What You'll Learn
Ever wanted to pick up the guitar but didn’t want to spend a lot of time and money on private lessons? Check out Mahalo’s Beginner Guitar Course! In this free online course, you’ll be able to make your way from simply owning your guitar to being able to play classic songs around a campfire with your friends. With the help of these video lessons, you’ll learn the fundamentals of playing beginner guitar.
Our expert host, Thomas, will be showing you the correct way to hold your guitar, pick a string, and work on exercises that will build your dexterity and muscle memory. You will also be learning your first chords and playing your first songs so that you can show your friends how much you’ve learned in such a short time! Need a bigger challenge? Try the Intermediate Guitar Course.
Total Course Video Time (See individual video times below) - 1:43:01 (Plus a 5-10 min. quiz)
Estimated Course Completion Time - 3:00:00 (Including video lessons/accumulative practice time)
Practice - At least a total of 20 minutes a day focusing on each lesson you've completed
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Course Introduction 9:04
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Welcome! 1:34
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Meet Your Host 7:30
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Part 1: Knowing Your Guitar 44:46
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Lesson 1: Parts of an Acoustic Guitar 3:08
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Lesson 2: Parts of an Electric Guitar 5:07
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Lesson 3: Holding the Guitar 0:00
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Lesson 4: Holding a Pick 4:20
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Lesson 5: Picking a String 2:47
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Practice: Picking a String 4:57
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Lesson 6: Names of the Strings 1:57
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Lesson 7: Frets 101 9:44
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Lesson 8: Playing the Frets 2:18
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Practice: Playing the Frets 5:11
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Lesson 9: Tuning 101 5:17
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Part 2: Starting to Play 37:53
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Lesson 10: The Chromatic Scale 4:47
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Practice: The Chromatic Scale 3:04
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Lesson 11: Whole Steps/Half Steps 2:24
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Lesson 12: Chord Charts 3:07
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Lesson 13: Strumming 101 7:03
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Practice: Strumming 101 2:51
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Lesson 14: The G Chord 0:00
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Lesson 15: The C Chord 3:09
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Lesson 16: The D Chord 2:33
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Lesson 17: Chord Tips 3:00
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Practice: Chords 2:49
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Lesson 18: Guitar Tabs 3:06
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Part 3: Your First Songs 11:32
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Course Conclusion 2:16
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Beginner Guitar Course Quiz 0:44
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Congratulations! 1:32
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References
Meet Our Expert
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Thomas Gilbert
Meet Thomas, one of Mahalo's guitar experts. Thomas is an alumnus of both USC and Cal State Northridge, majoring in music education and music composition. Thomas has collaborated with composers Hans Zimmer and Mateo Messina, and worked on such film scores as "The Dark Knight," "Gladiator" and "Juno." He taught an online advanced blues guitar course for over two years with a huge online response and is a member of rock band Radius.
