How do I use a clip-on guitar tuner for acoustic or electric guitar?

Attach it to the guitar headstock, pluck one string at a time, and adjust the tuning peg until the display shows the correct pitch.

What is the difference between a hammer-on, pull-off, slide, and muting technique?

Hammer-ons sound a higher note without picking, pull-offs sound a lower note, slides move between frets, and muting controls unwanted string noise.

How can a metronome improve guitar rhythm and strumming?

A metronome provides a steady beat, helping you practice consistent timing, accurate note values, and controlled strumming patterns.

Free Course Image Guitar lessons from Beginner to Advanced

Free online course Guitar lessons from Beginner to Advanced

Duration of the online course: 1 hours and 17 minutes

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Build real guitar skills fast with this free online course—tuning, posture, tone, rhythm, chords and scales—ideal for confident playing and progress.

In this free course, learn about

Guitar Foundations: Setup, Posture, and Tone
Lead Guitar Techniques and Improvisation
Rhythm Guitar: Chords and Notation
Rhythm Guitar: Blues and Strumming Patterns

About the free online course

Want to play guitar with confidence instead of guessing your way through chords and rhythms? This free online guitar course guides you from the first essentials to the techniques that make your playing sound musical, controlled, and expressive. Whether you hold an acoustic or an electric, you will build solid habits that translate to any style, while keeping a clear focus on skills you can use immediately.

You will start by making your instrument feel reliable: tuning accurately, understanding the main parts of the guitar, and setting up a comfortable posture that helps your hands move efficiently. From there, the course helps you shape your sound. You will explore how touch and technique affect tone and volume so your playing stops feeling flat and starts responding to your intention, even with simple notes.

As your foundation becomes stronger, you will learn practical fretboard tools that unlock creativity. Pentatonic major and minor ideas are introduced in a way that supports improvisation, so you can begin making your own musical phrases instead of only repeating shapes. You will also develop essential articulations like hammer-ons, pull-offs, slides, and muting to clean up your playing, reduce unwanted noise, and add a professional feel to riffs and melodies.

Rhythm is treated as a core skill, not an afterthought. You will practice with a metronome to build steady time, then apply that control to rhythm guitar with strumming approaches that work across genres. You will also connect what you play to basic rhythmic notation, helping you communicate with other musicians and learn songs more efficiently. Power chords and blues-inspired grooves add real-world application, giving you the tools to sound convincing in a band setting or while jamming on your own.

By the end, you will have a more confident technique, better timing, and a clearer understanding of how to practice effectively. If you are looking for a structured way to improve—from beginner fundamentals to advanced-ready skills—this course gives you a practical path forward, one focused session at a time.

Course content

Video class: Guitar for Beginners: How to Use a Guitar Tuner | Tuning | Kim Perlak | Electric, Acoustic | Berklee 04m
Exercise: What function does the clip-on tuner serve when attached to the head of the guitar?
Video class: Guitar for Beginners: Correct Posture | Guitar Parts | Kim Perlak | Electric, Acoustic | Berklee 09m
Exercise: Which of the following parts is found on both acoustic and electric guitars?
Video class: Guitar for Beginners: Techniques for Tone on Electric and Acoustic Guitar | Kim Perlak | Berklee 06m
Exercise: Which of the following techniques allows a guitarist to create different volumes when playing?

Video class: Guitar for Beginners: Improvising with the Major and Minor Pentatonic Scale | Kim Perlak | Berklee 10m
Exercise: Which finger is utilized to identify the root note of a minor pentatonic scale when using pattern number 1 on the guitar?
Video class: Guitar for Beginners: Key Techniques—Hammer-Ons, Pull-Offs, Slides, Muting | Kim Perlak | Berklee 07m
Exercise: Which guitar technique is specifically described as using the fretting hand to push down on a lower note and then 'hammering' a higher note onto the fretboard while the original note is still ringing?
Video class: Guitar for Beginners: Using a Metronome for Practice with Rhythm Guitar | Kim Perlak | Berklee 06m
Exercise: What is the purpose of using a metronome during guitar practice?

Video class: Guitar Lesson for Beginners: Power Chords on Acoustic or Electric Guitar | Kim Perlak | Berklee 08m
Exercise: Which fingers are generally used to play a standard A5 power chord on the guitar?
Video class: Guitar Lesson for Beginners: Rhythmic Notation Basics on Acoustic or Electric | Kim Perlak | Berklee 07m
Exercise: In musical notation, how many beats does a whole note typically last in 4/4 time?

Video class: Guitar Lesson for Beginners: Blues Shuffle Strumming Patterns | Acoustic or Electric Rhythm Guitar 10m
Exercise: Which technique is NOT typically used in a major blues shuffle on guitar?
Video class: Guitar Lesson for Beginners: Strumming Patterns on Acoustic or Electric | Kim Perlak | Berklee 05m
Exercise: What is the primary purpose of the split strum technique on the guitar?

Learn aboutAdvanced Guitar

Explore free online Advanced Guitar courses designed to sharpen your technique, expand your music theory knowledge, and improve improvisation, soloing, fingerstyle, rhythm, and performance. Learn at your own pace from expert-led lessons, build professional-level guitar skills, and earn a certificate to showcase your achievement.