TABLE OF CONTENTS:

Lesson Page
Table of Contents ..................................................................................................... 2
Introduction............................................................................................................... 3
Ten essential points to remember............................................................................ 4
Parts of the guitar – acoustic & electric.................................................................... 5
Frequently asked questions, acoustic or electric? ................................................... 6
Utilizing the pick ....................................................................................................... 7
Names of the open strings ....................................................................................... 8
Three goals and you will be playing songs .............................................................. 9
Reading chord charts ............................................................................................... 10
Fret hand techniques – building a solid foundation.................................................. 11-12
Learning your first chord .......................................................................................... 13-14
Learning your second chord..................................................................................... 15
Learning your third chord ......................................................................................... 16
A few tips on practicing ............................................................................................ 17-18
Frequently asked question on practicing ................................................................. 19
Strumming and rhythm mechanics .......................................................................... 20
Strum patterns.......................................................................................................... 21-22
Another cool strum pattern....................................................................................... 23
Another frequently asked question on practicing ..................................................... 24
Open position chords to learn .................................................................................. 25-26
The F major chord.................................................................................................... 27
Chord chart and practice review .............................................................................. 28
Chord changing techniques and principles .............................................................. 29
The shared fingers chord changing technique......................................................... 30
Shared fingers chord change practice ..................................................................... 31
The cluster principle chord changing technique....................................................... 32
Cluster principle chord change practice................................................................... 33
The slide principle chord change technique and practice........................................ 34
Techniques review ................................................................................................... 35
Notes on the Fretboard ............................................................................................ 36

-Written by David Taub, co-creator, Next Level Guitar Inc.®

Copyright © Next Level Guitar Inc., 2011 - all rights reserved – unauthorized duplication or
distribution of any part of this book is prohibited

NEXT LEVEL GUITAR®

2
TEN ESSENTIAL POINTS TO REMEMBER:

1. Patience – Learning an instrument requires patience. Many of the techniques take time to
master. Even fingering chords can be quite challenging. This is normal so do not get
discouraged. It takes time to get your fingers, tendons, and muscles used to bending in the
ways necessary to play guitar. Take your time, be patient and it will come.

2. Attitude – A positive attitude goes a long way. You can do this, so try and stay positive and
remember that your guitar playing is an evolution.

3. Proper technique – Utilizing the proper techniques and learning the proper fundamentals is
essential for beginner guitar. Any bad habits that you start off with will be very hard to untangle
later as well as they will impede your progress down the road. So strive to follow the technique
guidelines closely at first and then later down the road you can develop them into your own
personal style – first learn the rules, then go ahead and break them !.

4. Fingernail length - Keep the fingernails on your fret hand short. If your nails are too long they
will interfere with the fretting of notes on the fingerboard. If you press straight down with one
finger on a solid surface, like a tabletop, and you feel the nail hitting the table before your
fingertip, your nails are too long and will need to be cut.

5. Cleanliness - Wash and thoroughly dry your hands before picking up the guitar. It will keep
oily residues and dirt off the fingerboard and your hands will be clean and not slide around on
the neck. Wipe the neck down with a soft cloth after playing as this keeps the neck clean and
prolongs string life.

6. On Discomfort - Fingertip soreness and wrist discomfort is normal for the beginning guitarist.
As you play more your fingertip calluses will build up stronger and the discomfort will get less
and less. But if you feel major pain in the wrist or arm - STOP. Big pain is your bodies’ way of
telling you something may be wrong. Give it a little rest and go back to it later and check to
ensure you are utilizing the proper techniques.

7. Slow down - Playing slow and in time is ALWAYS better than playing fast and sloppy. Always
master a concept at slow speeds before trying to play it faster. Speed comes with time.

8. Notes on the neck – Not at first but eventually you want to try to memorize the notes on the
neck and the notes that make up a given chord or a scale. You just don’t want to solely rely on
just fingerings or shapes. It will make you a better guitarist in the long run and you will be able
to speak “the language” of music when conversing with other musicians, writing songs, playing
with your friends, or in a band situation.

9. Develop your ear – I say these words often, I feel developing your ear is one of the most
important things you can do as a guitarist or musician.

10. Music theory - A little theory is a good thing. Not in the beginning but eventually putting time
into learning some music theory has great value. It will move your playing forward faster and
allow you to communicate the language of music to other musicians.

11. Fun – Give yourself plenty of “fun time” on the guitar doing what you love to do best – learn a
song, write a new tune, do fun stuff. Don’t spend all your time just studying and working new
concepts. HAVE FUN AND STAY POSITIVE – practice does not have to be drudgery!
4
PARTS OF THE GUITAR – ACOUSTIC & ELECTRIC:
In order to communicate effectively in guitar lingo you will need to learn some guitar terminology. The
illustrations below display some of the common parts of an acoustic guitar and an electric guitar.

headstock

tuning pegs

nut

frets

neck

frets

body

soundhole

pickups

bridge

ACOUSTIC GUITAR ELECTRIC GUITAR

5
 FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Which guitar do I choose Acoustic or Electric?

You have a choice when you start to learn to play guitar. Do you want to learn to play on the acoustic
guitar or on the electric guitar? The principles, concepts, and techniques that you will learn when first
starting to play guitar are the same no matter which one you choose.

However, there are some basic differences between the two that I feel are very much worth
mentioning. Your decision partially lies in which one sounds best to your ears and which one do you
envision yourself playing.

Many of you will be drawn more to one than the other. You may want to have that electric guitar
plugged in through an amplifier and eventually add distortion and rock out. Or, you may love and are
more drawn toward the beautiful sounds produced by a ringing, full-bodied acoustic guitar.

Both instruments are truly wonderful and most guitar players eventually end up owning one of each, if
not more. I have twelve guitars at this time and love them all – they are all unique and have their own
voices.

The biggest thing to keep in mind when making this decision is the electric guitar is a little easier to
learn on than an acoustic. On an electric guitar, the strings are of a lighter gauge, the action is lower,
its easier to press down on the strings, and the body is thinner and easier to get your arm around. So
overall the electric will be easier to play and learn on in the beginning.

But learning first on an acoustic is fine, its just a little more challenging. Either way you want to find
the guitar that is the right fit for your hands and body and one that does not fight you. You want a
guitar that is set up well and is easy to play. You will have enough to worry about at first just getting
over the physics of the instrument.

Whatever guitar you go with make sure it’s the right fit for your body and hands. There are many
different model guitars on the market today. Some have wide necks and some thin, some have large
bodies and some smaller. So finding the right sized guitar that fits your hands and body best, is
absolutely essential. The wrong sized guitar that is poorly set up and hard to play will increase your
frustration level exponentially. Keep the variables to a minimum and get the right sized guitar.

I suggest going with what you love. If you are drawn more toward the acoustic, and love that acoustic
sound – then go with that. You will probably end up having at least one of each down the line, and
then you will have the best of both worlds.

6
UTILIZING THE PICK:

There are basically two ways to attack the strings of the guitar. One way is with your fingers alone,
which is called finger picking or fingerstyle guitar. Another way is utilizing a plectrum or what is more
commonly termed a pick.

I want to get you playing the guitar in the fastest manner possible so lets start by utilizing the pick.
Fingerstyle is indeed awesome, but the beginning techniques are very challenging and take a lot of
time to develop. I suggest starting off by using a pick and if you like that fingerstyle sound then that is
something you can study down the road after you have had some guitar time under your belt.

Guitar picks come in various shapes, sizes, thickness, and materials. Various thickness picks will
actually sound different as they hit the strings. As you get more familiar with the pick, you will want to
experiment. Try different materials and sizes to find what feels the best in your hands, AND sounds
best to your ears.

I have found that beginning students gravitate more toward picks made from nylon that have raised
letters or ridges built into them. You don’t want the pick moving or sliding in your hand so you will find
the raised ridges or letters act like grips.

Often beginners find the pick slipping in their hand as they strum, so a pick with grips on it comes in
very handy. They also make picks with holes in them, this way part of your finger fits into that hole.
This aids in gripping the pick so it does not twist or slide in your hand.

Illustrated below are the two most common ways to hold the pick. Try them both and see which feels
best in your hand.

As per above picture: Open your hand and As per the above picture: Turn the pick sideways
have your palm face up. Next, place the pick so the pointy tip is pointed toward your left. Point
with the pointy tip facing straight up flat on your pointer finger toward the left in a straight-
your pointer finger. Less than half of the pick line horizontal with the pick. The tip of your
should be off the pointer finger. Then come finger should be pointing at the pointy tip of the
over the top of the pick with your thumb and pick. Place the pick on top of your pointer finger,
grip the pick firmly but not with excessive less than half of the pick should be hanging off
pressure between both fingers. With this your finger. Then come over the top of the pick
method the tip of the thumb is upward in the with your thumb sandwiching the pick between
same line as the pointy tip of the pick. your pointer finger and thumb.
7
NAMES OF THE OPEN STRINGS: What’s that about dynamite?

Let’s learn the names of the six open strings from lowest to highest.

At first you want to be playing in what is called “Standard Tuning” or “A440 tuning”. In this tuning the
open strings from low to high ring out to the notes E, A, D, G, B, and E. There is a low E string and a
high E string.

The low E string is also called the 6th string, the A is also called the 5th string, the D is the 4th string, G
is the 3rd string, B is the 2nd string, and the high E is the 1st string.

It’s very important to know the names of the open strings. I have an easy little saying that will help
you remember, in fact I don’t think you will ever forget them if you commit this phrase to memory.

To remember the names of the six open strings just remember this statement “Eddie Ate Dynamite,
Good Bye Eddie” – E A D G B E – there you have it – the names of the six open strings.

Eddie Ate Dynamite Good Bye Eddie

E A D G B E

E A D G B E
Nut

1st Fret

2nd fret

3rd fret

4th fret

Guitar Neck

8
THREE GOALS AND YOU WILL BE PLAYING SONGS:

It is important as you move through this structured guitar plan that we set a few guitar goals along the
way. We all know that songs are very important to musicians. In fact many of us may have picked up
the guitar with the goal of being able to eventually play songs. Well, I am going to get you to the point
where you can play songs by first tackling three critical guitar goals.

THREE GOALS TO BE ABLE TO PLAY SONGS:

1. Learn some open position chords

2. Learn how to strum with rhythm

3. Learn how to change chords

If you can do the above three things, then you will be playing songs – that fast. What are songs
played on an instrument? Basically a series or string of notes or chords played with a certain rhythm.
You can break them down into a series of chord changes or chord progressions.

So if you learn some chords, learn how to strum, and then learn how to change chords, you will be
playing songs. It’s quite amazing how fast I can get you playing musically sounding examples.

So let’s get started with the first goal and learn some chords. I am going to explain how to read
chord charts and then teach you your first three chords. This will get you started on your first
chord progression.

Remember that with just a handful of chords you will be able to play thousands and thousands
of songs. Some of the best songs ever written are made up of only three or four chords. It’s
truly amazing how much you will be able to accomplish by just learning the chords listed in this
book. You will amaze yourself!

Along with learning a few chords and practicing them, you also want to start learning how to
strum with rhythm and learn some strum patterns. So we can work on the first two goals at the
same time. Then when you have the first two chords sounding good we can work on changing
them.

9
READING CHORD CHARTS:

All my written illustrations are consistent in that the strings are always shown vertical and the frets
horizontal. You will have to be able to read the chord charts in order to study the chords that we will
be learning.

The chords are drawn in a standard way that you probably have seen before. In the grid illustration
below you can see all six strings are shown vertically from the Low E to the High E. The grid looks
like the actual neck of the guitar. The frets run horizontal and are numbered in order starting with the
1st fret, 2nd fret, 3rd fret, and so on. Notice the thick horizontal line at the top of the grid. This is called
the nut and is not considered a fret.

At first you will be spending a lot of time within the first five frets working on open position chords, or
chords played with at least one open string. These open position chords are the first chords that just
about every guitar player learns when they first start to learn guitar. These open position chords are
also referred to as “cowboy chords”, “six bangers”, or “the basic open chords”.

The fret hand fingers are

numbered in a standard way
so you can easily know what
Low High
E A D G B E
finger to place on what
Nut string. The pointer finger is
1st fret “1”, the middle finger is “2”,
2nd fret the ring finger is “3”, and the
3rd fret pinky is “4”. The thumb is
4th fret often referred to as “T”. Look
for these numbers at the
bottom of the grid as they tell
which finger to use to fret a
given note.

**CHORD = A chord is defined as two or more notes played at the same time.

10
FRET HAND TECHNIQUES – BUILDING A SOLID FOUNDATION:

Fret hand technique is absolutely critical for optimum guitar playing. The proper technique will give
you a rock solid foundation that we can build on as you move up that guitar staircase.

At first when fretting notes, you will experience some mild discomfort in your wrist and also on the tips
of your fingers. This only lasts until you build up some calluses on your fingertips. All this is normal
and I assure you the discomfort in the wrist and fingertips will subside more and more each day and
eventually disappear completely.

Your wrist and finger tendons will grow stronger and will get used to the positions as well as your
fingertips will soon get very tough. When you see the skin on your fingertips start to rip you should be
like “YEAH!” – because that is what you want – you want the skin to rip and then when it comes back
it will be tougher and stronger. So consider the ripped skin like a merit badge!

KEY POINT: Remember as we go through the chord fingerings for your first
batch of chords, do not get discouraged, it may take weeks to get the fingerings
memorized and for the chords to sound clean and ring true. Stay positive – and
remember that your playing is an evolution!

You also need to keep the fingernails on the four fingers on your fret hand short. A good test is to
press down on a flat surface with your fingertip, like a tabletop, and if you can feel the nail before you
feel the tip of your finger, then the nail is too long and must be cut.

You don’t want your fingernail to hit the fretboard before your fingertip. If your nails are too long it will
cause interference when fingering notes and chords and will prohibit them from ringing true. So keep
them short.

As we go through the proper technique remember, if you feel big pain in the wrist or arm – STOP –
take a break, and check that you are utilizing proper technique. Pain is your body’s way of telling you
something may be wrong. Give it a little rest, take a break and go back to it later. Remember, Rome
was not built in a day.

Key Practice Technique – make sure when you are learning your chords that you use this solid
fret hand technique. Ensure your fingers remain clustered together and do not take them apart.
Always remain on your fingertips with your fingers cupped and your thumb in the proper position on
the back of the neck. This technique is crucial!

11
 Remember to execute these techniques when fingering chords:

1. FINGERS - Keep your fingers cupped and fret the notes on your fingertips, don’t lay your
fingers flat, stay on the tips of your fingers and press down hard on the required string.

2. WRIST - Keep your wrist down. Having your wrist up too far throws the shoulder into the wrong
position. Your arm and shoulder should be in a very natural and comfortable flowing position.

3. THUMB - For now, keep your thumb anchored on the back of the neck about even with your
2nd finger or between your 1st and 2nd fingers. Do not grip the guitar neck like a baseball bat or
have your thumb way over to one side.

4. CLOSENESS - Keep ALL your fret fingers close to the fretboard at all times. Don’t let your fret
hand fly out of position far away from the fretboard. Think of it like your fingers are
magnetically attracted to the strings and you cant slip a credit card between the strings and
your fingertips.

5. FRETTING - Fret each note right behind the designated fret, not in between frets, right behind
the fret. You have to press quite hard in the beginning to get the note to ring true. If you have
to fret multiple notes on the same fret then the fingers have to slide back a tad to make room –
but for the most part be right behind the fret.

6. DO NOT BEND - Make sure you are not bending any strings as you finger each note or the
chord will ring out of tune. Look down the strings making sure they are all straight and not bent.

7. NO TOUCHING - Make sure your fingers are not touching any of the other strings other than
the strings they are required to fret for the given chord. If part of one finger is hitting an errant
string it will keep that string from ringing true. Be sure that the palm of your fret hand does not
touch the high E string. If it does, try lowering the wrist and cupping the fingers more.

8. CLUSTER - Keep your fret hand in a tight cluster and do not pull it apart. Pinky finger should
be hitching a ride on the 3rd finger with all fingers in a tight cluster close to the fretboard at all
times like in the photo illustrations – use those photos as a template for technique on all the
chords you work on.

12
LEARNING YOUR FIRST CHORD – E minor:
Like I mentioned earlier, you will be able to play thousands of songs by learning just a handful of open
chords. The first set of 12 open position chords form the foundation for thousands and thousands of
popular songs.

Now that you are familiar with reading chord charts from the previous lesson let’s illustrate your first
chord. We will be learning to play an E minor, (Em), chord. The small “m” next to a chord letter name
means minor. If no other letters or numbers appear next to a chord letter then major is implied.

The chord chart below on the right has two black dots on the vertical string lines. The black dots
illustrate where you put your fingers and on which strings. The numbers at the bottom of the chord
chart refer to which finger of your fret hand you will be utilizing to play the chord. The “0” means that
you play that string open and an “X” means that you don’t play that string at all.

Looking at the below illustration you will fret the 2nd fret of the A string with your first finger and the 2nd
fret of the D string with your second finger. You will also play the Low E string, G string, B string, and
high E string all open.

Use your first finger to fret

the note at the 2nd fret on
Em the A string
Em

2nd fret

Use your second finger to

fret the note at the 2nd fret
on the D string
0 1 2 0 0 0 0 1 2 0 0 0

The low E string, G string, B

string, and high E string are
all played open as illustrated
by the “0” below each string.

**Notice the proper fret hand

techniques are being
employed to play the Em
chord - fingers are cupped
and on the fingertips, the 3rd
and 4th fingers are attached
tight to the 2nd finger as well
as they are in tight close to
the fretboard, the whole hand
is clustered together in a tight
economical cluster, wrist is
down, and the fingers and
hand are not interfering by
inadvertently touching other
strings. Try it just like this….

13
Voice the Em chord illustrated below and strum the chord using the pick coming down through all six
strings striking the strings one at a time and listening that each of the six notes ring out true. You
shouldn’t hear any popping or muted string noises. Remember to utilize all the technique principles
outlined above and if the chord is not ringing true check that your fingers or palm are not inadvertently
touching any other strings.

Play the notes of the chord one at a time and check that all are ringing true. Then strum through the
chord letting the pick do the work. Listen to the sound of the chord and commit the Em chord to
memory.

Em

0 1 2 0 0 0

Use the same learning template taught above for learning all your new chords. When first learning a
new chord remember to always play the notes individually and let them ring out to ensure there are
no dead strings, muted strings, strings being bent, or any other extraneous string noises or pops that
contaminate the true sound of the given chord.

Then after you hear all the notes ring true individually try strumming the entire chord all at once and
again make sure all the notes ring true when strummed.

Now you should be able to play an Em chord and have it sounding pretty good. Memorize the
fingering and know that it is an Em chord. Remember our first goal is to learn a batch of the basic
open position chords. Some of the coming chords will be easier and some will be harder. It all just
takes patience and practice, so stick with it and you will be rocking out in no time!

Key Practice Exercise – a good practice exercise to do when you first learn a new chord
is to practice fingering the chord, strum it, and then lift all your fingers off fret board slightly, but
keeping them in the same cluster shape of the chord hovering slightly over the frets, then
placing back on the fret board in the same chord position. Check that the chord still rings true
with another strum and also check that your fingers have not moved out of position. Practice
off and on, off and on. This gets you used to coming off chords and getting back on them
quickly and accurately. Do this when learning all new chords and commit the chord names and
shapes to memory.

14
LEARNING YOUR SECOND CHORD – Asus2:
The next chord we will learn is Asus2 or A suspended 2nd. Use the same fret hand technique that you
learned in the previous lessons for all the chords you will be learning going forward. This new chord
utilizes the same fingering and shape as the Em chord, everything moves down one string each and
you don’t play the low E string.

To play the Asus2 chord you would fret the first note with your first finger on the second fret of the D
string, and then fret with your second finger the note at the 2nd fret of the G string. You will play the A
string, B string, and high E strings open and you will not be playing the Low E string. Basically just
play the Em chord and drop the fingers down one string each and you have the Asus2 chord.
Asus2

Asus2

Use your second finger to

fret the note at the second
fret of the G string
X 0 1 2 0 0
The Low E string is not
played as illustrated by the
“X” below the string X 0 1 2 0 0
Use your first finger to fret Em
the note at the second fret
of the D string
The A string, B string, and
the high E strings are played
open as illustrated by the “0”
below each string

0 1 2 0 0 0

Notice the proper

technique employed when
playing the Asus2 chord.
Fingers cupped, on the
fingertips and all fingers as
close to the fretboard as
possible. Third and fourth
fingers hitching a ride
attached to the 2nd finger.
All the open strings can
ring true without
interference. Notice this
chord is the same fingering
as the Em chord, just the
fingering is dropped down
one string.

Key Practice Exercise: Try changing from the Em chord straight down to the Asus2 chord.
Strum the Em chord once, then drop the fingers straight down one string each to the Asus2 chord and
strum that chord once. Then back up to the Em chord. Practice back and forth, back and forth.
Practice getting the transition smooth and getting all the notes of each chord to ring true.

15
LEARNING YOUR THIRD CHORD – Am9
Now we are going to learn to play an Aminor9 chord or Am9 (remember small m = minor).

Examine the illustrations below and notice that you use the same fingering or chord voicing to play
Am9 as you did for Asus2. Just slide the Asus2 chord shape down 3 frets to the fifth fret. On both
chords you still don’t play the low E string. Follow the illustrations below to play the Am9 chord. It is
such a dark and pretty sounding chord – love this one!
Am9

th
Am9 5 fret

Use your second

finger to fret the note X 0 1 2 0 0
at the fifth fret of the
G string
The Low E string is not
played as illustrated by the Asus2
“X” below the string X 0 1 2 0 0
Use your first finger to fret
the note at the fifth fret of
the D string
The A string, B string, and
the high E strings are played
open as illustrated by the “0”
below each string
X 0 1 2 0 0

Em

0 1 2 0 0 0

Notice the Am9 chord has the same

fingering as the Em and Asus2
chords – just slide the Asus2 chord
up three frets to the fifth fret. Also
notice the proper fret hand technique
employed to play the chord.

Key Practice Technique: Keep following the same format as taught above as you go through
this book and learn new chords. First play the notes of the chord one at a time and then strum all at
once to ensure that the chord rings true. If you hear muted or dead notes check that none of your
fingers are hitting other strings, make sure you are on your fingertips and your wrist is down. Practice
coming on and off the chord as explained in the practice exercises above.
16
A FEW TIPS ON PRACTICING:

Practice time does not have to be boring and viewed as a negative no-fun activity. I make
practice time fun and exciting for my students so they see the progress they are making on the
guitar while playing fun sounding musical examples. Practice should not be drudgery. Follow
these suggestions and practice tips:

Make it easy for yourself to practice:

Buy a guitar stand and keep your guitar out on the stand so it is accessible to you at all times in a
room that you are in most. This way you will be much more likely to grab it and practice when you
have a free five or ten minute pocket of time. Don’t keep your guitar packed up in its case under your
bed or packed away in the closet. You will be less likely to pull it out when you have free time.

Shorter practice blocks of time are better than

long marathon sessions:
Often people think that they can’t learn an instrument because they don’t have an hour or two chunk
of time every day to commit to learning. Well you don’t need that much time and in fact several
smaller blocks of time throughout the day are much more productive than one long marathon session
once every few days.

We all have those small pockets of ten or twenty minutes during the day where we waste time. So if
you have a spare ten minutes pick up the guitar and practice, go through some chords, chord
changes, or work on that strum pattern. You will be amazed how all those ten-minute small sessions
really add up to big gains in your playing.

Remember that in the beginning of your guitar journey you have to wrap your hands around the guitar
often. You won’t get the hang of the instrument by playing once a week or every ten days.
The more time you have your hands on the guitar in the beginning the faster you will see progress. A
few ten or twenty minute blocks of time throughout the day works fantastic!

Fingertip and wrist discomfort

One of the biggest challenges of the beginner guitarist is getting over the physics of the instrument. It
takes some time to get your fingertip calluses built up and for your wrist and fret hand to get used to
bending and playing chord shapes. So at first you will experience some fingertip and wrist discomfort.
But know that it will get less and less with time and eventually disappear.

This is another reason why to limit your playing at first to ten to twenty minute blocks of time. If you
play for too long at first then your fingertips will be so sore that you wont be able to play the next day.
Remember that moderation is best at first as well as you will retain more with smaller practice blocks.

17
 Learning the fundamentals and proper technique:
It is vital to build a solid foundation when you start playing guitar. Techniques and principles get
stacked on top of one another. Remember that learning guitar in the beginning is like a staircase and
you have to learn step one before traversing step two, step two before step three, and so on. You
don’t want to build any bad habits early on as these bad habits are very challenging to undo later. A
bad habit now may not seem like much but it can impede your progress later in your guitar journey.

Having structure and consistency is key:

One of the keys to beginner guitar is consistency. Keep trying to put those guitars in your hands every
day, even if it’s only for ten minutes. Grab that guitar before going to work if you have a spare ten
minutes, or when you get home from work, or before going to bed for a few minutes, or while you are
waiting for dinner to cook. Keep putting it in your hands every day and you will see big gains.

Remember to consistently utilize your structured plan. Work on your practice regimens, chord
changes, learn new chords, strum patterns, etc. Whatever you are currently learning hit it hard and
consistently as per the plan and you will get better and better the more you practice.

Muscle memory:
A lot of the early techniques you are learning have to deal with challenges regarding muscle memory.
The goal is to get your fret hand and brain wired together to remember chord fingerings and positions,
and how to change chords without thinking about it. Eventually you want to get your chord fingering
and chord changing to be on autopilot. It takes time and practice to get that muscle memory built into
your subconscious.

The way to get to the autopilot stage is consistently practicing the chords, chord changes, and fret
hand movements back and forth, back and forth, ten minutes a day, one day at a time. Keep it up and
soon you won’t even have to think about it, the fret hand will work automatically.

Don’t overwhelm yourself:

I often see beginner guitar players take on way too much. They try and soak up and practice every
piece of knowledge or lesson from books, the internet, private studies, this guy, that girl, etc. And in
the end their playing suffers and they are at a standstill because they glaze over too many principles
at once and don’t put the needed time into each stage of learning. They eventually get frustrated and
put the instrument down.

Don’t overwhelm yourself by trying to take on too many new things at once. At first stick to the basics
as per the lessons in this book – learn some chords, learn to strum, learn to change chords. That is
plenty at first. Take these lessons and techniques in stages, slow and steady wins the race.

Use a practice log to chart your progress:

Utilizing a practice log to chart your progress and keep notes is invaluable. You don’t need anything
fancy. In fact a simple three ring binder with filler paper works best.

Make notes of the chords you are learning, strum patterns, and chord changes that you are practicing
and the ones you are struggling with. Write out the practice progressions and circle the changes
within the progressions that you have to work on separately as they are the ones you are stumbling
over and need to practice more.

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Add filler paper to your binder and keep accurate records in your practice log of the items you are
working on, what needs work, new chords, chord changes, strum patterns, rhythms, progressions,
songs, original material, scales, etc. Date the entries and keep track of your progress as you move
forward in your guitar journey. Just like setting goals in life, you want to set musical goals……and
then go out there and achieve them.

Give yourself plenty of fun time on the guitar:

Don’t regiment your entire guitar playing experience to just to study, study, study. Remember that this
is a fun activity and you want to give yourself plenty of fun time on the guitar to just jam and enjoy the
instrument.

Try to learn a new song, or puts some chords together that you like the sound of, or try to write a
song. Do things that you enjoy on the instrument and have fun – that is why you picked up this
amazing instrument in the first place.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ON PRACTICING

How much should I practice?
I get asked all the time, “David, how much time should I spend practicing”. To be honest I don’t have
a canned answer for this question. I will tell you this, – there is positive correlation between the
amount of time you practice and how fast you move up the staircase.

The more you practice, as long as you follow my structured methodology, the faster you will advance.
But as far as how much actual time should you practice all depends on what you have going on in
your life, how fast you want to move forward, and balance.

That is the great thing about learning guitar and utilizing my teaching methods – you can learn at your
own pace, a pace that fits your lifestyle.

We are all very busy people. We have jobs, families, boyfriends, girlfriends, friends, hobbies, and
social lives. So we all want that balance in our lives where we get to do all the things we love and are
passionate about as well as taking on new projects, setting goals, and going out there and achieving
them.

Ideally, if you can practice for two or three fifteen-minute sessions throughout the day you will see
great progress. Even just two fifteen-minute sessions is fine. Once you get over the fingertip
soreness, practicing forty-five minutes a day would be awesome. The more time you put into
practicing the right things, the faster you will move forward.

So find the balance that suits your life. Again, you want to keep it realistic. In the beginning stages of
learning guitar you will want to pick up the guitar and practice as often as possible. Early on you don’t
want to go a week or ten days without picking up the guitar, as you will forget the concepts that you
previously learned and then you have to start all over again.

So practice as often as possible, especially in the beginning, while achieving balance in your life. And
most importantly – HAVE FUN! One of the mantras in my life is, “if it’s not fun…..why do it?”

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STRUMMING AND RHYTHM MECHANICS:

Now that you have learned some chords we can tackle the techniques of strumming and rhythm.
While you work on the strumming examples below be sure to keep moving forward learning more
open chords and getting them memorized, and getting the notes to ring true. More chords are
illustrated in the coming pages, but at the same time let’s work on your strumming and rhythms

Music is more than just notes and chords, it’s also about rhythm and meter. In order to play
something musical sounding we need to play it with rhythm. The easiest way to do that with guitar is
strumming the guitar rhythmically with what is known as strum patterns.

Let’s learn the proper techniques for strumming and go over basic strum mechanics, we will then
learn rhythmic strum patterns.

Proper strum mechanics:

1. Strumming is more arm than wrist. When strumming bend at the elbow and move the arm
up and down working the pick through all the strings. Don’t leave the arm semi-stationary
and just bend the wrist to strum, that is not correct. Bend at the elbow and put your arm into
the strum and be emotive. Hit those strings with emotion and with conviction! Like you are
waving up and down vertically across the strings. Music is about emotion and passion and
it will come across in your playing.
2. Keep a nice loose feel with the strumming hand when strumming. Don’t lock the wrist or
arm and don’t strum in herky-jerky motions. It should be smooth, even and loose. If your
strumming is locked it will come across very robotic and sterile sounding – loose is key.
3. Be sure and use a long movement when strumming. Do not strum just from the top of the
low E string to the bottom of the high E string. Your strum should have a long swath. Strum
from the top of the guitar body all the way down to the bottom of the guitar body – think
long strum.
4. Don’t think of it like your hand is moving up and down. Think of it more in terms that you are
swinging your elbow – that is the motion that you want – and keep it long and loose.

Meter and notes:

First let’s discuss meter and then on to strum patterns. We will start with quarter notes. A quarter
note is one note per beat and one full measure of quarter notes is:

“ONE – TWO – THREE – FOUR”

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Key Practice Exercise: First try strumming quarter notes with four down strums or d/d/d/d. Play
an Em chord and strum with four down strums. Then try changing to the Asus2 chord for four down
strums. Then back to the Em chord. Then to the Am9, mix it up. Practice those quarter note strums.

Now we will add up strums to the mix and play straight eighth notes. Eighth notes are two notes per
beat and the count is:

“ONE – AND – TWO – AND – THREE - AND – FOUR – AND”

Two notes per beat, there is a “one-and” before you get to the two so you are playing two notes per
beat with eighth notes. Let’s utilize alternate strumming with this count, up then down then up then
down. The down strums will be on all the numbers or beats and the up strums will come on all the
“ANDS”. So playing straight eighth notes will be this:

d/ u / d / u / d / u / d/ u
1 & 2 & 3 & 4 &
d= downstrum u = upstrum

Try the eighth notes up and down as above on the chords that you know. As you can probably tell it
does not sound very musical. Just practice the straight eighths to get a feel for strumming up and
down and getting comfortable with the proper strum mechanics. We have to add rhythm with rests
and then repeat the rests to make it sound musical. We will need to learn some strum patterns.

Strum patterns:
Strum patterns are rhythmic sets of strums with rests that can be repeated to sound a rhythm. It’s that
repeated series of rests that give music its rhythm, or life’s blood.

We need that rhythm to sound musical. As you could tell from the straight eighth note strumming that
you tried above it does not sound very musical. It is sounds sterile, like an exercise.

Below are a few strum patterns to get you started that have an eighth note feel to them. Remember to
break strum patterns down into smaller sections when first working them up. It will take a while to get
the groove of a pattern, but stick with it and soon you will get it.

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Here is a great beginner strum pattern that you can use for hundreds of songs. I have found that this
pattern is one that beginner students can get going fairly quickly. You can try this pattern with one of
the chords you know or just grab the strings to mute them and just scratch out the rhythm, no chord is
needed as you can add chords in later. Keep it simple at first, the first pattern is:

down/down/up/up/down/up (d/d/u/u/d/u)

Let’s break it down to make it easier to get it rolling – first play two down strums (noted in red):

down/down up/up/down/up

Then follow it up with two up strums:

down/down/up/up/down/up

Then for the last part of the strum pattern play straight eighth notes with a down up:

down/down/up/up/down/up

Then put all three parts together slow, with good strum mechanics:

Down/ down up/up down/up

Key Practice Exercises: Keep repeating the pattern – d/d/u/u/d/u d/d/u/u/d/u d/d/u/u/d/u
and so on. You will probably get the pattern one or two times around and then lose it. But keep at it
and then next try you may have it four times or so around before losing it. Keep going until you have it
locked down. Then add chords to it and try it with one chord and then with changing chords. You can
also try it with progressions or songs that you know. It’s a fantastic pattern that is very musical and
works with tons of songs. Keep practicing and you will get it!

I have written below how the strum pattern ups and down line up with the musical time. You may not
necessarily want to think of the pattern in musical time as that may throw your strum off. This visual is
to show you how the count looks on paper:

d d u u d u

1 & 2 & 3 & 4 &

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ANOTHER COOL STRUM PATTERN:

Now let’s follow the above template to learn another strum pattern. This fun pattern is almost straight
eighth notes. The only difference is that we are going to yank out one down strum from the straight
eighth note pattern. So we will have two up strums in a row and leave out that one down strum. That
will give us that needed rest. Then we repeat the pattern and we have our rhythm. This pattern is:

down/up/down/up/up/down/up (d/u/d/u/u/d/u)

Again, lets break the pattern down to make it easier to get rolling. Play straight eighth notes at first
with a down up down up, (as indicated in red).

down/up/down/up up/down/up

Then for the second and last part we do an up down up – like this:

down/up/down/up up/down/up

Then put all three together slow with our good strum mechanics:

down/up/down/up/up/down/up

Key Practice Exercises: Keep repeating the pattern – d/u/d/u/u/d/u d/u/d/u/u/d/u

d/u/d/u/u/d/u and so on. Just like the first strum pattern above you will probably get the pattern
one or two times around and then lose it. But keep at it and then next try you may have it four times
around before losing it. Keep going until you have it locked down. Then add chords to it and try it with
one chord and then with changing chords. Also try with any progressions or songs that you know.
Practice both strum patterns and get them both locked down and sounding great with the chords that
you know.

Keep trying to freewheel the pattern over and over like the other example. Again, for this pattern
much like the last one, you may not necessarily want to think of the pattern in musical time as that
may throw you off. But just so you can see the count on paper it would look like this:

d u d u u d u

1 & 2 & 3& 4 &

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ANOTHER FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTION ON PRACTICING

At this point in my guitar journey, what exactly should I be practicing?

Another common question I get all the time has to do with practice content or practice regimens.
Questions like, is there a set practice regimen I should be following? Or, what exactly do I need to be
practicing to ensure I am practicing the “right things”? Very good questions indeed.

At this point in your guitar journey you should be dividing your practice time up into sections. You
need to hit the three goals we set at the same time. For whatever practice time you have over twenty
minutes break it up into separate sections and spend time on the following:

1. Learn the first batch of 12 open position chords as I have diagrammed out on the coming
pages. Remember that you will eventually be able to play thousands of songs with these basic
12 chords. At first play the notes of the chord individually and then strum the whole chord and
let the chord ring out to check it is ringing true with no open string noises, pops, strings bent, or
fingers hitting other strings. Learn the chord fingerings and memorize the names. Your goal is
eventually to learn all 12 chords, know their names and shapes, and have all of them sounding
awesome. (Note: this will take time so it will be an ongoing evolution in your playing, try adding
a new chord every few days).

2. Practice the proper fret hand technique as taught in the above lessons. It is absolutely crucial
to be playing these chords properly. Remember to keep the wrist down, the fingers cupped
and in a tight cluster, all fingers extremely close to the fretboard at all times, and your pinky
hitching a ride attached to that third finger.

3. Work on your strumming and rhythm. Get the first two strum patterns down cold and practice
them with the chords you know and eventually the chord changing exercises I list on the
coming pages. Work on your strum mechanics and getting your up strums and down strums
the same volume. Practice getting that arm loose and freewheeling. Let the force of your arm
bring the pick through the strings and it will cut through the strings while you strum, like a knife
cuts through warm butter.

4. Practice your chord changing and good changing mechanics as outlined in the lessons on the
coming pages. Practice the harder changes that you are struggling with back and forth, back
and forth. Hit chord changes every day for a few minutes. Write down the ones you struggle
with in your log and practice them while watching TV, remember it’s the muscle memory that
you are working. Go through the chord changing exercises and proper chord changing
techniques listed in the coming lessons. Knock changes out one at a time. Keep pushing
yourself to complete harder and harder chord changes, that is how you will get better – by
constantly pushing yourself on the instrument.

Practice string chord changes together into progressions and working them with different strum
patterns. Once you know some chords and how to strum, then practice chord changing and
soon you will be playing songs – that fast!

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OPEN POSITION CHORDS TO LEARN:

Start working on learning these open position chords. Learn them in the order shown on the next few
pages. Each new one will prepare you for the coming chords. Remember that the small “m” next to
the chord name denotes “minor”.

These were the first three chords that you learned in the above lessons:

Em Asus2 Am9

th
5 fret

0 1 2 0 0 0 X 0 1 2 0 0 X 0 1 2 0 0

The next two chords for you to learn will be Emajor and Aminor. Look at the chord charts below and
notice that both chords share the exact same voicing. Just drop the Emajor down one string each and
you have Aminor. Same principle as with the above chords Eminor and Asus2 – same chord shapes.

E Am

0 2 3 1 0 0 X 0 2 3 1 0

Notice that with the next two chords you DO NOT play the low E string as well as you DO NOT play
the A string. These are two four note chords so for now try to avoid hitting the low E and A strings
when playing these chords.

D Dm

X X 0 1 3 2 X X 0 2 3 1

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The next two chords will be a little trickier. Notice for the A major chord all three fingers get crammed
into the second fret. Keep practicing the chord till you find the sweet spot on your guitar where you
feel comfortable playing all three strings within the same fret.

The C major chord requires a bit of a stretch across three frets. Practice with the wrist down and
getting a good stretch across the frets. The low E string is not played and needs to be muted so it
does not ring out and muddy the chord. Let the very tip of your third finger “spill” over the A string and
slightly touch the low E string thus muting it so it will not be heard when strumming the chord. Or you
can also mute the low E string with your thumb by having it come slightly over the top of the neck and
just touch the low E to deaden it. You can use this muting technique for any of the chords in which
you don’t play the low E string. This way you can strum all the strings and not have to worry about
that low E string ringing out as it will be muted.

A C

X 0 1 2 3 0 X 3 2 0 1 0

The next two chords will require utilizing all four fingers on your fret hand. Look at the chart below and
notice that both chords share the same voicing. If you drop the G major chord down one string each
you have the Cadd9 chord. It’s a fun change to practice, as many songs have that G to Cadd9 chord
movement.

G Cadd9

2 1 0 0 3 4 X 2 1 0 3 4

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THE F MAJOR CHORD – YOU CAN DO IT!

The F major chord is one of the more challenging chords to learn and master when first starting on
guitar. In fact it will probably be the hardest chord you have faced to date. This is due to the need to
bar across two strings with your first finger while stretching to the third fret with your third finger. So it
requires both some strength and a bit of a stretch.

The F chord is in a lot of songs, so you will definitely want to add it to your ever growing chord
catalog. This one will take some time to master so be patient. We will start with an easier chord to get
you prepared to tackle the F major chord.

Remember to utilize the fingering listed below and play the notes of the chord individually to ensure
all notes are ringing true. If you are hearing muted strings, other strings ringing, or any other noises
check your technique and fret hand position to examine why the chord is not sounding proper.

Narrow it down string by string until you find the culprit and correct. Eventually once your learn bar
chords you will utilize an F major bar chord in place of the smaller four-string F chord. However, there
is still a lot of value in learning the four string F major chord and having it in your chord vocabulary.

All students struggle with the F chord at first, but if you keep practicing and pecking away, it will come
with time just like all the other open position chords that you have learned. We will start off with an F
major seventh chord, (Fmaj7), as a pre-cursor in getting to the F major chord.

Fmaj7
F major seventh chord, Fmaj7 – Try this chord in preparation to play
the F major chord. This Fmaj7 chord is a four-string chord. You do not
play the low E string and the A string. The high E string is played open.
Major 7th chords are very sweet and jazzy sounding, very pretty
sounding chords. Use this chord for now and in place of the F chord until
X X 3 2 1 0 you get the below chord nailed down.

F major – This F major chord has no open strings. Do not play the low E
F string and the A. Utilize your first finger as a bar and press firmly down
on the high E and B strings. Sometimes it helps if you angle the bar a
little. If you are not able to stretch far enough to reach the A and F notes
with your 2nd and 3rd fingers then move the whole shape up to the 7th fret
and practice it there where the frets are closer together. Then slowly
move the shape back down the fretboard as you practice the chord each
X X 3 2 1 1 day and your fingers get used to the stretch. Don’t get discouraged, this
is one of the hardest chords to get at first. Stay positive and it will come
with time. Keep chipping away at it every day.

Key Note: Do not get discouraged – it may take a little bit to get the fingerings down and for these
chords to start sounding very clean – that is normal – it takes time for your finger tendons and wrist to
get adjusted to these new positions. Keep positive and it will come with time.

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