I have just bought my guitar - what now!?
First - And this is very important! 
If you have a persevering mindset together we can sort out any issue you may have.
SO
(because my help is an email away)
rather, chill out, relax and enjoy learning to play the nylon string guitar! Playing the guitar is really easy. I promise you!
Now....
Simply follow these easy steps to get started:
These steps are taken from the UpGuitarHill Play Guitar FAQ.
But, I have simplified the information so that this page contains the absolute basics for you to get started.
Once you have read through these steps and can apply them you will be ready to start Lesson 1.
Remember to enjoy playing the guitar and take it easy.
If you do not do it 100% correctly, or even 10% correctly at first then this is no problem.
Just try your best and we will slowly fix all the areas that need attention as you work through the lessons.
Remember the goal here is to get you started with Lesson 1 and making music!
If you can play TOM DOOLEY then you have taken a very big "first step" into playing the nylon string guitar.
First we need to get you holding and playing your guitar (strumming and pressing chords) and also making sure you can tune the guitar strings if they go out of tune. And replace the strings if necessary if they get old or break. Learning to replace strings is not absolutely necessary at first because a new guitar should have new strings which should last a few months. My video below shows you how to do this so that you will be able to change your guitar strings yourself and, with practice, in about 10 minutes flat!
Tuning the nylon guitar's strings is quite important. As such you must obtain a guitar tuner! These are cheap to buy and can be obtained from any music instrument store and are essential to your guitar playing, especially for a beginner. There are many different types of electronic guitar tuner but all work pretty much the same as the one I use in my video below. Because you want to focus your efforts totally on learning to play the guitar, and not on worrying how to keep your guitar in tune, you simply have to buy an electronic guitar tuner and use the guitar tuner help you to "easily" keep the guitar in tune. This is important OK!
AT ALL TIMES CHILL OUT AND ENJOY AS YOU START YOUR JOURNEY UPGUITARHILL!
When I started to play guitar I was taught the basics by friends and just started to play the guitar. I didn't know anything about the best way to do things. I simply jumped in and began to play the instrument! I used to spend hours sitting on the edge of my bed or on the floor of my room or on a couch or on the ground out in the garden etc., most times with my knees crossed as I held the instrument and experimented, trying this and that. I started out with a few simple chord songs and spent hours and hours playing these simple songs and loving every minute of it!
I played like this for a long time until I figured out that playing in a chair and using a guitar stand, to hold my music, and using a foot stool gave me more stability and focus when playing the guitar. But even now I can happily sit around outside or next to a fire with my friends, on the grass and play my guitar. The fact that a guitar is so easy to use and in almost any situation is one of the reasons it is such a fantastic instrument!
Once you get started and through Lesson 1. you can slowly fix your technique by following my instructions. The important thing to do when you start out is simply to start, keep at it and enjoy this wonderful instrument!
OK... COOL! So here is a short description of the better way to play the guitar.
1. The correct way to hold the nylon guitar can be seen in this picture:
Relaxed and easy! The D chord (a collection of single notes played together) is made up of the notes A + D + F# (sharp). F# is the note next to the F (the next empty space to the right) that I asked you to play just now. Very important is to push down on to the fret board with the tips of the fingers (the ends of your fingers right under the finger nail). If you don't use the tips then the fleshy part of the finger (off the tip) will not be able to push down properly on the string. Your left shoulder must be relaxed and the elbow hanging downwards. The thumb is behind the fret board, helping the fingers to press the strings. Also note the D chord in the picture above and see that the fingers are all quite close to the front fret dividers i.e. the metal bars on the right of each empty space (or fret) on the fret board that divide the fret board into sections or frets. If you try your best to play close to the fret to the right of each space then this will help the string to sound clearer. Or put another way. If your note or chord sounds muffled then move your finger closer to the riht fret (as you look down at your left hand while holding the guitar) to help you to produce a clearer sound. And if you hear a buzz then try adjusting your fingers closer to the right and towards the fret dividers (but not on top of them) or pressing your fingers down harder onto the fretboard. This will take a while (a few days of practice) as your hand needs to develop strength to push the chords. Be patient and keep at it! The more you play the stronger, fitter and tougher your hand and fingers will become and the easier it will be to play the guitar. Initially, when you start to play, it is a good idea to stop occasionally and check the clarity of each chord you play. Use the right hand Thumb or Index finger to pluck each string at a time to ensure that the sound is clear. If unclear, muffled or stilted then you will need to adjust your hand a little or press harder until the chord can be heard properly and the notes sound out clearly. Check each string on its own (for the chord you are playing) and then strum them all together to hear the full sound of your chord. You may initially find the tips of your fingers of your left hand gets tender and sore from pressing the strings. This is normal and will soon go away as you develop calluses (little hard spots of skin) on your fingertips. Also your hand may ache from the strain of trying to keep the chord in formation and sounding clear. Please be patient and do not give up. It does take a little time to build up the strength in your left hand and for hard calluses to develop on the tips of your fingers and the only way to do this is to play a little each day until your hand becomes used pressing chords. You will find that you eventually play without discomfort. This will happen after a week of two of practice. Many people give up the instrument because they find this first bit a problem. Please don't. Just have the right attitude, like Jonathan Seagull, and you will be surprised at how quickly you get into it. A final point is that your finger nails of your left hand must be kept short. 3. And the right hand that strums chords or picks notes. How should I hold this hand over the guitar? Before you play you can put your fingers onto the strings to ensure the hand is correctly positioned. I.e. rest your thumb on the top string and then gently hook your index, middle and ring finger onto the lower three nylon strings of the guitar. See picture below. Now move the fingers into the position described in the 1st and 4th pictures above and move your hand overall into the position shown in the second picture above. I.e. next to but not covering the sound hole. Look at the 4th picture above to see exactly what I mean. While you play try and keep your hand "approximately" in this position at all times. It will tend to float away from the guitar as you play so remember to bring it back the the correct position every once in a while. After a while it will remain in place and the right hand position will become second nature to you. Your nails on your right hand must not be as short as the left hand. They must also not be so long that they hook into the strings. Click here to go to the FAQ to see how to maintain your right hand (your strumming and picking hand finger nails). Use the back arrow of your web browser to get back here. Now try to see all the points above as a whole and use this as a set up each time you pick up your guitar to play it. But don't get too serious about it. If you are making music then you are there! Just be aware that it is a good idea to try and aspire towards "good" technique now because, later on, when we get into finger picking, good technique will really help you to play better! For now, just enjoy! 4. Click Here to watch the video that shows you how to put new strings on the guitar. Note the FAQ has more detail if you require. (use the back arrow of your web browser to get back here) 5. Click Here to watch the video that shows you how to tune your new the guitar. Note the FAQ has more detail if you require. (use the back arrow of your web browser to get back here) Step by step and a step at a time, keeping at it, is the sure way to learn to play a musical instrument. And do not forget to read the Student Motivation. On the UpGuitarHill Web site, on the cork board (see top menu), you will find an image of a Seagull. Or find him flying below. Click this link to read up about Jonathan Livingston Seagull and learn how he persevered when he started out on his flying career! Click the folder above for your own copy of START UPGUITARHILL (
2. The left hand presses the chords or plays notes on the guitar fret board to your left, if you look down onto the guitar while you hold it. The correct way to hold the left hand can be seen in these 4 pictures:
Obviously you are holding the guitar so you need to adjust the pictures to represent what you will see. Possibly the last picture above is the closest to what you will see as you look down on your left hand as you hold the guitar. Note that the picture below is bad technique. Even though the steel string or electric guitar neck is not as wide as a nylon string guitar, one should always try not to let your thumb roll over the top of the guitar. Rather the thumb should press against the back of the guitar fret board supporting the fingers as they press down on the notes or as you press chords.
Don't let your thumb come over the neck!
The picture below shows a D Major chord being pressed and with the thumb in the correct position - behind the guitar neck.
A chord is a collection of notes played in unison. If you hold down only one string at one place on the fret board (any place) you will play a single musical note. Or if you play any of the strings open (without pressing down on the guitar fret board) from top to bottom are E, A, D, G, B, E. If you press your finger on the first string (closest to the floor) and into the first space between the left side of the fret board and the first fret divider (the metal strip) on the right of the first space then you will play an F note. [Do not try and remember all of this! Just get a feel for how notes and chords work for now]
The hand hovers over the sound hold of the guitar - slightly to the right of it if you look down onto the guitar while you hold it. The wrist must be kept up and away from the guitar and the fingers and thumb must look similar to the first picture below i.e. when viewed from above / when you look down on your right hand. The first picture below is a perfect position. It is ok if you get half way there at first. Remember that if we know the perfect position we can try to work slowly towards it. With this position your fingers and thumb are correctly placed to pick the strings and move freely when strumming.
As you set up to play, a good tip to follow is this:
That's it! Now pick up your guitar and let's start with Lesson 1.
If you have any extra questions then please email me.
Read it a little at a time (a section at a time) and go back to it again and again.
This is very important and will really help you to keep focused moving forward with your guitar.
Zipped 
pdf )
