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9 free guides · Five learning paths · One guitar, endless possibilities

Make practice purposeful

A CLEARER WAY FORWARD.

A lesson sequence

Build on what you already know rather than choosing the next lesson at random.

See the technique

Step-by-step Guitar Tricks videos complement the written guides you can read here.

Your own pace

Return to a difficult chord, revisit a rhythm, and give each idea time to settle.

Beginner

Start with the foundations

Your first 30 days

Intermediate

Expand your vocabulary

Blues, rhythm & theory

Advanced

Refine your practice

An all-levels routine, not an advanced course.

Build your practice routine

Choose your direction

FIND YOUR PATH.

Free, independent guides. A clear place to start and room to keep growing.

Close-up of Eric Johnson's picking and fretting hands on a sunburst Stratocaster

6 available lessons · Beginner

Beginner

Beginner Foundations

Set up, first chords, strumming, riffs and the habits that make practice stick.

Explore Path
  1. 01Start Here: Your First 30 Days on Guitar
  2. 02Your First Guitar Chords: The 8 Open Shapes Every Player Needs
  3. 03Strumming Patterns for Beginners: Rhythm That Feels Right
  4. 04Your First Guitar Riffs: Single-Note Skills That Sound Great
  5. 05Fingerpicking for Beginners: From Simple Patterns to Travis Picking
  6. 06Build a Guitar Practice Routine That Actually Works

Coming soon: Reading guitar tabs · Tuning your guitar · Changing chords smoothly

Close-up of Tim Henson's expressive fretting hand and guitar during a Polyphia performance

0 available lessons · Coming soon

Lead

Lead Guitar

Scales, phrasing and building your first solos.

Explore Path

No published lessons yet. New lessons are coming soon.

Coming soon: Minor pentatonic boxes · Your first guitar solo · Hammer-ons and pull-offs

From the lesson desk

FEATURED LESSONS.

Close-up of Eric Johnson's picking and fretting hands on a sunburst Stratocaster

Beginner · 10 min read

Your First Guitar Chords: The 8 Open Shapes Every Player Needs

Em, Am, C, G, D, E, A and Dm: the eight open chords behind thousands of songs, with diagrams, fingering tips and drills for faster changes.

Read lesson
Sonny Landreth playing slide guitar under warm stage lighting at Ottawa Bluesfest

Blues · 11 min read

Blues Guitar Basics: The 12-Bar, the Shuffle and the Pentatonic Box

The 12-bar form, the shuffle feel, dominant 7th chords and the minor pentatonic box: everything you need to jam your first blues.

Read lesson
Polyphia's electric guitarists performing above a crowd under dramatic stage lights

Rock · 10 min read

Rock Rhythm Guitar: Power Chords, Palm Muting and Tight Downpicking

Movable power chords, palm muting, downpicking and the boogie pattern: the toolkit behind decades of rock rhythm guitar.

Read lesson

One lesson at a time

YOUR FIRST STEPS.

Start here, then work through the beginner foundations in order.

  1. 01

    Start Here: Your First 30 Days on Guitar

    9 min read

  2. 02

    Your First Guitar Chords: The 8 Open Shapes Every Player Needs

    10 min read

  3. 03

    Strumming Patterns for Beginners: Rhythm That Feels Right

    9 min read

  4. 04

    Your First Guitar Riffs: Single-Note Skills That Sound Great

    9 min read

  5. 05

    Fingerpicking for Beginners: From Simple Patterns to Travis Picking

    10 min read

  6. 06

    Build a Guitar Practice Routine That Actually Works

    9 min read

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  • Chords, scales, and techniques
  • Self-paced reading
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Start with the beginner path

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