Basic skills and techniques, in a roughly progressive order:

Copyright 2005 Nick Antonaccio, Guitar !org

"e#t $and: playing individual notes, then 2 si%ultaneous notes, then & and ' note chords! (ight $and: playing individual notes, si%ultaneous note groups )dou*le stops, intervals, and *asic chords+, stru%%ing #ull chords ,ith rhyth%ic patterns, per#or%ing alternate picking, cross string picking, #ingerpicking, and hy*rid picking! -eveloping ./#inger/per/#ret stretches and #inger independence in the le#t hand! 0er#or%ing si%ple slides, *ends, ha%%er/ons and pull/o##s, har%onics, and %uting techniques! 1e%ori ing the #ret nu%*ers and notes on the strings! (ecogni ing and *eing a*le to play the %ost co%%on chord and interval shapes )the diagra%s *elo,+ (ecogni ing and *eing a*le to play *asic song #or%s ).2 *ar *lues e2a%ples and 3, 4,C, B, 5 charts+ 6sing alternate tunings )especially dropped - and slack tuning+ "earning to use electric guitar, a%p, distortion, and e##ects to create co%%on sounds! 6sing Capos and 5lides (ecogni ing and *eing a*le to read all the a*ove in ta*lature and diagra% notation!

7pen 0o,er Chord 5hapes ). #inger chords+:

1ova*le 0o,er Chord 5hapes )2 #inger chords+:

Basic 7pen Chords )1a8or, 1inor, and 9th , 2, &, and' #inger chords+:

&rds, :ths and .0th -ou*le 5tops:

3n the *eginning, %ost students are surprised at ho, di##icult it is to produce even the si%plest sounds on the instru%ent! 3t hurts to press do,n on strings ,ith the le#t hand #ingers! ;he strings are close together and hard to ai% #or ,ith the right hand! Both hands need to *e synchroni ed to sound even a single note clearly ,ithout *u es or da%pened notes! ;he learning curve is long / adults typically take &/: %onths, and children take :/.2 %onths to *e a*le to do everything a*ove ,ith decent tone and so%e rhyth%ic #luency! <ven then, %ost students still #ind the%selves regularly %issing strings, deadening notes, etc!

3nter%ediate 5kills and ;echniques:

Copyright 2005 Nick Antonaccio, Guitar !org

0laying *ar chords and %ova*le shapes and understanding ho, they=re la*eled! "ead techniques > %ore co%ple2 *ends, slides, vi*rato, right hand tapping, har%onics, legatos, and %uting techniques / especially as they appear in co%%on licks #ro% the pentatonic?*lues scales! 0laying larger co%plete song #or%s and longer pieces! (eading standard %usic notation! Basic %usic theory: understanding ,hich chords go together, and ho, pentatonic scales #it over the%!

Basic Bar Chords:

0entatonic?Blues 5cale @ingerings:

7ther 1ore Advanced, But 5till Co%%on Chord 5hapes:

3# the #irst phases o# learning are a*out si%ply getting good clear sounds #ro% single notes and si%ple chords, the #ocus #or inter%ediate guitarists turns to,ard developing sta%ina and using ne, %ova*le patterns to play longer e2a%ples, co%plete song #or%s and e2tended solo pieces! ;he *ar and *end techniques are the %ain physical skills to conquer, and movable shapes #or% the %a8ority o# %aterials to learn! 0laying in rhyth% and #itting guitar parts together ,ith other instru%ents and voice *eco%es a pri%ary goal during this stage! 0er#or%ing?recording helps i%%easura*ly to ingrain skills at this level!

A*out "earning Beginner/3nter%ediate 1aterials A 5kills:

Copyright 2005 Nick Antonaccio, Guitar !org

1ore than B0C o# all guitar playing, and virtually .00C o# %ainstrea% popular guitar %usic consists e2clusively o# the a*ove %aterials, techniques, and skills! 3# you can recogni e and per#or% all the %aterials?techniques on these pages, you can play virtually everything #ound in the %ainstrea% popular guitar repertoire! ;o play any kind o# %usic, regardless o# style, you need to *e a*le to play the %aterials on these pages! 5o, ,hatever approach you take to studying guitar )reading %usic, ta*, sel#/study, school classes, lessons, etc!+, these things need to *e learned > they should *e the #ocus o# your study! 3t typically takes *et,een : %onths and . year to *e introduced to all these %aterials, and ./2 years to *eco%e #luent! It takes time, and the only ,ay to %ake the learning curve %ove %ore quickly is to practice %oreD No %atter ,hat your innate a*ility, you=ll need to practice at least a #e, ti%es each ,eek to continue developing ha*its, *uilding %uscles, i%proving coordination, and increasing de2terity! ;he %ost i%portant part o# the learning process is the develop%ent o# habits, and that only happens ,ith repetition > lots of repetition! ;he learning process doesn=t need to *e di##icult or rigorous > in #act that ,ill discourage %ost casual students! Eust *e consistent! <2pect to take the #irst #e, %onths learning short licks, %elodies, chord shapes and parts o# #a%iliar songs to introduce and isolate each o# the *asic techniques! Get the instru%ent to produce clear sounds, and learn the *asic #ingerings! 6nderstand that %ost %usic ,ill not sound #luid during those stages > the learning curve is steep, *ut it can *e %asked *y playing doa*le short e2a%ples that are possible to %aster! @orcing single techniques to *eco%e per#ect *e#ore %oving on is virtually i%possi*le in the *eginning, and taking that approach only leads to *oredo% and #rustration > learn to live ,ith Fclose enoughG ,hile getting #a%iliar ,ith the *asics! ;he easiest, %ost en8oya*le, and %ost e##ective ,ay to learn guitar is to learn %usic that includes the #unda%entals! ;o %ake the learning process si%ple, start ,ith pieces that isolate individual techniques and easy shapes! Hork gradually through %ore advanced %usic that co%*ines increasingly di##icult patterns and skills! 3ngrain the a*ove %aterials along the ,ay / 8ust *y continuing to learn ne, e2a%ples! Iou=ll eventually *eco%e inti%ately #a%iliar ,ith all o# the%, and every *it o# %usic you see ,ill %ake sense, contain %aterials you kno,, and ,ill *eco%e easy to play > that=s the goalD Along the ,ay, use the 3nternet to #ind ta*lature, play ,ith other %usicians, record, and per#or% > all are use#ul and satis#ying skills to *e acquired and activities to *e en8oyed!

Advanced 5kills and Areas o# 5tudy )each o# these areas can take %onths/years to learn ,ell+:

Music Theory > learning to play every conceiva*le chord *y interval construction, learning %aterials needed to i%provise, co%pose, play *y ear, arrange, and to understand %usic co%pletely! 6nderstanding ho, Notes, 3ntervals, Chords, 5cales, Chord 0rogressions )(o%an Nu%erals+ and Chord/5cale relationships are laid out on the guitar to Fvisuali eG sounds on the instru%ent! @or %ost advancing guitarists, learning Fho, %usic ,orksG *eco%es a central area o# study! Chord/Melody arrange%ent and contrapuntal playing )playing 2 or %ore parts at the sa%e ti%e+! Building a repertoire o# solo classical guitar pieces, and 8a ?ne, age arrange%ents o# standards are t,o areas o# study ,hich so%e players spend an entire li#e developing! 3n -epth Stylistic Studies > "earning the characteristic intricacies o# each style o# %usic, and o# individual players is another area to ,hich so%e players devote a li#eti%e! Speed/Flash Techniques / s,eep picking, co%ple2 tapping patterns and techniques, cross string arpeggios, e2tre%e stretches, etc!, advanced har%onics )tapped and contrapuntal+, live tunings, and other guitaristic e##ects?gi%%icks are areas o# learning at ,hich so%e guitarists speciali e!