Play Guitar For Life
Go from your first chord to your first solo
Play Guitar For Life is a complete, step-by-step guitar course for beginners, taught by Steve Stine. It starts with holding the guitar and tuning, then moves through open chords, strumming, barre chords, reading tab, the blues, scales and soloing. Along the way you play parts from well-known songs, learn the 12-bar blues, and study the pentatonic scales, the CAGED system and 15 licks. The course has 206 video lessons, about 14 hours in total, in 19 modules with a 136-page PDF book.
What Play Guitar For Life is about
Steve breaks every skill into simple steps you can follow. In these videos, he walks you through the course, then shows you how to choose the right pick and add variety to your rhythm playing.
Course intro: Overview · 1:35
Free preview lesson: Different styles of picks · 4:29
Free preview lesson: Add Rhythm Variety · 2:08
Is Play Guitar For Life right for you?
- Complete beginners. The first module covers picks, the parts of the guitar, string names and tuning before you play a note.
- Self-taught players with gaps. Theory lessons on rhythm, the chromatic scale, chord building and the circle of fifths fill in what you skipped.
- Strummers who want to solo. The second half moves from chords into pentatonic scales, the blues scale, phrasing and licks.
- Players who want one clear path. Chords, rhythm, theory, technique and soloing are laid out in order in a single course.
Skills you'll walk away with
- Play the main open chords, including A, C, D, E, F, G, Am, Bm, Dm and Em
- Strum 10 patterns with accents, dynamics and upstrum emphasis
- Play barre chords on the 6th and 5th strings and move power chords around the neck
- Read guitar tab and use a capo
- Play a 12-bar blues with turnarounds and minor blues variations
- Solo with the major and minor pentatonic scales and the blues scale
- Use vibrato, bends, slides, hammer-ons, pull-offs and trills
- Map chords and scales across the neck with the CAGED system
The course, module by module
The full lesson list is below.
Getting started
Picks and how to hold them, types of guitars, how to hold the guitar, the parts of acoustic and electric guitars, string names and how to tune.
Your first open chords
What a chord is, how to read a chord chart, and the A, C, D, E, F, G, Am, Bm, Dm and Em chords. Then tips for cleaner, faster changes: lift and shift, pivoting, the Cadd9 chord and string control.
Rhythm basics
The metronome and tempo, beat and rhythm, subdivision and time signatures, with a jam track to practice.
Strumming patterns
Strumming technique, accenting, 10 strumming patterns and real-world strumming, then organic strumming, dynamic variation and separating the strings.
Chord variations and the chromatic scale
Adding and taking away fingers to change chord sounds, then the chromatic scale, enharmonic notes and finding notes on every string.
6th-string barre and power chords
Barre chords and power chords with the root on the 6th string.
The major scale, single notes and tab
An introduction to the C major scale, single-note picking fundamentals and how to read guitar tab.
Picking parts from real songs
Arpeggios and downstrokes applied to parts from "Hurt" by Johnny Cash, "(Don't Fear) The Reaper", "More Than a Feeling", "Who Will Save Your Soul" and "Sweet Home Alabama".
Moving chords around the neck
Major and minor barre chords on the 5th string, moving power chords with riffs from "Smoke on the Water", "Living After Midnight" and "Rock You Like a Hurricane", and moving open and barre shapes for new sounds.
Chord theory, progressions and the capo
Upstrum emphasis, how chords are built, common chord progressions and how to use a capo.
Scale positions, palm muting and the circle of fifths
Three-note-per-string patterns in seven scale positions with practice exercises, palm muting, galloping rhythms and the circle of fifths.
Sus chords and 7th chords
Chord expansions with sus2 and sus4 chords on A, Am, B, C, D, Dm, E, Em, F and G, plus 7th chords over each open chord and 6th-string barre chords.
The blues: rhythm
The 12-bar blues, rhythm variations, turnarounds, adding the IV chord, chromatic chords, minor blues and blues power chord patterns, then double stops and embellishments.
Relative minor and pentatonic scales
The relative minor scale, chord fragments, five positions of the major pentatonic, the minor pentatonic, the theory of rock and roll, and jamming between major and minor pentatonic.
7th chord voicings and hand exercises
Jazz shell voicings for dominant, major and minor 7th chords on the 6th and 5th strings and on four strings, a triad conversion trick, finger and alternate picking exercises, and riffs played off a barre chord.
Blues scale, expression and modes
The blues scale and blue note, vibrato, bends, slides, hammer-ons, pull-offs and trills, combining major and minor pentatonic, the seven modes from G Ionian to E Aeolian, and pentatonic expansions with the 9th and 6th.
Soloing: fretboard, phrasing and real-world playing
Exploring the fretboard with pentatonic and diatonic scales, phrasing tips, making solos sound real, a soloing chart, vertical vs. horizontal playing, and stretching to stay healthy.
The CAGED system
The C, D, G and F# chord shapes, learning tips, a practical view of CAGED, arpeggios and minor chords.
15 guitar licks and final thoughts
Fifteen licks taught one at a time with jam tracks, followed by closing thoughts.
Learn at your own pace
Clear video lessons
Every move is shown up close. Pause, rewind and repeat each lesson as often as you need.
Practice materials
Includes 136-page PDF book, Jam tracks. Use them to practice what you learn in each lesson.
Yours for life
Pay once and come back any time, on your computer, tablet or phone. No subscription.
Steve Stine
Steve has taught guitar for more than 30 years and has helped millions of players in over 100 countries. He has a Music Education degree from Minnesota State University Moorhead and taught guitar at North Dakota State University. He's known for breaking hard things into simple steps you can follow. Read Steve's full story
What students say about Steve's teaching
Excellent · 4.8 out of 5 on TrustpilotRead our reviews"Steve Stine is the teacher that I have been looking for a long time."
Jimmy H.United States
"I discovered your courses. I find them great. It's a complete guitar journey and I learned something every week."
Philip M.United States
"It made the fretboard much, much simpler and easier to understand than I have imagined it to be."
Geoffrey E.United Kingdom
"I'm amazed with just how much improvement I've seen in my own guitar playing."
Don B.United States
"What I'd really say is definitely take Steve Stine's course. I think you would find it really, really beneficial."
Demetrio G.Canada
"One major problem that I had was just being lost. Steve helped me find the way."
Jared H.United States
Play Guitar For Life questions
Is this course good for complete beginners?
Do I need to read music?
Which chords will I learn?
Does it cover soloing?
Can I use an acoustic or an electric guitar?
How long is the course?
How much does Play Guitar For Life cost?
Can I watch on my phone or tablet?
Is there a money-back guarantee?
Where to go after Play Guitar For Life
Music Theory For Life 2.0
A 12-week course on notes, reading, scales, chords, progressions, melody, improvisation, modes and ear training.
Blues Guitar
Learn blues rhythm and lead: the 12-bar blues, turnarounds, classic riff styles, pentatonic scales, bends and licks.
Guitar Solos
A step-by-step soloing course: lead techniques, phrasing, pentatonic scales, chord chasing, arpeggios and blues soloing.
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