I have to admit, I was struggling at first to drill down this guitar learning checklist into the bare essentials. There is a lot to take in when you first pick up the guitar, but it's important not to be overwhelmed, especially at this early stage! Deep breath.
One of the problems beginner guitarists raise with me a lot is not so much learning the individual guitar techniques (as there are plenty of resources out there to help), but rather "what comes first?".
So, assuming you are either an absolute beginner, or you've just jumped over the first few hurdles and wonder where to go next... see below for a useful "checklist".
1. The very basics of guitar
Before anything, you need to know how to hold your guitar properly. You can imagine, if you get this wrong right from the get go, and you continue to play either hunching your back or straining your wrist, you're going to make this whole thing more painful than necessary! Take a look at pictures and videos of professional guitarists - see how they sit and stand when playing, how they position their arm, how they position their hand for fretting chords on the guitar neck.
Another basic that a lot of beginners ignore, is knowing the fretboard, numbering frets and identifying where those dotted inlays are situated, knowing the name of the strings in standard tuning (low to high - E A D G B e), knowing how each string at the 12th fret is an octave of the open (unfretted) string (and therefore fret 24 is an even higher octave). Take time to just sit and examine the fretboard and how it changes the pitch of the strings you play.
2. Basic and "open" chords
Open chords are simply those chords down at the first few frets that sound especially vibrant because they use some open (unfretted) strings.
As you learn more about chords, you'll learn to see them as "shapes" on the fretboard. When you fret an open E major chord, for example, it creates a particular shape. An A major chord creates another shape, so does D major, and the other open chords. There are 5 in total, (C, A, G, E, D - what does that spell?)
When you've learned the 5 major open chords above, learn their minor variants. Minor chords create an entirely different emotion to major chords, yet only one single note is changed to turn a major into a minor!
When playing the chords, does each string/note ring out cleanly? Is there any buzzing noise because of poor fingering? Play each note separately in the chord and try changing between different chords to work on your fretting accuracy and to strengthen those finger muscles (just like you would with any muscles).
3. Strumming technique
Start with simple down strums with the chord you've learned. Count in beats of 4. Once you're confident with your downstroking rhythm, add in upstrokes by using "and" in between the 4 beats - 1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and 1 and 2 and... etc. Start with this on just the one chord, and use a metronome or drum track to help keep your rhythm.
When you become more confident, start changing chords in rhythm. Keep using that metronome and have discipline with your timing! With time, you'll naturally begin to use more complex up and down stroke rhythms and experiment with different timings outside the traditional 4/4 beat.
4. Assess your playing confidence before moving on
Once you can confidently play some simple songs using various chord shapes and strumming patterns, you might naturally feel this urge to break out of the box! This is normal, because now it's time to move out of "beginner" and work towards "intermediate". For example, once you know the 5 key chord shapes, it's time to turn these into barre chords up and down the neck. Once you know how to strum chords, it's time to learn more intricate picking techniques such as flatpicking and crosspicking to create more dynamic phrasing.
It's also time to venture into lead guitar, learning scales and really getting to know the fretboard.
However, don't rush, don't be impatient. Learning guitar properly requires you to set yourself goals and stay focussed on those goals until you are 100% confident with that aspect of playing (so you'd be able to do it in your sleep). Don't jump ahead of yourself, because any bad habits will follow you (I know - I learned the hard way!)
The first 3 steps outlined in this article are the most important first steps to take before you venture outside the box and really allow your unique creativity to shine.
Enjoy it!
Mike Beatham runs a free, easy to follow guitar lessons site with backing tracks and exercises to help you develop your own unique playing style. For clear, concise beginner guitar lessons, visit http://www.audio-guitar-lessons.com/beginner-guitar-lessons.html
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