Grasp the essentials needed to begin playing acoustic or electric guitar. You'll learn an easy approach to get you playing quickly, through a combination of exploring the instrument, performance technique, and basic music theory.
Guitar for Beginners
Guitar for Beginners
This course is part of multiple programs.
Instructor: Thaddeus Hogarth
306,649 already enrolled
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Gain insight into a topic and learn the fundamentals.
4.8
(2,246 reviews)
22 hours to complete
3 weeks at 7 hours a week
Flexible schedule
Learn at your own pace
97%
Most learners liked this course
What you'll learn
Identify string names and numbers and read music notation, tablature, chord block diagrams, and fretboard maps
Practice picking, finger picking, and strumming patterns
Play various chords including major and minor triads, open, barre, and pose chords
Read and play a lead sheet
Skills you'll gain
Details to know
Shareable certificate
Add to your LinkedIn profile
Assessments
26 assignments
Taught in English
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There are 7 modules in this course
Welcome to Guitar for Beginners! Before you begin the course, we will cover all the details about the course and what you'll need to know to get the most out of your Berklee massive online course.
What's included
3 readings1 assignment
In this first lesson, we will take things slow. We will focus on how to choose the right guitar for you and what accessories are essential for any guitar player. We'll also learn the parts of the guitar and get you comfortable with your instrument.
What's included
7 videos4 readings4 assignments1 discussion prompt
In this lesson, you will learn how to tune and you will start playing your instrument from the ground up! Be patient and remember: focus on being accurate and play in consistent time with your metronome. These things are far more important than playing with speed.
What's included
7 videos6 readings4 assignments1 discussion prompt
While you don’t need to be an expert on music theory to play guitar, it is important to know the basic building blocks of music. With this understanding, music will no longer be shrouded in mystery or complexity. This lesson presents fundamental musical ideas in a fun, non-intimidating way.
What's included
4 videos2 readings5 assignments1 discussion prompt
In this lesson, you will dig into scales. Don’t be intimidated. Some of you may have heard of, or practiced, scales. It might have been during piano lessons. Most likely it wasn’t very exciting for you. Hopefully you'll find the approach to scales in lesson 4 much easier and even fun.
What's included
6 videos3 readings4 assignments1 discussion prompt
In this lesson, you will use all of the skills you’ve gained from the previous lessons to build the foundation of harmony. You will play certain scale notes at the same time to create chords. Let's look at why chords sound like they do, how to build them, how to easily play chords in open position, and how to play chords that you can move all around the neck.
What's included
6 videos1 reading4 assignments1 discussion prompt
Now that you have the "science" of the guitar in your fingers, you will learn a couple of songs. You will do this by using melody (from the scales) and harmony (from the chords) we have learned. You will also learn an essential scale for playing melodies and soloing.
What's included
6 videos1 reading4 assignments1 peer review
Instructor
Instructor ratings
4.8 (237 ratings)Offered by
Recommended if you're interested in Music and Art
Berklee
Berklee
California Institute of the Arts
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Learner reviews
4.8
2,246 reviews
- 5 stars
83.67%
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12.57%
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1.87%
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0.80%
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Showing 3 of 2246
MH
5
Reviewed on Apr 4, 2020
This course was a brilliant experience. My special thanks to Thadeus Hoggart for his patient and well organized course. Highly recommended for all those who are planning to start playing the Guitar.
NP
5
Reviewed on Sep 17, 2015
loved it, I took guitar lessons when I was a kid and hated it. this course made it fun! it took the mystery out of it so I can see the big picture and got me playing the guitar
TM
4
Reviewed on Dec 5, 2015
This is a good beginner's course, with clear instructions guiding the student along a progressive path. I'm not convinced that the peer review system is of much use at this level.
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Frequently asked questions
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