Guitar chords are an invaluable way of adding emotion and energy to your music.
A chord diagram is a visual representation of your guitar strings and which frets will be utilized when creating certain chords, as well as which finger will press each string. An “x” indicates any string that won’t be played.
1. Police Chord
Every Breath You Take by The Police features Andy Summers’ Bela Bartok-influenced guitar part as its centerpiece, providing an excellent practice opportunity for guitarists seeking to add more intricate chords into their sound palette.
This song also showcases an easy power chord progression that can serve as the basis of many songs. To use this technique effectively, one must learn how to switch between various chord shapes while understanding their harmonic functions and modes.
Some chords can be more challenging to play than others, particularly those requiring significant finger extensions or unusual positioning of fingers. This may pose special difficulties for beginners or those with decreased hand strength; however, with regular practice and the proper technique this obstacle can be overcome.
2. Major Chord
Major chords form the backbone of most upbeat genres, producing an upbeat sound with their bright sound and clear sound. Here we see an open C major chord being played using an Ed Sheeran-esque rhythm.
Every major chord consists of the first, third and fifth notes from any scale; hence its name as triad.
Note: Don’t panic if your fingers hurt; this is perfectly normal at this stage in the learning process. Your fingertips need time to strengthen up before fretting notes effectively.
Try slightly bending your index finger upwards so as to prevent too much force being exerted when hitting the string too hard, this way ensuring that other strings won’t be muffled while pressing down on them.
3. Minor Chord
Minor chords are one of the easiest and most widely-used guitar chords to play, offering both somber or upbeat vibes depending on their context.
Minor chords in music are composed by layering three notes separated by what’s known as an interval of thirds to form a triad. Triads are the simplest type of chord and consist of three notes connected by an interval.
To create a C minor chord, start with its root note (A) and add its minor third (C). From there you can move E up or down an octave while maintaining its identity as a C minor chord.
4. Major Scale
The major scale is one of the fundamental building blocks in music. To get it under your fingers and into your playing, its patterns must become an integral part of your playing style. These scale patterns are flexible enough that they can start on any note in the tonic scale; their shapes include moveable octave shapes that can be associated with chords from CAGED.
Start by learning a three note sequence using these patterns with an octave shift on the fretboard, practicing this over and over until it becomes second nature. Once that’s in your back pocket, try shifting this box pattern onto strings prior or posterior to root note to connect scale patterns for a tetrachord sequence – it should look something like this: [string number before or after root note + box pattern on or before or after it].
5. Minor Scale
No matter the genre of music that you create – be it heavy metal or Mozart – the notes that compose all music use the same scales and tonalities (also called modes) of notes to construct chords, riffs and solos.
The minor scale or Aeolian mode is a seven-note scale formed through flattened intervals of whole and half steps, similar to its major counterpart except with its raised 7th note.
Practice minor scales in different keys and learn their patterns across the fretboard to be able to create chords from them in any key. This will give you the foundation and skillset needed to compose music on your own and sound professional.