Guitar for Beginners is a holistic invitation to the instrument—a hands-on approach that explores the “how” and the “why” of guitar playing. Together, we’ll establish foundational techniques for healthy, relaxed playing, note recognition on the fretboard, chord-playing with common shapes and strumming patterns, and melodic improvisation with versatile scale fingering. Through our practice songs, you’ll learn basic concepts in music theory that will help you learn songs and play by ear. We’ll cover the basics of reading chord charts, tab, and standard notation. With this course, you’re invited to begin your guitar adventure, developing your musicality and guitar technique at a comfortable pace.
Each lesson presents materials in musicianship, technique, tone, reading, and repertoire. At times, these categories are combined to introduce concepts, exercises, and examples. In guitar playing, these five categories of materials work together in a strong foundation, informing one another as you grow in depth and creativity on the instrument.
By the end of the course, you will be able to:
- Locate and name the notes on the fretboard
- Explain the basics of music theory
- Read chord charts, tab, and standard notation
- Play power chords and common open chords
- Play strumming patterns common in a variety of guitar music
- Play the instrument with comfortable posture and basic techniques, including fretting hand position and shifting, and alternate picking and strumming with the picking hand
- Learn songs independently from recordings or sheet music
- Improvise with a common fingering pattern of the pentatonic scale
- Create recordings of popular guitar songs
Syllabus
Lesson 1: Basics and Bass Lines
- Technique and Tone: Posture and Position
- Musicianship: Notes on String 6
- Musicianship: Notes on String 5
- Reading and Repertoire: Chart Reading with Bass Lines
- Your Week 1 Practice Routine
- Assignment 1: Bass Line on Guitar
Lesson 2: Power Chords
- Musicianship: Power Chords with Root on String 6
- Musicianship: Power Chords with Roots on String 5
- Technique and Tone: Strumming with Power Chords
- Reading and Repertoire: Chart Playing with Power Chords and Strumming Patterns
- Your Week 2 Practice Routine
- Assignment 2: Rhythm Guitar Parts, Bass Line, and a Power Chord
Lesson 3: Pentatonic Scale: Pattern 1
- Reading and Technique: Learning Pentatonic Scale Pattern 1
- Musicianship: Positioning the Pentatonic Pattern 1 for Major and Minor Pentatonic
- Technique and Tone: Soloing Strategy 1 - “The One, Two, and Three-Note Solo”
- Musicianship: Notes on Strings 4 and 3
- Your Week 3 Practice Routine
- Assignment 3: Two-Layered Parts
Lesson 4: Improvising with the Pentatonic Scale
- Technique and Tone: Soloing Strategy 2 - “Call-and-Response” Phrasing
- Technique and Tone: Soloing Strategy 3 - Four Phrases
- Technique and Tone: Soloing Strategy 4 - Combining Phrasing Approaches
- Musicianship: Notes on Strings 2 and 1
- Your Week 4 Practice Routine
- Assignment 4: Soloing Strategies
Lesson 5: Pentatonic Scale Theory and Basic Ear Training
- Musicianship: Major Scale Theory
- Musicianship and Technique: Major Pentatonic Theory and Practice
- Musicianship and Technique: Minor Pentatonic Theory and Practice
- Composition and Repertoire: Writing Melodies with Pentatonic Theory
- Your Week 5 Practice Routine
- Assignment 5: Major Pentatonic, Written and Original Melody, and Power Chords
Lesson 6: Midterm Review
- Musicianship and Tone: Review – Warm-ups and Note Location
- Musicianship and Technique: Rhythm Guitar Review – Bass Lines and Power Chords
- Musicianship and Technique: Pentatonic Scale Review
- Musicianship and Technique: Applied Theory Review – Major Scale and Major and Minor Pentatonic
- Reading and Repertoire: Pulling Things Together – Chart Reading
- Assignment 6: Midterm Assessment
Lesson 7: Common Open Chords
- Musicianship: Three Common Open Chords (Group 1)
- Musicianship: Four More Common Open Chords (Group 2)
- Musicianship: Three More Common Open Chords (Group 3)
- Reading and Repertoire: Chart Playing with Open Chords: C, F, Am, G
- Reading and Repertoire: Chart Playing with Open Chords: G, D, Am, C, Em
- Reading and Repertoire: Chart Playing with Open Chords: E, A, B7, D, G, A
- Your Week 7 Practice Routine
- Assignment 7: Strumming Open Chords
Lesson 8: Strumming Patterns with Open Chords
- Musicianship and Technique: Split Strum and R&B Strum
- Musicianship and Technique: Folk Strum
- Musicianship and Technique: Strumming “in 3”
- Reading and Repertoire: Strumming Charts with Split Strum and R&B Strum
- Reading and Repertoire: Strumming Charts with Folk Strum
- Reading and Repertoire: Strumming Charts “in 3”
- Your Week 8 Practice Routine
- Assignment 8: Strumming Accompaniment with Melody
Lesson 9: Chord and Key Theory: How to Learn the Chords of a Song by Ear
- Musicianship: Basic Key Theory: Building Chords, “What is a Key?”
- Musicianship and Repertoire: Chord Theory: Determining the Key of a Song
- Musicianship and Repertoire (Topic 2): Common Chord Progressions
- Composition and Repertoire: Songwriting with Applied Theory
- Your Week 9 Practice Routine
- Hearing and Playing Chord Progressions Using Open Chords
Lesson 10: Notation Reading Basics
- Musicianship: Review - Notes on the Fretboard
- Musicianship and Reading: Basic Standard Notation - Notes on the Staff
- Musicianship and Reading: Reading Notes in First Position
- Reading and Repertoire: Reading Melodies in the First Position - Noteheads and Basic Rhythms
- Your Week 10 Practice Routine
- Assignment 10: Reading
Lesson 11: TAB Reading Basics
- Musicianship and Reading: Tab Reading
- Musicianship and Reading: Tab and Standard Notation
- Reading and Repertoire: Chart Reading with Tab and Standard Notation
- Your Week 11 Practice Routine
- Assignment 11: Tab
Lesson 12: Final Review
- Musicianship and Technique: Open Chord and Strumming Review
- Musicianship and Theory: Chord and Key Theory Review
- Reading and Repertoire: Reading Review
- Materials in Practice: Create Your Practice Routine
- Materials in Practice: Chart Reading and Composing
- Assignment 12: Culminating Experience
Requirements
Prerequisites and Course-Specific Requirements
Prerequisite Courses, Knowledge, and/or Skills
Students should:
- Possess basic DAW recording and editing abilities.
- Have a guitar to play, and consult with a music store or repair shop to ensure the instrument is in good working condition.
Recording
- Students are required to record video while performing with a backing track for their assignments. Options for recording video include:
- Smartphone
- Digital camera
- Webcam (using either video recording software, or the video recording tool that is built into the learning environment)
Software
- Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) or multi-track audio editor/recorder. Free options, such as GarageBand (Mac), Cakewalk by BandLab (PC), or Audacity, are acceptable.
Instrument
- Electric or acoustic guitar
- Guitar pick
- Guitar tuner (software/app acceptable)
Hardware
- Students are required to capture their instrumental performance, as well as monitor audio output. Options include:
- Input (one required):
- Instrument connected directly to audio interface (recommended electric option; alternatively, the microphone options below can be used with amplified instruments)
- XLR microphone and audio interface (recommended acoustic option)
- USB microphone
- Built-in computer/mobile device microphone
- Output (one required):
- Headphones (recommended option; required if multitracking and/or input monitoring a microphone)
- Studio monitors and audio interface
- Built-in or external speakers
- Input (one required):
- Note: Depending on your setup, you may also need XLR/instrument cables and a microphone stand.
Other
- Metronome (hardware or software/app)
Student Deals
After enrolling, be sure to check out our Student Deals page for various offers on software, hardware, and more. Please contact support@online.berklee.edu with any questions.
General Course Requirements
Below are the minimum requirements to access the course environment and participate in Live Classes. Please make sure to also check the Prerequisites and Course-Specific Requirements section above, and ensure your computer meets or exceeds the minimum system requirements for all software needed for your course.
Mac Users
PC Users
All Users
- Latest version of Google Chrome
- Zoom meeting software
- Webcam
- Speakers or headphones
- External or internal microphone
- Broadband Internet connection
Instructors
Author & Instructor
Kim Perlak is the chair of the Guitar Department at Berklee College of Music, where she received the 2016 Berklee Chair Recording Grant. At Berklee, her artistic work to bridge styles includes collaborations with faculty composers, and in duo playing with master improviser and slide guitarist David Tronzo. Kim’s curriculum development for the department produced the book Classical Technique for the Modern Guitarist, which was published by Berklee Press/Hal Leonard in 2016.
Kim holds degrees from the University of Texas at Austin (DMA ’08), Yale University School of Music (MM ’01), and Stetson University (BM ’98), and a certificate of completion from the Harvard University Management Development Program (2013).
Kim’s versatile and inclusive approach to guitar embraces new composition, education, and public service. Her recording for solo guitar, Common Ground, features the new compositions of five American composers. Her work combining performance, American music history, and outreach has been funded through grants from the Center for African American Southern Music and Yale Alumni Ventures. Kim’s collaborative guitar work with American veterans in the concert project “Ben & I Play for Peace” was honored by the PBS program From the Top as part of their Arts Leadership series, and was recognized by the US House of Representatives. Her playing has been praised by the Austin-American Statesman as, “thoughtful, enchanting, vivid.”
Kim plays guitars by Thomas Humphrey and Kirk Sand and endorses D’Addario Strings. She currently serves on the board of the Boston Classical Guitar Society. Read Less
What's Next?
When taken for credit, Guitar for Beginners can be applied towards the completion of these related programs:
Related Certificate Programs
Questions?
Contact our Academic Advisors by phone at 1-866-BERKLEE (U.S.), 1-617-747-2146 (INT'L), or by email at advisors@online.berklee.edu.
