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Learn guitar 1/5: Holding, tuning and your first three chords (Em, Am, D)
First of a five-lesson beginner series: how to hold the guitar, tune it, read finger numbers and play the first three open chords. Ends with songs that use them.
This series is for absolute beginners. Five lessons, each about a week of work: holding the guitar and the first chords, four-chord songs, strumming, chord changes and the capo, your first barre chord. Every lesson ends with real songs from the catalogue that use exactly those chords; on the song page the chords move with the recording, and Lyric mode lets you practise with the original song.
Holding the guitar
- Sit down; the body rests on your right leg, the neck points slightly up. If the neck drops, the left wrist bends and chords buzz.
- Left thumb behind the neck, opposite the middle finger. Don't grip the neck with the palm: the fingers flatten and mute the lower strings.
- Right hand: pick between thumb and index, 3–4 mm showing. No pick? Strum down with the thumb.
Tuning: E A D G B E
Six strings, thick to thin: E A D G B E (6th string is the thick E nearest you; 1st string the thin E). Tune before every practice — a phone app is enough. On an out-of-tune guitar a correctly fretted chord sounds wrong and you can't tell what you're doing.
Finger numbers
In chord boxes the numbers are fingers: 1 index, 2 middle, 3 ring, 4 pinky. × means don't play that string, ○ means it rings open. Press close to the fret wire, not on top of it; little force, clean tone.
The first three chords
- Em — fingers 2 and 3 on strings 5 and 4, fret 2. All six strings. The easiest chord there is.
- Am — the Em shape slides one string down, finger 1 lands on string 2, fret 1. Skip string 6.
- D — a triangle: string 3 fret 2 (1), string 1 fret 2 (2), string 2 fret 3 (3). Only the top four strings.
After fretting each chord, pick the strings one by one. If a string is dead, find which finger touches it and stand that finger up. Fingertips hurt the first days; that's normal, calluses form within a week.
This week's drill
Ten minutes a day: strum each chord four times, then move to the next. Order: Em → Am → Em → D. Let the right hand wait while the left settles, then strum. Speed doesn't matter; clean does.
Songs you can play with these chords
All of these use only Em, Am, D and their close relatives. Click a chord on the page to see the shape.
- Dolly Parton — The Bargain Store Am – D · 96 BPM
- Olivia Rodrigo — Enough For You Em – G – C · 118 BPM — G and C — a preview of lesson 2
- Taylor Swift — Eldest Daughter Am – C – G · 154 BPM — C = Am with finger 3 up one string
- Drake — Massive Em – C – E · 83 BPM — E = Em plus one finger on string 3, fret 1
Next lesson: 2/5 — Hundreds of songs with four chords (G, C, D, Em).