You were all probably very excited when you got your first guitar. Then, if you are like most of the beginners, you were probably met by the frustration of not being able to learn how to play it. A dedicated guitar teacher could help you with that problem, but not all of us have the resources to afford private lessons.

Fortunately, there is a solution. Why not learn to play the electric guitar free online? There are several websites dedicated to help you learn the basics about playing the guitar and overcome the frustration feelings you usually come across when you're trying to be your own teacher.

Free Guitar Lessons Resources

If you've decided you want to learn to play the electric guitar free online, the first thing you've got to do is find a good resource. Look for one written by a professional guitar player. It is also important that they offer feedback, so that you will have someone to ask for help when you come across some difficulties.

Dan Cross, the guitar writer at About, has some useful tips for beginner guitarists. However, there are plenty of resources you can find to learn to play the electric guitar free online. Choose one that suits your learning style best. Most of them are written in standard notation and guitar tablature.

Guitar Chords

Here is what most resources designed to help you learn to play the electric guitar free online will probably teach you about chords:

l How to read a chord diagram
l Open position guitar chords: major, minor, seventh chords
l How to switch from one chord to another effectively
l Guitar songs that use open position guitar chords
l How to make up your own music
l How to create and play barre chords

The Pentatonic Scale

Some of you will probably want to learn more than the basics and get to play more complicated guitar riffs. Whether you want to play in Metallica's style, blues licks like Eric Clapton or Page or jazz songs like George Benson and Larry Carlton, they all have something in common. All of them use the pentatonic scale.

l Free online lessons on the pentatonic scale will probably teach you:
l Best practices for learning any scale
l Playing 5 different patterns of pentatonic scale
l A few pentatonic blues songs to get you started
l Learning about passing tone and how you can use it
l How to make up your own guitar riffs

If you want to learn to play the electric guitar free online, you will probably have to subscribe to a specialized website. Most of them will provide lessons starting at the beginner level and increasing in difficulty as they go further. However, to make sure they meet your learning style and your current level; you can always contact the guitar teacher and ask.

Online guitar lessons will not be able to replace a private teacher, who can provide you with personal attention monitor your progress and offer a high level of feedback. However, if you are a good autodidact, you will probably find some very useful online guitar lessons to get you started.