Starting Off Right

Before a single chord, get three things right: how you hold the guitar and pick, what the strings are called, and how to get in tune. Everything later builds on these, and bad habits here are the hardest to undo.

What you will learn

The parts of the guitar and the three main types (steel-string acoustic, nylon-string classical, electric)
Picking-hand and fretting-hand position
The names and numbers of the six strings
Three ways to tune

Holding the pick

Pinch the pick between the pad of your thumb and the side of your index finger so only a few millimetres of the tip shows. Your thumb and the pick should make roughly a right angle. Rest the heel of your hand lightly near the bridge for stability — a light anchor, not a clamp.

The fretting hand

Your thumb sits on the back of the neck, roughly behind your middle finger — not hooked over the top. Keep the wrist low and relaxed with a little air between your palm and the neck. Press with the fingertips, just behind the fret wire, and curve the fingers so they don’t brush neighbouring strings.

String names

Strings are numbered from the thinnest (1st) to the thickest (6th). Their names, thick to thin, are E A D G B E. A mnemonic that sticks: Eddie Ate Dynamite, Good Bye Eddie.

Tuning

With a tuner (clip-on, pedal, or a phone app): play one string at a time and turn its tuning key until the display centres on the string’s name. This is the fastest, most accurate way and what you should use daily.

By ear, from the guitar itself: the 5th fret of a string sounds the same note as the next-thinner open string — except the 3rd string, where you use the 4th fret. So: 6th string 5th fret = open 5th; 5th/5 = open 4th; 4th/5 = open 3rd; 3rd/4 = open 2nd; 2nd/5 = open 1st. Always adjust the open string you’re comparing, never the fretted one.

To a keyboard: the open strings, thick to thin, are the E below middle C’s octave, then A, D, G, B, and the E above middle C.

Practice plan

5 min — hold the guitar, check thumb and wrist, pick each open string cleanly with down-strokes
5 min — say each string name as you pick it, thick to thin and back
5 min — tune with a tuner, then check by ear using the 5th-fret method

Do this every day this week. Fingertip soreness is normal and fades within a couple of weeks.

Handout

Pick: thumb + index, tip barely showing, ~90°
Fretting hand: thumb behind the neck, low relaxed wrist, fingertips just behind the fret
Strings 6→1: E A D G B E (“Eddie Ate Dynamite, Good Bye Eddie”)
Tune by ear: 5th fret = next open string, except 3rd string uses 4th fret