In music class, we have been tasked to learn to play either the recorder, ukulele or guitar. Luckily, I have a guitar that has been sitting in the corner collecting dust, just waiting for someone to pick it up! I am thankful that music class has given me the opportunity to do something that I have always wanted to do.
Where to begin?
I had no idea where to start, so I began with something familiar. YouTube has countless videos for learning guitar and I happened across one channel – Andy Guitar – that really resonated with me. I began his 10 day guitar for beginners videos. Below is day 1:
Andy is a great teacher, and I have gone through 5 of his videos, taking extra days to practice his teachings, before going to the next video. So far I have learned:
String Names (from thickest (top) to thinnest (bottom) strings)
- E (6)
- A (5)
- D (4)
- G (3)
- B (2)
- e (1)
Strings are referred to by either their letter or number, depending on the person. A good way to remember the letter names is through this jingle: Every Adult Dog Growls Barks eats.
E Major, A Major, D Major, G Major and E Minor Chords
E major: 
“File:E major chord for guitar (open).svg” by Ashaio is marked with CC0 1.0
A major: 
“File:A major chord for guitar (open).svg” by Ashaio is marked with CC0 1.0
D major: 
“File:D major chord for guitar (open).svg” by Ashaio is marked with CC0 1.0
G major: 
“File:G major chord for guitar (open).svg” by Ashaio is marked with CC0 1.0
E minor: 
“File:E minor chord for guitar (open).svg” by Ashaio is marked with CC0 1.0
A Riff (a repeated melody throughout a song that makes up the base of a song)
“Born in the USA”
This was a good riff to begin with for me, as I only had to focus on playing one string at a time. It challenged me to move from string to string quickly and smoothly.
Final Thoughts
Although my fingers are sore (OW!), I am happy with how I am progressing and think that I am on track to meet my goals for the midterm. I am learning the song “Three Little Birds” by Bob Marley and the riff from “Wild Thing”