The Road to learning Guitar

For beginner

By Micky Manrique
Dedication
those who are about to embark on a musical journey,
This booklet was shaped with my passion and love for
teaching music. This booklet will uplift desire to be a
competent guitarist.

To My lovely wife, April, and my two children, Mike and

Alexis, you are a true inspiration to me.

To my mentor and advisor, Den Den,

Thank you for all the wisdom you imparted

I was once lost, but I am found

Preface
Playing the guitar has always been my passion. I was able to
do various performances while on board cruise ships. I
wanted to share this craft to others. So, I started teaching to
young children. Some of the frequently asked questions are:
“Can I still learn regardless of my age?”
“My fingers are a bit short; will I be able to grasp the
guitar?”
“I am left-handed will it work for me?”
“How many months/years will it take for me to be good at
it?”
Do not doubt your capacity. If you are determined to learn,
this course will be able to help you. If you follow the
methods correctly, accompanied by patience and
perseverance, you can develop a strong foundation in
playing guitar.
Table of Contents
Title page
Copyright
Dedication
Preface
Chapter 1 “The Guitar”
Lesson 1: Parts of the Guitar
Lesson 2: Holding the Guitar
Lesson 3: Tuning the Guitar

Chapter 2 “Finger exercises and Drills”

Lesson 1: Stretching
Lesson 2: how to read guitar tabs
Lesson 4: Finger exercises

Chapter 4 “Chords Introduction”

Lesson 1: Reading Chords
Lesson 2: Strumming Pattern
Lesson 3: Bar Chords
Lesson 4: learning sets of family chords
Lesson5: Arts of learning

Resources:
 Chapter 1: “The Guitar”
Lesson 1: Parts Of The Guitar
The headstock - is shaped and properly align the six-tuning machine
Tuning Peg - It control and maintain the tension of the string, This is
where you tune your guitar with your hands

Head stock
Tuning peg

Head stock
Tuning peg

Neck - This where your fretboard and frets are located, Fretboard is
composed of two woods, glued together.

Frets - are the special metal wire, As we move closer to the body the
pitch of the guitar become higher

Strings – are Flexible material that vibrate to produce sound

Frets
Guitar body – enables you to hold the guitar, Guitar body shape
varies according to brands. For acoustic guitar, this is where the sound
hole is located

Sound hole
body

Bridge – Made to keep the strings elevated above the body and neck
to freely ring out the strings

bridge
 lesson 2 “Holding The Guitar”
Casual method is the most common method of holding a guitar, so
this is a good place to start. For this method, simply place the body of your
guitar on your right leg. Make sure to pull the body of the guitar close to
your stomach. This will help support the weight of the guitar and keep the
position steady.

Lesson 3 “Tuning your Guitar”

Every string has its own pitch assignment, therefore it's important to tune
your guitar before you start playing. Tuning the guitar was made easy
because of tuner applications, which can be installed to smart phone.
Tune the tuning peg with your finger until the indicator will go the center

D G
A B
Low E High E

You can also tune your guitar by attaching:

chromatic tuner clip on tuner

 Chapter 2
“Finger Exercises And Drills”
Lesson 1: “Stretching”
Stretching is one of the most important warm-ups you can perform before
starting to practice playing guitar since it increases blood flow to your
muscles, increases range of motion, and provides you more mobility.
Perform the exercise below. Hold for 15 seconds per exercise
Ex.1 Shoulder stretching exercise

Ex.2 Arm between shoulder exercise

Ex.3 Wrist stretching

 Ex.4 Finger stretching

Lesson 2 “How To Read Guitar Tabs”

Guitar tabs is a form of musical notation represented by numbers, It shows
the frets and what string to hit in order to make that note to sound
Left hand Finger assignment to identify what finger to be used

Index Finger – 1 3 2 1
Middle Finger -2 4
Ring Finger – 3
Little Finger - 4
It is highly recommended to use a Guitar pick

Proper way of holding a Guitar pick on your right hand

 Downstroke Upstroke pick

The High E” is the thinnest string and the Low E” is the thickest string
Finger exercise should be done daily for beginners. our finger
coordination and improve speed at playing guitar. Do these exercises
during morning and evening, for 5 minutes each time, Make sure to
alternate the picking(hitting a note using a pick) for each note, it should be
down up down up, Don't strum all the strings down. strike the strings in
the appropriate order. one by one. This exercise is effective if done for 5
minutes. Twice a day
 “3 notes per string 1-2-4 exercise”

1 2 4 1 2 4 1 2 4 1 2 4 1 2 4 1 2 4

4 2 1 4 2 1 4 2 1 4 2 1 4 2 1 4 2 1

“3 notes per string 1-3-4 exercise

1 3 4 1 3 4 1 3 4 1 3 4 1 3 4 1 3 4

4 3 1 4 3 1 4 3 1 4 3 1 4 3 1 4 3 1
 “2 notes per string 1- 2 exercise”

1 2 1 2 1 2 1 2 1 2 1 2

2 1 2 1 2 1 2 1 2 1 2 1

“2 notes per strings 3 –4 exercise”

3 4 3 4 3 4 3 4 3 4 3 4

4 3 4 3 4 3 4 3 4 3 4 3
 “Chapter 4”
“Chords Introduction”
Before moving to this chapter, make sure you have performed all of the
finger exercise in chapter 3 since it is vital to have your fingers warmed up
for easier coordination of your finger. Finger assignment familiarization is
the key of chord playing. Make chording easier and prevent injury by
allowing you to position your fingers properly and a natural way.
strum the chords with a down stroke once, Make sure that all of the notes
of the chords sound well. Don't rush learning the chords; take your time.
Index Finger – 1 E – 6th string B – 2nd string
Middle Finger -2 A – 5th string E - 1st string
Ring Finger – 3 D – 4th string
Little Finger – 4 G – 3rd string

Chords - are the primary building element of all compositions, chords are
2 or more notes play together
Open string G major chord
Frets
Frets

Assign Finger

String
E A D G B E
Dead string/don’t hit
D major chord

E minor chords

C major chords
 “Strumming”
If you've learned the four chords, you can move on to the next step.
(G, D, Em, C) are the most common chords used in songs. Don't try to
memorize all of the chords at once. This course is created for easy
comprehension and learning.
Strumming is the act of playing many notes with a single smooth hand
motion in a time signature.

Time Signature - a musical notation indicating the number of beats to

a measure and kind of note that takes a beat
We can start learning strumming in Common time or 4/4(four
beats per bar and quarter note take 1 beat)
Try to strum every chord (G, D, Em, C) in common time, 4 counts on every
chord only down stroke. Make these exercises for 10mins without
stopping.

Now try this strumming for 15 mins every chords

(G, D , Em, C)
Ex 1 Strum: Down Up Up Down, Up Up down
Ex 2 Strum: Down Down Up Up Up Down Up Down
 “Learning a song”
This is a 4/4 strum. You can use down up up down, up up down
4 counts every chord
“Crazy For you by Madonna”
[INTRO] (2x): G-D-Em-C

[Verse]
G D Em C
Swaying room as the music starts strangers making the most of the dark
G D Em C
Two by two their bodies become one
G D Em C
I see you through the smokey air can’t you feel the weight of my stare
G D Em C
You're so close but still a world away, what I'm dying to say is that

[Chorus]
G D Em
I'm crazy for you, touch me once and you'll know it's true
C G
I never wanted anyone like this
D Em
It's all brand new, you feel it in my kiss
C G D Em C
I'm crazy for you, crazy for you

[Verse]
G D Em C
Trying hard to control my heart I walk over to where you are
G D Em C
Two by two we need no words at all
G D Em C
Slowly now as we begin to move with every breath I'm deeper into you
G D Em C
Soon we two are standing still in time but if you read my mind, you'll see
(Repeat chorus two times)

[CODA] (2x)
G D Em
It's all brand new, I'm crazy for you
C
And you know it's true, I'm crazy for you
 “Demons by Imagine Dragons”
This is a 4/4 strum. You can use down down down down
G D
When the days are cold, And the cards all fold
Em C
And the saints we see, Are all made of gold
G D
When your dreams all fail, Are all made of gold
Em C
Are the worst of all, And the blood's run stale
G D Em
I want to hide the truth, I want to shelter you
C G
But with the beast inside, There's nowhere we can hide
D Em
No matter what we breed, We still are made of greed
C G
This is my kingdom come, This is my kingdom come
[Chorus]
D Em
When you feel my heat, Look into my eyes
C G
It's where my demons hide, It's where my demons hide
D Em
Don't get too close, It's dark inside
C
It's where my demons hide,

.
 “Bar Chords”
Is a type of chords on a guitar by using one or two fingers a crossed a single
fret of the fingerboard.

Bar chords are perceived as challenge for beginners. Some lose their
courage to pursue learning due to this difficulty. I understand how difficult
it is to learn for the first time on the bar chords, doing bar chords can be
unpleasant to your fingers and could be quite frustrating when you cannot
produce a clear sound. It is recommended to have your guitar set up on
low action for easy fretting still. The key is patience and constant practice

“Bar Chord Exercise”

Perform the chords on a four-beat basis, strum down stroke for four
times.
B minor and F# minor chords repeat for 5 minutes

E A D G B E
Assign Finger frets
 “Learning Sets Of Family Chords”
Chord families are a collection of chords that are built on harmony's main
chords. Some are more attractive to our hearing and will surely sound
better than others, despite the fact that every chord can be followed by
another chord. Because they all belong to the same scale, each of them
will sound fine if we follow the family of chords.
Play this each 1 set of Chords every day for 15mins with a strum
(Down Down Up Up Up Down Up down)
“C major chords family”
“C major”

“G major”

“Am minor”

“F major”
 “D Major Chords Family”
“D major”

“A major”

“B minor”

“G major”

Strum pattern (down down up up up down up down)

 “E Major Chord Family”
“E major”

“B major”

“C# minor”

“A major”

Strum pattern (down down up up up down up down)

 “F Major Family Chord”
“F major”

“C major”

“D minor”

“Bb major”

Strum pattern (down down up up up down up down)

 “B Major Family Chord”
“B major”

“F# major”

“G# minor”

“E major”

Strum pattern (down down up up up down up down)

 “A major family chords”
“A major”

“E major”

“F# minor”

“D major”

Strum pattern (down down up up up down up down)

 “Art Of Learning”
Learning should not be forced or rushed. Learn one step at a time, be
patient and set your goals. You can properly play the guitar in a month if
you practice the methods inside this booklet. There’s no other way in
learning other than consistent practice and determination. Learning how
to play an instrument should not be a pressure or cause stress and
frustrations. Take a break if you must. Love, enjoy and express yourself
with the gift of music. Good luck on your journey to the road of learning
guitar
 References
Guitar Songs Software by Suslov Alexander
Ultimate Guitar Chords & Tabs (Ultimate guitar USA)
Guitar pro 7 (Arobas music)
Search engine Bing
Guitarcommand.com
Wikipedia