Beginner acoustic guitar • No theory needed

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You don't need to know music to start. Lesson 1 shows you how to hold the guitar. Lesson 2 teaches just seven notes — A B C D E F G. Lesson 3 teaches you to count 1-2-3-4 in 4/4 time. Every lesson ends with a little song you can actually play.

🎸 Acoustic guitar👋 Right- or left-handed🎙️ Voice start / stop🎵 A song in every lesson

Tip: Say "start" or "stop" after you turn on Voice Control below — perfect when both hands are on the guitar.

Illustration of a beginner sitting correctly and holding an acoustic guitar, neck angled up, one hand on the neck and one hand over the sound hole

✋ Which hand is dominant?

This flips every diagram on the page. No need to buy a special guitar to try — just hold yours the way that feels natural, and mirror the pictures.

Right-handed setup: Guitar rests on your right leg. Left hand presses the strings (fretting). Right hand strums over the sound hole.

🎙️ Voice control — hands-free

Turn this on, then say: “start”, “stop”, “pause”, “repeat”, “next lesson”, or “play song”.

Voice is off. Tap the button and allow microphone access when your browser asks. You can always use the big Play / Stop buttons instead — they do exactly the same thing.
1

Lesson 1 • 10 minutes

Hold it first — before any notes

If holding it feels awkward, everything else feels hard. Get this comfortable and the notes get much easier.

1. Sit like thisSit on a chair with no arms, feet flat on the floor, back straight but relaxed. No slouching on a sofa for now — you need room for the guitar body.
2. Rest the guitarCurve of the guitar body sits on your right thigh. The big body is against your ribs, the neck points slightly up — never down at the floor.
3. Your two jobsFretting hand (left): thumb behind the neck, fingers curled like you're holding a tennis ball. Strumming hand (right): rests lightly over the sound hole, loose wrist.
  • The neck is tilted up a little, so you can see the strings
  • Your fretting thumb is hidden behind the neck — not poking over the top
  • You can strum all 6 strings without hitting your leg

KNOW YOUR GUITAR — TAP A STRING TO HEAR IT

E — thickestADGBe — thinnest HEADSTOCK →

Memory trick for the 6 strings, thick to thin: Eddie Ate Dynamite, Good Bye Eddie — E A D G B e. Press any note button in Lesson 2 to hear a string.

BodySound holeFretboardFrets (metal bars)Headstock & tuners
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Short video: Holding the guitar in 4 steps

Press play — it walks you through sit, rest, tilt, strum.

0:00 / 0:32

LESSON 1 EXAMPLE — TREBLE STAFF: OPEN STRINGS

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Your six open strings, written on the treble staff — low E at the bottom to high e near the top. You’ll learn to read these one by one in Lesson 2.

LESSON 1 TAB — OPEN STRINGS (ALL ZEROS)

e|--0-------------------------| B|-----0----------------------| G|--------0-------------------| D|-----------0----------------| A|--------------0-------------| E|-----------------0----------| Strum down: e → E, one string at a time

In tab, 0 everywhere means no fingers down at all — just hold the guitar right and strum. That’s the whole of Lesson 1.

Lesson 1 song • Uses only open strings

♪ “Hold It Steady”

E — — — | A — — — | E — — — | Strum once per line, count 1-2-3-4 in your head

“Sit up tall and hold it steady,
Feet on the floor — now I’m ready.
Neck up high, thumb behind,
Strum it soft and take my time.”

How to play it: Strum all open strings once, count to 4, strum again. That's it — you just played your first song.

2

Lesson 2 • Notes A–G

Just seven notes: A B C D E F G

Music uses only seven letter names, then they repeat. Tap any note — hear it, see it on the treble staff, and see exactly where your finger goes in tablature.

👆 Tap a note above. Start with A, then walk A → B → C → D → E → F → G and back down.

TREBLE STAFF — THE SAME NOTES, WRITTEN DOWN

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Lines bottom-to-top spell E-G-B-D-F (“Every Good Boy Does Fine”). Notes climb like stairs: A (space) → B (line) → C (space) → D → E → F → G. The highlighted note matches the one you tapped.

TABLATURE (TAB) — WHERE TO PUT YOUR FINGER

e|--0---1---3----------------| B|--0---1---3----------------| G|--2------------------------| A F G E C D B ↑ Read the highlighted note below

Tab has 6 lines = 6 strings. Top line is the thinnest string (e). The number is the fret. 0 = open string, no finger. So “2 on the G string” = press the G string just behind the 2nd metal fret bar — that's A.

Open (0)
No finger
E, B strings
Fret 1
Index finger
C, F
Fret 2
Middle finger
A
Fret 3
Ring finger
D, G
Press just behind the fretNot on top of the metal bar, and not in the middle — right behind it gives a clean sound with less pressure.
Buzzing? Check 3 things1) Finger closer to the fret. 2) Press a little firmer. 3) Finger not touching the string below it.
Sore fingertips are normalThey toughen up in about a week. Play 10 minutes a day instead of one long painful session.
🎬
Short video: Finding A–G on the fretboard

Press play — it highlights and plays each note A through G, one at a time, on the staff & tab above.

0:28 tutorial • notes + staff + tab

Lesson 2 song • Uses A B C D E F G

♪ “The ABC Strum Song”

A — B — | C — D — | E — F — | G — — — (one note per beat, 4/4)

“A-B-C and D-E-G,
Seven little notes for you and me.
Up the stairs and back down slow —
That’s the only alphabet you need to know!”

3

Lesson 3 • Timing • 4/4

Timing: count 1-2-3-4, then repeat

Almost every beginner song is in 4/4 — say “four-four”. It means 4 beats in every bar (group), and each beat gets one count. Strum on the numbers to start.

🥁 Built-in metronome — 4/4

1
2
3
4
72 BPM
Slow is perfect for learning

Beat 1 sounds higher — that's the start of each bar. Count out loud: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 | 1 - 2 - 3 - 4.

HOW 4/4 LOOKS ON THE STAFF + TAB

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Four quarter-notes fill one bar. Each one = 1 beat = 1 strum (for now).

Count: 1 2 3 4 | e|------0-----0-----0-----0--| B|----------------------------| G|----------------------------| Strum: ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓
Step 1Clap on every beat while counting out loud.
Step 2Strum open strings on every beat.
Step 3Strum only on 1, rest 2-3-4. Harder than it sounds!
🎬
Short video: Counting 4/4 out loud

Press play — the metronome starts at a slow speed and the beats light up 1-2-3-4. Count along out loud.

0:30 tutorial • metronome + staff + tab

Lesson 3 song • Strict 4/4

♪ “Count to Four & Play Some More”

| E (1-2-3-4) | A (1-2-3-4) | E (1-2-3-4) | B → back to start |

“One-two-three-four, feet flat on the floor,
One-two-three-four, let’s play it once more.
Strum on the number, rest in between —
Steadiest rhythm you’ve ever seen!”

♪ All the little songs

Every lesson has its own song, using only what you learned in that lesson. Play them slowly — speed comes later on its own.

Hold It Steady

Lesson 1 • Open strings only

The ABC Strum Song

Lesson 2 • A B C D E F G

Count to Four

Lesson 3 • 4/4 timing

Your first-week practice plan (10 min a day)

  • Days 1–2: Lesson 1 only — get comfortable holding it, strum open strings
  • Days 3–5: Add A–G, one new note a day, play the ABC Song slowly
  • Days 6–7: Turn on the metronome at 60–72 BPM, play Count to Four in steady 4/4

Stuck on a note? Tap it in Lesson 2, listen, look at the staff and tab, then copy it. Repeat is your superpower — or just say “repeat” with voice control on.