Guitar Chords
When a group of notes are held together, they are called Chords. Chords are generally used to play rhythm, as an accompaniment for a lead instrument or a Singer. As a beginner one feels most excited to learn chords!
Guitar chords can be played at different positions on the guitar including the open position. Open position guitar chords are the most simplest when compared to the rest of the positions but still very difficult if you are a beginner & are just learning how to play the guitar.
The chords that will discussed in the beginners section are the Major Chords & Minor Chords. Start off by learning 3 Major chords & 3 minor chords. The easiest major chords would be D - A - E & the easiest minor chords to begin with would be Em - Am - Dm. Some of the shapes, especially the ones where you have to place your 1st finger across all the strings (Barre chords) will be very difficult to begin with and will require a lot of practice & will be accompanied by a lot of pain & frustration! Neverthless, within a week or two of regular practice should help you tide over this phase & soon you will start enjoying barre chords. The best way to judge whether you are playing a chord correctly is to hold the Chord shape and pick the string one by one making sure each note rings, as if you were fretting only that particular note.
Once you are through with learning all the basic shapes and are able to attain clarity in sound while playing the chord, start learning a few chord progressions. Chord progression is a sequence of chords more often in the same key. In popular Rock and pop songs you will hear a chord progression that is repeated multiple times. More often than not, one chord progression will be assigned to each section. For eg; the verse will have one chord progression & the chorus will have another chord progression & so on. There are lots of songs that have just one chord progression going throughout the song as well.
Start off easy chord progressions by playing 4 downstrokes on each making sure you do not loose a beat while changing chords.
After successful completion of at least 30 different chord progressions, you can try out strumming patterns & arpeggiated chords guitar lessons. These will enable you to have variations in rhythm while playing chords and will make your playing sound a lot more musical.
Guitar chords can be played at different positions on the guitar including the open position. Open position guitar chords are the most simplest when compared to the rest of the positions but still very difficult if you are a beginner & are just learning how to play the guitar.
The chords that will discussed in the beginners section are the Major Chords & Minor Chords. Start off by learning 3 Major chords & 3 minor chords. The easiest major chords would be D - A - E & the easiest minor chords to begin with would be Em - Am - Dm. Some of the shapes, especially the ones where you have to place your 1st finger across all the strings (Barre chords) will be very difficult to begin with and will require a lot of practice & will be accompanied by a lot of pain & frustration! Neverthless, within a week or two of regular practice should help you tide over this phase & soon you will start enjoying barre chords. The best way to judge whether you are playing a chord correctly is to hold the Chord shape and pick the string one by one making sure each note rings, as if you were fretting only that particular note.
Once you are through with learning all the basic shapes and are able to attain clarity in sound while playing the chord, start learning a few chord progressions. Chord progression is a sequence of chords more often in the same key. In popular Rock and pop songs you will hear a chord progression that is repeated multiple times. More often than not, one chord progression will be assigned to each section. For eg; the verse will have one chord progression & the chorus will have another chord progression & so on. There are lots of songs that have just one chord progression going throughout the song as well.
Start off easy chord progressions by playing 4 downstrokes on each making sure you do not loose a beat while changing chords.
After successful completion of at least 30 different chord progressions, you can try out strumming patterns & arpeggiated chords guitar lessons. These will enable you to have variations in rhythm while playing chords and will make your playing sound a lot more musical.
Below are quick links to all the chords shapes & exercises
1 - Major Chords
2 - Minor Chords
3- Barre Chords
4- Chord Progressions
4 - Arpeggiated Chords
5 - Strumming Patterns
Please feel free to use the audio examples of the guitar lessons available in the free tablature provided on each page.
2 - Minor Chords
3- Barre Chords
4- Chord Progressions
4 - Arpeggiated Chords
5 - Strumming Patterns
Please feel free to use the audio examples of the guitar lessons available in the free tablature provided on each page.
