Session 1: Meeting Your Guitar

Duration: 50 minutes

Welcome to your very first guitar session. Today you are not going to play a song — you are going to meet your instrument. (Your first riff from a well-known song comes in Session 4; until then you play rhythm and chord pieces written for this course.) By the end of this session, you will know every part of your guitar by name, how to sit with it comfortably, how to tune it, how to hold a pick, the names of all six strings, and how to play your first open-string rhythm. That is a lot for one session, and it is exactly the right place to start.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this session you will be able to:

1. Name and point to the major parts of your Saga SF-600C-BK guitar (headstock, tuners, nut, neck, frets, body, soundhole, bridge, saddle, strings)
2. Sit in the correct playing position with the guitar stable on your lap
3. Tune all six strings with a tuner
4. Hold a guitar pick with a secure, relaxed grip
5. Name all six strings from thickest to thinnest (E-A-D-G-B-E)
6. Play an open-string rhythm exercise with steady downstrokes

Materials Needed

• Your Saga SF-600C-BK guitar
• A medium pick (0.71 to 0.88 mm)
• A clip-on tuner or phone tuner app
• A metronome (phone app is fine — search “metronome” in your app store)
• A phone that can record sound (for one self-check)
• Fretting-hand nails: cut them short enough that when you press a fingertip straight down on a table, the skin touches before the nail. A longer nail makes the finger lie flat and deadens the next string. (Your fretting hand is the one that presses the strings at the neck.)
• Reference: Guitar Guide (for detailed setup and care instructions, and for tuning the first time)
• Reference: Glossary (every new term in one place)
• Handout for this session: How To Practice
• Handout for this session: Daily Warmup
• Handout for this session: Progress Tracking
• Handout for this session: Weekly Plans Phase 1 2

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Segment 1 — Warm-Up and Stretch (5 minutes)

Since this is your first session, your warm-up is about preparing your hands — not the guitar. You will tune in Segment 2, once you know the parts of the guitar and how to sit with it.

Hand Warm-Up

Open and close both hands loosely five times. Circle each wrist five times each way. Touch your thumb to each fingertip in turn. Shake the hands out.

Warm hands move more easily. Nothing here is held or forced. You will do these same movements before every session.

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Segment 2 — Technique Focus: Guitar Anatomy, Posture and Tuning (10 minutes)

Know Your Guitar

Pick up your Saga SF-600C-BK. This is a dreadnought cutaway acoustic guitar. “Dreadnought” means it has a large body that produces a full, loud sound. “Cutaway” means the upper bout (the narrower part of the body, next to the neck) has a scoop cut out of it. The cutaway makes the frets above the 12th easier to reach. The sessions stay below that, so you will not need it during this course.

Find and name each part:

• Headstock — The flat piece at the very top of the neck where the tuning pegs are
• Tuning pegs (machine heads) — The six pegs you turn to tune each string
• Nut — The small white/cream bar at the top of the neck where the strings rest before reaching the headstock
• Neck — The long piece of wood you wrap your fretting hand around
• Frets — A fret is a metal strip across the neck, and also the space just behind it where you press (“behind” means on the headstock side). “Fret 3” means the space just behind the third strip; fret 1 is the space between the nut and the first strip
• Fretboard (fingerboard) — The flat surface of the neck where you press strings
• Dot markers — The dots on the fretboard (and often on the side of the neck) at frets 3, 5, 7, 9, and 12. These help you navigate without counting every fret
• Body — The large, hollow wooden part that amplifies the sound
• Soundhole — The round hole in the body face
• Bridge — The wooden piece on the body face where the strings are anchored
• Saddle — The thin white/cream bar on the bridge (like a second nut at the other end of the strings)
• Strings — Six steel strings running from the bridge, over the saddle, along the neck, over the nut, to the tuning pegs

Try this now: Point to each part and say its name aloud. Do this twice.

Sitting Position

1. Sit on a firm chair or stool without arms (not a bed or sofa). Sit toward the front edge — do not lean back.
2. Place the guitar body on the thigh on your strumming-hand side (the right thigh, on a guitar strung the usual way). The waist of the guitar (the inward curve) should rest on your thigh.
3. The neck tilts a little upward, with the headstock slightly higher than the body of the guitar. Do not let the neck point at the floor.
4. Your strumming arm (the arm on the body side of the guitar) drapes over the top edge of the guitar body. Your forearm rests on the top edge of the lower bout (the widest part of the body, at the bridge end).
5. Your fretting hand (the other hand, at the neck) reaches around to the front of the neck. Your thumb rests behind the neck — roughly behind fret 2 to start. Do not wrap your thumb over the top.
6. Both feet flat on the floor. Back straight but relaxed. In the first weeks you will need to look at your fingers. Keep the guitar upright against your body and tip your head forward to see the edge of the neck. Do not lean the guitar back to see the fretboard: that bends your fretting wrist.

Posture check: Can you hold the guitar in position and take both hands completely off it? The guitar should stay put, balanced on your thigh and held by your strumming arm. If it slides, adjust the angle.

Tune Your Guitar

Now that you know the parts and can sit with the guitar, tune it. Pick up your clip-on tuner (or open your phone tuner app). Clip it to the headstock of your guitar.

The six strings must be tuned to these notes, from the thickest string (closest to your face when you hold the guitar) to the thinnest:

String Number	Note	Memory Aid
6 (thickest)	E	Eddie
5	A	Ate
4	D	Dynamite
3	G	Good
2	B	Bye
1 (thinnest)	E	Eddie

How to tune: Follow “Tuning for the first time” in Guitar Guide. The first time may take 10 to 15 minutes; this session is allowed to run long. The extra minutes are outside the 50, so today’s session may run about 10 minutes over; the first time, that is expected.

Always tune from below — if you go past the note and the string is too high, loosen it until the tuner shows a note below your target, then tighten back up to it. This helps the string stay in tune.

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Segment 3 — New Learning: Strings, Picks, and Your First Strum (15 minutes)

String Names and Numbers

Guitar strings are numbered 1 through 6:

• String 1 = thinnest, highest pitch = high E
• String 2 = B
• String 3 = G
• String 4 = D
• String 5 = A
• String 6 = thickest, lowest pitch = low E

The numbering feels backwards at first — string 1 is the thinnest, closest to the floor when you are in playing position. String 6 is the thickest, closest to your face.

Memory trick: “Eddie Ate Dynamite Good Bye Eddie” — from string 6 to string 1.

Try this now: Without looking at this page, pluck each string one at a time from string 6 to string 1 (with the pad of your thumb for now; you will hold a pick in a moment) and say the note name aloud (E, A, D, G, B, E). Then go back from string 1 to string 6. Repeat three times.

How to Hold a Pick

1. Make a loose fist with your strumming hand, thumb resting on the side of your index finger.
2. Lay the pick on the side of the last joint of your index finger (the side facing your thumb), with the point sticking out at a right angle to your thumb.
3. Bring the pad of your thumb flat on top. About 5 to 8 mm of the tip should show.
4. Hold it just firmly enough that a gentle tug from your other hand pulls it out.

A death grip creates a harsh sound and tires your hand quickly.

Common mistake: Holding the pick with your thumb and the tip of your index finger (like pinching). This gives you less control. The pick should rest on the side of your index finger, not the tip.

Your First Strum — Open Strings

An open string is a string played without pressing it. You are going to strum all six open strings together.

1. Hold the pick as described above.
2. Position your strumming hand over the soundhole. Your forearm rests on the top edge of the guitar’s body; the hand itself does not rest on the strings.
3. In a smooth, relaxed motion, drag the pick downward across all six strings from string 6 (thickest) to string 1 (thinnest). This is called a downstroke — written as D.
4. Your forearm swings a short way from the elbow and your wrist stays loose and follows. Your shoulder stays still. Nothing is locked.
5. Strum at a moderate, even speed. You should hear all six strings ring together.

What it should sound like: It should sound full and ringing, a little unsettled because the open strings are not a tidy chord, with no string buzzing or sounding slack. (A chord is a group of notes played together; most chords have three or more different notes. You will learn your first one in Session 2.) This is just about getting the motion right.

New words: Each new term in these sessions is explained in a few words where it first appears, in bold. All of them are collected in Glossary.

Try this now: Play 4 downstrokes, one per beat (a beat is one steady pulse, like one tick of a clock), at a slow, steady pace. Count aloud: “1, 2, 3, 4.” Pause. Repeat. Do this 8 times.

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Segment 4 — Song Workshop: Open String Rhythm Exercise (15 minutes)

You are not playing a song yet — you are learning to keep time with a rhythm. This is the single most important skill in all of music. A guitarist who plays the right notes at the wrong time sounds worse than one who plays wrong notes at the right time.

Open String Rhythm Exercise

Tempo: 60 BPM, one strum per click. Tempo is how fast the beats go; BPM is beats per minute, so 60 BPM is one beat a second.

Pattern: All downstrokes (D) on open strings, 4 beats per measure. A measure (also called a bar) is a group of beats, here four.

Set your metronome: Set the speed to 60 and the beats per measure to 4. If your metronome can mark the first beat, turn that on.

How to read this: Each “D” is one downstroke across all six strings. Each number in the “Count:” row is one beat. Each ”|” is a bar line: the upright line that ends one measure and starts the next.

Count:  1   2   3   4   |   1   2   3   4   |
Strum:  D   D   D   D   |   D   D   D   D   |

Count:  1   2   3   4   |   1   2   3   4   |
Strum:  D   D   D   D   |   D   D   D   D   |

Instructions:

1. Start your metronome at 60 BPM.
2. Listen to four clicks to feel the tempo before you start.
3. On the next click, play a downstroke. One strum per click.
4. Count aloud: “1, 2, 3, 4, 1, 2, 3, 4…” Each number lines up with a click and a strum.
5. Play through all 4 measures (16 strums total) without stopping.
6. If you lose the beat, stop, listen to four clicks (or wait for the marked first beat), and start again on the next “1.”

Once comfortable at 60 BPM, try this variation — strum only on beats 1 and 3:

Count:  1  (2)  3  (4)  |   1  (2)  3  (4)  |
Strum:  D       D       |   D       D       |

A number in brackets is a beat you count but do not strum: say it aloud and let the click pass. This teaches you to feel beats even when you are not playing.

Final variation — strum on beats 1, 2, and 4 (skip beat 3):

Count:  1   2  (3)  4   |   1   2  (3)  4   |
Strum:  D   D       D   |   D   D       D   |

Practice each variation 4 times through (4 measures each time). Keep your metronome running. Count aloud — this is not optional. Counting aloud locks the rhythm into your body.

Individual String Picking

Now try picking one string at a time. This is not strumming — you are aiming the pick at a single string. Your forearm rests on the top edge of the guitar’s body. For single notes the heel of your hand may touch the bridge lightly behind the saddle, never on the strings. Do not press down or lock the hand in place. If notes sound dull, your hand has crept onto the strings.

At 60 BPM, one note per click, play string 6 (low E) four times, then string 5 (A) four times, continuing through all strings:

Count:  1   2   3   4   |   1   2   3   4   |   1   2   3   4   |
String: 6   6   6   6   |   5   5   5   5   |   4   4   4   4   |

Count:  1   2   3   4   |   1   2   3   4   |   1   2   3   4   |
String: 3   3   3   3   |   2   2   2   2   |   1   1   1   1   |

Tip from your Saga SF-600C-BK: The dreadnought body projects a strong, full sound even with a light touch. You do not need to dig the pick hard into the strings — a relaxed, controlled stroke produces a better tone and is easier on your hand.

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Segment 5 — Review and Practice Plan (5 minutes)

What You Learned Today

• The parts of your guitar (headstock, tuners, nut, neck, frets, body, soundhole, bridge, saddle, strings)
• How to tune to standard tuning (EADGBE)
• Correct sitting posture
• How to hold a pick
• String names and numbers (6 = low E, 1 = high E)
• Downstroke strumming across all strings
• Keeping time with a metronome

Common Mistakes

1. Gripping the pick too tightly — Relax your hand. If your thumb knuckle turns white, you are squeezing too hard.
2. Strumming from the shoulder, or with a stiff wrist — Your forearm swings a short way from the elbow and your wrist stays loose and follows. Your shoulder stays still. Nothing is locked.
3. Letting the neck point downward — The neck tilts a little upward, with the headstock slightly higher than the body of the guitar. A downward neck forces your fretting hand into an awkward position.
4. Forgetting to tune — Make tuning the very first thing you do every time you pick up the guitar.
5. Not counting aloud — It feels silly, but counting aloud is the fastest way to develop internal rhythm.
6. A pick that moves — If the pick turns, slips or catches in the strings: put it back in place, show less of the tip, and use a lighter stroke.

Self-Check Questions

1. Can you name at least 8 parts of your guitar without looking at the list in Segment 2 (or the labelled drawing in Guitar Guide)? If not: repeat the “Try this now” under “Know Your Guitar” in Segment 2 (point to each part and say its name aloud, twice), and try again the next day.
2. Tuner check: pluck each open string, from string 6 to string 1. Does the tuner show E, A, D, G, B, E with the needle centred? If not: retune the strings that are out, as in “Tune Your Guitar” in Segment 2 (always tune from below), then pluck all six again.
3. Recording check: record 30 seconds of the Open String Rhythm Exercise at 60 BPM, one strum per click, with the metronome loud enough to hear. Listen once for one thing: does every strum land on its click? If not: go back to the Open String Rhythm Exercise in Segment 4, listen to four clicks before you start and count aloud as you strum, and record again the next day.
4. Can you name the six strings from thickest to thinnest (E, A, D, G, B, E) three times in a row without a mistake? If not: repeat the String Names block of the practice plan, using the memory trick “Eddie Ate Dynamite Good Bye Eddie”, and try again the next day.
5. Pick grip: are about 5 to 8 mm of the tip showing, and does a gentle tug from your other hand pull the pick out? If not: set the pick again by the four steps under “How to Hold a Pick” in Segment 3 and check again. Check once more at the start of your next practice day.

Practice Plan for Week 1 (each practice day, 18 minutes)

Block	Time	Activity
Warm-Up	5 min	The warm-up from this session’s Segment 1, then tune. Tuning is slow in the first week: follow “Tuning for the first time” in Guitar Guide and allow the time
String Names	3 min	Pluck each string and say its name — forward and backward, 5 times
Rhythm Exercise	5 min	The Open String Rhythm Exercise at 60 BPM, one strum per click, then its two variations (strum only on the counts without brackets), counting aloud. Each of the three 4 times through (4 measures each time)
Single String Picking	5 min	Pick each string in turn at 60 BPM, one note per click, 4 beats per string, from string 6 to string 1. Repeat until the time is up

This is your plan for the whole week. The end-of-week check is in Weekly Plans Phase 1 2, Week 1.

Steel-string note: Your fretting-hand fingertips will not hurt yet, because you have not pressed any strings down. That changes next session. If your strumming hand aches from holding the pick: an ache means tension. Stop for today, and next time loosen your grip on the pick. Pain rule: tender fingertips are normal. Pain in the wrist, forearm, thumb joint or knuckles, numbness or tingling, any sharp pain, or pain that lasts into the next day means stop. The full rule is in START HERE.

Guitar Tip — Saga SF-600C-BK

Your guitar’s dreadnought body is larger than many beginner guitars. If it feels big and awkward right now, that is completely normal. The size is what gives it that bold, room-filling sound. The cutaway makes the frets above the 12th easier to reach. The sessions stay below that, so you will not need it during this course. For now, just get comfortable with the weight and balance of the instrument.

After the session (not part of the 50 minutes)

These three readings set up your practice week. They take about 17 minutes in all. Do them today, or at the latest before your first practice day.

• Read: How To Practice, the whole handout. START HERE asked you to read it before this session, so skim it again now. If you have not read it yet, allow about 25 minutes instead. (10 minutes)
• Read: Daily Warmup, the sections “Step 1 — Hand Movements (From Session 1)” and “The Warm-Up by Session” (5 minutes).
• Read: Progress Tracking, the section “Practice Session Log”. Fill in the practice log after each practice day. (2 minutes)