The best and fastest way to learn to play guitar for an absolute beginner is to hire a teacher. In-person one-on-one lessons (or online one-on-one lessons) are invaluable for absolute beginners. Regardless of the skill you’re trying to master—be it guitar, golf, bike riding, or brain surgery—there’s no substitute for this personalized approach. Absolute beginners will genuinely appreciate a coach’s immediate feedback and direction, which is crucial when learning something new. A so-so music teacher sitting directly across from you is superior to the best YouTube lesson. Once you find a great music teacher, giving them your best effort, if only for a few weeks, will produce the desired results.

If you are a beginner facing insurmountable barriers to in-person guitar lessons, I recommend ROCKSMITH 2014 EDITION for Xbox and Playstation or ROCKSMITH 2014 Remastered on STEAM. The game is fun, but look deeper and try the beginner lessons, which teach everything. Connecting your real guitar to your game system or PC/MAC using the ROCKSMITH Real Tone cable provides instant feedback. I am not teaching private lessons. However, if I set out to teach someone picking up the guitar for the first time in our digital age, I would encourage them to learn at home with ROCKSMITH 2014 EDITION and meet with me once a week for 30 minutes of evaluation and encouragement.

My Rehearsals and Exercises method offers musicians at all levels a comprehensive set of basic exercises and a plan to motivate them to practice consistently. It’s a straightforward and effective way to learn. After a few one-on-one in-person lessons, beginners can train their fretting and picking hands to play accurately with less tension and get desired results using my Two Up and One Down template for my 62 Basic Sequential Exercises and Speed Seesaw method. Watch for my upcoming video series, The PATH2FAST 26 month Challenge for absolute beginners (Check out my article ‘We Have to Talk About Pinkies’ to learn more about this challenge). I will take on the role of an absolute beginner and teach myself to play guitar left-handed using only my methods and tools by completing my 62 Basic Sequential Exercises in 26 weeks, demonstrating the simplicity and effectiveness of my process.