Chapter 1 of 4 · Foundation · Lesson 1 of 6

Lesson 1: Power chords and a first riff

Suggested stage · practice days 1-7

Lesson 1 of 26

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Main goal and readiness

This lesson's goal: Power chords and a first riff.

Tuning: Standard: E-A-D-G-B-e.
Optional review reference: Em-Am changes; 30 seconds at a time. Use the weekly scale and chord tasks below for your two two-minute blocks; do not add time.
Technique cue: Move the shape together and silence unused strings.

How to read the tabs and symbols

Standard tuning is E-A-D-G-B-e, thickest to thinnest. In the tab, top e is thinnest and bottom E is thickest. A number means fret; 0 means open. Vertically aligned numbers are a chord. A dash means that string is not played at that slot. ~ holds the previous note without another pick; r is a silent rest. h7 means hammer onto 7 at that slot; p5 means pull off to the already fretted 5. /7 means slide from the preceding note and arrive on 7 at that slot.

Eight columns fill one bar of 4/4: count 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 &. Each column is half a beat. Sixteen columns fill one bar: count 1 e & a 2 e & a 3 e & a 4 e & a. Each column is a quarter of a beat. The metronome clicks only on 1, 2, 3, 4. Learn finger placement slowly first, then apply this written rhythm. A bar always lasts four beats. Stop or hold the final note as indicated.

Power chords on E/A use the upper string two frets higher: E5 0/2, G5 3/5, A5 5/7. On A/D, A5 is 0/2, C5 3/5, D5 5/7. Use index and ring finger where comfortable, and pick only those two strings. Drop D power chords use the same fret on low D and A. Palm muting means resting the picking-hand edge lightly on the strings near the bridge. Move it slightly until notes are short but pitched. For rests, use both hands to stop all ringing strings.

Technique

Technique exercise

Weekly picking focus: P1: relaxed downstrokes; compare small versus large movements. Use the 1-minute rhythm + 2-minute picking + 1-minute technique split above.

Bar A:

Plain-text tab — Bar A

Plain-text tab and fingering reference

Power chords. Standard tuning.
   1   &   2   &   3   &   4   &
e| -   -   -   -   -   -   -   - |
B| -   -   -   -   -   -   -   - |
G| -   -   -   -   -   -   -   - |
D| -   -   -   -   -   -   -   - |
A| 2   2   2   2   5   5   7   7 |
E| 0   0   0   0   3   3   5   5 |

Bar B:

Plain-text tab — Bar B

Plain-text tab and fingering reference

Power chords. Standard tuning.
   1   &   2   &   3   &   4   &
e| -   -   -   -   -   -   -   - |
B| -   -   -   -   -   -   -   - |
G| -   -   -   -   -   -   -   - |
D| -   -   -   -   -   -   -   - |
A| 7   7   5   5   2   2   2   2 |
E| 5   5   3   3   0   0   0   0 |

Bar C:

Plain-text tab — Bar C

Plain-text tab and fingering reference

Power chords. Standard tuning.
   1   &   2   &   3   &   4   &
e| -   -   -   -   -   -   -   - |
B| -   -   -   -   -   -   -   - |
G| -   -   -   -   -   -   -   - |
D| -   -   -   -   -   -   -   - |
A| 2   2   2   2   5   5   r   r |
E| 0   0   0   0   3   3   r   r |

Scale and chord work

This week's scale and chords

Weekly scale: C major. Use the seven-day scale routine above.

Plain-text tab and fingering reference

Hand position II; first route.
   1   &   2   &   3   &   4   &
e| -   -   -   -   -   -   -   - |
B| -   -   -   -   -   -   -   - |
G| -   -   -   -   -   2   4   5 |
D| -   -   2   3   5   -   -   - |
A| 3   5   -   -   -   -   -   - |
E| -   -   -   -   -   -   -   - |
LH 2   4   1   2   4   1   3   4
Pos II  II  II  II  II  II  II  II

Hand position II; first route. • LH 2 4 1 2 4 1 3 4 • Pos II II II II II II II II

Weekly chord/neck task: Open Em-Am: name the root E or A before each change. Find E and A on low E: frets 0 and 5.

Chord tabs (static shapes, not rhythm):

Plain-text chord reference

Plain-text tab and fingering reference

Em | position open/I
       fret   LH finger
e|     0      0
B|     0      0
G|     0      0
D|     2      3
A|     2      2
E|     0      0

Am | position open/I
       fret   LH finger
e|     0      0
B|     1      1
G|     2      3
D|     2      2
A|     0      0
E|     x      x

Original piece

Piece corner · Week 1: First Spark

Music first · inside your existing 7-minute music block

This week, make “First Spark” your piece

Your main target: the four-bar original piece below. It uses notes from your C-major work, so the scale becomes a melody. Start with only bars 1–2. When they feel comfortable, join bars 3–4. Keep it for more than a week if you enjoy it.

Learn two beats→Join a bar→Play the whole piece

How to practise: spend 2 minutes on the hardest two beats, 3 minutes joining the phrase, then 2 minutes playing a musical version. Keep the pulse, give the phrase an ending and listen to the sound. This replaces scale repetition during music time; the scale still gets its own two minutes.

After the main piece: try a tiny blues answer

“Little Blue Answer” — original one-bar E-blues study. Standard tuning. Every entry is an eighth-note slot: count 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 &. ~ holds the previous note. Pick each number. This is optional music for a later session, not another daily assignment.

Count  1   &   2   &   3   &   4   &
e|---------------------------------|
B|---------------------------------|
G|---------------------------------|
D|---------------------------------|
A|---------------------------------|
E|--0---3---5---6---5---3---0---~---|
Notes  E   G   A   Bb  A   G   E hold

Use index at fret 3, ring at 5 and little finger at 6; move the hand if that feels easier. Release between notes. Fret 6 is B♭, the blues colour note: pass through it and settle on E. You do not need to learn a new full scale.

Play the phrase once, leave one whole bar silent, then answer with a simpler E–G–E phrase on counts 1–2–3, holding E through count 4. That gives you a small call-and-response piece. Play alone; a clean or lightly driven sound is enough.

The pieces here are original studies. Familiar-song sections remain separate and can take several weeks; there is no need to learn a new song every week.

A complete original four-bar melody using this week's scale notes and hand route. Play bars 1-2 as a question and 3-4 as its answer. Play all four bars twice, then stop on the held final root. Aim for a gentle opening, a slightly stronger bar 3 and a settled ending. One run lasts about 16 seconds at 60 bpm; repeating it makes about 32 seconds. Use your comfortable tempo, not a required target. These are original pieces, not excerpts from the named artists.

Bar 1:

Plain-text tab — Bar 1

Plain-text tab and fingering reference

   1   &   2   &   3   &   4   &
e| -   -   -   -   -   -   -   - |
B| -   -   -   -   -   -   -   - |
G| -   -   -   -   -   -   -   - |
D| -   -   2   ~   -   -   -   - |
A| 3   5   -   -   5   ~   3   ~ |
E| -   -   -   -   -   -   -   - |

Bar 2:

Plain-text tab — Bar 2

Plain-text tab and fingering reference

   1   &   2   &   3   &   4   &
e| -   -   -   -   -   -   -   - |
B| -   -   -   -   -   -   -   - |
G| -   -   -   -   -   -   -   - |
D| 2   ~   3   2   -   -   -   - |
A| -   -   -   -   5   ~   r   r |
E| -   -   -   -   -   -   -   - |

Bar 3:

Plain-text tab — Bar 3

Plain-text tab and fingering reference

   1   &   2   &   3   &   4   &
e| -   -   -   -   -   -   -   - |
B| -   -   -   -   -   -   -   - |
G| -   -   -   -   -   -   -   - |
D| -   -   2   ~   5   ~   2   ~ |
A| 3   ~   -   -   -   -   -   - |
E| -   -   -   -   -   -   -   - |

Bar 4:

Plain-text tab — Bar 4

Plain-text tab and fingering reference

   1   &   2   &   3   &   4   &
e| -   -   -   -   -   -   -   - |
B| -   -   -   -   -   -   -   - |
G| -   -   -   -   -   -   -   - |
D| -   -   -   -   -   -   -   - |
A| 5   ~   3   ~   ~   ~   ~   ~ |
E| -   -   -   -   -   -   -   - |

Music-block plan: day 1 learn bar 1 then bar 2; day 2 work on your familiar-song section; day 3 learn bars 3-4 then join the piece; day 4 familiar-song section; day 5 song consolidation or your weakest piece transition; day 6 record the whole mini-piece twice and listen; day 7 play your favourite earlier piece slowly. The piece REPLACES the old A/B/C form during music time. A/B/C remain short technique studies. Scale fingerings are your guide for the same notes here; the MusicXML piece file also contains suggested fingers. Do not try to fit every reference exercise into one session.

This is an original study written for the course, not a transcription of an artist recording.

Real-song corner

One small song section

Use this on music days 2, 4 and 5, inside the same seven minutes. Continue a song across weeks if it is unfinished. These are suggested fragments and practice adaptations, not a claim that the complete songs fit your current level.

Recommended: Black Sabbath — Iron Man

One small single-note main-riff fragment; add the source power-chord version only when secure.

Open the song lesson / source version ↗

Iron Man — Black Sabbath | Easy Riff Guitar Lesson — JustinGuitar Songs

Alternative — only if you want to swap

Alternative — only if you want to swap: Pink Floyd — Wish You Were Here

A tiny picked opening fragment, using a pick. Let the source fingering guide the string changes; leave the complete intro for later.

Open the song lesson / source version ↗

5 levels of Wish You Were Here on guitar — JustinGuitar Songs

This week’s focus: Learn only the opening two beats; a recognisable small fragment is enough.

Simplifying rule: shorten the passage and slow the pulse first. Any change of technique, rhythm, key or chord voicing is your practice adaptation. Use the linked lesson for actual song notes. If both options need unfamiliar skills, keep your current song or use the original piece instead. Match the lesson/recording tuning before playing along; all original studies remain separate.

Daily practice

Your practice plan for these seven days

Day

One-minute technique task (inside the four-minute block)

Seven-minute music assignment

1: Learn A

Read and clap A; play its first half, then its second half.

Weekly piece: learn bars 1-2, one bar at a time. Hum the phrase, play slowly, then join it.

2: Learn B

Learn B slowly; isolate any chord change or string crossing.

Song focus: use the familiar-music section for this week; learn one small fragment, repeat it slowly, then join it to the previous fragment. If you cannot access the lesson, use the original weekly piece instead.

3: Learn C

Learn C; count aloud through its ending rests.

Weekly piece: learn bars 3-4; join all four bars and finish on the held root.

4: Connect

Practise the B-to-A transition in two-bar loops.

5: Make it musical

Play A once softly and once more strongly without changing tempo.

6: Record and assess

Repair the hardest two beats, then reconnect their full bar.

Record the complete weekly piece twice. Listen for pulse, quiet rests and a clear ending; repair one transition.

7: Light review

Listen to your recording and clap its pulse; identify one improvement.

Play an earlier weekly piece slowly for four minutes; enjoy or hum a familiar-song section for three minutes.

Check

Completion check

Weekly check: record the four-bar weekly piece, repeated twice with a steady pulse, audible note starts and quiet rests. Log the tempo and the hardest transition. Advance using the rule above.