Chords form the backbone of most songs, providing rhythm, texture and feel.
G Major, C Major, D Major, A Minor and E Minor are the five most prevalent guitar chords used at Level 1, often by blues musicians. These power chords are known as power chords.
Open E Major
Open E major is one of the first chords most beginning guitarists will learn, providing a versatile springboard for many genres of music and opening up many possibilities. Consisting of notes E, G# and B this chord provides great starting point.
This unique version of an open E chord is played by placing your third finger (ring finger) at the 6th fret on D and your second finger at 5th fret on B strings – this allows low E and A strings to resonate freely while adding an alternative sound compared to traditional open E shapes.
Another variation on this chord involves placing your third and fourth fingers at the 2nd frets of A and D strings respectively. While this requires using either pinky or ring fingers to play it with, it has its own distinct sound and it makes an interesting change from other shapes. It’s definitely worth giving it a try!
Open F Major
F Major is an often-played chord, yet beginners often struggle with its complex structures and tones. If played incorrectly it can sound thin and weak; therefore it is wise to explore various voicings of this chord in order to find what best works for you – the chord diagrams below have step-by-step instructions for creating F chord shapes so it is easy for beginners to get it right!
The standard F chord shape features a bar across its first two strings, making it difficult for those new to barre chords to play it properly. Below is an easier-to-play alternative which still sounds great!
This low voicing of an F chord may be more challenging to hold down, but it’s an effective way to build finger strength and string muting skills. Furthermore, you could combine other chord shapes to form more sophisticated voicings of this F chord shape. In time you should learn other F shape chord voicings in root 5 and root 6 positions as this will speed up fretboard navigation.
Open A Minor
Open A minor chords serve as the counterpart to major guitar chords and are used to express sad emotions through music. These movable shapes can be found both in standard tuning and open A tuning (see Essential Chords in Open A Tuning ebook for charts of essential OA Minor Chords if interested), usually by adding bass note from lower string into their playing pattern.
Begin experimenting with modal seventh chords which add extra complexity and depth to your music, like “Magnolia” by J.J Cale which features both Cmaj7 and Fmaj7 chords.
Memorizing these chords may take practice, but with time they will become second nature to you. For advanced guitarists, the Guitar Chord Bootcamp: Open Chords course provides more in-depth coverage with technique tips and exercises geared specifically toward these 24 chords. Click here for more info!
Bar Chords
If you want to play more advanced guitar songs, learning bar chords will be essential. These chords use your index finger as an anchor point across multiple strings at once and can be moved up and down the fretboard as needed. They require practice before becoming comfortable but once mastered they will provide great sounding chord progressions as well as strengthening fingers.
There are a variety of bar chord shapes, each one with its own name. For instance, an E major bar chord features its root note on the sixth string (low E), but when moved further up the fretboard will change into other types of chords.
Because you are playing the same shape while altering the notes of a chord, adjusting pressure levels on each string may also be necessary to achieve an enjoyable sound. To give yourself an idea of the amount of pressure required, try playing chords both with and without sixth string.