Guitar chords provide the basis of music. Learning how to build and play basic chords will enable you to compose songs quickly!
The E major chord is one of the first guitar chords most beginners learn, as it can be found in numerous famous rock and blues songs!
Major
Since there are only a handful of chords that cover all major keys, it’s essential that musicians know how to identify which kind of chord will suit a given key before starting to play in it. One effective approach for doing so is through using the circle of fifths.
Any chord beginning on the first note of a scale will naturally be major due to its inclusion of perfect fourth (back to root note) and major third intervals.
The open E chord is a prime example, comprising of three notes; E, G# and B. This chord can also serve as an excellent starting point when learning harmonic progression, since its sound combines and resolves well with other chords. Harmony is one of the hallmarks of music’s beauty; yet mastering its essence may require greater dedication than anticipated.
Minor
Minor chords tend to sound sadder and darker than major ones due to one simple change: when the third of a major scale is reduced by half step, this makes a huge difference and creates that melancholic minor feel.
The E minor chord is one of the first open chords many guitarists learn. Like any open chord, it consists of four open strings and is best performed using an instrument with fretted sixth string fretting (such as an OM or modern dreadnought guitar).
This shape can be adjusted to create any minor chord imaginable; when placed on the low E string, an E minor shape should be used; on the A string use an A minor one instead. You can also make an augmented seventh chord by adding in its flat seventh degree of minor scale (CM7 or C7) which makes for a difficult progression for learning E minor as a key.
Dominant
Dominant chords are widely utilized in blues and jazz music, serving as key components of standard 12-bar blues chord progression. By learning these chords, guitarists can increase their vocabulary while adding depth to their music.
A dominant chord consists of the root, third, and seventh notes from a diatonic scale. Any of these notes can be raised or lowered by one half-tone (or semitone) to create either major, minor, or diminished chords; E7th, A7th and B7th dominant chords are the most frequently seen dominant chords.
The guitar neck diagram below demonstrates four drop 3 dominant seventh chord voicings in open position using four drop 3 dominant seventh chords enharmonically without accidentals, making them easier to read and understand on a fretboard. Black notes represent root voicing while blue dots represent first inversion (with red and green as third and fifth inversions respectively). Black notes correspond with root voicing; blue dots correspond with root inversion (with first, second and third inversions being first and fifth respectively), green representing third inversion and green represents third inversion (with blue dots denoting root voicing); black notes corresponds with root voicing, Blue Dots are used for first inversion (first inversion); red dots corresponds with second inversion; red and green represents third chords which all agree with key without need for accidentals; making these chords easier to read on fretboard.
7th
The E Major 7 chord is an easy chord to begin learning. It contains only the first four tones of the Major scale (1, 3, 5 and 7) without any altered notes; thus making this chord also known as an open E dominant seventh.
This chord is one of the first you should learn and is featured prominently in many songs by Marvin Gaye such as Let’s Get It On. It can express powerful desires, triumphant sentiments and self-assurance.
To play this, you’ll need your middle finger, index finger and thumb to fret the bass note while your other fingers play treble strings in an irregular cross rhythm. While this can be challenging at first, practice makes perfect! A chord wheel may also come in handy; this tool shows all available chords arranged alphabetically by their function to help choose which chords will fit best into your progressions – it’s an invaluable resource for beginner musicians!