Playing Guitar
Learn a handful of chords and you can play real songs by the weekend.
~$246Cost to start
ModerateDifficulty
30–60 minTime / session
2 setup steps, ~$246 all in. Nothing to buy until you say so.
Is it you?
Nobody has scored this against your answers yet. 30–60 min at a time, $246 to find out whether it sticks.
NoiseLoudSpaceSmall corner
The path15 quests
ASetting up2 things to sort, in any order$259
- Get a guitar and a clip-on tuner
- Leave it out on a stand where you sit
Then the quests
- Play G, C, D and Em with every string ringing
- Play a four-chord song end to end
- Change between two chords 30 times in a minute
More on Playing Guitar
Everything else we have written about it. Free to read, no account needed.
Guides1
What to buy9
Best Acoustic Guitar Strings for Beginners: Gauge, Coating, and ToneFresh strings transform how a guitar sounds and feels: and beginners often play far too long on old, dead ones. Light-gauge strings are easier on new fingers, and coated strings last longer. Here is what to put on your acoustic, how we chose, and what to expect.Best Beginner Acoustic Guitar 2026: Yamaha FG800 vs Fender CD-60S vs Taylor GS MiniThe first acoustic guitar makes or breaks whether you stick with the instrument. Spend $80 and you'll quit in 6 months. Spend $230 and you'll be playing in 5 years. Here are the three acoustics worth buying as a beginner.Best Beginner Electric Guitars: The Yamaha Pacifica and Its RivalsA good beginner electric is easy to play, stays in tune, and is versatile enough for any style, and you do not need to spend much to get one. The Yamaha Pacifica is the runaway favourite. Here are three, how we chose them, and what to expect.Best Beginner Guitar Amps: From Practice Amp to Modeling PowerhouseAn electric guitar needs an amp to make a sound, but the right beginner amp does far more than get loud. Modern modeling amps pack dozens of tones and effects into a small box. Here are three worth plugging into, how we chose them, and what to expect.Best Guitar Cables for Beginners: Length, Quality, and NoiseA guitar cable seems like an afterthought until a cheap one fails mid-song or hums with noise. A good instrument cable is reliable, quiet, and lasts years. Here is what to buy, how we chose, and what to expect, and why you do not need to spend a fortune.Best Guitar Capos for Beginners: Quick-Change, Clamp, and Tuning StabilityA capo clamps across the fretboard to raise your guitar’s pitch, letting you play songs in new keys using the easy open chords you already know. It is a small, cheap tool that unlocks a huge amount of music. Here are three, how we chose them, and what to expect.Best Guitar Picks for Beginners: Gauge, Material, and What to TryPicks are cheap, tiny, and weirdly important, the gauge you hold changes how easily you strum and how your guitar sounds. Buy a variety, find your favourite, then stock up. Here is where to start, how we chose, and what to expect.Best Guitar Straps for Beginners: Comfort, Material, and FitA strap lets you stand up and play, and a comfortable one makes long sessions painless. It is a small purchase with a real effect on how much you enjoy playing. Here are three worth wearing, how we chose them, and what to expect.Best Guitar Tuners for Beginners: Clip-On, Metronome, and StrobeAn out-of-tune guitar sounds bad no matter how well you play, and trains your ear wrong. A clip-on tuner is one of the cheapest, most essential things a beginner can own. Here are three, how we chose them, and what to expect.
From the blog12
Dopamine Hobbies: 15 That Reset Your Brain (Without a Screen)Not all dopamine is created equal. The kind you get from a screen is fast, free, and leaves you flat. The kind you earn from a hobby comes after a bit of effort, which is exactly why it sticks. Here are 15 hobbies built around that second, better kind of reward, grouped by whether you want a fast hit or a slow burn.Hobbies for ADHD: 13 Activities That Match How Your Brain WorksADHD brains often thrive on novelty, immediate feedback, and hyperfocus when something genuinely holds their interest. The hobbies that tend to stick share a few common traits: something happening in the body or the environment, fast enough feedback to stay engaged, and a ceiling high enough to sustain interest for years rather than weeks.17 Hobbies That Actually Make You More ConfidentConfidence isn't a personality trait you're born with, it's a by-product of doing hard things and getting better at them. These 17 hobbies build it on purpose: by putting you on a stage, in a sparring ring, on a wall, or simply in front of a skill you slowly master. Pick the kind of brave you want to get.Best Hobbies for ENFJs: What Genuinely Fits the ProtagonistIf you are an ENFJ, you have probably read a few "hobbies for your personality type" lists and found them warm but weightless. They tell you that you like people. You knew that. What they miss is the specific way an ENFJ gets restless: a hobby that keeps you at arm's length from other people will quietly drain you no matter how good you get at it, and a hobby with no one to lift, connect, or grow alongside will start to feel a little pointless even when it is objectively fun. You do not just want company while you do a thing. You want the thing itself to move people, gather them, or help them become more than they were. This is the honest version of the list: the hobbies that genuinely fit that mind, whether or not they are the obvious ones, and one uncomfortable recommendation at the end that most ENFJs need more than any of them.
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