How to Play Acoustic Guitar - Beginner Lead and Rhythm

Rhythm-

If you are new to acoustic guitar and want to play rhythm. Check out http://hubpages.com/hub/How-to-play-Acoustic-Guitar-The-Basics

This will give you a basic guide on how to play chords and give you a helpful chord chart to get started. Make sure if you want to play Rhythm and lead that you have someone to play along that can play scales.

Lead-

If you are new to acoustic guitar and want to play lead. Check out http://hubpages.com/hub/How-To-Play-Acoustic-Guitar-Beginner-Scales

This will give you a basic guide on how to play major scales and where to find all major scales throughout the neck. If you are wanting to play lead it is important to have rhythm down first for it is the most basic concept of guitar.

Playing Rhythm and Lead Together-

In order to play lead and rhythm together, it is important to find out what key you are playing in. To find out what key you are playing in you must first find out what a key is and how to find it. The easiest way to understand is start with the key of C major. The C Major scale consists of the notes C D E F G A B and the octave C. These notes are in the key of C. Now if you are the rhythm player then you want to learn the C, D, E, F, G, A, and B major chords. However, if you are playing lead you want to learn the notes in the key of F and the key of C. Look down at the Key Wheel below. If your rhythm player is playing in the key of C then go one step counter clock wise and that is where you want to play lead at. You can play in the key of C and F when playing lead just to start off. To find the key of F look for the F major scale on the guitar and find all 7 notes and what their names are.

I want to use a couple more examples to avoid confusion. If your rhythm player is playing in the key of G then as lead you want to play in the key of G and the key of C. I found this out by finding the G major on the wheel and going counter clockwise one step. If your rhythm is playing in the key of E then you want to play in the key of E and the key of A. Don't worry about the minor section of this wheel. That is for another time.

Practice with a friend or switch between the two. Practice makes perfect and memorizing this wheel is definitely recommended.

Good Luck!