Free Guitar Lessons

So What's Your Favourite Style of Music for the Guitar?

Hi, thanks for visiting my site. The free guitar lessons here will hopefully help you in your desire to become a better guitarist. If you're a beginner, then you've come to the right place. The guitar lessons for beginners will hopefully make things as easy for you as possible to help you to get started and on the right track. If you're a more advanced player, then hopefully there's something here for you too. There are a lot of charts on this website, and the guitar chords charts or the guitar scales charts will hopefully give you what you're looking for.

Just a quick note about any reviews I offer on guitars or related musical equipment. I research to the best of my knowledge any equipment that I consider to be relevant for the all free guitar lessons website, but I can't promise to get it right all the time if at all in fact. I do read as many customer reviews for the guitars and related equipment that I discuss and hope that you will do the same before purchasing anything.

As a left handed player I don't always have the choice to be choosy so I have at times bought guitars without trying them first. I would advise anyone however to try any instrument, guitar or otherwise, before purchasing.

The guitar allows easy access to so many songs that we all know and hear. There's a lot of people that can just strum the guitar with only a small number of simple chords, and yet they're able to play many of these songs easily. But for those who are willing to devote time, patients and determination to this wonderful instrument, and possibly the most beautiful instrument of all, the guitar offers an unlimited capacity for individual musical expression, which to me, is unsurpassed.  

For those that are prepared to seek out and try new challenges, the guitar offers a tremendous opportunity. There are literally hundreds of chords and many different scales that allow you to express yourself in whatever style of music you prefer. 

Reaching any decent level of musicianship though cannot be achieved in a matter of a week or two. As already said, this takes time, patients and determination, and above all a love for the instrument and an inner-desire to want to play it. The aim of the free guitar lessons offered on this site is to provide as much structured information as possible to help you to make this process as easy as possible in order for you to achieve your goals on the guitar.

All free guitar lessons.com will hopefully be a valid source of informative and easy to understand reference material for you the aspiring guitarist, whether a beginner or a more experienced player. 

Why the Guitar?

The great thing about a guitar is it can easily be picked up and played whether you're a beginner just starting out or a seasoned pro. It doesn't take up much space either so it can easily just stand in the corner of a room. The guitar, whether an acoustic or electric, is a lovely looking instrument too that could be likened to a good quality, nice looking piece of furniture.

For a beginner it's the perfect instrument too. Within minutes and with no previous experience whatsoever, a person can produce something musical on the guitar. Just one or two notes played in time, as simple as it is, can be made to sound interesting. Even just strumming the guitar's open strings sounds nice. Absolutely anyone can do this, including those with certain learning and/or physical disabilities. In fact, the guitar is probably the best choice of instrument for those with such disabilities for this very reason, as it offers some very easy and simple mental and physical stimulation for such individuals.

This is what makes the guitar so unique. It offers utter simplicity with the option of complete complexity if you choose to delve deeper. I think this is the main reason why the great blues, rock, country and jazz guitarists that we all know and admire are in fact self-taught. It's such an easy instrument to teach to your-self. I imagine that the great players would have started off as we all do, with some simple chords and some easy scales before progressing to more advanced chords and scales whilst picking up some theory as they went.

Classically trained guitarists are generally an exception to this method of self-teaching though as they tend to follow a course of instruction and development from a personal teacher.

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Beginners & Where to Start

All that's needed to get you started on this fantastic journey of personal musical expression is desire, enthusiasm, a guitar and some good, simple information such as the free guitar lessons found here with the accompanying charts. Learning any instrument takes time, and for many, time is precious as they simply can't put the time aside to learn an instrument. I believe that if you really do want to do 'something' though, then that 'something' is generally what you will be doing, meaning, you'll find the time somehow even if it's only a little time.

Of course your family should always come first in my opinion, so don't lock yourself away and ignore your wife and kids or take time off work to practice. And definitely don't go out and blow the money for the electric bill on a guitar because that would just be stupid.

However, you will need a guitar and you will need to set some time aside to practice if you're serious about learning the guitar or any instrument for that matter.

Buying a Guitar

What type of guitar you purchase as a first instrument and whether it has steel or nylon strings, or whether it's electric or acoustic is entirely up to you. The type of music you think you might like to play will certainly help you to decide.

Steel string acoustic guitars are more suited for; folk, blues, finger-style and ragtime but also pop and jazz. A nylon strung 'classical' guitar is more suited to classical, jazz and finger-style guitar. Some find it easier to play certain chords on a steel string acoustic guitar than on a nylon string acoustic, me included. This is because the necks of steel string acoustics, and also electric guitars, are much narrower than those of nylon strung 'classical' guitars. Take a look at acoustic guitars for a lot more information on the different types of acoustic guitars available. 

Whatever type of guitar you decide to buy, you should try to make it as decent as possible. It needs to be good enough to be playable to a reasonable standard. More beginners give up learning the guitar due to a poor quality instrument than any other reason. A guitar with a slightly twisted neck, high action, heavy gauge strings, uneven or badly finished frets are all reasons to make the beginner guitarist blame him/herself due to a lack of ability, when in fact it is due to the poor quality instrument making learning far more difficult and the resulting sound far worse than it would normally be with a decent guitar.

Trying to learn on such a poor quality guitar is virtually impossible. All the free guitar lessons in the world won't help you on such an instrument so do not try. Try to invest in a decent quality guitar as much as possible. Buying cheap is a false economy although you can be lucky as I was with my £20 fender acoustic from a charity shop! This is not the norm though so try to invest as much as you can. Do not be afraid to ask in the shop if they can set it up for you. If they are of any value as a guitar shop they really should have no problem with this. You could also find a decent guitar maker (luthier) to do a professional set-up but that will cost you.

Most new guitars are pretty well set-up nowadays though and if you're right handed, which you probably are due to statistics, finding a decent, affordable guitar that feels comfortable to you should not be that difficult. If you're left handed like me though, it may be a little more difficult and you may have to spend a little more cash.

A badly tuned guitar is another way of sounding bad. Take a look at the free guitar lessons on how to tune a guitar to overcome this potential problem. Guitars often go out of tune for various reasons such as; sudden temperature changes, new strings, hard playing (vigorous strumming and string bending) and dropping or knocking the guitar which is obviously to be avoided at all costs.

Following the Free Guitar Lessons

If you're a complete beginner, the best approach to studying any of the free guitar lessons offered here is to read all the text before viewing the videos or studying the charts. This will help to give you a better understanding of what is actually happening in the videos. This will help to bolster the learning process further by slowly allowing you to pick up on some basic music theory. If, after reading the text you don't understand the theory, just go on to the practical lessons by watching the video and studying the charts for the chords. You can come back to the theoretical text and read through it again later. Eventually it will go in and the penny will drop. Remember, the main thing is to play the guitar, not understand it!

Learning music is like learning another language so it often doesn't make much sense. A good approach that I learnt in the early stages was to try not to understand why 'this is this' or why 'that is that' so to speak. Just accept it as 'the language of music'. Start at the beginning and slowly build upon it. As you slowly go through the free guitar lessons over time things will slowly start to make sense and begin to fall into place. You will then start to understand more and more about music and the guitar. 

Of course there is a need to learn a certain amount of musical theory to be able to play to a certain level. All I am saying is, don't get bogged down and hung up on the theory, especially if you're just starting out. A good understanding of chords and scales and how and when to play them is the most important thing and this will come over time. If you're a beginner, you'll pick up the theory as time passes and the more you pick the guitar up and actually practice, the better you will become. Learn a little theory at a time, it soon mounts up.

The key is to not give up. Keep up the practice whenever you can, but also stay patient for results. As a beginner, the most important thing to remember is to enjoy the whole process of learning the guitar and that means not getting too bogged down with the theory, unless of course you love the theory. 

I will however, slowly be adding more and more music theory to the all free guitar lessons website over time for those who want to study and understand more.

What to Learn as a Beginner

The free guitar lessons for beginners aim to make the whole process of learning the guitar as simple and enjoyable as possible, not only for those of you that are not that musically minded, but also for those of you that are.

If you're a complete beginner it's best to learn some very simple, basic chords and one simple scale to start with. If you don't think you'll ever play lead guitar then forget the scale and concentrate on chords. Either way, the first place you should start is guitar lessons for beginners. 

The free guitar lessons there discuss the notes on the guitar and how to simply work them out using the chromatic scale. The first video lesson there introduces the guitar's anatomy and also discusses the notes. 

The first guitar chords you should learn as a beginner can be seen at guitar chords for beginners. These early chords are a 'must learn' so get them under your fingertips. There are a few charts there with an introduction to barred chords too. There are also two videos to supplement the charts and theoretical text. Many famous songs consist of only a few basic chords many of which are in these first chord charts.

If you think you'll want to start picking out single note melodies for soloing and playing lead guitar, the first scale you should learn is the pentatonic guitar scale. It's probably one of the easiest to learn for a beginner as it only has two notes to a string. It is also a very forgiving scale as nearly all of the notes in this scale sound pretty good together so it is very difficult to sound 'bad'. The pentatonic scale is played in so many different styles of music and in so many different cultures which makes it a very versatile scale too.

The above free guitar lessons for the beginner guitarist will get you on the right track before moving on to more advanced techniques.

More Advanced Techniques

As you start to improve you'll need to learn the right type of chords and the right type of scales for the style of music you want to play. If however, you only want to play rhythm guitar, then you'll only need to learn and practice chords. A good place to continue your practice and development of chords is blues guitar chords. The free guitar lessons on blues guitar chords consists of charts and videos with a mixture of open and barred chords and are a perfect next step for beginners who want to play blues rhythm guitar.  

If you want to play lead blues guitar though you'll need the minor pentatonic guitar scale and the blues guitar scales under your fingertips as previously mentioned. These are essential scales for any lead blues guitar player.

The free guitar lessons on lead blues guitar can be viewed by watching the videos and studying the charts at blues guitar scales.  There are also more free guitar lessons on how to play blues guitar with videos and lots of free information at blues guitar instruction. The first two videos seen there are more about playing in time with the last video on that page showing and teaching the techniques that are used in blues guitar and also in other guitar styles too, namely hammer-ons, pull-offs and slides.  

There is also another video demonstrating a few blues guitar licks of which I hope to add more of in the near future. The free guitar lessons on blues guitar will hopefully point you in the right direction for further development.

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Keep it Simple, 

I try to keep things as simple as possible in all the free guitar lessons offered here and try not to go into too much musical theory if I can help it. Now, as I've already said, musical theory can't be ignored and brushed aside completely when learning a musical instrument of any kind, but my approach is to apply the basic 'musical principles' in order to play in key and to keep in time.

My personal approach to playing the guitar therefore is more about listening and feeling, rather than theoretical understanding. I prefer to play around with scales and chords rather than dissecting musical principles. I like to create music through feeling the beat and the rhythm, and apply that beat and rhythm with the notes of scales to try and create my own melodies and licks etc. One of the best ways to practice is to put on some of your favourite music and try to find the key and play along.

To do this you will need to learn some basic chords and/or scales and the types of chords and scales you need to learn all depends upon what type of music you want to play.

Practice, Practice, Practice

The importance of practicing cannot be emphasized enough. Learning to play the guitar is a process of learning where to put your fingers without having to think about it too much. This is sometimes referred to as 'finger memory' and something that comes as a result of repetition. By continually repeating the same thing over and over until it becomes automatic is the only way. Fred Astaire the great dancer mentioned this and anybody who is an expert in their chosen field that requires various body movements practices this important principle too.

Learning to play the guitar consists of a combination of developing mental application and motor skills. Developing these requires repetition. Many guitarists, especially beginners, get frustrated and blame their 'lack of talent' because they can't execute a particular guitar lick or melodic line of one sort or another.

This is often not the case though. What generally tends to be happening is the body and mind has not played it enough for it to be automatic. All the free guitar lessons on this site should be played slowly and accurately before building up speed. If you make a mistake then you are playing too quickly for your level of ability for that particular piece that you're trying to play. Play it again so slowly that you don't make a mistake. This is where your patients and determination will be tested, and above all, your real desire to want to learn how to play the guitar?!

This simple principle and technique of playing slowly and accurately when learning any instrument, new technique, chord or lick can't be emphasised enough and should always be remembered and applied.

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For those of you who only want to play rhythm guitar you'll need to focus on the type of chords played in the particular style of music you expect to play.

Beginners or Advanced

I hope that many, if not all of the free guitar lessons and ideas here will be of some value to you in your guitar playing whether you're a novice or more experienced player. Playing the guitar has brought me a lot of enjoyment over the years and if you are just starting out then my advice to you would be to stick with it. Don't be put off by the fact that you can't play something that well or not at all.

Continue to study and practice these free guitar lessons and play as much as you can. If your fingertips become sore then take a break. Over time the tips of your fingers will become harder as tougher skin develops through your playing. Follow the free guitar lessons available here or elsewhere on the web. If you practice and stick with it, you will most definitely get better.

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About Me

I first picked up the guitar over thirty years ago now, and I still get the same feelings I had when I first started playing - pleasure, contentment, insight and freedom. I like most styles of guitar playing but I particularly like certain forms of Jazz and Jazz Blues. To be honest, I like to play anything that I can play along to really. I enjoy making up my own melodies from the scales such as the major and pentatonic scale specifically. I love playing along to George Benson especially, while trying to follow his lines, not easy! I also like playing the blues and just getting lost in the beat and the feel of the rhythm while playing around on the pentatonic scale, much easier!

I also play a little bit of finger-style guitar which can be a bit demanding at times but the results are well-worth the effort. Being able to play the beat and melody at the same time without having to think too much is a nice feeling. It's a lot like juggling, but with the addition of a wonderful sound coming straight from your fingertips!

I also play some classical guitar which I enjoy a lot too. I love the variety of playing different musical styles on the guitar and the challenges they bring with all the different colours and textures of sound as well as the different moods and emotions they create and stir up.

There were no free guitar lessons when I first started out, at least not that I was aware of. There are so many free guitar lessons available all over the internet now that learning to play is so much easier and open to everyone and anyone. So there's no excuses, take advantage of the situation and get practicing!

My first teacher was a good friend of mine called Dave Price who is now a professional guitarist. If you're a more advanced player and you're looking for something in particular, such as a certain song that needs to be transcribed or a particular solo that you want to learn for example, then take a look at Dave Price Guitar where he can be contacted. I'm sure you'll be impressed. He's one of the most polished guitarists you'll ever see and hear and he plays all styles to a very high standard.

For now though, I continue to play and build on what I like playing the most. This generally tends to be blues and jazz blues guitar styles. I love the simple but effective approach of BB King and the wonderful jazz blues style of the brilliant Grant Green. I also love playing along to the phenomenal George Benson who I think is one of the best jazz guitarists of all time and my personal all-time favourite.

I intend to get a lot more free guitar lessons with videos up and running on these guitar styles in the coming weeks and months so please revisit this site if you like these musical styles and/or subscribe to my YouTube channel for my latest video releases.

I also love Bossa Nova and Latin/Jazz styles of guitar. These guitar styles are almost always played on a nylon strung classical/electro-acoustic guitar or arch top electric guitar. I really love these sounds and styles and will also be getting more free guitar lessons with videos up and running in the not too distant future for these styles too so please come back to check them out! 

Getting Older, Getting Better

If you're just starting out on this wonderful instrument and you find some aspects of playing the guitar seem hard for you right now, just keep practicing and you will most definitely get better. Follow the free guitar lessons here and just enjoy the learning process as a part of the progress that you will be making.

One of the most amazing things about playing any musical instrument is the fact that as you age, you get better, unlike sport which I was involved in quite a lot during my younger years. I can't begin to think about doing half of what I was able to do when I was younger as far as sport is concerned. The guitar on the other hand, well, I can do far more now than I could ten years ago! My musical ear has developed tremendously and my dexterity has done the same. 

Hopefully the free guitar lessons offered on this site will help you to achieve the same, or at least point you in the right direction to help you to find your own way. 

Enjoy what you Do

The most important thing is that we enjoy what we are doing and have fun with it. Don't get too concerned if you're struggling to make progress and it seems like you aren't having any great success. It takes time to reach any decent standard. If you're just starting out be patient and enjoy the learning process.

I'm not the best guitar player in the world by far but I have a go and I enjoy playing very much. I think that is the 'right' attitude to have as we can't all be brilliant at playing the guitar can we. Just enjoy it, even if your fingers do get a bit sore!

I sincerely hope you benefit from all the free guitar lessons on this website and continue to practice and get the same enjoyment from the guitar, or whatever instrument you play, that I have over the years. 

Please come back at a later date if there's nothing here for you now. I will continue to add free guitar lessons with videos over time.

Thanks for visiting, keep practicing and good luck!

Remember, if it sounds good, play it!

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Guitar Lessons for Beginners | Guitar Chords for Beginners

Blues Guitar Chords | Guitar Scales Chart | Spanish Guitar Scales

Jazz Guitar Scales | Pentatonic Guitar Scales | Guitar Chords Chart