The early days of playing guitar can be difficult and frustrating, but thanks to a series of programs and lessons from Fret Zealot, learning the basics of guitar is now much easier. For the content offered, Fret Zealot is one of the best platforms available for learning guitar with a powerful add-on.
Interactive virtual music courses offer easy-to-follow step-by-step guides for beginning guitarists to learn the basics of guitar playing, delivered in short, easy-to-digest lessons and courses that cover everything a beginner guitarist needs to know, including how to play real songs.
But Fret Zealot isn't just for beginners. Once you've mastered the basics, nearly half of the 100+ courses and 3,500 lessons focus on different skill levels, including scales, music theory, and more. Learn your favorite songs note for note or dive deep into the styles of your favorite guitarists with a variety of lesson plans with a Fret Zealot subscription. The platform includes additional colored LED lights built into the fingerboard to show where your fingers are going, so even a complete beginner can start learning right away.
Read on to learn 10 fundamentals every beginner guitarist can learn from Fret Zealot, and check out our online courses for more. Try the 30 Day Starter Challenge to get everything you need in 30 days with one lesson a day!
1. How to hold the guitar
As simple as it sounds, learning to hold the instrument properly is an important step in learning to play the guitar.
2. How to choose
Learning how to hold the pick correctly is also very important for the beginning guitarist, and it helps the beginning player develop good habits early on, making it easier to learn along the way.
3. How to tune a guitar
Without a doubt, learning to tune the guitar is one of the most important lessons a developing player can learn. It doesn't matter how well you play if you're not in tune!
4. Chord forms
Learning basic open chord shapes is the fastest way to start playing real songs. With Fret Zealot, you can learn to play a wide range of popular songs using very simple, easy-to-learn chord shapes. And later, you'll learn to move these shapes up and down your neck, which opens up a whole new world of musical possibilities.
5. Time
Timing is another very important aspect of learning to play the guitar, and it's one that many beginner players tend to overlook. Fret Zealot's beginner courses not only teach you the basics of timing, but they also show you how to practice along with a drum machine, which is essential to learning how to keep consistent time while playing a song.
6. Streaming patterns
Learning different tunes is one way to discover new musical styles in your playing. Fret Zealot courses teach you how to take everything you've learned with your left hand on the neck and combine it with your right hand, which controls how you stress different beats. Every musical style has its own strumming patterns, so learning the basics of strumming can really open up new possibilities for a beginner guitarist.
7. Notes on the neck of the guitar
Chords are the building blocks of songs, but most people who try to learn guitar are interested in playing solos. Fret Zealot's optional LED lighting system makes learning the notes on the guitar neck easier than ever. Music has 12 notes that are simply repeated over and over in different octaves and in different combinations. Learn the notes on the neck, and you can learn to play any song you want!
8. Reading guitar tablature
You don't need to learn to read music to learn guitar. Many guitarists, even some advanced players, instead rely on tablature, a form of musical shorthand that captures the music as it appears on the guitar's fingerboard. Learning to read guitar tabs allows a beginner player to learn songs note for note without listening by ear… and Fret Zealot offers a free library of over 85,000 song tabs!
9. The minor pentatonic scale
Almost every beginning guitarist who takes up the instrument learns the minor pentatonic scale before moving on to other forms of soloing. The 5th note scale is essentially a shortened form of the minor scale with some notes removed, and it is the basic building block of most basic and advanced licks, from rock and blues. Learning the minor pentatonic scale opens up the fingerboard and a world of musical options. An optional Fret Zealot LED system can instantly display any scale at any key.
10. Finger exercises
After a beginner guitarist learns chord shapes, neck notes, and basic scales, it's important to practice a variety of finger exercises. These are designed to keep your fingers moving properly and improve dexterity, speed and accuracy. Fret Zealot offers finger exercises as part of what it calls "Guitar Gym," and the lessons help you get your playing in shape.
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