I feel a sense of responsibility to put together this "Guitar 101" guide, especially considering how oversaturated the internet has become with content.
When I first got into guitar, my main exposure was through YouTube, back in the days when it was more like a treasure trove of genuinely useful material.
You could glance at the view count and know whether a video was worth your time. That platform, at the time, was a haven for discovering incredible music and guitar lessons.
I was fortunate that my timing aligned with the peak of valuable content, but now it feels like we’re seeing an overproduction.
This isn’t an exaggeration—there’s a surge in content creation, driven by algorithms rewarding system (consistency = more views for the creator). One can easily see how this trend could lead to a saturation point where quality takes a hit.
But no matter where the future of the internet or YouTube is headed, this guide is for those passionate about guitar, starting from absolute square one—even if you don’t yet have a guitar!
There's something you could do to self-assess; the idea is really simple: just ask yourself, How much music do you consume?
Well, generally, the answer to that is, "Yes, I do listen to music". But,
How many new songs have you started listening to that, not too long ago, your ears weren’t even accustomed to?
If you're listening to good music, you'll have stuff to try out on guitar.
Conversely, if you do not, well, then, I mean, really, what are you going to play on the guitar? English or math?
This is such a basic idea, but for some reason, it just doesn't come to us all instinctively. When you want to be a guitarist, you're rather asking to be a musician first.
What are the values of being a musician? Time to contemplate.
Music paralysis is a very real phenomenon. As we get older—or even if someone is relatively young but hasn’t been exposed to a variety of music—our taste can quickly become stagnant.
We start limiting ourselves to what we already know and like, and we stop being open to new sounds and styles.
And that's not going to promote your guitar progress at all. So, step zero, go about listening to music, trying out new things. Probably Spotify playlists might be a great idea.
Most of my musician friends and most of my students also use Spotify, and the algorithm as of now, does recommend good stuff.
Now, the best part.
Stage one, to look up and get the guitar (well, I can understand the excitement).
You may be tempted to look into a lot of details like the fretboard wood, sonic colors, etc. But honestly, your ears are not capable of judging anything regarding sound.
All you can judge at this stage, stage one, is the color and the fit of the guitar. That's it.
Probably the third factor is going to be the budget. And when it comes to budget, I'm going to be a little bit location-specific. I'm going to talk about India, and well, usually, the Yamaha F280 and Yamaha F310 are guitar models that are widely used by beginners and are kind of reliable.
I think Yamaha has another one in the same segment. We do not have to be brand-specific but Yamaha has been there for a while. If we're talking about exact numbers and exact prices, I suppose anything above 5k is going to be fine.
Why?
There can be exceptions, but often, the make is compromised (for guitars below 5k INR), which could make it difficult for anyone to get started.
To summarize it all, there are three factors you're going to look into while getting a guitar as an absolute beginner: the budget, the size, and lastly, the color.
Sure, if you want to get that pink guitar, go for it. Go for that pink guitar and get that pink guitar only. You have to feel good about it.
*If you have a guitar already: The setup of a guitar (action, intonation, neck relief) significantly affects playability. A poorly set-up guitar can deter beginners, so it's worth having a professional setup done if the guitar feels difficult to play.
Scene 2, fade in:
The day is bright, you're sitting on the couch, gazing at your beautiful guitar. It is looking back at you. There's a moment between you guys (intense glaring), and the guitar is like, you know, asking to be played, and...
You finally pick it up...
And play the hell out of "Happy Birthday" on one string.
Which won't be such a bad thing. You should absolutely try and play "Happy Birthday" on any one string, any one string sound, any one string music, tune, melody—that's the way to go.
When you've got your instrument initially, that's really what I would like you to experience—to make it sing in the simplest way.
And what is the simplest way? You try something on one string.
Disclaimer: There's something that precedes playing guitar.
Tuning.
So, once you've got the guitar, you'll basically have to do some settings through the knobs on the head of the guitar. Adjust those six knobs and get the the tension on the strings accurate.
Even if you play everything perfectly, if your guitar isn't in tune, it's still going to sound off. Tuning is absolutely essential—it’s non-negotiable. Without it, all your technique and effort won’t matter because the sound won't be right.
It’s the foundation of good playing, so always make sure your guitar is in tune before you start. It’s the simplest way to ensure your music actually sounds the way it’s supposed to.
So, how do you tune your guitar?
It's super simple. You could really use a tuner, or you could use an app. There are plenty of apps out there, and you could easily YouTube this or Google this, and you're going to find out how to really just tune your guitar.
I'm not going to get into that right now.
From there, really just playing that first couple of tunes is what I would recommend, and that's your initial fling with the guitar.
That's where you're really experiencing and connecting to it for the first time.
So, there's nothing wrong with you just playing, let's say, just the signature part of a couple of songs on one string.
You gotta be listening to yourself and let's not move on from that tune till the time you're making it sound like the real thing.
Judge yourself like you would other musicians on stage in a concert.
Now you gotta be, you gotta be that same audience to yourself, and you gotta hold yourself to those same standards.
The only rule in music is that if it sounds good, it is correct. You could also record yourself and just play a couple of tunes on one string.
Live your life; yeah, just perform, go out there, and sell tickets. Okay, maybe no one will buy tickets for your one string tunes.
Stage three, time to get involved with the guitar properly.
Supposedly, a few days have passed and not weeks and months. The guitar is still probably, let's say, sitting out there in the living room and not deep in the closet, assumingly you are, fondling with the strings from time to time.
This is where you're kind of ready for more commitment, and really, the musicianship evolves when you're involved.
The guitar is like that one needy friend who craves attention—it thrives on time and effort. The more you play, the better you get, and the better you sound.
There’s really no shortcut.
You can think of it like going to the gym: whether you see it as a workout or a fitness routine, consistency is key, and there’s no substitute for regular practice.
One of the quirks of playing guitar is that you're either making progress or losing ground—there's no standing still.
It’s a muscle memory-driven skill, and like any physical activity, you’re either moving forward or slipping backward. The guitar becomes more than just an instrument; it’s a lifestyle.
Once you grasp that, you're ready to dive in and "learn properly."
You'll have two ways to go about it: one by doing it on your own, and another by learning it with someone's help.
Regardless of what you choose, your self-practice is going to be a big thing because when it comes to music, when it comes to guitar, there's something about solitude, there's something about patience, something about sitting down with the instrument and digging, that's irreplaceable.
If you look at the history of many great musicians, you'll find that many of them were self-taught. So don’t shy away from learning on your own—it’s absolutely possible.
However, as I mentioned earlier, today's learning landscape is cluttered with content, where some creators are just pumping out videos to keep their channels active. These constraints are real.
If you're planning to use YouTube to learn guitar independently, there are a few important guidelines to follow. The top recommendation: stick to a single source, whether it’s a channel, an instructor, or a curated playlist.
The reason is simple—two different teachers can be absolutely right in their own ways, but their methods or advice may conflict if followed at the same time. Consistency in guidance will help you avoid confusion and keep your progress smooth.
For example, early on in this conversation, I suggested you could really start with one-string melodies or tunes, whereas some other instructors may come in with a different angle and may suggest that you do exercises first.
You see, what's the difference?
I'm trying to retain the interest of the student and trying to elevate that, whereas the other person is upfront, bringing in and highlighting the discipline required to play an instrument, and just not negotiating on that part.
You see both arguments are kind of equally heavy.
Try and stick with one particular source, follow the advice, the whole D-tour that they're going to offer, and that's largely going to be helpful.
You’ll need to develop a kind of "sixth sense" when navigating the internet. While this has nothing directly to do with guitar, it’s crucial for any online learner to know what to trust and where to find reliable resources.
This is more about sharpening your instincts as an internet user.
If you follow the earlier advice and immerse yourself in listening to music, that’s already half the battle. The other 50 percent is dedicating yourself to actually playing and practicing the guitar.
Both are equally important.
When it comes to learning on your own, the most valuable recommendation I can give is to build a strong sense of direction.
The backbone of self-teaching is knowing how to find your way forward. You need that inner drive to seek out the next step, the next challenge, and the next source of inspiration.
That’s the essence of self-learning—having the determination and skill to navigate the path on your own.
So now we are moving on to the learning with someone part.
Well, full disclosure here: I'm an instructor myself, and I think I've seen a couple of things that I can put out there that could be useful.
I get this very common query: are online guitar classes equally effective?
My answer is, well, the ideal situation would be someone living nearby and you could just go to their place and learn one-on-one. They are providing you with individualized care for 20 minutes, let's say, twice a week.
This kind of an arrangement is likely to produce results, it's likely to be beneficial, but the scenario really usually doesn't exist for most of the people.
Factor in traffic, weather and other such issues. Also, for a lot of people, guitar is not the primary thing. Will you be able to be consistent aftert work or school or college?
Guitar lessons one-on-one are more interesting, uh, at least for me as an instructor and, well, also, to be honest, for my students.
For some people, guitar is more of a social activity, where they want to go out and probably meet other music enthusiasts and try things out together; nothing wrong with that, but in that scenario, obviously you have to go out and do group classes in person.
The group classes, obviously is based on the average of the group. Usually, if you're looking to go about pushing boundaries, I don't know if that approach is going to work out the best, that's what I have observed with group classes.
I personally never enjoyed group classes — they just felt really slow to me, whereas, with my students, I have the opportunity to calibrate and push the boundaries together.
Feels like a very win-win situation.
Even if there aren’t any instructors nearby following this specific model, you should still aim for this win-win setup: one-on-one sessions with personal attention.
The session length doesn’t need to be a full hour or even 45 minutes—sometimes even a shorter session can be incredibly effective, as long as it’s focused.
What matters most is that you’re receiving individualized guidance and making the most of the time you have. Instructors can help tailor their feedback to your specific needs, and in turn, you can optimize your practice based on that.
The key is quality over quantity—focused, personal attention combined with dedicated practice is where the real progress happens.
Say Bye!
Anubhav Kulshreshtha
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