Learning to Play Guitar: Chords, Scales, and Solos

Discovering how to play a simple song on the guitar in one minute; studying the parts of the guitar and how to hold the instrument; G and C chords; combining the bass line with a four-note melody.

Important principles of musical learning; the essence of practice; learning how to tune the guitar; observing how pitch and rhythm are notated; practicing E and A minor chords; working with a musical number using the chords.

Exploring body posture with the instrument; practicing warmup using alternating fingers; grasping how written music is divided into measures and beats; learning fuller versions of G and C major chords; adding a melody to a song.

Exploring shifting, which is moving the left-hand position in guitar playing; grasping how the lower three strings are notated; practicing moving between chords on the instrument; playing major scale; using it in the song "Shifting Sands".

Learning the technique of playing with the right-hand thumb and fingers; practicing the basics of right-hand fingerstyle technique with alternating fingers; studying notation of open strings; playing a G major scale across three strings.

Discovering the leading lights of rhythm guitar; reviewing fingerstyle technique; playing arpeggios (broken chords); learning to play eighth-notes and ¾ or waltz-like rhythms; practicing a two-octave scale and some melodic patterns.