Chords in music are groups of notes that sound good when combined. On guitar, this often follows the major scale for that key.
Beginners often start off learning chords through triads – triodic chords composed of three distinct tones such as C, E and G chords – which make learning much simpler.
1. C Major
Thus far, all the chords we’ve examined are triads, which means each has three tones ordered in particular ways. C major is one such example with its root note C, major third E and fifth G notes forming its structure.
To play this chord, place the index finger of your dominant hand on the first fret of the B string and use middle and ring fingers on both the open G and high E strings respectively to stop at first fret, giving rise to notes c and e on your fingerboard.
Practice each chord shape’s positions to increase finger dexterity and gain insight into how chords interact in particular keys to form scales.
2. D Major
D major is one of the most frequently used chords on guitar, appearing in many songs such as Led Zeppelin’s Over the Hills and Far Away and John Denver’s Leaving on a Jet Plane. Additionally, this chord can easily be learned using fingers 1-5 for open position work.
D major is distinguished by two sharps in its key signature and has close ties with both G major and A minor. Here’s the D major scale on a fretboard with notes, finger positions and intervals highlighted; you can see here its tonic (root note), supertonic, mediant, subdominant dominant leading note/tone as well as six additional scale degrees: tonic (root note), supertonic mediant subdominant dominant leading note / tone as well as chords built off these degrees containing D major root note chords extended with 6ths 7ths 9ths etc.
3. E Major
E Major is one of the first chords most guitarists learn, comprising of E, G# and B. You can also barre it across the 7th fret to form an E major 9th chord (abbreviated as E9); however this requires stretching your ring finger in order to reach all notes on the fifth string.
This chord is simple to play and versatile in terms of genres; you’ll find it across rock, country and folk songs alike – from Patsy Cline’s “I Fall to Pieces” or Reba McEntire’s emotive ballads all the way through Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats hits and more contemporary releases like Greensleeves by old-time musicians such as Nathaniel Rateliff.
4. G Major
G Major chord is an ideal starting point to learning music, due to its flexible shapes. Notably, this key was used by Taylor Swift’s “Shake It Off”, Ed Sheeran’s ‘Hearts Don’t Break Around Here”, and Lynyrd Skynyrd in their song ‘You Shook Me All Night Long”.
G chords require stretching the fingers, which may prove challenging for beginners. To make life easier, keep the meaty parts of your fingers away from other strings while using only their tips for chording.
G major chords can sometimes be confusing for new guitarists as they contain an F sharp that many guitarists only recognize as an F natural. This is because this key has a scale with a lower seventh note than is typically used.
5. A Major
This A Major barre chord can be played by barring your index finger across 5-6 strings with your index finger at its second fret of the first string; placing middle and ring fingers underneath as necessary before finally placing index finger at fifth fret of 5th string to complete this chord.
Chords are composed of notes, and due to guitar tuning some notes can only be found at certain frets (namely the two lowest strings in this instance) thus necessitating barre chords for creating fuller sounding chords.
Try an open voicing of an A major chord by leaving out its sixth and first strings and only using its top three strings to play it. You will find this chord much easier on your fingers while adding more rhythmic strumming patterns.