The Week-One Sheet
One riff, one tuning, one job. Built for Nick.
This sheet only covers what we did on the call. Nothing past it. If your beginner book starts talking about economy picking or four-finger independence — close the book. Not yet. This week your whole world is seven numbers on one string.
Guitar doesn't reward intensity. It rewards consistency. Five focused minutes a day beats one furious hour. Your hands need time to metabolize this — they physically change. That's not a figure of speech.
The Six Strings
Standard tuning, thickest to thinnest: E A D G B E. But we count strings the other way. The thinnest, highest-pitched string is the 1st string. The thickest is the 6th. It feels backwards. It's just convention so we can talk about the guitar without confusion.
| String # | Note | Which one |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | E (high) | Thinnest |
| 2 | B | |
| 3 | G | |
| 4 | D | |
| 5 | A | ← this week's string |
| 6 | E (low) | Thickest |
Everything you play this week lives on the 5th string (A).
Tuning Without Panic
Use the $5 tuner app on your phone. Pluck one string, read what the tuner says, adjust, repeat. One concept does all the work:
If the tuner shows a note below your target (e.g. it says D when you want E), tighten the string until it climbs to E. If it overshoots above, loosen back down.
Turn the peg in small moves and re-pluck after each. Don't crank — over-tightening snaps strings. The direction a peg turns to tighten depends on the guitar, so don't memorize "righty-tighty." Watch the tuner and let it tell you whether you're climbing or falling.
Seven Nation Army
Every number below is a fret on the 5th string (A). Read tab top-to-bottom as strings, left-to-right as time. Here it's all one line because it's all one string:
7 · 7 · 10 · 7 · 5 · 3 · 2
That's the whole assignment. Say it out loud, hum it, then find it on the string. You already said the rhythm feels right in your head — good, that's the hard half. Now it's just putting what you're humming onto the machine.
Press between the metal fret wires — not on top of them. Aim for the middle of the gap, or just behind the wire toward the body, without touching it. Use your middle finger for the single notes; it's usually your strongest.
Don't fly up the neck for the 10th fret. Plant your index on 7 and reach your pinky to 10. Uncomfortable now, automatic later. That discomfort is week-one tax, not a sign your hands are wrong.
When It Sounds Bad
Two problems, two causes. Diagnose before you despair.
Buzzing. Either you're not pressing hard enough, or your finger is too close to a fret wire. Press a touch firmer, or nudge into the middle of the gap.
Noise when you lift off (pull-off). A string only makes sound when you press it down. So when you finish a note, keep your finger resting on the string — touching, not pressing. That mutes it instead of letting it ring or twang. Don't yank the finger up dramatically; that snap is what makes the ugly sound.
A faint buzz or echo you hear with your ear an inch from the strings? Nobody across the room hears it. Fix the obvious stuff; ignore the micro-details for now.
Picking — Keep It Stupid Simple
Ignore the picking patterns in that book. For now: all downstrokes. Down, down, down, down. Once that's comfortable and even, then — and only then — switch to alternate picking: down, up, down, up, forever. That's the whole roadmap. Everything fancier comes months from now.
The Test Bank
Self-quiz, no multiple choice. Cover the answers, say it out loud, then check. Good for the days you can't pick up the guitar but want to keep it warm in your head.
Open the test bank (12 questions)
01Name the six strings, thickest to thinnest.
Answer
E, A, D, G, B, E (low E to high E).
02Is the 1st string the thickest or the thinnest?
Answer
The thinnest — it's the highest-pitched string (high E).
03What number string is the A?
Answer
The 5th string.
04Does tightening a string raise or lower its pitch?
Answer
Raises it. Loosening lowers it.
05Your tuner reads a note below your target. Tighten or loosen?
Answer
Tighten, in small turns, until it climbs to the target.
06Why make small tuning adjustments?
Answer
Cranking too hard can snap a string.
07Recite the Seven Nation Army riff.
Answer
7 – 7 – 10 – 7 – 5 – 3 – 2, all on the 5th (A) string.
08Where on the fret do you press — on the wire or in the gap?
Answer
In the gap between fret wires, not on top of one.
09Which finger handles the 7, and which reaches the 10?
Answer
Index on the 7, pinky on the 10.
10Two reasons a note buzzes?
Answer
Not pressing hard enough, or pressing too close to a fret wire.
11How do you stop a note from ringing without making a twang?
Answer
Keep the finger resting on the string but stop pressing — touch, don't press, don't yank.
12What picking are you using this week, and what comes after?
Answer
All downstrokes now. Alternate picking (down-up-down-up) once that's even.