Free guides written by our team to help you play better: reading chord sheets, your first chords, strumming, tuning, capo, transposing and more.
How to Read a Chord Sheet – Learn how chord sheets work: where to change chords, what section names mean, and how to read symbols like Am7, D/F# and Cmaj7.
The 8 Essential Guitar Chords for Beginners – The eight open chords every beginner should learn first – C, G, D, A, E, Am, Em and Dm – with finger positions and a practice plan.
How to Tune a Guitar (Standard Tuning) – Step-by-step guide to tuning a guitar to standard tuning E A D G B E with an online tuner or by ear, plus tips to keep it in tune.
How to Use a Capo (With Capo Chart) – What a capo does, how to put it on correctly, and a capo chart showing what key each chord shape becomes on every fret.
How to Transpose Chords to Any Key – Learn to transpose a song to a different key by hand using the chromatic scale, and how to pick the best key for your voice.
How to Practise Guitar With a Metronome – Why a metronome makes you a better player, which tempo to start with, and five metronome exercises for chord changes and strumming.