You should also become familiar with the notes of each string and then learn no fewer than three major chords (such as D, C, and G) and at least a few minor chords (such as Am, Bm and Em) and then throw into the mix a single scale such as the chromatic scale. This is a nice and simple way to start your easy guitar lessons.
Two other basic techniques that will kick you off in the right direction and get you playing songs: how to shift from one chord to another and how to strum. That's it; with these basics you will be able to play a number of easy acoustic guitar songs which include such greats as Blowin in the Wind, Wild Thing, Bad Moon Rising and Brown eyed Girl.
Chords
Good chord structure is the foundation for all good acoustic guitar players. One of the hardest chord shapes to master as a beginner is the barre chord. It requires a great deal of strength in the hands and fingers to master; and to develop the kind of strength required will take time, patience and a lot of practice. But don't be deterred, they can be mastered and will give you options in your choice of chords that are limited only by your imagination. For example, the barre chord shape is easy to move up and down the fretboard thus giving you a huge amount of flexibility in your choice of chords to use. Despite this, barre chords are difficult to master for the beginner requiring determined practice and dedication.
Barre chords are chords that require a single finger to fret several strings at once; that finger is usually the forefinger. A beginner will experience a certain amount of discomfit as they struggle to come to grips with the mechanics of the barre chord. This is because you will be using and developing muscles in your hands and fingers that have never been used before.
Barre Chords
As with learning anything new, the mastery of the barre chord will require practice and patience; and you will sound awful when you start. The key is to not to concern yourself with what you sound like but rather focus on mastering the chord shape; practice, practice, practice - it will eventually come to you.
One of the best ways to learn is to frame the barre chord shape in one of two ways: first by applying the barre, with your finger, followed by framing the chord; or by first framing the chord then applying the barre. Practice both these methods consistently and often and soon you will be able to frame and apply the barre at the same time. Both these beginner methods are consciously applied until such time as the fingers develop chord-memory and forming chords becomes natural without consciously thinking about it.
The best way to learn new chord shapes is to practice the forming the barre chords without a guitar. For this I use my right arm as the guitar fretboard and frame the chords with my left hand on my right arm. That's right, I place my left hand on top of my right arm. This is a good way of revising your chord shapes without a guitar and can be done anywhere. Once you have the form down, practice on the guitar without strumming. When you have the chord shapes down, then you can apply strumming.
In a previous article I wrote about a process I use for learning chords which requires the framing and releasing of chords for several repetitions. For example if we were learning the B minor barre chord we would frame the B minor barre chord, hold it for the count of two pressing as hard as possible, and then release the chord shape; apply the chord, then release. Do this without strumming. If you were to do this several times the fingers will become stronger over time.
To extend this further it is a good idea to look at a simple three chord progression that you can practice using the E minor, the A minor and the B minor in this order; and then in the reverse order. First we frame the E minor chord and do four repetitions of framing and releasing the chord without strumming. Then we shift to the A minor and do four repetitions, then on to the B minor with four repetitions and back to the E minor for four repetitions; This is done without strumming. Then practice the chord progression backwards from E minor, to B minor to A minor. Always press hard when framing each chord to strengthen the muscles in your hands. Add strumming once you have mastered each chord structure comfortably.
Barre chords are not easy but are worth the hours of practice required to master them. This may well be the hardest easy guitar lesson but you will soon reap the benefits of consistent and dedicated practice.
If you are just beginning to learn how to play the acoustic guitar the key is to find a series of easy guitar lessons that you can manage by yourself first, without any cost before you jump into paying for lessons to extend your skill level and accelerate your learning. Once you get some playing time under your belt you may want to consider learning how to Play Acoustic Blues Guitar or extending your Acoustic Guitar Skills. Whatever you do, do it well and you will reap the rewards.
