Beginner Guitar Course

You have just taken the most important step — you have decided to learn guitar. That takes courage, and everything from here is forward motion. This course will take you from your very first strum to playing chords, riffs, melodies and short pieces in steady time, at about the level of the first graded guitar exams (Debut to Grade 1). No teacher required. Just you, your Saga SF-600C-BK, and a little practice on most days.

What You Will Need

• Your guitar — the Saga SF-600C-BK Dreadnought Cutaway (or any steel-string acoustic)
• A pick — a medium pick (0.71 to 0.88 mm), and a spare
• A tuner — a clip-on tuner or a tuner app on your phone
• A metronome — a free metronome app works perfectly; you use it from Session 1
• A seat — a firm chair or stool without arms
• A phone that records sound — the sessions ask you to record yourself and listen back
• A soft cloth — for wiping the strings after you play
• A spare set of light-gauge strings — for the day a string breaks
• A ruler marked in millimetres — for the string-height check in Guitar Guide

No amp and no cables.

If You Are Left-Handed

This course is written for a guitar strung the usual way, fretted with the left hand. If you are left-handed you can play the same way, as many left-handed people do, or use a left-handed guitar: every instruction still applies, with the chord diagrams mirrored and TAB unchanged. The choice is yours, and it is best made before Session 1. A guitar strung the usual way cannot simply be turned round, because its strings would then be in the wrong order.

The course says “fretting hand” (the hand on the neck) and “strumming hand” (the hand over the soundhole), so the words fit whichever way round you play.

The Pain Rule

Steel strings press into soft fingertips, and new fingertips get tender. That is normal. This is the course’s one rule about pain. Every session and handout that mentions pain points back to it, so read it now.

The pain rule

1. Normal: fingertips that are tender, red or dented by the strings. Keep to the time limits and take the breaks.
2. Stop for today: fingertips that sting or burn, a blister or broken skin, or a hand that cramps or aches. With a blister, do not press strings again until it has healed.
3. Warning signs, stop at once: pain in the wrist, forearm, thumb joint or knuckles; numbness or tingling; any sharp pain; pain that lasts into the next day. Rest until it has gone completely. If it comes back when you play, or has not gone after two days, see a doctor or physiotherapist before you play again.

Never play through any of these to finish a session or to keep to the schedule.

Soreness usually eases after two to four weeks of regular playing, and by Phase 2 most people can play a whole session in comfort. Skin differs from person to person: go by how your fingertips feel, not by the calendar.

Playing-time limits for your first weeks of pressing strings

Week of pressing strings	Session	Longest stretch of playing before a 5-minute break
1st	Session 2	15 minutes
2nd	Session 3	20 minutes
3rd	Session 4	25 minutes
4th onwards	Session 5 onwards	30 minutes

Session 1 has no pressing of strings, so the count starts at Session 2. A break means the guitar is out of your hands.

Session duration: 50 minutes of lesson. In Sessions 2 to 6, put the guitar down for 5 minutes at the end of Segment 2 and again at the end of Segment 3. No stretch of playing is then longer than 15 minutes, and the session takes about an hour by the clock. From Session 7, take one 5-minute break at the end of Segment 3. In Session 24, where the concert makes Segment 3 longer, take it at the end of Segment 2 instead.

If the week’s practice plan is longer than the limit in the table, split it into two sittings at least an hour apart.

How to Use This Course

Follow this reading order:

1. First — Read Guitar Guide. Get to know your guitar: its parts, how to hold it, how to hold a pick, and how to tune it. Work through it in order. “Tuning for the first time” is written out step by step there. Do the guide’s string-height check as well, before Session 1.
2. Second — Read Course Overview. Understand the four phases, session format, and what you will be able to do by the end.
3. Third — Read How To Practice. How to practise, in about 25 minutes. Session 1 sends you back to it before your first practice day.
4. Fourth — Start Session 01. Your first lesson. Follow sessions in order: session-01, then session-02, then session-03, and so on through session-24.

Pace: one session a week for 24 weeks. Each week has one session day (a 50-minute lesson), practice days and a rest day. On the days between sessions, follow the practice plan printed at the end of that week’s session: about 15 to 20 minutes a day in Weeks 1 to 3, building to 25 to 30 minutes by Week 10. Practise on at least five days of every week. One rest day a week is part of the plan and does not undo your progress. Some sessions carry a note allowing a second week; if you use it, the course simply takes a little longer than 24 weeks. That is normal.

The practice plan printed at the end of each session is your plan for that week. The two weekly-plan handouts repeat each plan and add an end-of-week check, which tells you whether to go on to the next session.

When to Use Handouts

Each handout is assigned by a session; two of them (the rhythm and the chords handouts) are read in parts, over more than one session. The reading is done after the session and is not part of its 50 minutes. At the end of the session, under the heading “After the session (not part of the 50 minutes)”, a line names the part to read and the minutes to allow. Do the reading that day, or at the latest before your first practice day of that week. There is one exception: Session 14 asks you to read part of Notes On The Fretboard before the session starts. The two weekly-plan handouts are used every week, for the end-of-week check. The four genre handouts are optional “Go further” reading. The handout tables in the Complete File Directory below show the session for each one.

When to Use Reference Sheets

Print these and keep them next to your guitar. Use them for quick lookups during practice — chord shapes, scale patterns, TAB symbols, note names on the fretboard, and musical terms. You do not need to read them cover to cover; they are designed for glancing at mid-session. The Reference Sheets table in the Complete File Directory below shows the session in which each one is first used.

When to Use Assessments

After completing each phase (every 6 sessions), take the phase checkpoint. Be honest with yourself. Checkpoints are not exams, but they do decide when you move on. Items marked * are must-pass. If every * item is Mastered and at least four in every five items are Mastered, go on to the next phase. If not, practise the items that are not yet Mastered for one more week, using the advice under each, and take those items again. After that second week, go on in any case and keep the unfinished items in your warm-up.

The final assessment is the course’s own end-of-course check. It is not a mock exam and does not predict an exam result.

Complete File Directory

Getting Started

File	Title	Description	When to Read
Guitar Guide	Your Guitar: The Saga SF-600C-BK Setup and Orientation Guide	Parts, holding the guitar and the pick, tuning for the first time, the string-height check, care	Before Session 1
Course Overview	The Acoustic Guitar Journey: Beginner Course	Course structure, session map, repertoire, and exit criteria	Before Session 1

Sessions (24 lessons — one a week, in order)

File	Title	When
Session 01	Meeting Your Guitar	Week 1
Session 02	Your First Chord: Em	Week 2
Session 03	Adding Am: Two Chords	Week 3
Session 04	First Melodies	Week 4
Session 05	The E Major Chord	Week 5
Session 06	Phase 1 Showcase	Week 6
Session 07	The D Chord and Three-Four Time	Week 7
Session 08	The A Chord Family	Week 8
Session 09	Power Chords: Your Rock Foundation	Week 9
Session 10	The G Chord: Stretching Out	Week 10
Session 11	The C Chord and Song Building	Week 11
Session 12	Phase 2 Showcase	Week 12
Session 13	Strumming Mastery	Week 13
Session 14	The C Major Scale	Week 14
Session 15	Fingerpicking Foundations	Week 15
Session 16	The Minor Pentatonic Scale	Week 16
Session 17	Barre Chord Introduction	Week 17
Session 18	Phase 3 Showcase	Week 18
Session 19	Song Arrangement Workshop	Week 19
Session 20	Smells Like Teen Spirit	Week 20
Session 21	Expressive Melody Showcase	Week 21
Session 22	Improvisation Workshop	Week 22
Session 23	End-of-Course Run-Through	Week 23
Session 24	Final Showcase: You Are a Guitarist	Week 24

Music Theory Handouts

File	Title	Description	Assigned in
Reading Tab	Reading Guitar TAB	How to read guitar TAB notation	Session 2
Rhythm And Time	Rhythm, Beats, and Time Signatures	Beats, time signatures, and note values	Session 4 (its sections on time signatures and 3/4 in Session 7)
Notes On The Fretboard	Notes on the Fretboard	Where the notes live on your guitar	Session 14 (read before the session)
Understanding Chords	Understanding Chords	How chords are built: major and minor, power chords, chord names	Session 5 (further parts in Sessions 9 and 11)
Scales Major	Major Scales for Guitar	Half steps, whole steps and the C major scale	Session 14
Scales Pentatonic	The Pentatonic Scale	The pentatonic scale and how it relates to C major	Session 16
Keys And Songs	Keys and How Songs Work	Keys, and which chords belong together	Session 19
Reading Standard Notation	Introduction to Standard Notation	Naming notes on the treble-clef staff, and note values. Playing from the staff is not taught in this course	Session 21

Technique Handouts

File	Title	Description	Assigned in
Fretting And Hand Position	Fretting Technique and Hand Position	Fretting technique and fretting-hand position	Session 2
Strumming Mechanics	Strumming Mechanics	The strumming motion and down-up strumming	Session 5
Chord Transitions	Smooth Chord Transitions	Methods for smooth chord changes	Session 3
Finger Exercises	Finger Independence and Stretching	The spider crawl and other finger exercises	Session 10
Picking Accuracy	Picking Accuracy and Single-Note Playing	Single-note picking and alternate picking	Session 4
Power Chord Technique	Power Chord and Muting Technique	Power chord shapes and palm muting	Session 9
Daily Warmup	Daily Warm-Up Routine	The warm-up movements the sessions use, and a longer routine for days when you have time. Each session’s own warm-up is the one to follow	Session 1

Practice Guides

File	Title	Description	Assigned in
How To Practice	How to Practice Effectively	How to practise, with the playing-time limits for your first weeks	Before Session 1, and again in Session 1
Weekly Plans Phase 1 2	Weekly Practice Plans: Phases 1 and 2	Each week’s practice plan repeated, with its end-of-week check	Session 1, then every week to Session 12
Weekly Plans Phase 3 4	Weekly Practice Plans: Phases 3 and 4	Each week’s practice plan repeated, with its end-of-week check	Session 13, then every week to Session 24
Progress Tracking	Track Your Progress	The practice log and trackers for your progress	Session 1

Genre Handouts (optional “Go further” reading)

File	Title	Description	Assigned in
Rock Riffs And Power Chords	Rock Guitar: Riffs and Power Chords	Rock guitar riffs and power chord patterns	Session 10
Metal Rhythms And Techniques	Metal Guitar: Rhythms and Techniques	Metal guitar rhythms and techniques	Session 13
Hindi Film Melodies	Hindi Film Guitar: Classic Melodies	Playing melodies in the Hindi film style	Session 16
Hindi Film Chords	Hindi Film Guitar: Chord Accompaniment	Hindi film chord accompaniment patterns	Session 11

Reference Sheets (keep these nearby)

File	Title	Description	First used in
Chord Chart	Complete Beginner Chord Chart	Chord diagrams with fingerings, for quick lookup	Session 2
Scale Diagrams	Scale Diagrams and Patterns	Scale shapes and fretboard patterns	Session 14
Tab Notation Guide	TAB and Notation Quick Reference	TAB symbols and notation quick reference	Session 2
Fretboard Note Map	Fretboard Note Map	The notes on the fretboard, string by string	Session 14
Glossary	Guitar Terms Glossary	Guitar and music terms defined simply	Session 1

Assessments

File	Title	Description	When to Take
Phase 1 Checkpoint	Phase 1 Checkpoint: First Notes	Self-assessment after Sessions 1–6	After Session 6
Phase 2 Checkpoint	Phase 2 Checkpoint: Open Chord Foundation	Self-assessment after Sessions 7–12	After Session 12
Phase 3 Checkpoint	Phase 3 Checkpoint: Rhythm and Melody	Self-assessment after Sessions 13–18	After Session 18
Phase 4 Checkpoint	Phase 4 Checkpoint: Performance Ready	Self-assessment after Sessions 19–24	After Session 24
Final Assessment	End-of-Course Assessment	End-of-course assessment	After the Phase 4 checkpoint (make its three ear-test recordings the day before)
Whats Next	What Comes Next: Your Path Forward	Your options after this course, including what a Grade 1 exam asks	After completing the course

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Your first action: open Guitar Guide, learn to hold your guitar and tune it. Then read Course Overview and How To Practice, and start Session 1. You have got this.