Beginner chords are specifically tailored for players just starting out, as they require less finger strength and dexterity to play them effectively and are great ways of building muscle memory.
Chord shapes include numbers to help identify which frets to place your fingers. Be sure to always review chord diagrams prior to playing and make sure that your hands are in their appropriate places so you can create clear sounding chords!
Open E Major
Beginner guitarists may find the open E major chord to be one of the easiest open chords to master. Like its counterpart, this chord requires your index finger to act as a barre and press down multiple strings (known as bar chord). Sometimes new guitarists struggle with this shape due to having fingers so close together in such a small space that they accidentally mutes some strings; if this occurs to you, try moving your hand closer or adjusting finger position accordingly.
This chord serves as an excellent gateway to learning major and minor chords, and is the key to playing slide music – famously used by Duane Allman for his Statesboro Blues slide licks. Additionally, Eleanor Rigby by the Beatles and Time Of Your Life by Green Day feature this tuning.
Open F Major
Open F major is an often challenging chord for beginners to master, yet can be played in several ways. Finger one as a barre may make this more challenging; to help early students succeed with fretting these notes more easily, string action may need to be adjusted lower.
One of the easiest ways to play an open F major is by creating a partial barre with your index finger across the first fret and keeping both B string and A string open. Your ring finger can then be placed on the third fret of D string leaving high E string unmuted creating a simple suspended 2nd chord F suspended 2nd chord that does not conform exactly with an open F major; but still sounds great and makes changing between it and open F much simpler!
Open A Minor
Beginner guitarists will quickly master this open A minor chord. A simple open triad (chords that only contain three notes), it has a melancholic sound perfect for slow songs or emotionally charged pieces of music.
Shape 1 (open A minor) may be difficult for beginners with finger dexterity issues or arthritis; therefore, this open A minor version offers an easier alternative that does not necessitate barrering across all five strings from 5 through 1. This version makes learning the A minor scale simpler for beginning students who find the full version daunting.
Notice how the second finger on this open A minor chord is not muting any of the thinnest strings – this technique helps create a cleaner sound and can even allow you to strum thinner strings without using middle and ring fingers (as Green Day’s Boulevard of Broken Dreams features many open A minor chords).
Open C Major 7
An open C major chord is one of the first chords you should learn when studying C as a key. Strumming should aim to get all five strings (open and fretted) ring out clearly when strumming; this may require squashing your fingers together more tightly or making sure that your ring finger does not touch fourth string, which would obscure its sound.
This chord contains three notes, C, E and G. You may hear it combined with bass runs between chord changes as seen in Michael Jackson’s song “In The Closet”.
Regular practice with this chord will improve both its timing and tonal quality, as well as your finger placement if it doesn’t sound right. For instance, moving your ring finger to the fourth string, 3rd fret for thicker and richer fingering may provide another solution while simultaneously enabling it to mutes the sixth string when not playing the chord.