Did you know you can get some easy guitar lessons for beginners without paying out any money? Well, you can! Here are 4 easy lessons to help you learn how to play your guitar - not quite rock guitar lessons, but they will come later.

1) How To Hold Your Guitar You can play your guitar resting it on your leg. This works well for both acoustic and electric. You'll be strumming using your dominant hand, so the guitar needs to also go to your dominant hand side. However, many lefties very successfully train themselves to play right handed.

I know one guitarist personally who did this with stunning success and quickly became a powerful rock guitarist. After all, you must train both hands to a new skill, and you can adapt easily. An advantage to this is that right handed guitars are in plentiful supply, and therefore easier to purchase.

Whichever hand you choose, keep the guitar straight, and close to you. Sometimes the guitar may slide off your leg while you are playing, because you bend your back to look where you are placing your fingers on the frets.

This is quite normal as a beginner, but try not to make it a habit. Remember, straight and close!! Or, you can hang your guitar from a shoulder strap and stand. This can be tiring, so you will have to build up stamina.

2) Getting to Know Your Chord Chart For the 3 chords you are learning today, you will be concentrating on the first 4 frets of your guitar, nearest the headstock. (Frets are the spaces between the metal metal bars crossing the guitar neck).

There are 6 strings on your guitar, represented on chord charts as 6 long, horizontal lines. Number your strings 1 - 6 from the highest string to lowest. Number your fingers 1-3 starting from the index finger.

3) The Three Basic Chords The first chord to learn is the D chord. Using fingers 1 and 2 (index and second), place them on the 2nd fret. Put finger 1 on the 3rd string and finger 2 on the 1st string. Put finger 3 on the 3rd fret on the second string. Now strum and you are making music!

The second chord to learn is E chord. This is a great chord for beginners. Position finger 1 on the first fret on the 3rd string. Put fingers 2 and 3 on the 2nd fret with finger 2 on the 5th string, put finger 3 on the 4th string.

The A chord is the easiest to master. This chord can be played in more than one way but this is the easiest way. All fingers 1,2 and 3 are positioned on the 2nd fret. Finger 1 goes to the 4th string, finger 2 to the 3rd string and finger 3 to the 2nd string.

4) Changing Chords And Strumming. The above first 3 chords will enable you to play some tunes, and also do some strumming. Strumming and picking are essential skills to learn. Get someone in a music store to help you choose the right pick. Every electric guitarist has a good supply.

Strumming is done by moving your 'dominant' hand up and down on the strings. Don't rush, but always keep your hands moving. Start slowly, finding a sound that pleases you, until you have perfected your strumming. Then gradually increase your speed.

Your chord sound should not buzz. When you change chords, set the beat. Change to a different chord before starting the next beat. A good way to learn how to change chords and strum more efficiently, is to practice on your favorite song with a slow beat.

I hope these 3 basic chords help you get on your way to being a powerful guitarist, and, before you know it, you will be burning up "Stairway To Heaven" on your guitar, just like every aspiring musician.