Beginner guitar players need to learn guitar chords in their study of the guitar. Playing guitar chords is fun and many people like to play guitar chords over playing lead guitar. Chord playing involves using a pick, or fingers, to strike at least two or more notes on the guitar at the same time. That is really the best way to describe it.

The most basic guitar chords for the guitar player are G Major, C Major and D Major. To play a G chord you take your second finger and put it on the third fret of the sixth string. Next, put your first finger on the second fret of the fifth string. Finally, put your third finger on the first string. Now you can strum your basic G Major chord.

The second chord usually taught is the C Major chord. This is played by using your third finger on the third fret of the fifth string, and your second finger on the second fret of the fourth string and finally, the first finger on the first fret of the second string. When playing the C Major chord, you need to be careful not to strum the sixth string. Make sure you are only strumming the last five strings.

The last most common chord is the D Major chord. Sometimes beginners have trouble with this chord. You have to smash your fingers into a tiny area. To play a D chord you put your first finger on the second fret of the third string, then put your third finger on the third fret of the second string and finally, your second finger on the second fret of the first string. You strum only the 4 last strings.

Make sure you curl the fingers you are not using. First play each note by itself to make sure they are clear then play them all together for your first chord. If you are not getting the sound you want check your finger positions. Make sure you are pressing hard enough to create a clean sound, but not too hard. Incorrect position of the fingers and not pressing the strings hard enough are the two most common reasons why you will not get good sounding guitar chords.

To play the chords you need to learn how to read the chord charts. The frets are on the horizontal lines and the strings are on the vertical lines. The vertical lines represent the number of strings and the number is the fret number. If there is an “x” on a line that means you do not play that string. If there is an “o” on the line that means you should strum the string but do not press your finger on it.

These are some basic instructions to get a beginner guitar player playing chords. Since songs and music theory are structured from chords, this is the ideal place to start when learning to play a guitar. Practicing guitar chords is important not only for beginners. but seasoned players as well.

By: Jeffrey Veal

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How do you use guitar chord diagrams? A complete understanding of how to read and use diagrams of guitar chords is essential knowledge for any guitar player, from the “greenhorn” beginner to more advanced players. The best and easiest path to becoming a competent guitar player is by learning some chords and then applying them to learning the rhythm parts of songs. Guitar chord diagrams help you do just that!

What is a Guitar Chord Diagram?

A guitar chord diagram is a graphical representation of a single guitar chord, often referred to as a “chord box”. It is basically a box in the shape of a rectangle that shows you how to play a particular chord. It represents the guitar fretboard, and shows you exactly where to place your fingers to form the chord, and which strings to strike to play it. It is truly amazing how much useful information is packed into such a small package.

How to Read a Chord Diagram

There are several different styles and formats, but all chord diagrams have these common elements:

• There are six lines that represent the strings of the guitar. Depending on the format of the chord box, the strings run vertically up and down the page (most common), or else across the page horizontally.

• For vertical diagrams, the string on the left represents the low E string (thickest one), and the string on the right is the high E (thinnest string.)

• There are a series of lines running across the string lines (at a right angle) that represent the frets.

• The string lines and the fret lines come together to form a grid representing the guitar fretboard.

• Circles or dots are placed on the grid to show exactly which strings to press on which fret to play the chord.

With just this basic information on a chord diagram, you can form and play any guitar chord. The best part is that you don’t need to know how to read standard musical notation, or even guitar tabulature, to read a chord diagram. Well enough words! View examples of guitar chord diagrams here.

Here are some additional features of chord diagrams that pack in even more useful information:

• At the top of the box is a thicker line representing the guitar nut, or end of the neck

• An “x” symbol above the nut line means “Do Not Play This String”.

• An “o” symbol above the nut line means that the string is played open (not fingered.)

• Numbers (1 to 4) on the dots (or under the box) indicate which finger to use on that string, with 1= the index finger, and 4= the little finger.

• A line or bar running across two or more strings indicates a “Barre Chord”, in which one finger presses more than one string.

Tips for Using Guitar Chord Diagrams

1. Chord Diagrams are the single most powerful tool for learning and improving your guitar playing. Make good use of them!

2. Individual chord diagrams can be combined to form chord charts. These are a practical means to learn basic chords, chord families and sequences, and songs.

3. Make use of the wealth of free online resources to help you learn about guitar chord diagrams and chord charts. One such resource is The Guitar Players Toolbox.

Play well!

Copyright 2005 Peter Bussey of http://www.guitar-players-toolbox.com

This article can be reprinted freely online, as long as the entire article and the resource box are included.

By: Peter Bussey

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All beginner guitarists who want to play rock songs are itching to get started playing chords right away. So let us get some insight into the process of learning beginner guitar chords for rock songs. Naturally you can apply the basic ideas you find in this article to any genre, but the techniques for playing chords are mostly for rock guitarists. The best way to introduce you to guitar chords is to list some easy rock songs and the chords that you need to learn in order to play them. As guitar chords and tabs are easy to find on the internet, I will leave it to you to do a search for the songs you decide to play.

Sunshine Of Your Love by Cream – A C G D F

Blitzkrieg Bop by The Ramones – A D E B

Pink Houses by John Cougar – G C F D

Wild Thing – A D E

La Bamba – C F G

As Tears Go By – G A C D

Okay, that should be enough to get any beginner guitar player started. If you do not like the idea of playing the songs that I have listed, then just do a web search for easy rock songs. The songs listed above have these chords in common: C D E F G A B. So you have the seven major chords as your basic chords for rock songs. All of these chords can be played at the first position but in the F chord you have no alternative to playing a bar chord. Or do you?

This is the F chord as a bar chord:

e–1—————————-

B–1—————————-

G–2—————————-

D–3—————————-

A–3—————————-

E–1—————————-

You can play the F chord without the bar this way:

e–X—————————-

B–1—————————-

G–2—————————-

D–3—————————-

A–3—————————-

E–X—————————-

Simply place your left hand fingers to make the bar chord, then lift the first finger and place it at the first fret on the second string. The first and sixth strings are not played. If you move this chord up to the third fret you will have a G chord and at the fifth fret, the A chord. Any barre chord can be fingered this way, and some guitarists use these “internal” chords all the time. You use four fingers to play four string chords.

Of course, most guitarists will tell you that you should learn to play the bar chord fingering, and I agree with them. It takes a few weeks to begin to play the bar chords effectively and a few months before you are playing them with no problems, but once that is done, you are set up for a lifetime of guitar playing. The four string chords are just a way of enabling you to play more songs without too much delay.

Another way of moving chords up and down the guitar neck is by the use of power chords. Power chord is the name rock guitarists have given to a two note chord containing the root note of the chord and the note a fifth above the root. Common practice has become to play the root note an octave above, for example to play a power chord instead of E major you would play the notes E and B.

e–0—————————-

B–0—————————-

G–x—————————-

D–2—————————-

A–2—————————-

E–0—————————-

In the above example if you play with a pick you just damp the G string with a left hand finger and strum all the strings. Or you might prefer the effect when you do not play the top E string so that the E B E B ring out on the lower strings.

By: Ricky Sharples

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