Sometimes in learning how to play guitar, we need some simple guitar exercises to help us along.
If you're just starting out, these guitar exercises for beginners will make you a better player.
Whether you’re working on chord changes or finger exercises for guitar, these are perfect for setting a solid foundation that can take you to more advanced playing.
We've organized this list to get more difficult as it goes along.
If some of these guitar exercises are a bit too advanced, there are plenty of beginner guitar lessons worth digging into.
Here are the 10 best guitar exerciese that will make you good!
1. Smooth Chord Transitions (G to C and D to A)
This might be the most important beginner guitar exercise to know and understand.
Nailing smooth chord transitions, in rhythm and time, can take you very far.
Open up a guitar chord chart and play along.
Some of the most common open chord combinations to work on are G to C and D to A.
Knowing how to switch chords quickly and with ease is important if you want to play your favorite songs without hiccups.
How to Practice
Start by strumming the first open chord (let’s say G) four times.
Then transition to the second chord (C) while staying in tempo, strumming it four times as well.
Keep repeating this process, focusing on making the transition smooth. Start slow, then pick up the pace as you get better.
Grab an online metronome to help you keep the beat and stay in rhythm.
Keep your fingers close to the fretboard to speed up your transitions.
It's ok to start off by lifting your fingers completely off the fretboard.
Gradually work on only lifting your fingers up slightly to make the transition.
This is one of the most effective guitar finger exercises for improving muscle memory and accuracy.
2. Power Chord Riffs
Power chords are the heart of rock and metal.
Power chords are simple to finger and sound huge!
Since they double the root note of each chord, the resulting sound is powerful.
Plus, they’re just plain fun to play.
Creating power chord riffs is a great way to express yourself and feel like a rock legend.
How to Practice
Start with a basic two-string power chord, like 5th fret on the low E string and 7th fret on the A string.
Use downstrokes to strum in simple rhythms, and practice moving between different frets (like from the 5th fret to the 7th fret).
Muting the unused strings will be key.
You'll lessen the power of these chords if other strings are ringing out.
This helps you build control and precision, which is key for playing fast and accurate riffs.
3. Chord Strumming with Palm Muting
Palm muting is a cool technique to give your strumming a bit more texture and dynamics.
You can palm mute on electric or acoustic guitar, the concept works the same.
Palm muting is a great technique to use if you are playing solo, or for a quiet section of a song.
This exercise helps you develop control while keeping your rhythm solid.
How to Practice
Let's try this on an E major open chord.
With your strumming hand, lightly rest the side of your palm directly on the strings as you strum.
This is how you 'palm mute.'
Try strumming three ways:
1) With your palm pressed on the strings. This will make it almost impossible for the chord to ring.
2) With your palm raised completely off the strings. This will allow the chord to ring out strong.
3) With your palm lightly toughing the strings, not fully pressed but not completely off. This will give the chord a muffling effect. This is the correct way to palm mute.
It might be tricky at first and you'll need to play around with this to make it sound right.
Palm muting is also a rhythmic technique, so use an online metronome and start slow to get it right.
As you get comfortable, try it with strumming patterns or longer chord progressions.
4. Pentatonic Scale Practice
The pentatonic scale is one of the most essential tools for guitarists.
Especially if you want to dive into rock, blues, or general soloing.
It's probably the most versatile scale available to guitarists.
You can play this scale over most styles of music.
Practicing guitar scales in general is a great way to build speed and accuracy.
How to Practice
Start with the A minor pentatonic scale at the 5th fret.
Play through the five notes on each string (like 5th fret, 8th fret on low E, and 5th fret, 7th fret on A).
Make sure to alternate pick each note and take your time to ensure each note rings out clearly.
Practice going up and down the scale using alternate picking.
As you get more comfortable, gradually speed up to work on your speed and precision.
5. Arpeggio Practice
Arpeggios are simply chords played one note at a time.
Instead of strumming a chord with one big downstroke, you'll pluck through each string individually and let them ring out.
Guitar arpeggios sound beautiful and are an awesome way to improve your picking accuracy and finger coordination.
How to Practice
Pick a simple chord like an open C major.
Instead of strumming, pluck each string individually from low to high.
Focus on letting each note ring out clearly.
Then try plucking the strings from high to low.
Either direction will create a new mood and an atmospheric effect with the guitar chord.
They key is to play the arpeggio in rhythm.
It can be easy to loose your place with all of these strings ringing out, so use a metronome to keep a steady pace.
Try a simple chord progression and play with arpeggiating each chord instead of strumming them.
You can create really cool sounds by switching between upward and downward arpeggiations for each chord.
6. Spider Exercise
This is a classic guitar finger exercise for building dexterity, finger independence and strength.
It might feel awkward at first, but it's super effective.
The spider legs exercise will help with your finger coordination across both hands and throughout the fretboard.
How to Practice
Start on the low E string at the 5th fret.
Place your fingers on the frets 5, 6, 7, and 8 with each finger assigned to a fret (index on 5, middle on 6, ring on 7, pinky on 8).
Play one note at a time, moving across all six strings, and then reverse back.
Pro tip: practice this while also doing alternate picking in your picking hand.
This will quickly build your speed and dexterity on the fretboard.
7. Hammer-Ons and Pull-Offs
Mastering hammer-ons and pull-offs is great for adding flair to your playing.
A guitar hammer-on is when you play a note and then press down on the same string with another finger to produce a second note.
For example; pluck the open A string.
While the note rings out, press your index finger down on the 5th fret.
You'll hear a new note without plucking the string a second time.
A guitar pull-off is when you pluck a string with a fretted finger to make a note ring out, then pull the finger away from the string to produce a second note.
Basically the reverse of a hammer-on.
Start by plucking the A string with your index finger on the 5th fret.
While the note rings out, release your finger from the fret and you should hear the open A string note without plucking the string a second time.
Pull-offs can be difficult to pull off (haha) because to make that second note loud enough you may need to slightly pull the string that you are releasing before you release it.
I know, a bit confusing.
Hammer-on's and pull-off's are commonly used in solos and riffs, so getting them down early can be helpful.
How to Practice
Here's another example of how these techniques work.
On the 5th fret of the 6th string, pick the note, then "hammer-on" to the 7th fret by pressing down firmly without picking again.
To do a pull-off, reverse the process: pick the 7th fret and pull your finger off to let the 5th fret ring out.
Start slow and make sure both notes ring out clearly.
Over time, try to speed up your hammer-ons and pull-offs to make them seamless.
These soloing techniques go hand in hand with tapping to make wild flourishes in your guitar solos.
But that's for another article.
8. String Skipping
String skipping helps develop your picking accuracy and hand coordination.
This a great guitar exercise if you want to get into soloing.
Simply put, you'll be playing notes on one string, then instead of going to the next highest string, you'll skip that string and play the next highest string.
How to Practice
Start by playing the 5th fret of the low E string.
Then play the 7th fret on the D string.
Might sound easier than it is.
You'll notice it could take some trial and error before you're able to do this without looking.
Continue this pattern across the fretboard, skipping every other string.
Make sure each note rings out cleanly.
Pro tip: Use alternate picking - downstroke the low note, then upstroke the higher note.
By working this way, you'll be better positioned to skip a string accurately and less likely to get tangled up in the string you're trying to skip.
You will be using the string skipping technique when you work on octaves, which we'll talk about more below.
9. Chord Inversions
Chord inversions are a cool way to add variety to basic chords.
They help you get comfortable with moving up and down the neck while playing familiar chords in new ways.
An "inversion" is when you play a basic three note chord but place the higher notes below the lower root note.
Stay with me.
A C major chord is made up of the notes C, E, and G from lowest to highest.
This chord is not inverted, the root note C is on the bottom.
To create the "1st inversion" you'll take the top note, G and move it an octave lower so it's now below the root C note.
To create the "2nd inversion" you'll again take the top note, which is now E, and move it an octave lower below the root C note (and also below the newly placed G note).
It's still a C major chord; the notes are all the same.
But you'll notice that placing the higher notes below the root C note changes the color of the chord and gives it a bit of flavor.
Pro tip: since the lower note has changed from C, you'll typically see inversion chords written with a slash.
So if it's a 1st inversion chord with the lowest note being G, you'll see the chord written like this: C/G
If it's a 2nd inversion chord with the lowest note being E, you'll see the chord written like this: C/E
How to Practice
Let's stick with open C major.
To add G on the bottom you'll move your ring finger to the 3rd fret, low E string.
You can then either replace your ring finger with your pinky on 3rd fre A string, or mute the A string all together.
To add E on the bottom, simply play the open C major chord and let the low E string ring out instead of muting it.
Inversions are great for adding texture to your playing, so experiment with them in different chord progressions.
10. Travis Picking
Travis picking is a classic fingerpicking technique that alternates the bass notes and melody.
It’s a great way to build coordination between your picking hand fingers.
The pattern also creates a nice rhythmic flow.
You've undoubtedly heard Travis picking before, it's used across genres and through time.
Most people will need to start slow with this technique, as it can take time to get it souunding smooth.
How to Practice
Start with a basic chord like C major in your fretting hand.
This way we can simply talk about your picking fingers since the frets won't change.
Begin by plucking the A string and the D string with your thumb on a quarter note rhythm (1, 2, 3, 4).
This 'bass motion' is the foundation of Travis picking.
Repeat this simple first step for a while until you get very comfortible with it.
Then add your middle finger by plucking the B string in between your thumb/bass plucks.
Again, repeat this new pattern until you feel comfortible.
You can then add your index finger on the G string.
The finger rhythm will look like this: thumb (A string), middle (B string), thumb (D string), index (G string).
Go. Slow.
It's key to start correctly with this fingerpicking technique.
Once you get the hang of it slowly, you will easily be able to speed it up.
Once you get the hang of it, try applying it to different chords and progressions for a full song feel.
Bonus Guitar Exercise - Octave Jumps
Did you know that you can play the same note one octave higher by moving up two strings then up two frets?
Octave jumps help you practice moving up and down the neck while playing the same note at different pitches.
It’s great for understanding the fretboard and building muscle memory.
This will also help with your string skipping and right-hand/left-hand coordination.
How to Practice
Start by playing the 5th fret on the low E string.
Then jump to the 7th fret on the D string.
Can you hear that the note is the same, but it's a higher pitch?
That's an octave up (or an octave down depending on how you look at it).
You'll hear this technique being played in the bass guitar across a lot of 70's Disco music.
Watch out for the B string!
Since the B string is tuned by a 6th, you'll need to actually move up 3 frets to find the octave on the B string.
For example, if you want to find the octave of the fifth fret of the D string, you would normally play the seventh fret of the B string.
However, because of the B string's unique tuning, the actual octave is found on the eighth fret.
Otherwise, this technique is uniform across the entire guitar.
Focus on keeping your picking consistent, and make sure each note rings out clearly.
This exercise will improve your ability to move across the neck efficiently.
Final Thoughts
These beginner guitar exercises are perfect for building the fundamental skills you need to improve your playing.
Whether it’s mastering chord transitions, honing your rhythm, or digging into scales with guitar finger exercises, consistency is key.
These guitar exercises for beginners will not only enhance your playing now but also set you up for more advanced techniques, including the best guitar exercises for shred.
So grab your guitar and start practicing!
FAQ
Is 2 hours of guitar a day enough?
Yes, 2 hours of guitar a day is more than enough, especially if you’re focused and practice effectively. Quality matters more than quantity, so if you break it up into focused sessions, you'll see great progress.
Is 20 minutes of guitar a day enough?
Yes, 20 minutes a day can still be effective, especially if you’re consistent. It’s all about making the most of the time you have, so focus on specific exercises or techniques during each session.
Is practicing guitar 30 minutes a day enough?
Definitely! Practicing guitar for 30 minutes a day is a solid routine for building skills over time. Just make sure to mix up what you practice to cover chords, scales, and songs.
What should I practice on guitar every day?
You should practice a mix of scales, chords, and songs every day. Throw in some guitar finger exercises and maybe a spider exercise for extra dexterity.
How many hours does it take to become a good guitarist?
It really depends on your goals, but most people start feeling confident after about 500-1000 hours of practice. Consistency is key, so regular practice over months or years is what gets you there.
How long does it take for fingers to get used to guitar?
It usually takes a few weeks of regular playing for your fingers to get used to the strings and for calluses to form. At first, it can be a bit painful, but your fingers will toughen up!
Does playing guitar thicken your fingers?
Playing guitar doesn’t necessarily thicken your fingers, but it does make them stronger and more flexible. You might notice slight changes in the skin where calluses form.
Are guitar calluses bad?
Nope, guitar calluses are actually a good thing! They help reduce the pain from pressing down on the strings and make it easier to play.
How do I toughen my fingers for guitar playing?
To toughen your fingers, practice regularly to build up calluses, and avoid overplaying to the point of injury. You can also use rubbing alcohol or apple cider vinegar to help toughen the skin if needed.
Why do guitarists tape their fingers?
Guitarists tape their fingers to protect against blisters, reduce friction, or to support an injured finger while playing. It’s especially common during long performances or when playing for extended periods.
