Washburn Acoustic Guitar article
Washburn Acoustic Guitar for Beginners: A Complete Guide
The Washburn acoustic is well-suited to beginners — here is how to make the most of your first sessions, from tuning and sitting position to your first five chords.
Picking up a Washburn acoustic guitar for the first time is a good start — the Harvest series in particular is well-suited to beginners, with a comfortable neck, decent factory setup and a solid top that rewards consistent playing as your technique develops. This guide covers what to do in your first sessions and how to build a reliable foundation from the start.
Before Your First Session
Tune the guitar before you play anything. A clip-on chromatic tuner clips to the headstock and reads vibration through the wood — it is more reliable than a phone app in a noisy room. Standard tuning from thickest to thinnest string is E–A–D–G–B–E. If the guitar is very new, strings will stretch and lose pitch more quickly than usual for the first day or two; tune at the start of each session and again mid-session until the strings settle.
Check your sitting position. The body of the guitar should rest on your right thigh (if playing right-handed) with the waist of the instrument sitting comfortably. Your right forearm rests across the lower bout. The neck runs roughly parallel to the floor — avoid letting it drop low, which forces your left wrist into an awkward angle.
Your First Steps on the Washburn Acoustic
- Strum an open chord — Try strumming all six strings open (no fretting). Listen to the sound. Get comfortable with the physical action of drawing your right hand across the strings, either with a plectrum or your thumb.
- Fret a clean single note — Press the first string (thinnest) just behind the first fret with the tip of your index finger. Strum only that string and listen for a clean note with no buzzing. Fret buzz usually means the finger is placed too far from the fret, or is pressing other strings accidentally.
- Learn an open chord — Em (E minor) is the simplest: place your middle finger on the second fret of the fifth string and your ring finger on the second fret of the fourth string. Strum all six strings. This is a real, usable chord.
- Add a second chord — Am (A minor) uses a similar shape. Place your index on the first fret of the second string, middle on the second fret of the fourth string, ring finger on the second fret of the third string. Strum strings two through five only (avoid the sixth string). Now practise moving between Em and Am slowly.
- Practise the chord change with a metronome — Set a metronome to 60bpm. Strum Em on beat one, move to Am and strum on beat three, return to Em on the next bar. Clean transitions between chords are the most important foundational skill on the acoustic guitar.
What to Practise in Week One
Focus on open chords (Em, Am, G, C, D are the essential five) and clean chord changes rather than strumming patterns or techniques. Getting clean chord sounds — every fretted note rings clearly, no muted strings — takes longer than most beginners expect and is worth prioritising. Once changes are clean, add strumming patterns gradually.
On any washburn acoustic guitar, or acoustic guitar generally, fingertips will be tender for the first week or two until calluses build up. This is normal. Short, daily sessions of fifteen to twenty minutes are more effective than infrequent longer sessions, and they allow your fingers to recover between practice periods.
Looking After Your Washburn Acoustic Guitar
Store the guitar in a case or on a wall hanger away from radiators and direct sunlight. Acoustic guitars are sensitive to humidity changes — very dry conditions (common in centrally heated UK homes in winter) can cause the top to crack. A case humidifier (around £10) is a worthwhile investment if your home is dry. Wipe the strings down after playing to extend their life, and change them every three to six months depending on how frequently you play.
Next Steps
Once you can move cleanly between five or six open chords, you have the tools to play a large number of songs. The natural next step is learning to read basic guitar tablature (tab) so you can follow transcriptions of songs you want to learn. Our features overview explains the instrument in more depth, and our buyer's guide is useful if you are still deciding between models.
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