BEGINNER'S GUITAR TUTORIAL
By: Rice
Date: 6/17/01

    Ladies and gentlemen, I have a new hobby: These days, I'd wake up, grab my acoustic guitar, and start strumming my heart out. Sometimes, I'd try to sing along to the songs, and I'd have a blast, even though I know neighboring windows (and people's ear drums) are on the verge of shattering. The fingers on my left hand throb constantly in pain from mashing the strings. So far, I'm barely competent at a handful of songs, but I've never had more fun creating music in my entire life.

    If you've always wanted to learn the guitar, like I have, then get at it. You don't need a private instructor... or any instructor at all. Just have the patience to get over the first learning curve, and it's downhill from there. For me, I bought one last summer, but never really played with it until now. I'd always strum a bit, then once my fingers or wrist started to complain, I'd stop. About three weeks ago, I decided to try to master a fairly simple song with only four chords in total. It took approx. 6 hours total before I even got tolerable sounds coming out of the damn thing. After that, I was on a roll.

    The trouble was there weren't any really good beginner guides out there. Although there are a plethora of tutorials, they consist of a smattering of how to play chords and a sprinkle of music theory. Okay, great, I said to myself, except I wanted to learn a real song. Studying online tabs was an exercise in frustration because most of them are geared towards intermediate or advanced players. Can't learn to run before you walk, namsayn?

    Finally, I settled on Weezer's Butterfly as my first real, complete song that I would master. For those that have heard it, you know it's a real easy, rhythmetic song with only a few basic chords. For this tutorial, I'll mostly be teaching by example around this... I'm assuming you have no prior knowledge of any musical instrument other than your lips, so for those of you that can already play, feel free to skip this article. Okay, so go fetch a guitar nearest to you, and let's make some music. Of course, your guitar needs to be tuned correctly. If you had just dug out your grandpa's from the attic, it's probably out of tune.

    This is a guitar (duh...):

    The horde of metal bars perpendicular to the six strings are called frets. The most popular way to transcribe music for the guitar is by tabs. It basically tells you which strings on which frets you have to hold down to create the appropriate sound for each part of the song. For example:

E|----0----------------------------------------|
B|-----3-1-0---0-1-----------------------------|
G|-----------2---------------------------------|
D|---------------------------------------------|
A|---------------------------------------------|
E|---------------------------------------------|

    The tab tells you to pluck the first string (or last, depending on how you look at it. Either way, it should be the thinnest string.) without any fingers pressing down on any frets. This is also known as the open fret. Then, pluck the next string with one of your left fingers holding down the third fret. Next, pluck the same string, except with your finger on the first fret. And so on, and so forth. If you did it right, it should sound something like that old nursery "knick knack paddywhack" song.

    A chord is when you press down multiple fingers on multiple frets and play it all at once. The easiest chord in my mind is Em (E-minor). Here it is:

Em
E|----0----------------------------------------|
B|----0----------------------------------------|
G|----0----------------------------------------|
D|----2----------------------------------------|
A|----2----------------------------------------|
E|----0----------------------------------------|

    What you do is hold down the D and A strings as indicated at the second fret. I recommend using the middle and ring fingers, respectively, but it doesn't really matter as long as you're comfortable. Then strum the entire thing in one motion. If you're getting a pretty nasty sound, make sure you're not muffling the neighboring strings with your fingers. A definitive test would be to strum each individual string slowly, making sure it returns a strong, resounding note. You should be pressing down firmly on the strings with the tip of your fingers rather than mashing with the entire area. Make sure you're pressing near the fret, as well. For you visual learners, imagine this: --|---------|-- is the area between two frets. You'll want to press down here: --|-------x-|-- where I marked the X, rather than here: --|----x----|--.

    Practice that for a bit. Below are a few more chords you'll need to familiarize yourself with to play Butterfly:

G
E|----3----------------------------------------|
B|----0----------------------------------------|
G|----0----------------------------------------|
D|----0----------------------------------------|
A|----2----------------------------------------|
E|----3----------------------------------------|

C
E|----0----------------------------------------|
B|----1----------------------------------------|
G|----0----------------------------------------|
D|----2----------------------------------------|
A|----3----------------------------------------|
E|----0----------------------------------------|

D
E|----2----------------------------------------|
B|----3----------------------------------------|
G|----2----------------------------------------|
D|----0----------------------------------------|
A|---------------------------------------------|
E|---------------------------------------------|

    The blank lines in the D chord simply mean you don't play those strings. Just strum the four that are indicated.

    As a side note, you can play G like [ 3 x 0 0 0 3 ] rather than the listed [ 3 2 0 0 0 3 ] if you have small hands like me. It's easier on the wrist too, and it sounds just about the same. The x means you mute out that string by touching, but not pressing, it with your nearest finger. Sort of like smothering it. Try it, and you'll know what I'm talking about. You'll be able to slack your wrist a bit more, thereby increasing comfort. Sorry, no short cuts for C and D that I know of.

    The next step is to get comfortable changing from chord to chord on a whim. This is the hardest part to get used to, because you'll have to familiarize yourself with how you're supposed to contort your fingers to the various frets, and then swap to the next chord on the fly in the middle of the song. For Butterfly, you need to master G Em C D G in that order for the most part. I strongly recommend you get this part down before you start to sing along, or else you'll end up pausing so many times inbetween that you'll lose the harmony and end up starting over and over. At least, that's what happened to me.

    And now... the song!

   G     Em            C             D           G
Eb|3-----0-------------0-------------2-----------3--------|
Bb|0-----0-------------1-------------3-----------0--------|
Gb|0-----0-------------0-------------2-----------0--------|
Db|0-----2-------------2-------------0-----------0--------|
Ab|2-----2-------------3-------------------------2--------|
Eb|3-----0---------------------------------------3--------|
   Yesterday I went outside, with my mamas mason jar.

            Em           C               G
Eb|---------0------------0----0----------3----------------|
Bb|---------0------------1-----3-1-0---0-0----------------|
Gb|---------0------------0-----------2---0----------------|
Db|---------2------------2---------------0----------------|
Ab|---------2------------3---------------2----------------|
Eb|---------0----------------------------3----------------|
   Caught a lovely butterfly.

    If you had practiced the G Em C D G chord combo like I instructed you to, then this part oughta be a cinch. The mini-solo part at the end might need a bit of practice to get down, but that's what playing the guitar is all about: practice.

   G      Em        C              D           G
Eb|3------0---------0--------------2-----------3----------|
Bb|0------0---------1--------------3-----------0----------|
Gb|0------0---------0--------------2-----------0----------|
Db|0------2---------2--------------0-----------0----------|
Ab|2------2---------3--------------------------2----------|
Eb|3------0------------------------------------3----------|
   When I woke up today, looked in on my fairy pet.

           Em            C                           D
Eb|--------0-------------0----0----------------------2----|
Bb|--------0-------------1-------3----1---0------0---3----|
Gb|--------0-------------0--------------------2------2----|
Db|--------2-------------2---------------------------0----|
Ab|--------2-------------3--------------------------------|
Eb|--------0----------------------------------------------|
   She had withered all away, no more sighing in her breast.

    See a similarity here? Most of the song have recurring chord combo's.

   D                    G          Em           C
Eb|2--------------------3----------0------------0------------------|
Bb|3--------------------0----------0------------1------------------|
Gb|2--------------------0----------0------------0------------------|
Db|0--------------------0----------2------------2------------------|
Ab|---------------------2----------2------------3------------------|
Eb|---------------------3----------0-------------------------------|
   I`m sorry for what I did, I did what my body told me to

     D                     G           G7              C
Eb|--2---------------------3-----------1---------------0-----------|
Bb|--3---------------------0-----------0---------------1-----------|
Gb|--2---------------------0-----------0---------------0-----------|
Db|--0---------------------0-----------0---------------2-----------|
Ab|------------------------2-----------2---------------3-----------|
Eb|------------------------3-----------3---------------------------|
   I didn't mean to do you harm. Every time I pin down what I think

   
     D               G        Em           C
Eb|--2---------------3--------0------------0-----------------------|
Bb|--3---------------0--------0------------1-----------------------|
Gb|--2---------------0--------0------------0-----------------------|
Db|--0---------------0--------2------------2-----------------------|
Ab|------------------2--------2------------3-----------------------|
Eb|------------------3--------0------------------------------------|
   I want, it slips away, the ghost slips away.

    More chords, more practice. Oh, and that G7 in the middle is new. How I play the G prior is by putting my ring finger on 3, middle finger on 2, and pinky on the 1. Then, on the switch to G7, I just release the pinky and press the 1 with my index. Quick and painless. Now, for the rest:

   G         Em             C             D              G
Eb|3---------0--------------0-------------2--------------3------------|
Bb|0---------0--------------1-------------3--------------0------------|
Gb|0---------0--------------0-------------2--------------0------------|
Db|0---------2--------------2-------------0--------------0------------|
Ab|2---------2--------------3----------------------------2------------|
Eb|3---------0-------------------------------------------3------------|
   Smell you on my hand for days, i can't wash away your scent.

            Em                C                G
Eb|---------0-----------------0----0-----------3----------------------|
Bb|---------0-----------------1------3-1-0---0-0----------------------|
Gb|---------0-----------------0------------2---0----------------------|
Db|---------2-----------------2----------------0----------------------|
Ab|---------2-----------------3----------------2----------------------|
Eb|---------0----------------------------------3----------------------|
   if I'm a dog then you're a bitch.

   G       Em                C         D               G
Eb|3-------0-----------------0---------2---------------3--------------|
Bb|0-------0-----------------1---------3---------------0--------------|
Gb|0-------0-----------------0---------2---------------0--------------|
Db|0-------2-----------------2---------0---------------0--------------|
Ab|2-------2-----------------3-------------------------2--------------|
Eb|3-------0-------------------------------------------3--------------|
   I guess you're as real as me, maybe I can live with that.

         Em          C                         D
Eb|------0-----------0---0---------------------2----------------------|
Bb|------0-----------1--------3--1--0-------0--3----------------------|
Gb|------0-----------0-------------------2-----2----------------------|
Db|------2-----------2-------------------------0----------------------|
Ab|------2-----------3------------------------------------------------|
Eb|------0------------------------------------------------------------|
   Maybe I need fantasy, life of chasing butterfly.

   D                    G          Em           C
Eb|2--------------------3----------0------------0---------------------|
Bb|3--------------------0----------0------------1---------------------|
Gb|2--------------------0----------0------------0---------------------|
Db|0--------------------0----------2------------2---------------------|
Ab|---------------------2----------2------------3---------------------|
Eb|---------------------3----------0----------------------------------|
   I`m sorry for what I did, I did what my body told me to

     D                     G           G7              C
Eb|--2---------------------3-----------1---------------0--------------|
Bb|--3---------------------0-----------0---------------1--------------|
Gb|--2---------------------0-----------0---------------0--------------|
Db|--0---------------------0-----------0---------------2--------------|
Ab|------------------------2-----------2---------------3--------------|
Eb|------------------------3-----------3------------------------------|
   I didn't mean to do you harm. Every time I pin down what I think

   
     D               G        Em           C
Eb|--2---------------3--------0------------0--------------------------|
Bb|--3---------------0--------0------------1--------------------------|
Gb|--2---------------0--------0------------0--------------------------|
Db|--0---------------0--------2------------2--------------------------|
Ab|------------------2--------2------------3--------------------------|
Eb|------------------3--------0---------------------------------------|
   I want, it slips away, the ghost slips away.

   G      Em            C              D               G
Eb|3------0-------------0--------------2---------------3--------------|
Bb|0------0-------------1--------------3---------------0--------------|
Gb|0------0-------------0--------------2---------------0--------------|
Db|0------2-------------2--------------0---------------0--------------|
Ab|2------2-------------3------------------------------2--------------|
Eb|3------0--------------------------------------------3--------------|
   I told you I would return, when the Robin makes his nest.

   G           Em                            G
Eb|3-----------0-----------------0-----------3------------------------|
Bb|0-----------0-------------------3-1-0---0-0------------------------|
Gb|0-----------0---------------0---------2---0------------------------|
Db|0-----------2-----------------------------0------------------------|
Ab|2-----------2-----------3-----------------2------------------------|
Eb|3-----------0-----------------------------3------------------------|
   But I ain't never comin back...

       G          Em         C    G
Eb|----3----------0----------0----3-----------------------------------|
Bb|----0----------0----------1-0--0-----------------------------------|
Gb|----0----------0----------0--2-0-----------------------------------|
Db|----0----------2----------2----0-----------------------------------|
Ab|----2----------2----------3----2-----------------------------------|
Eb|----3----------0---------------3-----------------------------------|
   I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sooorry.

    For the very end, I recommend after you strum C, ready your finger on the 2nd fret for the string indicated, then strum 0 and 2 upwards so it makes a nice smooth transition. And that's it! Remember, patience and practice is the key. If you don't have callouses by the end of this song, then you haven't practiced hard enough. Good luck.