You Can Play Guitar!

“If you put your mind to it, you can accomplish anything.”

Marty Mcfly

My biggest inspiration for picking up a guitar is the scene from the movie Back To The Future where Marty plays the song Johnny B. Goode on a red Gibson ES345 guitar. When I think back, that is my earliest memory of wanting to play, even if, at the time as a 6 year old- doing anything of the sort was a distant fantasy.

I tried many instruments throughout my school years, but none of them compared to the electric guitar. However, I was put off learning guitar time and time again because I thought it was too cool for me, because my fingers hurt, I thought my hands were too small and I couldn’t see how practicing Polly Wally Doodle in school lessons would allow me to reach my goal of playing like Marty. However, with a love for the music itself and support from my family, I kept at it, kept my goals alive- and I’ve now achieved many of them!

From reading your comments and emails, it seems that my videos have acted as inspiration for some people, for they have taught them to play something where other lessons or teachers have failed. Whatever your inspiration is, make it as big and bold in your mind as you can, and simply remind yourself of it as often as possible. It works for me. All the best in your guitar playing journey!

Before you start These first pages include the things I wish someone had told me when I started playing. Just what things are called & how to read chord boxes etc.

If you’re all good with this stuff, feel free to move on to Level 1 where we’ll cover our first guitar chord!

Avoid this common mistake!

Many absolute beginners naturally gravitate to learning lots of chords to begin with. What can happen here is they immediately feel overwhelmed, struggle to remember what they are learning and never build the skills to learn any songs well. Some students had taken lessons with other teachers who were showing them barre chords when frankly they couldn’t demonstrate how to play even 1 song!

My philosophy

Shortly after I started teaching privately, I decided to flip this trend I was seeing. I began by showing the student just 2 or 3 chords to the student & get them to work on just 1 or 2 chord changes for the first few weeks. By doing this, I was able to show the student was able to take on better strumming patterns & learn real songs that I had selected. They became so motivated to drill these basic skills because they could see the results they were getting when they played along to me or the song itself.

I’ve found a lot of success teaching private students this way, and that’s why I’ve made this course for you in the hope that you will progress well with these video & eBook!

All the best with your guitar playing journey!

Beginners Course Contents Level 0

1. Guitar anatomy 2. Guitar Amp quick guide 3. Open string names 4. How to tune your guitar 5. Introduction to the lick 6. How to read TAB & chord boxes

Level 1 1. The E Chord 2. The A Chord 3. Changing between E & A 4. Playing on the beat 5. My fingers hurt! 6. Chord progressions & songs 7. Practice routine for level 1 8. Bonus – The Capo

Level 2 1. The D chord 2. Changing between E, A & D chords 3. 8ths all down strumming 4. Easy power chords and palm muting 5. Easy finger stretching 6. Chord progressions & songs 7. Practice routine for Level 2 8. Bonus - Metronome

Level 3 1. The G chord 2. Level 3 chord changes 3. Down & up strumming 4. The 1 finger E and A chords 5. Easy Blues Riff (for 12 bar blues) 6. Chord progressions & songs 7. Practice Routine for Level 3 8. Bonus – Playing Guitar Stood Up

Level 4 1. The Minor chords & changes 2. Reggae ‘off beat’ strumming 3. Dsus2 & Dsus4 chords 4. Asus2 & A sus4 chords 5. Esus4 chord & Bo Diddley

strumming 6. Chord progressions & songs 7. Practice Routine for Level 4 8. Bonus – Improve by listening

Level 5 1. The C chord 2. The F maj 7 chord 3. 8th all downs with an up! 4. Introduction to keys- Key of C 5. The C major scale 6. Chord progressions & songs 7. Practice Routine 8. Bonus - Playing & singing

Level 6 1. ‘Oasis’ chords (Cadd9, Em7, Dsus4) 2. ‘Slash’ chords 3. Most used strumming pattern ever 4. Introduction to the notes on guitar 5. The G Major Pentatonic Scale 6. Chord progressions & songs 7. Practice Routine 8. Bonus – G major notes to chords

Level 7 1. The B7 chord 2. Blues Shuffle and Swing strumming 3. A7, D7 and E7 4. G7 and C7 5. 12 bar blues in E 6. 12 Bar Blues in E 7. Practice Routine 8. Easy Blues Turnarounds