So you decided to pick up an electric guitar and begin your musical voyage? Welcome to Rock 101, your first beginner lesson for electric guitar.
As an aspiring guitarist, now you’re asking yourself all of the familiar questions. Here’s the top 5 off the top of my head:
- Am I capable of learning to play electric guitar on my own?
- What if I don’t have enough talent?
- Should I start with an acoustic or electric guitar?
- How often do I need to practice?
- Do I need to learn music theory and become a music professor?
All fair questions in my opinion.
Do yourself a FAVOR and stand in front of a mirror. Grab a guitar, tennis racket, or a broomstick. How does it feel? Do you look cool? Wait….slide those sunglasses on your face. Ahhh that’s better.
Now do a windmill strum like Pete Townshend from the Who! ⬇️
FUN and EXCITED are what you ought to be feeling when first starting out, like opening presents on your birthday!
The sheer excitement of what’s to come is such a wild giddy feeling. In much the same way, having the desire to learn the guitar should share the same sentiments.
*FIRST, take a more detailed look at my Beginner Guitar Checklist to make sure you have all of the basics to get started.
Here’s a quick summary:
- Guitar
- Amplifier
- Tuner
- Picks
- Strap
- Strings
- Metronome
- Posture & technique
- Guitar case
- Notebook/app
The Essentials
Get to know the strings and notes: low to high- E A D G B E
The roadmap to the fretboard is paved in the key of C. The C scale has no sharps or flats. The notes are C-D-E-F-G-A-B-C.
This is the way I’ve been able to remember where the notes are located all over the fretboard. Learn where these notes are and you’ll never get lost.
Tune your guitar each time before playing. This way it will train your ears to recognize the proper notes. Use a clip-on tuner, an app, or a tuning pedal.
Make sure you place your fingers in-between the frets and not ON them, as this will cause a nasty buzzing sound.
Learn some basic strumming patterns. Start with a downstroke followed by an upstroke using a guitar pick or just your fingers.
You can use a technique called “raking.” This is when you downstroke a chord very slowly hitting each string separately. Also, a very common pattern to use is— Down…down-up…Up-down-up. ⬇️⬇️⬆️ , ⬆️⬇️⬆️ [:La…la la….la la la:]
How to Learn Electric Guitar by Yourself?
Honestly, there’s a never-ending stream of guitar instruction on YouTube these days. Nowadays, you can find just about anything you’re looking for.
Also, there’s still books, remember those? lol With all of the abundance of info out there, you can get overwhelmed very quickly, so do a little at a time.
My advice on learning by yourself would be to get a hold of some simple techniques, then turn off the video or blog, and practice practice practice.
Like everything, you can watch the videos, read guitar blogs and books, and even get advice from your guitar buddy in the neighborhood .
But in the end, you still need to DO THE WORK!
Overcoming Challenges
Learning anything new has its challenges. As an entry-level guitarist, you will face sore fingers, difficulty with chord changes, and the feeling of slow progress.
FEAR NOT GUITAR WARRIOR! For the love of music will guide you through any obstacles you may encounter.
Will you have sore fingers and embedded string lines in your finger tips? Absolutely. Will it feel like an eternity switching from one chord to the next? Absolutely. Will you think you’re just not getting anywhere with your progress? Again…absolutely.
Over time, your calluses will toughen, there will only be milliseconds between chord changes, and looking back from when you started, you’ll see just how far you have progressed.
Taking one step at time, concentrating on the task at hand, and being careful not to stare into the abyss of the future, will eventually carry you to your destiny.
The way to overcome these challenges is to play a little bit each day. These are how habits are created, and before you know it, it’ll be like brushing your teeth and getting dressed.
Talent vs Being Scrappy
A quote I read many years ago goes “Talent is overrated, the need to survive is much more prevalent.” —unknown author(I forgot)
What does this mean? Natural talent is beneficial, no doubt, but being scrappy and injecting 110% effort into your veins will help take you further than you EVER thought possible.
So, don’t let anyone tell you that learning to play is beholden to a rare few natural-born talented people. The only thing I had starting out was my true love for music.
Acoustic vs Electric
I tell the story of starting on an acoustic in the article What is the Best Guitar for Beginners Electric? It was a good experience with my fingers getting a workout because of how high the strings were from the fretboard.
If it were my choice, I would’ve started on an electric guitar right away. Either one you choose is fine. You can learn the basics on whichever one you choose and it’ll be fine.
But man! When you plug that electric guitar into the amp and crank up the distortion, that will skyrocket your playing up into the ROCKASPERE! 🚀
Practice Routine
How often you practice is up to you. Give a little, get a little. Give a lot, get a lot.
Whatever time you can devote to your craft will be the right amount for you. Don’t sweat it!
HOWEVER, your finger tips will need to build up calluses to make the playing smoother and less painful. Also, the more you play the more your muscle memory will kick in and make playing effortlessly fun.
Warm up with finger exercises at the guitar gym (no membership fees…EVER!)
Start off with small practice sessions like 15-30 minutes then push to 30-60 minutes when you’re ready. Don’t forget to ENJOY the journey.
Music Theory
Well, you don’t have to get a degree in music to learn rock guitar! Just listen to Jimi Hendrix.
That being said, I believe knowledge is power. IMO, you should make an attempt to learn scales, build chords and learn standard chord progressions. Get to know basic musical terminology and note values.
Understanding intervals, going beyond scales and learning modes will broaden your musical landscape.
Your ears are the most important tool you have when it comes to playing rock music. But, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with digging in and being a well-rounded player.
Scales – Major/minor
1 = whole tone 1/2 = semi-tone
Major Intervals: 1-1-1/2-1-1-1-1/2
minor Intervals: 1-1/2-1-1-1/2-1-1
*Underline = Root note
| Major | Minor |
|---|---|
| C: C D E F G A B C | C: C D Eb F G Ab Bb C |
| G: G A B C D E F# G | G: G A Bb C D Eb F G |
| D: D E F# G A B C# D | D: D E F G A Bb C D |
| A: A B C# D E F# G# A | A: A B C D E F G A |
| E: E F# G# A B C# D# E | E: E F# G A B C D E |
| B: B C# D# E F# G# A# B | B: B C# D E F# G A B |
| F: F G A Bb C D E F | F: F G Ab Bb C Db Eb F |
Ex. C Major Scale
Ex. C Minor Scale
The 5 Basic Chords
E Major
A Major
G Major
D Major
C Major
Lesson Conclusion
I hope this beginner lesson helped you understand the essential knowledge to get started. I have so much more to share with you but let’s fully digest this lesson first.
Check out Rock Guitar Lessons For Beginners: Rock 201 and Classic Rock Albums Every Guitar Fan Should Listen To for more inspiration.
If you have any questions or you just want to chat, please leave a comment, subscribe, or send an email at steve@stringshock.com. Thanks for reading. 😎
➡️More articles to read: Finding Your Musical Identity Through Diverse Influences and How to Develop Your Unique Sound & Stand Out as a Guitarist