Where to Begin?

A frequent question from beginning guitar students is “where do I start?” There’s so much to learn on the guitar that it can be hard to know what to learn when. Should you start by learning to read music? Or by studying theory? Or by learning scales? Or by learning basic guitar chords?

The real answer is “it depends”. It depends on things like your musical goals, prior musical knowledge, your interests, and so on. But for the average beginner who wants to be a well-rounded player, a really good way to start is to focus on learning a handful of basic guitar chords.

A good thing about jumping right into chords is that, with a little practice, most people can get from zero guitar playing ability to playing some of their favorite songs fairly quickly. And that’s really motivating for most players in the early stages.

So here are the basic guitar chords and a rough guide to the order in which you should learn them. Obviously, everyone is different and what is simple for one person might be tough for someone else, so this isn’t going to be the perfect list for everyone. But the basic order should be pretty accurate overall.