Beginner + Intermediate

1. Introduction

• Parts of the guitar

• How to hold the guitar (sitting & standing)

• How to hold the pick

• Tuning the guitar (manual + app methods)

• Basic posture, hand positioning

• Understanding tabs & chord diagrams

• Simple first exercise (open-string picking)

2. Fretboard Mapping

• Understanding frets, strings, and note names

• Natural notes + sharps/flats

• Octave patterns

• 5-note system for quick navigation

• Landmarks on the fretboard (5th, 7th, 12th fret)

• Simple fretboard memorization routines

3. Scales

• Major scale structure (W-W-H-W-W-W-H)

• Minor scale (natural + harmonic + melodic)

• Scale fingerings across the neck

• How scales relate to chords

• Daily scale practice routine

• Application: using scales in melodies

4. Finger Exercises

• Warm-ups (chromatic 1-2-3-4 patterns)

• Alternate picking drills

• Stretching exercises (1-3-4 & 1-4-stretch)

• String-skipping exercises

• Coordination between left & right hand

• Speed-building methods (metronome training)

5. Chords

• Open chords (C, A, G, E, D families)

• Minor and major variations

• Power chords

• Barre chords (E-shape, A-shape)

• Tips to reduce pain and buzz

• Chord transitions practice

6. Rhythm

• Understanding beats, bars, time signatures

• Quarter, eighth, sixteenth-note feels

• Counting rhythms

• Groove, timing, and accents

• Metronome practice

• Creating rhythmic variations

7. Fingerpicking

• Basic fingerstyle technique

• Thumb and fingers coordination

• Patterns: PIMA technique

• Travis picking for beginners

• Arpeggios for chord progressions

• Simple fingerstyle songs

8. Strumming Patterns

• Down & up strokes

• The 8th-note strumming formula

• 16th-note patterns

• Common patterns used in Bollywood & Western songs

• Muting techniques (palm mute & left-hand mute)

• Building dynamic strumming

9. Ear Training

• Identifying high vs. low pitch

• Recognizing intervals (major/minor 2nd, 3rd, 5th, etc.)

• Hearing major vs minor chords

• Listening exercises for chord progressions

• Melodic dictation basics

• Playing by ear (finding notes on guitar)

10. Pentatonics

• Minor pentatonic shape 1 (the most used)

• All 5 shapes on the fretboard

• Major pentatonic conversion

• Bends, slides, hammer-ons/pull-offs within pentatonic scale

• Pentatonic sequencing exercises

• Improvisation basics using pentatonics