Many beginners start learning guitar chords by mimicking riffs and solos from their favorite musicians. But to become an accomplished artist, one must go beyond mimicry of influences to develop his/her own creative voice.
Left handed guitar chord charts are like mirror images of regular chord diagrams; however, their fingerings differ drastically.
Basics
No matter your handedness, learning guitar chords can be challenging. Luckily, beginner guitar chords are usually straightforward to pick up; this applies particularly for left-handed players. To start out learning barre chords – which require the use of one or more fingers across the fret board to bar across them – is recommended as your starting point.
These chords are essential for any guitarist, as they allow for playing an expansive selection of songs while honing your strumming skills.
As part of learning chords, it is vitally important that you practice with appropriate technique. This means avoiding pressing too hard as this may result in dead notes; also curving your finger too much may result in muted strings which will cause off key sounds as well as decrease playing speed.
Open chords
Open chords provide a fantastic way to become familiar with the fretboard and build finger strength. While at first they may seem awkward to play, with practice you will become more adept. They consist of at least a root note plus either a major third or perfect fifth note but may contain additional elements as well.
When playing open chords, make sure your fingertips are close enough to the fret to avoid muted or muffled notes and keep a clear sound. Play each string/note individually as well to check that none have muted or strange tone issues; once you have this down it will become much simpler to progress up the fretboard and learn other types of chords.
Scales
Once you have mastered basic chords, the next step should be learning scales. Knowing which notes are sharps or flats will be key when learning scales – practice will determine which keys you can play in, often determined by which notes make up each scale.
An arrangement in the key of C would not require accidentals as there are no flats or sharps present; on the contrary, one composed in G would necessitate an extra sharp because its scale contains one sharp note.
When reading chord charts, imagine you are viewing them while sitting comfortably at your guitar neck in natural playing position. Diagrams were designed to be seen this way so you’ll easily be able to identify which fingers play which strings. Try placing your fingertips as close to the fret-wire as possible without causing it to buzz; over time this should become second nature.
Chord progressions
Chord progressions form the building blocks of songs. You’ll often find songs of various genres using similar chord progressions; learning guitar chord progressions is therefore a great way to recognize themes across different types of music and improve your strumming techniques.
One popular progression is the 1950s doo-wop pattern, which features melodic three- and four-part harmony vocals. Another popular progression used by rock bands to give their songs driving rhythm is an i-v-vi-ii-dim progression.
Beginners might find it beneficial to search for chord diagrams specifically created for left-handed players – these diagrams usually depict inverted versions of right-handed chord diagrams – making learning them much simpler.
Barre chords are among the simplest chords, requiring you to use one finger at once on two strings at once with your first finger. While it may initially prove challenging for beginning guitarists, practice will make this easier over time. Once you’ve mastered these fundamental chords you can move onto more advanced barre and power chords.