From your first chord to your first song.
Bite-size guides written by four guitar mentors, each with a personality, plus games and quizzes that make it stick. No boring walls of text. Just you, a guitar, and a crew that refuses to let you quit.
Read the guide
Every guide reads like a comic strip: two minutes, zero textbook.
Beat the mini-game
Most guides end with a quick challenge. Beat it and chase all three stars.
Grab your guitar & jam
Take what stuck straight to the strings and make some noise.
Fresh off the press
The newest guides in the library, still warm. Start reading right here.
How to Finish the Songs You Start
Starting and finishing are different skills. Starting runs on inspiration. Finishing runs on decisions, and the stall comes exactly where the exciting part runs out and a decision is due…
Keep readingWhat's the Difference Between G and G7?
G major is three notes: G, B, and D, stable and settled. [G7](chord:G7) is the same three plus one guest: an F. G sounds finished, content to sit there all day. G7 sounds restless…
Keep readingBrowse by topic
There's no right place to start. Jump into any of our 75 free guides.
DAY ONE
Start Here
Hold it, tune it, and make your first real sound without hurting yourself.
10 guides
SHAPES & SWITCHES
First Chords
The handful of chords behind a thousand songs — and how to switch between them.
11 guides
THE GROOVE
Master Rhythm
Strumming, counting, and the metronome. Timing is the thing nobody can fake.
7 guides
THE DAILY 15
Practice Smart
Routines, habits, and how to actually get better instead of just playing.
7 guides
HANDS & TRICKS
Build Technique
Picking, hammer-ons, bends, vibrato — the moves that turn notes into playing.
11 guides
THE MAP
Understand Music
Scales, keys, and progressions — the map under the songs, minus the homework.
7 guides
MAKE YOUR OWN
Write & Record
Songwriting, playing for people, and recording your first songs at home.
9 guides
KEEP IT ALIVE
Gear & Care
Strings, picks, and keeping your guitar happy so it stays easy to play.
6 guides
THE HONEST FAQ
Real Talk
The questions every beginner secretly Googles at midnight. Answered straight.
7 guides
More every month
We add two new guides a month. Bookmark this page so you don't miss the next one.
Start with these
A fresh mix across topics every day, each one a full guide you can read right now.
How to Hold a Guitar Pick
The standard grip in one minute, plus why your pick keeps slipping and the light-grip fix. Squeezing harder is the one move that makes it worse.
The First 4 Guitar Chords Every Beginner Should Learn
The very first chords you should learn as a new guitarist: Em, G, C, and D. Learning these open chord shapes first will help you establish a strong foundation for your guitar journey.
How to Use a Metronome
Incorporating a metronome into your practice routine is one of the best ways to develop solid timing on the guitar.
A 10-Minute Beginner Practice Routine
Ten focused minutes of guitar a day is enough, and this is the shape: short warm-up, one job, end on a song. What to do when you sit down, minus the guilt.
Alternate Picking Explained
Down-up picking harvests the return trip: half the motion, twice the notes. When to start, whether all-downstrokes is fine, and the fix for a snagging pick.
What Is a Guitar Scale?
A scale is a small team of notes that belong together, and songs draw from it. What scales are for, why one is enough to start, and how to make it musical.
Meet the crew
Four teachers, four personalities: a punk, a songwriter, a cosmic weirdo, and a smooth operator. Each one explains things their own way, so something's bound to click. It's the beginner guitar reference we wish we'd had — the kind you'd actually want to share.