Strum Your First Song
Go from holding a guitar to playing your favorite hits. Master the essential chords, find your rhythm, and learn how to make your instrument sound professional.
Like Duolingo, but for Strum Your First Song. Tomo turns the whole topic into a game you play five minutes a day, until it actually sticks.
54 levels across 4 sections, about 108 minutes end to end, roughly 22 days at five minutes a day. It moves through Play Your First Chords, Find Your Rhythm, Make It Sound Great, and Understand the Magic. It starts from scratch.
Free forever · No credit card · iPhone & Android
Key ideas in Strum Your First Song
- The waist of the guitar should rest firmly on the thigh
- Shoulders should remain level and relaxed to prevent strain
- The back of the guitar body should be pulled slightly against your chest for stability
- Hiked shoulders indicate the guitar is positioned too high or the arm is tensed
- Lowering the thumb toward the middle of the neck arches the fingers
- How to stabilize the guitar body using the leg and torso
- Wrapping the thumb over the top of the neck restricts the reach of the other fingers
- A straight wrist prevents tendon strain
- Identifying shoulder tension through physical cues
- Thumb position directly affects the angle of the fingertips
- Optimal thumb placement for finger reach and mobility
- Linking physical sensations to posture adjustments
- Both feet are flat on the floor or a footrest for balance
- The neck of the guitar is angled slightly upward, not parallel to the floor
- Recognizing a 'neutral' and sustainable sitting posture
- Muted strings are often caused by the underside of a finger touching a neighboring string
You've tried the other tabs
Thirty open tabs. Four facts you actually kept.
You watched. You nodded. By Sunday it was gone.
One answer, then back to scrolling.
Eight weeks. You meant to finish. You didn't.
Tomo gives Strum Your First Song the Duolingo treatment: levels, streaks, and quick quizzes that test what you just learned. That game loop is what the tabs above never had, so it's the one you actually finish.
Here's what playing it feels like
A real question from this course. Take your best guess.
When sitting down to play, where should the narrowest part of the guitar body—the waist—be placed?
Get it right to open this lesson and 53 more in the app.
Where Strum Your First Song takes you
- 1
Play Your First Chords
- Holding your guitar comfortably
- Your first two-finger chord
- Playing a simple song right away
- How to use a pick without dropping it
- 2
Find Your Rhythm
- The secret to steady strumming
- Common patterns for pop and rock
- Switching chords without stopping
- Using your palm to quiet the strings
- Playing along to a drum beat
- How to read simple song charts
- 3
Make It Sound Great
- Getting a clean sound without buzzing
- Tuning your guitar by ear and app
- How to change your own strings
- 4
Understand the Magic
- How notes are laid out on the neck
- The difference between major and minor
- Why certain chords sound good together
- Finding any note on the thickest string
- How acoustic and electric guitars work
4 sections · 18 units · 54 levels. Built to play, not to enroll.
Tomo is in ChatGPT
Tomo is also a ChatGPT plugin: the same playable courses, built and played inside your chat.
Add Tomo to ChatGPT- What to ask
- “Make me a Tomo course on black holes.” “Turn this chat into a Tomo course.”
- What you get
- Quick questions with instant feedback, hearts and stars, ready to play in about a minute.
- Where it goes
- No sign-up to start. Connect your Tomo account and your streak carries on in the app.
You pick the voice
Strum Your First Song is taught in the Professor style: clear, structured, thorough. Want a different feel? In the app you can spin up the same topic in any of Tomo's teaching styles. Same facts, totally different vibe.
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Start Strum Your First Song today.
Download Tomo, search Strum Your First Song, and play your first lesson in under a minute.