Welcome to the Simplified Guitar Beginner Course! I hope you're super excited to learn the guitar and start playing your favorite songs!
There's no practice material in this section. I'll simply be giving you an overview of the lesson material, explaining to you what you are going to learn and why.
Don't forget to download the Chord Family Cheat Sheet PDF so you can have the chords you'll be learning on hand at all times.
THE CHORDS
If you've ever tried to learn the guitar before, you've probably noticed a difference between the chords you were told to learn and the chords I'm teaching you here. These chords were not just chosen at random. There are years of playing and trial and error that have gone into the selection of these chords. Here's a look at the difference between the variations I've chosen and their traditional counterparts:
G CHORD FAMILY
VARIATIONS
TRADITIONAL
E CHORD FAMILY
VARIATIONS
TRADITIONAL
C CHORD FAMILY
VARIATIONS
TRADITIONAL
THE REASON
The purpose behind these variations are 3 fold:
1. Similarity: Chords are not meant to be played alone. They are meant to be played together with other chords. This is what makes music. When thinking of chords this way, it makes sense to tailor them in such a way that they fit together like threads in a tapestry to make one beautiful piece of art, rather than sewn together at random like a quilt. (No offense to you quilters).
The variations I've selected share things in common throughout the family they belong to. This makes for a much more unified sound when played together.
2. Transitions: Transitioning from one chord to another is one of the most challenging tasks for any beginner. But with these variations, because they have so much in common with one another, it takes less finger movement to get to the next chord. In fact, sometimes many fingers don't have to move at all. This makes for seamless transitions.
3. Ease of play: That's right. No barre chords...You're welcome. I've been playing for over 15 years, and perform in front of hundreds of people every week, and I do not use barre chords. Not only are they difficult to play, but they sound clunky in transitions. The variations you'll learn are the easiest versions to play. And no, that's not cheating. If easy is cheating, then everyone who plays the piano is a cheat!
As you continue to learn the guitar beyond this course, you will inevitably add more chords to your library, including the traditional chords I listed above. But when just starting out, the 18 chords I will teach you will give you the most playability with the least amount of effort. And that is why I've chosen to teach you these first.
PRACTICE
Some of the lessons come with practice worksheets that are designed to help you craft your skills of playing cleanly and transitioning smoothly. You can download those worksheets and put them on your phone or tablet or print them out to keep on hand for easy access.
SCHEDULE
To get the most out of these lessons, be sure to set goals for yourself and block out a set time for practice. If you just plan to practice "whenever you have time" you'll never learn the guitar. You need to be pro-active and plan ahead.
My recommendation is to practice 15 minutes a day (6 days a week) or 30 minutes every other day (3 days a week). Of course, you can always practice more if you're feeling ambitious. The important thing with guitar practice is consistency. It's better to practice a little bit each day than to practice for 6 hours one day out of the month. Your fingers need constant repetitive practice to memorize the chord positions and to build callouses.
I'm providing you with 3 different practice schedules for you to choose from. Each is 9 weeks long, designed to bring you all the way through the end of the lesson material, and fully equipped to play all the songs in the song library. You'll notice within the suggested schedules that the recommended time to start a new lesson is included (which is one lesson per week). This of course is just a guide. You can always move forward if you are comfortable with your current practice, or delay the next lesson if you still need work.
Choose the schedule that works best for you or make your own with the custom schedule. Just be sure to make a schedule, track your progress, and stick to it and I promise you'll be playing songs fluently by the end of it.
