i. About the song

"Aarz Kiya Hai" is the iconic mehfil-style number from the 1972 film Bahaaron Phool Barsao, sung by Mohammed Rafi. The melody sits in a mid-range, uses gentle Hindustani-flavoured movement, and on guitar it's most often played in a simple key (commonly C or G with a capo) using open chords and a soft strumming or arpeggio pattern. That makes it a very realistic first-song goal.

You don't need advanced technique. You need clean open chords, a steady strum, smooth chord transitions, and a basic understanding of how to follow a melody. This plan gets you exactly there.

ii. What you need before Day 1

An acoustic guitar — steel-string or nylon both work (nylon is gentler on fingertips)
A clip-on tuner or free tuner app (GuitarTuna, Fender Tune)
A capo — essential for Hindi songs (₹150–400)
A medium-gauge pick (0.60–0.73 mm)
A notebook or an app like Ultimate Guitar / Chordify
Patience — your fingertips will hurt for two weeks

iii. How to use this plan

30 minutes a day, six days a week. Take one rest day
Always begin with 2 min tuning + 3 min finger warm-up
If a day feels too hard, repeat it. Progress beats pace
Record yourself every Sunday — you'll be shocked at the improvement

iv. Core learning resources

Bookmark these. They will carry you through the entire plan.

English — best for fundamentals

Justin Guitar — Beginner Course · free, world-classWeb
Marty Music — Beginner PlaylistYouTube
Andy Guitar — 10-Day Starter CourseYouTube

Hindi — best for Bollywood & ghazal feel

Siffguitar · Hindi beginner lessonsYouTube
Sandeep Mehra — Talking GuitarYouTube
VEENA · Bollywood covers & tutorialsYouTube

For the song itself

Week One

Friend the guitar

Hold the guitar correctly, tune it, name the strings, and press your first single notes cleanly.

Watch first: Justin Guitar — How to hold the guitar

Then watch: Justin Guitar — Tuning your guitar

Day	Focus	What to do	Min
Day 1	Setup & posture	Watch the two videos above. Sit properly. Learn string names (E A D G B E). Pluck each open string slowly.	30
Day 2	Tuning daily	Tune using the app. Pluck each string 20× and say its name aloud. Practise pressing the 1st fret of each string with the tip of your finger.	30
Day 3	Fret hand basics	Place finger 1 on fret 1, finger 2 on fret 2, finger 3 on fret 3, finger 4 on fret 4 of the high E string. Play each cleanly. Repeat on all six strings.	30
Day 4	Pick hand basics	Hold the pick. Practise downstrokes on the low E string at 60 BPM. Then alternate across strings: E, A, D, G, B, e.	30
Day 5	Mini-chords	Try single-finger versions: press fret 1 of the B string = a small "C" sound. Strum top three strings only. Focus: no buzzing.	30
Day 6	Review & record	Replay everything from Day 1–5. Record a one-minute video of yourself playing each string cleanly.	30
Day 7	Rest	Stretch your hands. Re-watch any video you struggled with. No playing.	—

Week Two

Your first three open chords

Learn Em, A, and D — three of the easiest, most-used chords. By Sunday you should be switching between them slowly.

Watch: Justin Guitar — Your first chord (A)

Watch: Justin Guitar — D and Em chords

Day	Focus	What to do	Min
Day 8	Em chord	Learn Em (two fingers). Press, strum, lift, repeat 50×. Check every string rings.	30
Day 9	A chord	Learn A. Tricky — three fingers in one fret. Strum five strings (skip low E).	30
Day 10	D chord	Learn D. Don't strum the low E or A string. Top four strings only.	30
Day 11	Em ↔ A	Ten minutes of Em → A → Em → A. Slow. Aim for clean changes, not speed.	30
Day 12	A ↔ D	Same drill. Ten minutes. Then add Em. Cycle: Em → A → D → A → Em.	30
Day 13	Strum + change	Strum each chord four times, then change. Down-down-down-down → switch.	30
Day 14	Rest	Review the week. Note which switch is hardest.	—

Week Three

More chords & strumming

Add G, C, and Am. Learn your first real strumming pattern. These six chords cover roughly seventy percent of Bollywood songs.

Watch: Justin Guitar — G and C chords

Watch: Justin Guitar — First strumming pattern

Day	Focus	What to do	Min
Day 15	G chord	Learn G (three- or four-finger version — pick whichever rings cleaner).	30
Day 16	C chord	Learn C. The pinky stretch is small — be patient.	30
Day 17	Am chord	Learn Am (same shape as E, moved up). Very easy after A.	30
Day 18	Down strumming	Pattern: D D D D (four downstrokes). Practise on each chord.	30
Day 19	Down-up strumming	Pattern: D-DU-UDU. Slow first. This is the most common Bollywood pattern.	30
Day 20	Six-chord drill	Cycle: G → C → G → D → Em → C → D → G. Each chord = four strums.	30
Day 21	Rest	Watch a Hindi guitar cover for fun. Just listen.	—

Week Four

Capo, easy songs & rhythm

Learn the capo (essential for Hindi songs) and play your first complete easy song end-to-end.

Watch: How to use a capo

Starter song: Tum Hi Ho — easy 4-chord tutorial

Day	Focus	What to do	Min
Day 22	Capo basics	Capo on fret 2. Play G — it sounds like A. Try frets 3, 4, 5.	30
Day 23	Pick a song	Choose any easy four-chord Hindi song (Tum Hi Ho, Pal, Channa Mereya intro). Learn the chord sequence.	30
Day 24	Slow strum	Play your song with simple four-down strums per chord. Sing or hum along.	30
Day 25	Real strum	Same song with the D-DU-UDU pattern.	30
Day 26	Full play-through	Play the entire song top to bottom, five times. Mistakes okay — keep going.	30
Day 27	Record yourself	Film a one-minute clip of your song. Watch it back honestly.	30
Day 28	Rest	Listen to "Aarz Kiya Hai" ten times. Tap the rhythm on your leg.	—

Week Five

Fingerpicking & ghazal feel

"Aarz Kiya Hai" sounds best with soft fingerstyle, not aggressive strumming. Time to learn fingerpicking.

Watch: Justin Guitar — Fingerstyle basics

Watch: Fingerpicking patterns for Hindi songs

Day	Focus	What to do	Min
Day 29	Thumb only	Use your thumb to pluck the bass string of each chord. Em (E), A (A), D (D).	30
Day 30	Add fingers	Thumb plays bass, then index-middle-ring pluck G-B-e strings together. Pattern: bass, pluck, bass, pluck.	30
Day 31	Arpeggio pattern	Pattern: thumb – index – middle – ring – middle – index. One full cycle = one chord beat.	30
Day 32	Slow on Em, Am, G	Play arpeggio on each chord, four cycles. These are likely the song's main chords.	30
Day 33	Chord switching with arpeggio	Em → Am → G → D, one arpeggio each. Slow, even, no rushing.	30
Day 34	Mix strum + arpeggio	Verse = arpeggio, chorus = soft strum. Practise switching styles.	30
Day 35	Rest	Listen to the song with headphones. Try to identify the chord changes.	—

Week Six

Aarz Kiya Hai — Part One

Find a good tutorial of the song. Learn the intro and first verse.

Search: YouTube — "Aarz Kiya Hai guitar tutorial"

Search: YouTube — "Aarz Kiya Hai guitar chords"

Chords: Chordify — auto-detected

Day	Focus	What to do	Min
Day 36	Find the right tutorial	Spend the full 30 min watching 2–3 tutorials. Pick the one that suits your level.	30
Day 37	Note chords + capo	Write down the chord progression and capo position. Try each chord cleanly.	30
Day 38	Intro section	Loop the intro. Play along slowly, pausing and restarting the video.	30
Day 39	Verse 1 chords	Play just the chord changes for verse 1 — no fancy picking yet. Chord, strum, change.	30
Day 40	Verse 1 + rhythm	Add the proper strumming or picking from the tutorial. Slow tempo.	30
Day 41	Hum along	Hum the melody while playing verse 1. This locks in timing.	30
Day 42	Rest	Re-listen to the original. Note where you're stuck.	—

Week Seven

Aarz Kiya Hai — Part Two

Learn the chorus or antara, and stitch the whole song together.

Day	Focus	What to do	Min
Day 43	Chorus chords	Learn the antara chord progression separately. Drill the switches.	30
Day 44	Chorus rhythm	Add the strumming pattern. Slow tempo first.	30
Day 45	Join verse + chorus	Play verse 1 → chorus → verse 1 → chorus. Don't stop for mistakes.	30
Day 46	Speed up gradually	Use a metronome app. Start at 60 BPM, push to 75.	30
Day 47	Tricky transitions	Identify 1–2 hardest chord changes. Loop them fifty times each.	30
Day 48	Full song attempt	Play the whole song start to finish. Record it.	30
Day 49	Rest	Compare your recording to Week 4's. Big jump, isn't it?	—

Week Eight

Polish & perform

Play the full song confidently at original tempo, sing or hum along, and play it for someone.

Day	Focus	What to do	Min
Day 50	Tempo run	Full song three times at 75 BPM, then three times at 85 BPM.	30
Day 51	Dynamics	Verses softly, choruses slightly louder. Add feeling.	30
Day 52	Sing + play	Try singing along, even quietly. The hardest part — go slow.	30
Day 53	Smooth ending	Practise the outro. End on a clean, held chord.	30
Day 54	Mock performance	Pretend someone is watching. Play the whole song through, three times.	30
Day 55	Record final video	Film your final version. Compare to Day 6. Be proud.	30
Day 56	Play for someone	Play for a family member or friend. You've earned it.	—

v. Inside every 30-minute session

Don't just "play for 30 minutes". Structure it.

5min

Tune & warm-up

Tune the guitar, stretch fingers, run a chromatic 1-2-3-4 exercise up the frets.

5min

Review yesterday

Play whatever you learned yesterday at half speed.

15min

Today's main task

The focus item from the weekly table. Go slow. This is where progress happens.

5min

Free play

Play anything you enjoy — chords you know, doodling, trying to find a tune. Keep it fun.

vi. Survival tips for beginners

Your fingertips will hurt for 2–3 weeks. Push through — calluses form by week four.
Buzzing strings mean you're pressing too far from the fret. Press close to it, use the fingertip rather than the pad.
Don't grip the neck like a baseball bat. Thumb behind the neck, light pressure.
Slow is fast. Speed comes automatically once movement is clean. Rushing builds bad habits.
Use a metronome from Week 3 onwards. Even free phone apps work beautifully.
If you skip a day, just resume — don't restart. Consistency beats perfection.

vii. After Week Eight

Pick a second song — slightly harder. Repeat the Week 6–8 process
Learn the F chord and basic barre chords — this unlocks 95% of songs
Explore Hindustani ornamentation (meend, hammer-ons) — perfect for ghazals
Work through Justin Guitar's full Grade 2 course for free