Before the shapes

Setup

Parts of the guitar, how to sit, how to tune, pick vs nails. Get this quiet so the rest of the site can be loud.

Parts that matter

• Headstock & tuners — six gears. Toward you usually raises pitch on a standard 3+3 or 6-in-line head.
• Nut — the slot comb at the end of the fretboard. Open-string length starts here.
• Frets — metal wires. The note lives just behind the wire, not on it.
• Soundhole or pickups — acoustic vs electric. Same language either way.
• Bridge / saddles — other end of the vibrating string. Action (string height) lives here.

Posture

Sit so the waist of the guitar rests on the right thigh (right-handed). Neck angles slightly up. Spine tall, shoulders down. Classical footstool is optional; slouching is not a technique.

Left thumb sits on the back of the neck, roughly opposite the second finger — not hooked over the top except for specific grips later.

Standard tuning

Low to high: E A D G B E. Remember: Eat All Day, Get Big Easy — or just sing the fifths (except B, which is a major third above G).

String 6  5  4  3  2  1
Note   E  A  D  G  B  E

Tune with a clip tuner or phone first week. Then learn to match harmonics at the 5th fret of one string to the 7th of the next (except G to B).

Nails vs pick

Pick: start with a medium (0.73–0.88 mm). Hold it between thumb pad and the side of the index, tiny tip showing. Nails: useful for fingerstyle later; keep them even if you use them. Do not wait on a nail routine to learn chords.

Tune down freely. Tune up with caution. Raising pitch raises tension.

Next

Read boxes and tab · Open chords