Open Position Chords

Learning open chords is the best way to begin learning the guitar. After you learn these chords and gain some facility with them, you will be able to play hundreds and even thousands of songs.

The most important open chords are the major C, A, G, E, and D chords. For convenience, you can remember these chords as the word "CAGED". Lets look at them one by one.

* Black circles represent where your fingers go, with the number corresponding to the finger you use to press down behind the fret (1=index). The x's and open circles above the fretboard tell you whether the strings that aren't pressed down are allowed to ring or not (x= no, open circle= yes)

You will probably find that the E and A chords are the easiest to form, while the C and G are a little harder. For some, the D will be a little harder than the rest. Remember to keep your fingers curved. You want only the tip of the finger pressing down on the strings. At this point, you will probably want to curl your thumb around the top of the guitar neck, sort of like the way you would hold a baseball bat.

When you can form all of these chords, try switching between them. This is the skill that will allow you to play your first song. If you find one chord particularly frustrating, leave it alone for awhile. Go ahead and try to switch between the chords that you can play. You can always come back to what you find difficult.

Challenge Exercises 

If you can play all of the CAGED chords, try this F chord out. It is sort of notorious amongst guitar learners. You have to fret the 1st and 2nd strings with one finger (1st finger). Try using the palm of your hand for support.

Here is a list of the chords that "sound good" together. This means that they are part of the same key, and are often included together in songs. Try practicing chord switching using these chords.

Key of C      

C, F, G          

Key of A

A, D, E                 *add C chord for a bluesier sound

Key of G

G, C, D

Key of E

E, A, B                 *add G chord for a bluesier sound

*See lesson 3 for B chord

Key of D

D, G, A                 *add E chord for bluesier sound

Strumming Chord Progressions

Strum It


Strumming is the first way you should learn how to play rhythmically on the guitar. Once you have it, its fairly easy to play backup for a good number of songs.

Tap out time with your foot. Each tap is a downbeat. Now think of your strumming arm as a pendulum going back and forth. It should go down towards the floor on every beat and back up between the beats. The motion should be even. Keep your arm relaxed. Grip the pick firmly, but strive to have as little tension in your arm and hand as possible.

Slide your pick across the strings on each down beat in a repeating "1, 2, 3, 4,/1, 2, 3, 4" rhythm. You should hear a strum on each beat. Try to move your pick quickly through the strings, striking each one. Keep a steady and slow pace. You can always build up speed later.

Now try sliding the pick across the top few strings between the beats. The difference in sound should be the same as counting "1, 2, 3, 4/1, 2, 3, 4", then switching to "1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and/1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and". The numbers still sound at the same tempo, only now you will have added the "ands", called the upbeats.

This pattern is made of 8th notes, because between the numbers and the ands, there are eight notes played in a row before you begin to repeat yourself. You can also play 16th notes with the pendulum method, only now there are 16 strums in a row.

It sounds like this "1 ee and uh 2 ee and uh 3 ee and uh 4 ee and uh".  

Its best to start this out at slow tempos, as you have to strum quite fast at brisker tempos.

Progressions


One famous progression is the 12 bar blues. Many classic songs use this progression or a variation of it. This version shows chords for the key of G. This form or written guitar music is called tablature, or just tab.

    Notice how there are 12 total bars in the progression? Also, notice how this tablature calls for 4 strums in each bar, one for every down beat. Try mixing it up by adding in some upbeats using the pendulum method. You will begin to hear the "ands" between the numbered downbeats.

Pentatonic Scales

Chords are fun, but most songs have either a voice or an instrument playing a melody. This can be in the form of a vocal melody, but it can also be in the form of an instrumental melody played on a guitar. We might conjure an image of a lead guitarist playing fast and flashy, but it also might take the form of a hook or riff that you can't get out of your mind.

Many of these parts use either the major or the minor pentatonic scale. These are streamlined versions of the normal major and minor scales. They can be used as the building blocks for a guitar solo, but they can also be used to craft a melody that can be played along with a set of chords (or chord progression).


A Little Bit of Theory (but not much)


In the same way that you played an A major chord in two ways (as a bar chord and an open chord), you will also play an A major pentatonic scale in two ways. Actually, you will play the A major pentatonic scale in five ways (you can play a chord in 5 ways too, but we'll save that for another lesson). These ways are called "positions", and once you know them for one key, you'll know them for all the 12 keys in music. You only have to start the position from the note that corresponds to the correct key.

Here are what the 5 positions look like for a G major pentatonic scale.

The black dot shows the location of the root note (the note associated with the key of the scale), and the number under the first circle tells us what fret to begin with. In position 1, the root note is on the 6th string at the 3rd fret. This note is G, which also is the key of this scale.

For many, it helps to see a representation of how these 5 positions look across the guitar's fretboard.

 





As you can see, each position follows another position in a loop. Notice how position 1 begins at the third fret, but also repeats at the 15th fret. Position 5 can be played at the 12th fret, but also at the guitar nut. If you play each string open along with the notes at the 2nd and 3rd frets, you have the position 5 shape.

Here are the minor pentatonic positions for the key of G.

 











These shapes should be familiar, they are the same shapes use for G major pentatonic. Only with the minor version of the pentatonic scale, position 1 looks like position 5 of its major counterpart. The pattern continues, with position 2 looking like position 1, 3 like 2, etc.

Don't worry about this too much at this point. It is described by the theoretical concept of relative keys, but you can just be aware of it for the time being.

Here is what the G minor pentatonic positions look like across the guitar neck.

Again, its the same shapes from the major version of G pentatonic, only the positioning of the shapes have changed.

Challenge Exercise


Play through position 1 of G major and minor pentatonic. Start with your 1st finger at the G note for minor, then your 2nd finger at the G note for the major version. Let each finger, numbers 1 through 4, play one fret each. For many, playing with the pinky (4th finger) is difficult. If you have trouble, try playing those notes with your ring finger (3rd finger). You can also start with your first finger on the G not for the major pentatonic, shifting it down to the 2nd fret when needed. Experiment and find something that is comfortable. It will take practice.

Try recording a chord progression, then playing the scale that corresponds to the key of the progression (ie, G major progression gets G major pentatonic scale. Try to come up with your own melody.

As long as your progression is in a major key, you can play either a major or minor pentatonic scale. However, if the key is minor, you must play a minor scale.

Bar Chords

After you know some open chords, its good to learn how to make bar chords. These chords have a different sound, and will also allow you to play up the neck. They do require a bit more hand strength, but aren't a big problem for most players. Practice and repetition will help you form these chords.

A Little Bit of Theory (but not much)


You can already make an open E and an open A chord. Now you will learn how to make an A bar chord that sounds almost identical to the open A chord, yet uses your fingers in a way that's closer to the open E chord.

Here is an open E chord...

This chord uses your fingers to press down 3 strings, while the other 3 strings of the guitar ring out as open strings. In essence, the plastic looking bar (called the "nut") that runs parallel with the steel frets of your guitar is pressing these strings down for you. Wouldn't it be cool if you could move this nut around? Well, you can. All you have to do is use your 1st finger (index) instead of the guitar nut. This is called a bar chord.

Notice how the 2,3, and 4 fingers are in the same shape as the 1,2, and 3 fingers in the open E chord. Where the nut was in the open E, you now see a curved line representing the position of your 1st finger. The R stands for "root", as in root note of the chord. Whatever note lives in this spot will determine the name of the chord. For an A bar chord, you simply find the A note on the 6th string and begin your bar chord there.

Since this bar chord is simply an open E chord that you have "moved" up the neck, you can also "move" it other places as well. Move it down two frets and you have a G bar chord. Move it up two frets and you have a B bar chord. Whatever fret your 1st finger presses down will tell you the name of chord, but the shape of your hand and fingers remains the same.

Here is a representation of the 6th string of the guitar and the notes that are found there.

You can also use the open A chord as a foundation for bar chords. The shape is a little different, and you also use the 5th string to determine what chord you are playing, as opposed to the 6th string.

Here is the open A chord.

And here is the bar chord version, where you use your 1st finger as the nut. Notice how three strings are being held down by only one finger (3rd finger). This is tricky, and will take some time to perfect. Don't worry if you can't sound the 1st string with your 1st finger because your 3rd finger is getting in the way. This is a common problem. Many guitarists never sound that 1st string, but it is worth trying.
















Here are the note names of the frets along the A string.

Bonus Chords

Once you have these two bar chord shapes down pat, its easy to turn them into minor chords. For the bar chords that begin on the 6th string and are modeled after the open E chord, simply remove your 2nd finger from the fret board and let your 1st finger play that note as part of the bar. For the bar chords that begin on the 5th string and are modeled after the open A chord, use your 2, 3, 4 fingers to make the shape shown below. Most guitar learners find these minor bar chords easier to make then the major versions.

How to tune your guitar

You need to know how to tune a guitar to play it. There are many electronic devices that make tuning the guitar easy. However, if you use your ears to tune your guitar you'll be training them every time you tune up.

A guitar's tuning is similar to other string instruments, such as the violin and the mandolin, but with a slight difference. While the top 4 strings (fat strings) of a guitar have the same relative tuning as a violin, the bottom 2 strings (skinny strings) break that tuning for practical purposes- namely so guitarists can play chords with human hands.

This information is a little advanced- you don't need to worry about it too much at this point. It will begin to make more sense as you explore the fretboard. For now, all you need to know are the pitches (notes) of each string, and how to tune them properly.

Guitar strings... (fat strings to skinny strings)
   
       E   A   D   G   B   E
       6   5    4    3    2   1











Eat A Darn Good Breakfast Everyday is a common mnemonic device used to remember how a guitar is tuned.

Steps to Tuning Your Guitar

1. Use an electronic tuner to tune the 6th string to E. Turn the tuning key on the headstock of your guitar until it matches a perfect E pitch on your electronic tuner. Clockwise movements tune down, while counterclockwise movements tune up. Always tune down first, then tune up for increased stability.  

*  Each steel wire on the guitar's fretboard is called a fret. Notes are played by pressing down on one or more guitar strings just behind a fret. 

2. Find the 5th fret on the guitar's 6th string (the E string you just tuned), and press the string down just behind   this fifth fret. This will sound an A note, which is the pitch we need for the 5th string.

3. Next, locate the tuning key for the 5th string, and while STILL PRESSING DOWN THE 6TH STRING  BEHIND THE 5TH FRET, turn the 5th string tuning key until the pitch of the 5th string matches the pitch of the 6th string being pressed down behind the 5th fret. When the two notes are out of tune, you will hear a wobbly sound, like a wave. As they become the same pitch, this wave will begin to disapear until it is completely gone.

* This sounds more complex than it is. See video for demonstration.

4. Repeat this process for the 4th and 3rd strings. When you reach the 2nd string, simply press down the string above it (3rd string) behind the 4th fret as opposed to the 5th fret.

5. When tuning the first string, revert back to pressing down behind the 5th fret of the string above it (2nd string).