few days.

Those who believe that shaking your head is the most important thing in playing the guitar.

So... If you belong to the above-mentioned individuals, then the tutorial will most likely not help you.


With the help of the tutorial, you will learn the basic rules and techniques of playing the acoustic guitar, get acquainted with musical notation and theoretical foundations music, learn about fifteen songs, learn the basic chords and understand whether you really need to know how to play the acoustic guitar.

How to learn to play the guitar

It should be noted that this guitar tutorial is intended for right-handed people, and left-handed people will have to swap concepts such as left and right hands. It is also recommended for left-handed people to tighten the guitar strings in reverse order, that is, instead of the first string there will be a sixth. It is not recommended to adapt to right-handed people; it is better to rearrange the strings.

Next point. Learn to play the guitar that you have or that you can borrow from someone. You don’t need to immediately run to the store for a new acoustic guitar, because it may turn out that you will understand that playing the guitar is “not your thing.” But if you decide to purchase an instrument, you can read the article on choosing an acoustic guitar.

Guitar chords

Also, after completing all the lessons in the guitar tutorial, you can learn notes for the guitar or other additional lessons. Or move on to learning yard songs with a guitar, using the knowledge gained.

List of lessons:

Guitar tutorial

Guitar tutorial for beginners

Well, dear readers, here we come directly to the beginning of your learning to play the six-string guitar.

Now you already know the history of the guitar, its structure and the name of all its components (I hope). The tool has been purchased and configured.

Let's just agree on some things right away.

  • I made this site to help beginning guitarists gain basic playing skills and perhaps discover something new for hobbyists.
  • I myself am quite passionate about the art of playing the guitar, and believe me, I made a lot of mistakes during the learning process.
    Therefore, try to be careful guitar lessons which I offer you. There is not a single extra word in my course.
    Brevity and clarity even for a child - this is the meaning of this guitar tutorial.
  • Everything I am going to talk about was not invented by me. This is just my understanding of the essence of what is happening and the result of translating incomprehensible texts from textbooks and tutorials, of which I have read a considerable number.
  • I write articles myself, so if you want to use my material for yourself, then the link to mine guitar lessons required. I will do the same.
  • Don't jump from lesson to lesson. I understand that the desire is great, but this will not achieve anything. Be patient, and in a few days we will learn the first piece.
  • In order for you to fully learn to play the guitar, you will need to devote at least 1-2 hours a day to it.
  • Take your time!!! - This is the most main mistake which I admitted. As soon as you learn a part of a piece, you just want to play it back at the speed of light, so that the fretboard starts to fire. I beg you, don’t fall for this, although it’s probably inevitable - such is human nature;)
  • At the beginning of class, stretch your hands by clenching them into a fist to increase blood flow. Before playing serious pieces, spend some time on scales and simple pieces.
  • For successful learning, you can use special guitar programs, which can be downloaded in the section of the same name.

Well, that's basically it. You will learn the rest as you read my self-instruction manual. Some lessons will be accompanied by videos for a better understanding of the material. Click the link to the FIRST guitar lesson and go!

Many people consider mastering the guitar an impossible task that takes them long years. This is partly true, but only if you want to master the instrument at a professional level.

Much more often, people want to learn to play the guitar in order to perform their favorite songs in a company or just for fun. In this case, training will not take much effort and time: in two to three months you can easily learn the basic chords and ways of playing.

Don't give up, even if you've already had a bad experience. Talent is only a tenth of success. Determination and regular practice are much more important.

What you will need

  1. Guitar.
  2. Wish. It is even more important than the tool itself.
  3. Time to study. You can do it easily too, if the desire is strong enough. Moreover, 30 minutes a day will be enough for you.
  4. Teaching aids. There are no problems with them at all: you can buy a tutorial in a bookstore, watch video lessons on YouTube, and find chords on the Internet.

As you can see, nothing supernatural.

Choose and buy a guitar

Let's assume that you have the desire and time. All you have to do is get the tools. They say that any guitar is suitable for a beginner, but this is not true. When the strings touch the frets and cut into your fingers, and the guitar does not stay in tune, there can be no talk of any progress.

A bad instrument will almost certainly discourage you from learning.

Therefore, it is better to find a good guitar. At first, you can borrow an instrument from one of your friends, and then, if things work out and you like it, get your own. Not necessarily expensive and branded, the main thing is more or less high quality.

There are two main types of acoustic guitars: classical and dreadnought (western). There is an opinion that classical guitars are more suitable for beginners due to the wide neck and nylon strings. The first feature reduces the chances of accidentally touching an unnecessary string with your fingers, because the distance between the strings is greater than that of a dreadnought. And the nylon strings themselves are softer than metal ones, so they don’t dig into your fingertips as much and cause less calluses.

On the other hand, if performing classical compositions is not part of your plans, it is better to immediately take a dreadnought. This guitar sounds louder and more resonant due to metal strings, and on a narrower neck it is more convenient to play chords. Again, when playing on metal strings, your fingers will become rougher faster and there will be no more calluses.

As a compromise, you can take a dreadnought and replace the metal strings with nylon ones, at least for the duration of training.

When going to the store to buy a guitar, take a friend with you who knows how to play: each instrument has many little details and a beginner may simply not notice them. Choose a guitar not only by appearance, but also for convenience. Pay attention to the possibility of adjusting the neck, the tuning mechanism, and the strings.

Learn Guitar


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The tool is purchased (or borrowed from friends), and you are one step closer to the goal. Take a close look at the guitar.

The larger part is called the soundboard. A neck is attached to it, ending with a head with pegs: with the help of them the strings are stretched.

The neck is divided into frets by metal sills, against which the strings are pressed to produce sound. The first fret is at the headstock, the last is at the soundboard.

There are only six strings. The countdown starts from the bottom, thinnest one.

Tune your guitar

Before you try to play, your guitar needs to be tuned. Don't be alarmed, even a beginner can do this. And without this skill you will not be able to play.

By tuner

You will need a tuner in the form of a separate device (you can buy it in a music store or on AliExpress) or an application for your smartphone. In both cases, tuning consists of alternately tightening or loosening all the strings in accordance with the tuner's prompts.

By the fifth fret

This method does not require any additional equipment. Its essence is that the strings, clamped on certain frets, sound in unison and can be adjusted relative to each other.

According to the rules, the first string should be tuned to the note E, using a tuner (for example, its online version) or another tuned instrument as a reference. However, this only makes sense when playing in a group, so that all instruments sound in the same key.

If you play alone, or even just learn, then the first string can be adjusted arbitrarily by approximately selecting its tension. All others are configured like this:

  1. Press the second string at the fifth fret and loosen or tighten it until it sounds the same as the open first string.
  2. Press the third string at the fourth fret and tune it in unison with the open second string.
  3. Press the fourth string at the fifth fret and adjust it to the open third string.
  4. Press the fifth on the fifth fret and adjust it to the open fourth.
  5. The sixth fret is clamped in the same way on the fifth fret and tuned in unison with the open fifth.

It sounds complicated, but in reality everything is simpler than simple. Each string pressed at the fifth fret should sound in unison with the previous, lower string. The only exception is the third string: it must be clamped not on the fifth, but on the fourth fret.

The setup process itself is also extremely simple. For example, to tune the second string, you need to loosen it, and then pull the open first string and gradually rotate the second peg until the sound of both strings merges into one tone. That's all.

Try to play


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Finally we got to the most interesting part - the game itself. It seems there is nothing complicated here. Know to press the strings with your left hand and hit them with your right: you’ve seen this a million times and probably tried it yourself. Why then doesn't it work? The strings rattle, the fingertips burn, and the joints become tired and stiff.

It's all about experience, which comes with practice.

Take your guitar and sit on the edge of a chair or sofa, crossing your legs or placing your left foot on a low stand, such as a stack of books. This way the instrument will not rest against the chair and slide off your leg.

The right arm should be relaxed and the hand should not be twisted. The left one covers the fretboard, but thumb at the same time it is always parallel to the frets. There is also no need to squeeze the bar as hard as you can, otherwise your hand will quickly get tired.

You already know that fret numbering starts from the headstock, and strings - from the thinnest, bottom. Try playing random notes by pressing the first string with your index finger on different frets. Try to fully press the string so that it sounds clear. It won't be easy, but over time the technique will improve.

Try playing on other strings, as well as using other fingers, letting them get used to it.

Learn to play melodies on one string


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Just making sounds is boring. Therefore, to make it more interesting, you can learn simple melodies on one string and practice on them. Here are some example tunes.

Classic “A grasshopper sat in the grass”:

"Smoke on the Water" by Deep Purple:

Intro to “Iron Man” by Black Sabbath:

Melody from the movie "Boomer":

"Imperial March" from Star Wars:

Spend some time playing on one string. Bring your actions to automaticity and achieve coordinated work of both hands. Practice until the melodies sound smooth and clear, without stopping or stuttering.

During this time, your fingers will get used to the loads, which means you can move on to more complex things.

Learn to play chords

The next step you have to climb is playing chords. This is much more difficult than single string melodies, but don't be discouraged. Once you learn the chords, you will be able to play full songs.

The principle here is the same, but you will need to press not one string, but several at once: usually three, less often two or four. There are many chords. However, to perform most songs, only five to seven are enough. First, let's learn the three main, so-called thieves chords: Am, Dm, E.

All chords are designated by Latin letters depending on the main note:

  • C - before;
  • D - re;
  • E - mi;
  • F - fa;
  • G - salt;
  • A - la;
  • H - si.

If there is a small letter m next to the chord symbol, this means that the chord is minor. If there is no such prefix - major. Chords are read either by letter designation or by name. For example, “a-um” (Am) or “G major” (G).

Chord patterns are called fingerings. A neck with strings is drawn on them. Frets are signed with Roman numerals. Arabic denotes the strings and - in circles - the fingers that should be used to press the strings (1 - index, 2 - middle, and so on). A zero opposite the string means an open sound (unpressed string), and a cross means that the string should not sound.

Let's return to our thieves chords. Here are their fingerings:

To play the Am chord, you need to press the second string on the first fret with your index finger, and the fourth string on the second fret with your middle finger, ring finger- third string on the second fret.

The rest of the chords are taken using the same principle: we look at which frets and which strings need to be pressed.

With these three chords you can already play simple yard or army songs. But it’s better to learn three more chords, with which your repertoire will expand significantly. Here they are:

There should be no difficulties with the first two, but the third is a little different from the previous ones. It uses barre - a technique where the index finger is used to pinch all the strings on one fret. Barre chords are a little more difficult than open chords, but with practice you can get the hang of them.

As always, to make learning more interesting, you can practice on some song right away. For example, on the canonical “Pack of Cigarettes” by the group “Kino” or “Watchmen” by “Boombox”.

You can also find any other songs that you like on the Internet (for example, by searching for “Louboutin chords”). If you come across unfamiliar chords in the selection, you can try to find another one or simply learn something new.

Learn combat and busting


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There are two ways of sound production: busting and fighting. Some songs are played only by fingerpicking or only by strumming, others by both methods. The same chords are used, the only difference is whether you pluck the strings with your fingers or hit them.

There are a huge number of battles, just like battles. And they are, of course, different in different songs. Usually, in the analysis, along with the chords, it is indicated which fingering or strumming should be played.

Let's look at some of the most common ones as an example. You'll learn the rest as you go.

What's next

Now that you have become acquainted with the basics, studied the chords and have gained some experience, the main thing is not to give up on your training. Your fingers will get sore and tangled when changing chords, and the strings won't always sound.

Don't stop under any circumstances and just keep playing. Every day you will do better and better, and in the end you will achieve your goal.

Finally, a few tips that will help you learn to play the guitar on your own and won’t let you despair:

  1. Always use multiple sources of information to fill in possible gaps and inaccuracies from one teacher to another.
  2. Play every day: regular exercise will give you confidence. Remember that talent is only a tenth of success, the rest is practice.
  3. Once you've learned a couple of songs and are comfortable performing them, be sure to invite your friends over and play for them. Listeners will help develop and point out shortcomings.

It’s hard to imagine a friendly hike without a fire, warm company and favorite songs. And here there remains one still unsolved (for some) problem: “How to learn to play the guitar?” If you are already ripe for this practice, if your hands are ready to play on anything, if your soul is torn by motifs familiar from childhood, and fingers are looking for support for melodic fingering– congratulations, you are ready to learn how to play it.

Of course, a great desire is already half the battle, but you also need a guitar. We hope you are aware that there are guitars:

  • classic;
  • acoustic;
  • electric.

The tool may have:

  • 6 strings;
  • 7 strings;
  • and even 12 strings.

For beginners, in order to learn to play the guitar, it will be quite it is enough to master a classical guitar with six strings. It is advisable to use nylon strings as training strings. They will help keep your fingers safe - and this is very important in the early stages.

So, we’ve decided on the tool, there are still accessories left. Since we are learning on our own, we must be prepared that no one will tune our guitar every hour. Therefore we tuner needed. You can also purchase a case so you can easily travel with your instrument, a left foot rest, and a pick.

How to learn to play the guitar: help for beginners

So, you got the desired tool, where to start so that the divine music of real Russian rock pours out of it?

Or, more simply put, how to learn to play the guitar on your own from scratch? Of course you will need video lessons for beginners. But this is not yet a guarantee of success.

Get ready for some time to pass between your bold statement “I want to play the guitar” and the real “I play the guitar”. Before the chords form a melody, you you'll have to learn some basics. However, don’t worry, all beginning guitarists have gone through this, the main thing is to spend at least 30 minutes a day learning. Practice at home regularly, and very soon you will surprise your friends with a pretty decent game.

So, to begin with, learn what parts your tool consists of. Now this is your friend, assistant, comrade, advisor and the best outlet in life - so it is simply vital for you to know what a guitar is made of.

Each guitar has body, neck and head. Carefully look at the photo of the guitar's structure: pay attention to the strings, frets, frets, sound hole - you will need all this to get sound. To hold the instrument correctly, it is very important for you to know where the stand, shell, and saddle are located.

Correct fit

Before you learn to play the guitar yourself from scratch, you should understand how to properly hold this thing in your hands. Of course, you need to take the right attitude. And it consists in keep your back straight, without leaning or throwing your body back. Left leg at the same time it is located on a hill. The base of the guitar rests on the right leg. Next, we will tell you how to learn to play the guitar yourself from scratch; video lessons will also be at your disposal.

Correct hand placement

We have not yet figured out how to extract sound from an instrument. After all, the guitar definitely needs an approach.

Let's take a look at your hands:

  1. The left hand tightly grips the bar.
  2. The right hand is responsible for extracting clean, ringing sound. To do this, you need to relax her.
  3. Set your elbow right hand at the expected intersection of the shell and the bridge of your guitar. To do this, you need to draw a conventional line upward from the stand to the shell.
  4. Get your fingers ready for fingering.

It is impossible to quickly learn to play the guitar until you learn the position of your fingers. Each finger has its own position and is responsible for his string. The strings are numbered from bottom to top, in descending order of sound: from highest to lowest. Since we have 5 fingers and 6 strings, the distribution will be as follows:

Now it's time to find out what it is rhythmic pattern of the right hand. Speaking in simple words, this is the way you produce sound. For example, you touch thumb(p) to the 6th string. Place the index finger (i) on string number 3, the middle finger (m) on the second, and the ring finger (a) on the first. At the same time, notice that your index and thumb form a cross, and your thumb is also ahead of the rest.

Learning to play on your own: first exercises

Help you learn to play guitar from scratch simple exercises for the right hand:

  1. Let's try bass 3, 2, 1, 2, 3.
  2. Get your fingers ready to play.
  3. Hook the 6th string with your thumb - you get a dull low sound.
  4. Now alternately pluck strings No. 3, 2, 1, 2, 3.
  5. Then repeat the picking, but with your thumb hooked on string No. 5.

Bass pluck 3, 2, 1. Hook the 6th string with your thumb and then pluck the 3 strings together: 3rd, 2nd and 1st.

Learning chords

All we have to do is install it on the instrument left hand, which will help you extract chords or sounds that make up the pleasant sound of your instrument. At first, it will be a little unusual to pinch the strings located on the neck, but as you practice your fingers will get used to it.

  1. Bend your thumb slightly and place it parallel to the frets.
  2. At the same time, your hand should also be kept slightly rounded, placing your fingers closer to the frets.
  3. The fingertips touch the strings only with their upper part, so we recommend that girls cut their nails before they decide to learn to play the guitar from scratch at home.

We already know the string numbering order on a guitar, now Let's study the numbering of frets(they are usually denoted by Roman numerals). One fret occupies the space between two iron lines located on the fingerboard perpendicular to the strings. They are called fret saddles. Frets are numbered starting from the head of the guitar. Beginners usually draw chord diagrams starting with the first three frets (the Am chord in the key of A minor). In the diagrams, the strings are numbered from top to bottom (1, 2, 3...)

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