Whether you’re picking up a guitar for the first time or revisiting a teenage hobby, these links provide free resources for teaching yourself how to play the guitar, as well as improving your technique and learning to read music.
Basic Guitar Lessons
Start with the basics by picking up these guitar tabs that will help you hone your skills.
1. Basic Scales Getting comfortable with basic scales will allow a beginner guitar player to understand what they’re doing when they tackle difficult tabs.
2. Babysteps – The Beginners Guide to Guitar – Part 1 From posture to strumming, this is the perfect starting point for beginners.
3. Babysteps – The Beginners Guide to Guitar – Part 2 The second part of this beginner lesson goes into rhythm and single and multiple chords.
4. Tuning Your Guitar If you aren’t tuned, you may as well put the guitar down. Learn the art of tuning here.
5. Harmonizing Melodies Learn how to harmonize for a sweet sound.
6. Scales, Keys and Progressions Learn the fundamentals of making a song sound like a song.
7. Guide to Tab Notation Get a simple lesson in how to read tablature.
8. Bass Tab Template Create your own bass tabs using this template.
9. Guitar Tab Template When the time comes for you to write your own music, just this tab template for easy reading.
10. Musical Intervals Use this lesson to teach you how to recognize intervals.
11. Major vs. Minor Get the skinny on major and minor chords.
12. Speed Kills Like this lesson explains, we all want to play fast, but we have to walk before we can run.
13. Exercises for Beginners Smart guitar exercises you can practice to improve your skills.
14. Guitar Crash Course An overview of guitar playing for beginners.
15. Basic Scales A good guitar player needs to know basic scales for practicing and warming up.
16. Improve Your Stretching Stretching can be difficult in the beginning, so practice these techniques to improve your guitar game.
17. Bass Exercises for Beginners If the bass is your weapon of choice, these exercises will help you turn into Flea.
18. Tabs: Terms and Techniques Learn the definitions you’ll need to keep you in tune with reading tabs.
19. Time Signatures If you want to read and play music, it’s probably a good idea if you know the time signature of a song.
20. Intro to Reading and Playing Sheet Learn how to read sheet music, which will come in handy when creating your own work.
21. Finger-Picking and Arpeggios Without these skills your guitar playing is doomed. Learn how to pick like a pro!
22. Vibrato Techniques for Beginners For rock lovers, mastering vibrato techniques are a must.
23. Playing by Ear: Tips & Tricks Learn how to master the art of playing by ear.
24. Parts of an Electric Guitar For those that go electric, learn the components of your guitar.
25. Tuning Your Guitar by Ear Get a lesson on how to make your guitar sound its best, only using your ears.
26. A Short Beginners Guide to GuitarA quick lesson in what you need to know before touching your guitar.
Further Reading: Free Midi Files – The Ultimate List
Lessons for Intermediate and Advanced Guitar Players
If you know the basics and are looking to improve, check out these links for free tips and practice exercises.
27. Advanced Jazz Guitar Chords If jazz music is your love, take your playing to the next level with these chords.
28. Warm Up Game Guitar players of all levels need a proper warm up exercise.
29. How to Program the Subconscious Mind for Effortless Guitar Playing Get comfortable with guitar playing so you look effortless when you’re on stage (or, you know, in your basement).
30. Finger Picking Practice Finger picking lessons for those who play acoustic guitar.
31. Wide Fingering Playing chords that are close together can be easy, but here’s how to master those that are further apart with ease.
32. Tips for Playing Your Own Solos As your playing progresses, you may want to write your own solos. Here’s how to make them work.
33. Learning to Sweep What it is and how to practice.
34. Guitar Power Chords Learn how to rock out with power chords at this site.
35. All You Need to Know About Harmonics From the simple to the difficult, this lesson explains the different types of harmonics so anyone can learn.
36. Harmonix: Theory and Practice This is a quick lesson in music theory, leading to harmonics.
37. Writing Tips III A writing lesson that covers licks and solos, incorporating vibrato and slides.
38. Writing Tips II This writing lesson focuses on coming up with your own riffs.
39. Finger Nubbing Check out this lesson on how to improve your finger nubbing technique.
40. Hendrix Rhythym Spice A look at the unique way Jimmy Hendrix played.
41. 10 Guitar Speed Puzzles Practice makes perfect and these speed puzzles will improve your guitar playing.
42. Metal Techniques Rock out while playing metal the right way with the help of these techniques.
43. Keeping Rhythm During Your Solos If you’re in a band (or want to be), here’s a lesson on how to keep rhythm during solos.
44. Getting Those Barre Chords Down Barre chords can help improve your sound, making it sound rich and together.
45. Improving Your Fretting Hand Get your fretting hand going with this innovative technique.
46. Simple Box Patterns These box pattern exercises will help you increase speed.
47. Left Hand Techniques Whether you’re a lefty or just want to play with both hands, this lesson will help you tremendously.
48. Tremolo Picking You definitely need to be an advanced guitar player to pick up the tremolo technique, which is done in unusually fast time signatures.
49. Ayushyeda – About Vodka This online magazine has an extensive section on vodka, explaining the distilling process and different types of popular vodka fusions.
50. Finger-Style Workout For those who play with their fingers, learn a few exercises here.
51. Two-Handed Tapping Learn this technique to improve your rhythm and speed when playing guitar.
52. Writing Lyrics You’re bound to want to crank out a song or two of your own. Learn how to come up with lyrics that work for you.
Videos on How to Play Guitar
Need to see it to believe it? Check out these videos to get a feel for techniques that will make you a better guitar player.
53.How to Play Guitar for Beginners: Playing Exercise
You’ll get a simple how-to with visuals on how to get started playing guitar.
54. How to Play Guitar for Beginners: Major Scales Described as the backbone to guitar playing, here you’ll learn major scales.
55. Beginner Blues For those who want to play the blues, check out this easy-to-follow video.
56. Tuning Your Guitar by Ear Here’s a video version of tuning your guitar just by listening.
57. Alternate Picking for Beginners Watch this informative video for a new picking pattern that will increase your speed.
58. Guitar Tablature for Beginners Learn how to study and understand guitar tablature with this video.
59. How to Play Acoustic Guitar – Basic Finger Picking Finger picking is sometimes easier learned with a visual aid like this video.
60. Guitar Chords – The Essential Secrets Get a lesson on guitar chords and progression here.
61. Easy Guitar Songs – Heart of Gold Learn this Neil Young hit, which is a perfect song for beginners.
62. How to Play Guitar – The Easy Way Check out this simple video for a few pointers for beginners.
63. How to Play Christmas Songs Learn a few holiday tunes on your guitar to get everyone into the spirit of the season.
64. How to Play You’re Beautiful Woo her with this romantic pop song.
65. How to Play House of the Rising Sun Even young guitar players will feel the soul in this amazing song once they’ve mastered it.
66. How to Play Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door Learn how to play this favorite with this video.
67. How to Play Bad Moon Rising You’ll feel like an old rock star jamming this classic tune.
68. How to Play Sweet Home Alabama Get the party started with this crowd favorite.
69. How to Play Let It Be Every guitar player loves The Beatles. Learn this classic song by watching this instructional video.
70. How to Play Stand By Me This is a great beginner song for those looking for simple songs to conquer.
71. How to Play Hey There Delilah Check out this tutorial on how to play the popular pop song.
73. How to Play Wonderwall Make the girls swoon with this British hit.
74. Barre Chords Barre chords are an essential for guitar players. Learn how to master them with this instructional video.
75. Acoustic Guitar Lessons Hone your acoustic skills with this easy-to-follow video.
76. Spanish Flamenco Guitar Learn a classic flamenco from this video.
77. Spanish Guitar Lessons If you want to get down by playing Spanish guitar, this video will show you how.
Blogs, Websites and Forums on How to Play Guitar
Mix and mingle with fellow guitar players by visiting these blogs and forums.
78. Share My Guitar Billed as a social networking site for guitarists, this site is packed with helpful tips to improve your sound and care for your guitar.
79. Guitarz Learn about various electric guitars and equipment at this blog.
80. Chord Find This interactive site allows you to find a chord, easily!
81. Guitar Noise Get quick lessons and tips from this guitar website.
82. Guitar Player World Get free lessons for metal, blues, jazz and more.
83. Modern Guitars Read interviews with legendary guitarists and pick up tips on how to improve your playing.
84. eHow– Electric Guitar Wiring Learn how to troubleshoot your electric guitar with the various articles at eHow.
85. Chord House Chords for beginners and advanced guitar players.
86. Guitar Lifestyle From guitar factory videos to guitar playing tips from the pros, this blog has it all.
87. Guitar Praise Get chords for progressive Christian music.
88. A Guitar Teacher’s Lesson Notebook You’ll flip for this informative blog with an extensive chord chart for learning nearly every song you could want to learn as a guitar player.
89. Heartwood Guitar Instruction Free chords, sheet music and tabs can be found at this helpful site.
90. Electric Guitar Reviews If you’re in the market for an electric guitar, let this site guide you to the right choice.
91. Guitar Flame Get tabs and suggestions for videos to check out to improve your craft at this site.
92. Classical Guitar Lessons This cooking blog takes you for a journey at this Long Island vodka distillery.
93. Rock Guitar Life For those who play in bands, this blog will be a godsend with tips on how to quickly set up and tear down.
94. I Heart Guitar Blog Lessons, gear reviews and more can be found at this informative blog.
95. Fret Base Get tablature and read reviews on guitars at this site.
96. Graham Choo This a Christian music blog, but everyone can benefit from the thorough lessons.
97. Guitar Tab Universe Get loads of tablature for everything from Tom Petty to Kanye West.
98. Strat Collector Learn everything you need to know about your Strat, and also peruse the for sale section for deals.
99. Premiere Guitar This online magazine offers guitar and equipment reviews and videos to see what suits your needs.
100. Harmony Central Get info on new guitars and guitar-related items as they’re released.
Thanks to the Internet, there are loads of free resources that will make you pick up your guitar and play.
