The Fundamentals of Acoustic Guitar in 30 Minutes

In this episode I will teach you the basics of Acoustic Guitar in 30 minutes

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[bluesdjben]

I like how Rick is emphasizing how hard these basic fundamental elements of guitar playing are, not to discourage people, but rather to reassure beginners who might be struggling that it's okay for them to struggle on the basics.

[TaSko]

Playing guitar is definitely not for everyone and you have to really want it. It’s much more difficult than I imagined, and playing anything fluently took much longer than I anticipated. I’m glad I didn’t give up though. If you stick with it and just keep learning and playing, you make huge leaps when you least suspect it. It’s immensely satisfying and so worth it.

[michaelhotten]

I'm going on 20 months with guitar. Yes, it's hard. I'm at a point where I want to meet with a teacher so some experienced eyes can check my form. In time, chord changes are still difficult. But Rick's videos are a constant source of inspiration. I often watch one to get me psyched up to practice.

[tylergoodenough]

This very well could be the best beginner guitar lesson I have ever watched. I have literally spent hundreds of hours listening to YouTube guitar lessons for the last three years and man this one is it.

[jamess]

At age 60, had my first lesson last week, glad to see my instructor covering many of these same things Rick. Hopefully this old dog can learn a new trick and can play this darn thing.

[eankan]

The patience to teach something like this and to be this meticulous is a real art. To me you are nothing short of being a truly great teacher. Kudos to you Rick!

[steveinman]

Mission accomplished, Rick. Em, Am, C, D, G, A, E, basic strumming. "Fundamentals in ALMOST 30 minutes" ;-) Well done.
I've been playing since '73, and have taught beginners off/on for years. The only "fundamental" I think you missed was tuning.
Impressed that you started with fingernail length! Definitely sharing this! Cheers from Kokomo, Indiana.

[alexandertoldyanitsyn]

Love the point at 33:20ish about independence, playing bass 16th between hh 8ths, that was one of those first obstacles as a drummer that once overcome, unlocked a whole world. May seem trivial but to a beginner it's huge! Great analogy!

[Jason-mzxw]

Started 4 weeks ago and when he said to make sure your fingers are glued together, I thought, yeah... I do that. Then I sat down to practice and paid attention to it. I'm now laying down chords with all my fingers at once instead of one finger first that I use as a reference to find the other notes. Also able to do it with B7 quickly after struggling with that chord last two days.

Best advice ever!

[Mrthfret]

Great lesson Rick. I'd like to share what happened when my neighbor asked me to teach his 9 year old son to play. First off, I'm not a great player (have terrible arthritis in my thumbs) and certainly not a teacher. But I thought I would try and show him every thing I had learned in my 50 years of playing. During this time, I encouraged his parents to take him to a professional teacher, but, they were happy with me. So, over the next 9 years, twice a week, I showed him everything that had been hard for me to learn. First thing I taught him was the spider drill, walking his 4 fingers through the first four frets, then "stepping" to the next string and gradually working up the neck and back down. Then the major chords. I taught him, bends, hammer-ons, pull-offs, trills, slides, double-stops, slurs, tapping, alternate and speed picking; I showed him the works. I broke out my old college classical books and bought him a Yamaha Classical for Christmas. We learned rest strokes, free strokes, time-signatures, how to read notes, working with a metronome, etc. We studied Classical in the winters and Rock 'n Roll the rest of the time. When he turned 18, he was playing all the greats: Stairway, Sweet Home, Smoke ot W, Get Back, Crossfire, Watchtower, Babe I'm Gonna Leave You; you name it, we played it. Then, he was invited to play in a folk band. I sent him off, knowing he was going to impress with his skills. He came back from the first practice and said, "You didn't teach me to strum!". 🤯... I had assumed, what came simple for me was something he would just know how to do. Now I send him links to your videos. 🙏

[Rohit-ozor]

Rick is definitely an expert but he gets into the shoes of an absolute beginner so effortlessly, it's incredible

[joesanders]

Thank you very much for the lesson. I started playing guitar when I was in the Army. It was on a Gibson B-25 back in 1967. I plinked around on it for about 10 years without really learning anything, so I sold the guitar to my brother and quit. Now I'm 76 years old and trying to learn all over again. My calluses are coming along nicely but not yet fully developed. That being said, I've already bought 3 guitars. The first one was an all mahogany offering from Orangewood. The second was a Fender CD-60. Both those guitars have laminated top wood. I wanted a solid Spruce top, so today I bought a Yamaha FG800, and it sounds a lot better to me than the other two. I really enjoyed your lesson today and hope I can find some more online. I felt a bit inspired by todays lesson, and wanted to take the time to tell you how much I appreciated it. THANK YOU!

[grene]

I've been playing for about 50 years, and I still think this is a great refresher video on the basics. It's always worth reviewing the things you thought you were good at later on in life...

[johnr.lovato]

I have been playing guitar for 61 years. I have also taught guitar to single students, as well as classes of as many as ten students in a neighborhood summer program. My youngest student was a very motivated six year old, and my oldest was my father, who started at the age of 70. I have learned over the years that not every great guitarist can be a great guitar teacher. It is a very different thing to instinctively do something by muscle memory every time you pick up a guitar, than it is to inwardly examine your technique to the point where you actually know why you do this, or that, with your strumming hand, or why you place your fingers where on the strings and fret board on your fingering hand. Not every guitar player is willing, or even capable of self-examination to the point where they can effectively transfer their possibly vast knowledge to a brand new student of the guitar. My first attempts at guitar teaching were prompted by folks being somewhat impressed by my abilities and God-given talent. But unfortunately, I hadn’t taken the time to examine “why I do the things I do” to the point that I could effectively transfer that knowledge to any student. My first few teaching projects were not successful, to say the least. It was not until I began to break down my techniques and moves that I truly began to teach, effectively that is.
Rick, is not only an amazing master on the guitar, but after watching this video, I can attest to the fact that he has down his self- examination homework, and is truly a teacher to learn from. There is an old adage that tells “those that can’t do, teach”. But it it is still more true that “ those that can do, can’t always teach”. Thank you Rick for showing how a real guitar teacher is supposed to do it. Well done !!!

[carlantonson]

So thankful I watched this video! I am starting to learn guitar in my late 50's and needed this encouragement. I love music and creativity and love the guitar. I have always felt it was out of my reach. I appreciate this pep talk!!!

[Grandpa]

I’ve been playing for decades. Everything you say, Rick, is dead on, , , , Beginning players will realize, , once these few methods and skills are mastered, , it may take months, , , the entire world opens up, , , and playing your guitar will be an infectious hobby, , ,

[franciscoresendessilva]

Just 50 seconds into your video, and I felt this energy that we could just sit in a table with friends, drinking a beer and tak about life. There's your like and subscribe my friend; great guy, great energy!

[odonovan]

Love your lighting! It gives a very direct and focused feeling to your lesson

[stephenbarone]

Invaluable lesson, Rick. As a novice player, this is goldmine of information. Bravo!

[leaharrington]

Fascinating. From an ancient black and white "how to play guitar" pamphlet i learned A as middle finger on the fourth string, index finger on the third string, and ring finger on the second string. Like a reverse D. The nice thing is that your index finger never moves from the second string when moving around amongst E, A, and D. I never considered a forward D fingering.