Did you know there’s a holiday just to celebrate dusting off your guitar and playing it? Well, now you do! February 11 is National Get Out Your Guitar Day – one of our favorite days of the year here at JamPlay. We love the guitar, not only for its ability to bring music and joy to performers and audiences alike, but also for its rich history!

Before the guitar, ancient instruments such as the Arabian oud, and the Western European lute and vihuela were popular tools for performing music. The modern six-string axe we know today evolved from these instruments near the end of the Baroque Period (between the Renaissance and Classical Periods). Since then, the guitar has become the most popular stringed instrument of all time. In fact, Fender’s CEO, Andy Mooney estimated last year (2022) that there were as many as 72 million players globally.

So, if you are a guitar player, you are in good company – no matter your skill level or how regularly you play! Let’s check out some FREE video lessons to help you kick off Get Out Your Guitar Day the right way!

Open Barre Chords Lesson:

For some of you, this might be a refresher. But, if you’re early into your guitar journey and are looking for a way to spice up your basic chord progressions, you’ll love open barre chords. When we say “open,” we’re referring to the fact that, when a chord is strummed, some of the notes are fretted, and some are from open strings.

In this lesson from Will Ripley, you’ll learn some moveable shapes that use similar fingerings to power chords. In the first lesson, Will shows us chord shapes to use on the low E string. Then, in the second lesson, you’ll learn different fingerings to use on the A string. For more lessons like this, or for the tab & notation for this lesson, check out Will Ripley’s full course on JamPlay!

Beginner Fingerstyle Lesson:

If you’ve already dipped your toes (metaphorically) into fingerstyle, and are looking for new patterns, considerer checking out some of our other free lessons! But, for those of you who are brand new to this style, you’re in the right place! Fingerstyle differs from other methods of playing guitar in that you pluck the strings with individual fingers rather than strum with a pick. So, learning to play like this will take extra patience while you solidify your “right hand technique.”

Luckily, Trevor Gordon Hall is as excellent of a teacher as he is a fingerstyle guitarist. In this free lesson from his course, Fingerstyle Guitar for Beginners, Trevor helps prime your index and middle fingers for building the right muscle memory. For more lessons from Trevor, check out his full course on JamPlay!

Beginner Electric Guitar Riff:

Maybe you are more of a rock or metal fan and have a lonely electric guitar lying around. Now is your chance to get it out and learn a new riff! Alternate picking is an important skill to learn, especially if you want to play melodies faster.

In this lesson with Callum Bair, you’ll work on some guitar warm ups before learning an alternate picking riff. For tab & notation for this lesson, or for more lessons like this, check out Callum’s full course on JamPlay. And remember to not wait so long before breaking out your six-string again!

For more video guitar lessons and an ever-growing library of Song Lessons, check out JamPlay.com! JamPlay has over 450 courses from 120+ instructors, and online guitar lessons tailored to every skill level, music genre, and playing style. Click here to learn more.

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