Onboarding · Absolute beginner
First Notes
Strings, frets, and famous tunes — fast enough to decide if guitar is for you.
What you'll know at the end
- Every part of your guitar, named
- A guitar you tuned yourself
- All six open strings, by name
- Clean fretted notes — and the note names up the A string
- Nine riffs and tunes incl. Smoke on the Water and Happy Birthday
Skips · Strumming · Chords (Zero to Hero owns them) · Anything fast
Setup
Mic on, guitar known, guitar in tune.
Can You Hear Me?
Turn on the mic, make a sound, pluck a string. That's the whole exercise.
Parts of the Guitar
Body, neck, headstock — meet the eight parts every lesson names.
Sit & Hold
Feet flat, guitar on your strumming-side thigh, pulled in close.
Hold the Pick
Pinch it between your thumb and the side of your index — small tip showing.
Tune It Up
Six pegs, six checkmarks. A tuned guitar is half the battle.
By the end · Set up like a guitarist: seated, picked, tuned.
Open Strings
Six strings under your fingers, by name.
Play the Open Strings
Six open strings, low to high — a dot at fret 0 means press nothing.
Open String Drill
Two minutes, as many correct plucks as you can. Beat your best score.
By the end · Six strings: played, and named on demand.
Frets & Fingers
Press, make it ring, climb.
Fret a Note
Thumb behind the neck, fingertip just behind the fret, press light.
Make It Ring
Clear note or buzz? Three fixes, checked on your own guitar.
The Two-Note Stalk (Jaws)
Open E and fret 1, alternating. You just played Jaws.
Wake the Pinky
Four frets, four fingers, one pass — the pinky joins the band.
Spider
1-2-3-4 on every string, three times over. Beat your best time.
Climbing the A String
Walk the A string and name every note on the way up — A to A.
Smoke on the Water
The most famous riff in rock, on one string. Deep Purple, 1972.
By the end · Clean notes on purpose — and your first famous riff.
First Melodies
Tunes people will recognise.
Hot Cross Buns
Three notes, two strings — the gentlest melody in music.
Mary Had a Little Lamb
Four notes in Twinkle's neighbourhood. A whole verse.
Twinkle Twinkle
14 notes, two strings, one tune your grandmother will recognise.
Ode to Joy
Beethoven, one step at a time. Two phrases, five notes.
Jingle Bells
The chorus. Instantly recognizable from the first three notes.
When the Saints Go Marching In
Four rising notes, over and over — pure joy in one position.
By the end · Six tunes down. Your ear is leading now.
Graduation
The crown jewel.
Happy Birthday
The most-played song on Earth. Yours now, on the thin strings.
By the end · You play guitar now. Zero to Hero is waiting.
Chords are next: Zero to Hero.