Lesson 1: Meet Your Guitar
Parts, posture, and your first open-string sounds ·
WHAT YOU'LL LEARN
- I can name the parts of the guitar and sit with it comfortably.
- I can play open strings 6, 5, and 4 with a clean tone.
- I can play 'Open Water' along with the app.
🕸Settle In3 min
- Sit comfortably, guitar resting on your right leg, back relaxed.
- Let your strumming arm hang loose from the shoulder — no gripping.
- Play any open string a few times and just listen to it ring.
✋Parts of the Guitar5 min
- Body, neck, headstock; frets under the strings, tuners at the top.
- Strings are numbered 1 (thinnest) to 6 (thickest) — E A D G B E from the top down.
- An 'open' string is played without touching a fret. Every sound tonight is open strings.
🥁Count It3 min
- Count the rhythm out loud before you play.
- Turn on Counts or the metronome and lock in with it.
- Loop it slowly first; speed comes on its own.
📖Play It7 min
- Read it slowly and cleanly the first time through.
- Drag-select any tricky spot and loop it.
- Use the tempo slider — move up only when it's clean.
🎵Open Water7 min
- Play 'Open Water' — one smooth down-pick per note.
- Listen after each pick: does the string ring clearly?
👂Train Your Ear2 min
- Press play on any line above, look away, and listen once through.
- Hum the first bar back, then find it on the guitar by ear.
✨Make It Yours3 min
- Take one idea from this lesson and bend it — change a rhythm, reorder the chords.
- Play your version twice so it sticks.
MY ENDING (write or describe it):
⭐Practice Tracker
| Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5 |
|---|
| Open Wateronce through, daily | | | | | |
| Name the strings6 to 1, out loud | | | | | |
| Relaxed posturecheck each session | | | | | |
| Clean single notespick slow, listen | | | | | |
★ Check off each day you play — ten focused minutes counts. Consistency beats marathon sessions.
🍎Teacher Guide
PREP
- Meet Your Guitar: Parts, posture, and your first open-string sounds
COMMON MISTAKES & FIXES
- Rushing ahead of the beat. → Fix: Turn the metronome on and drop the tempo until it feels easy.
- Buzzing or muted notes. → Fix: Press just behind the fret with the fingertip, thumb relaxed behind the neck.
IF STRUGGLING
- Drop the tempo well below comfortable and loop one bar.
- Play just the chord changes (or just the rhythm) before combining.
IF ADVANCED
- Bring it to full tempo with the metronome.
- Add your own variation — a different rhythm, an extra chord.
EXTENSIONS
- Apply tonight's skill to a song you already love.
TALKING POINTS
- Every guitarist you've ever heard started exactly here — open strings and a steady beat.
✅Assessment
Tap one level per skill — saved on this device.
AccuracyPlays the right notes and chords.
TimingKeeps a steady beat.
ToneNotes and strums ring clean and clear.