How to Play Guitar Specialization
Learn to play the guitar in under four months. Everything you need to know to be able to play your favorite songs
Offered By
What you will learn
Identify string names and numbers and read music notation, tablature, chord block diagrams, and fretboard maps
Practice picking, finger picking, and strumming patterns
Play various chords including major and minor triads, open, barre, and pose chords
Read and play a lead sheet
Skills you will gain
About this Specialization
Applied Learning Project
Throughout this specialization, you will practice and perform various guitar techniques and skills including scales, chords, strumming, and picking. You'll practice your new skills up and down the guitar neck and in different positions. You'll also perform rhythm and melody lines reading a lead sheet, using tablature and notation.
No previous background necessary.
No previous background necessary.
There are 4 Courses in this Specialization
Guitar for Beginners
Grasp the essentials needed to begin playing acoustic or electric guitar. You'll learn an easy approach to get you playing quickly, through a combination of exploring the instrument, performance technique, and basic music theory.
Guitar Scales and Chord Progressions
You’ve got the guitar basics down: You can strum your guitar and play a few of your favorite songs, but you’re ready to take the tunes to the next level. In Guitar Scales and Chord Progressions you’ll expand your knowledge of scales, chord fingerings, and common chord progressions. You’ll also learn important skills for soloing, creating melodies, and adding depth and dimension to your guitar playing.
Guitar Chord Voicings: Playing Up The Neck
Whether you’re just picking up the guitar for the first time or you’ve been playing the guitar for years and want to take your playing to the next level, Guitar Chords 101 will help you develop a deeper knowledge and understanding of chords. Guitar Chords 101 presents Berklee’s approach to constructing chords, a method that focuses less on the shape of an individual chord, and more on the notes that the chord is based around. You will learn to construct and play triads, basic 7th chords, inversions, and different chord voicings—the basic foundations guitarists use to write or perform in any number of different styles.
Guitar Performance Techniques
Your favorite guitarist didn't become your favorite guitarist without the support of other musicians. The most important skill for a guitarist to learn is the exact same skill that was so important in kindergarten: playing well with others. Guitar Performance Techniques gives guitarists the essential and practical skills to play well with others in any ensemble situation. This course begins with daily warm-up techniques that help you prepare for rehearsals, jam sessions, and stage performances. From there, you'll explore chords, time accuracy, tone production, ear training, and the many aspects of jamming with other musicians. Upon successful completion of this course, you will be able to confidently interact with other musicians in a group setting and bring your A-game to any jam session you join.
Offered by

Berklee College of Music
Berklee College of Music was founded on the revolutionary principle that the best way to prepare students for careers in music is through the study and practice of contemporary music. For more than half a century, the college has evolved to reflect the state of the art of music and the music business. Berklee serves distance learners worldwide through its award-winning online extension school, Berklee Online.
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