Beginner guitarists must spend considerable time honing their guitar chords before progressing onto other structures.
Starting off by learning five chords is an excellent way to mastering fretboard playing and is essential in developing fretboard mastery. Additionally, these five chords serve as a foundation for moving onto barre chords later.
A Major
The key of A Major contains 3 sharps. This key is popularly used by pianists and orchestral composers alike to compose their masterpieces.
All Major chords have a complementary Relative Minor Chord. Knowing this rule enables you to move from key to key seamlessly without affecting rhythm, as each new key offers unique feeling and emotion.
C Major
C major is an easy key with no flats or sharps, providing chords from this scale that are simple and accessible for guitar playing – it has become widely used in popular songs.
Below are fingerboard diagrams displaying all seven notes in the C Major scale and recommended fingerings to practice them. C Major chords provide an ideal starting point for learning guitar.
E Major
E Major is one of the simplest open chords on the neck, requiring all six strings to be fretted and strung together as one cohesive unit.
This chord has a lively feel and is frequently employed in lighthearted songs. Due to its expected resolution, this chord may also serve as an effective progression from F# chord. Additionally, its name suggests its purpose – sus4 chord.
G Major
G Major is one of the most commonly employed keys on guitar, providing an ideal place to begin developing chord progression skills.
Spend plenty of time practicing each fingering pattern slowly and carefully, with particular focus on memorizing its position on the fretboard before trying to connect them together. This will help speed up your fretboard journey!
B Major
B major is an emotionally powerful chord often employed in songs to elicit an expressive response, and can serve as an excellent base for improvisational purposes.
Guitarists typically employ the B barre chord shape when it comes to playing B shapes, since there is no standard open B chord shape available for playing like C, A, G and E shapes.
To create this chord, take your A shape and move it two frets up, creating a fuller and richer sound.
D Major
D major is an easy chord to play on acoustic guitar and offers great dynamic to the music. Its slightly dissonant tone adds flair and drama.
Moveable shapes like this one make them incredibly useful, lending themselves well to both pop and jazz music. Mix it with sus chords for even greater impact; both Led Zeppelin and Bryan Adams use this kind of chord progression!
E Minor
This chord creates a melancholic sound, often used in ballads or music that requires softer tones. Additionally, this chord can help transition smoothly into key changes by giving an abrupt change.
To create this chord, shift your fingers so as to free your pointer finger and create an E minor shape which is moveable across all strings – this allows for the creation of other minor chords as well.
A Minor
Minor keys provide many chord-building opportunities. By employing natural, harmonic and melodic minor scales you can compose melodies and progressions which accentuate its melancholic characteristics.
Melodies written in minor keys typically resolve to their tonic note; however, articulation and phrasing can significantly change their emotional resonance; for example, smooth phrasing can convey longing or tenderness while staccato articulation creates tension or unrest.
B Minor
B Minor chord is a challenging chord for beginners to master but is an indispensable foundational step on any musician’s journey. To play this chord successfully you’ll need a barre finger which rests across all strings except E string – something many beginner musicians struggle with initially.
This gives the minor chord a more melancholic sound than chords in major keys and it is frequently used in I-IV-VI progressions.
C Minor
C minor is a beloved chord used to convey sadness and melancholy, yet can create powerful soundscapes when used appropriately.
This chord can be played in several ways to add variety to your songs’ progressions. For example, an easier version without barred fingers could provide interesting variations in progression.