Chords are one of the first things a beginner encounters on a guitar. Not only are they great finger strengthening exercises, but also opening up endless musical possibilities!
Major chords consist of three notes (or intervals) strung together to form one complete sound; for instance, C major contains notes C, E and G.
Triads
Many of your favorite guitarists use triads to drive melodies on the guitar, providing them with a versatile way to combine rhythmic playing with lead guitar licks.
Triads consist of three notes – a root, major third and perfect fifth. Their quality (major, minor, diminished or augmented) is determined by how far apart its notes are spaced.
Cmaj is considered a major triad as C and E are two full alphabetic steps apart. But even if you rearrange the notes so they become D, F, A instead, you would still create a major triad because C and G are only separated by one full alphabetic step.
To form a triad, start with writing the root note on the music staff. Next, draw an inverted “snowperson” shape above it with notes a third and fifth above the root note; add any accidentals from your key signature that apply; this forms the triad for your chord.
Major Scales
The major scale is an essential element of music, used as the building block for chord progressions, arpeggios and other musical structures. Comprised of seven notes labeled A through G and one note being labeled G as its center note, each major scale can be formed using various positions and octaves on a fretboard to produce multiple major scales.
E Major is one of the first major scale shapes you’re likely to come across and its triangular structure allows every string to be played. The resultant sound can be both optimistic and heartwarming – this could explain its widespread usage in more upbeat songs.
As you work your way through learning the major scale, keep this interval formula in mind: one whole step equals two frets while half steps represent only one fret. Using this tool will make navigating your guitar’s fretboard much simpler when transitioning between various scale shapes.
To practice a major scale, begin at the root note of your chosen key and work up and down until reaching its tonic note. Also remember to practice each major scale shape both ascending and descending order.
Major Thirds
Major triads are made up of the first, third, and fifth notes in a major scale; you’ll often come across them when playing music, and are among the first chords you learn to play on guitar.
For fancier chords, add either a major seventh or thirteenth. Often times the name of the chord will tell you which notes to include; major triads can also be extended with intervals such as minor seventh or flat seven chords.
These chords, commonly referred to as sus4 or add6 chords, consist of a root note, perfect fourth note and major seventh chord in their composition. While reading may be slightly disorienting due to letters being in different order than expected, remembering that sharp (#) means one fret up from sixth string while flat () indicates six fret down can help clarify matters further.
Minor Scales
Major scales can also be played over minor chords to create different musical sounds from just three notes – adding tension, urgency or sadness to any guitar playing session.
Minor scale notes can be organized into easily memorizable patterns on a fretboard that make learning the scale easy. Furthermore, these patterns can easily be transferred between keys simply by changing fingerings.
To locate the root note of a minor scale, start by positioning your index finger at the first fret of the thickest string and slowly work your way up each fret until your little finger lands three frets higher on one of its notes – this note represents its relative major.
Start practicing these patterns on an A minor scale before expanding on it to G minor, practicing these shapes up and down the fretboard as often as possible until you can play them smoothly without making mistakes.
Major scale shapes that we use to form chords on the fretboard are easy and versatile to learn, making Fender Play an excellent resource for lessons on chords, scales, musical theory and song practice.
Be sure to practice each shape until it becomes part of your muscle memory. Remember to also pay attention to each finger position’s unique sound when placing your fingers.
A Major
A Major is a bright, uplifting chord and one of the first ones most players learn. Used in numerous songs across genres and with its vibrant tone contrasting against more somber minor chords.
This major chord is one of the easiest major chords to play, though larger fingers can find it challenging. Focus on squidging your fingers together tightly while pressing vertically on each string so only their tips touch, to make this chord easier to hold down all three notes simultaneously.
Practice this chord regularly to increase strength and dexterity in your fretting hand. Use a metronome for steady rhythm to improve finger placement and strumming technique as well as add variety to your playing experience. Also explore different strumming styles to add variety.
B Major
The B Major chord is an exciting, captivating chord, one that signals strong passions and can add drama to any piece of music. To achieve it properly, use your first finger to hold down its strings (the barre), while using your thumb mute fifth and sixth strings so as to eliminate their sound and avoid open strings sounding out.
Practice will help a beginner guitarist master this chord. Once mastered, however, it will open up a world of harmonic possibilities! Be patient as practice pays off: this “A-shape” barre chord is usually learned first by novice guitarists. Once grasped you can move this shape up or down the fretboard to play any major chord you desire!
C Major
C Major is an ideal starting point when learning chords for beginners. Once you can build chords in C, it will help speed up learning other keys more rapidly while making it easier for reading music, improvising, and communicating harmony more fluently.
To play a C Major open chord, use your index finger for notes on the first fret, middle finger on second fret and ring finger on third fret; adding pinkie finger for major sixth, commonly known as C six chord.
Move your pinkie up to the fifth fret to add an eighth note for a Cadd9, also known as Cmaj7 or a Cmaj9. Although it takes additional finger movement, the resultant sound is truly exciting!
D Major
The D Major chord is one of the fundamental open string chords and an excellent place to begin your guitar playing journey. At first, its distance between notes makes it challenging, but with practice it will eventually become simpler to fret.
Position your index finger (first finger) on the 2nd fret of the 5th (A) string, while your ring finger (3rd finger) rests on the 12th fret of the 4th (D) string. Strumming all strings except the low E string produces your D Major barre chord; to mute this note simply wrap your thumb over the back of the neck to mutes it. Alternatively you could try playing this chord as a triad version as shown below in Table 1, showing intervals from D to F# as well as distances between its notes (e.g. D to F# indicates distance).
E Major
E Major is an essential tonal chord for most guitarists to learn and can be found in an abundance of songs.
This chord consists of E, G# and B tones. Like other major chords, this one is constructed using a triad and features its own complementary minor chord.
Accepting all of these variations will help you develop as a guitarist, and develop independent dexterity for each finger. E chords provide you with the perfect way to practice fretboard knowledge and scale degree names (tonic, supertonic, mediant, dominant submediant leading note tone and octave), giving you tools that allow you to play almost any major chord in any key.
Chords are integral components of music, and learning some simple major chords will give your songs an enormous boost.
In this article we’ll learn the open A major chord, as well as its first and second inversions. Each of these chords consists of 3 notes: A, C# and E.
C Major
C major chord is one of the keystones to learning guitar as it provides the foundation for many other chords. This diatonic scale contains no flats or sharps so all notes can be played across its fretboard.
The most common way of playing a C major chord is an open string shape using fingers two, three and four on your left hand. This resembles an E major open string but moved up eight frets; perfect for Townshend-style windmilling or punk-style thrashing; it may even serve as an effective replacement for other extension chords that add additional notes beyond their triad chord tones (figure 7).
Other extensions include the ii chord, which is a minor chord formed with D; the vii chord, a diminished chord made up of F notes; and finally the v chord, a G dominant seventh that typically appears in pop songs. All three contain notes B-D-F that make up this G dominant seventh scale.
D Major
The D Major chord is an excellent one to learn as it appears across numerous musical genres and forms. While there are various ways of playing it, we will begin with its open triad shape shown in Example 5 as our starting point.
Roots and major thirds combine to produce the bright-sounding D Major chord, one of the most widely-used chords that can be heard in songs by Led Zeppelin, Bryan Adams, The Cure and KT Tunstall among others.
To play this chord we will place our index finger on the 3rd fret of string two and our middle finger on the second fret of string 1. This creates a D Major triad, while adding minor seventh can transform this chord into D Major 7 commonly heard between major chord progressions – just move middle finger up to fifth fret of string 2 before adding 7th. Be mindful not to mute string 1 when doing this as this could cause your chord to sound flat!
E Major
E Major is one of the first and most essential chords to master. Major chords tend to sound brighter and more positive, while minor ones can often sound sadder and melancholic.
As with other Major chords, E Major chords consist of three notes – its root note, third note and fifth note of the E major scale – in a triad. A lot of music uses E Major; its versatility means it can be used for anything from adrenaline-filled rock songs to tender love ballads.
E Major chords can make for excellent blues chord progressions. Experiment with different voicings without including B fifth in order to create more open sounds – just be wary not to accidentally play B minor instead!
F Major
F Major is one of the most commonly-played major chords and often serves as an introduction to guitar players. This chord can be enjoyed from rock music all the way through classical pieces.
Play this chord by placing all of your left-hand fingers at the second fret and an open first string, or just your right hand middle finger on either of the third, fourth or fifth frets (or open fourth or fifth strings if preferred). Add additional notes such as major seventh, minor seventh or augmented fourth to further alter its sound.
Tip: Once you’ve mastered CAGED chords and become comfortable with your left-hand position on the strings, work on this chord immediately as soon as you feel ready. Doing this can help build a solid foundation for your playing and will allow you to move onto other chords or scales more seamlessly.
There’s a good reason that many of your favorite songs contain minor chords – this type of chord often denotes sadness in music.
Minor chords are triads composed of the first, third and fifth notes in a scale; similar to major chords they consist of three notes grouped as tritones but their third note has its pitch altered by half steps for an earthier sound.
A minor chord
The A minor chord is typically one of the first chords guitarists learn. As an integral component of many styles of music, its use has proven essential.
A standard open A minor chord contains the root, flat 3rd, and flat 5th scale degrees from A Major scale, commonly abbreviated as “Amin.”
A minor is an ideal chord to start learning piano with; its finger patterns can easily be fingered with close-spaced fingers without needing to stretch too far. Just be careful that when playing this chord your index finger doesn’t mute the low E string accidentally!
B minor chord
B minor is one of the most frequently-used guitar chords and features prominently in many popular songs. As a minor triad, this chord includes intervals from B to D and D to F sharp – making it difficult for beginners. Bar chords may make this chord particularly difficult to master.
To play the B minor chord, use your index, middle, and ring fingers to fret the high E, G, and B strings respectively. Strum the chord to ensure each note rings out clearly before strumming further. Practice arpeggiating it to further develop finger independence and precision.
C minor chord
C minor is an emotive chord found in many rock, classical, and funk songs – an example being Adele’s Rollin’ in the Deep where this chord gives her song its melancholic feel and nostalgic tone.
C minor chords, also referred to as minor triads in music theory, consist of three notes C, Eb, and G with an inverted third note flattened between them for an emotional yet reflective sound.
One of the great things about Captain Chords chords is their versatility in inverting, creating new voicings and adding flavor to your music. You can do this easily by barring strings and moving fingers around the fretboard – both tasks easily accomplished when using Captain Chords!
D minor chord
This D minor chord is an essential part of many songs, providing a crisp mid-tonation that fits easily with most playing styles. Sliding your pinkie one fret lower produces a D minor six chord, adding major sixth for thicker sound. Keep fingers arching sufficiently to avoid touching adjacent strings – this could muffle its sound!
If you enjoy playing barre chords, this variation can be an ideal choice. Be sure to regularly inspect string clarity to avoid buzzing or muted notes; additionally, keeping your thumb flat against the back of the neck ensures an optimal hand position and comfortable playing experience.
E minor chord
These E m guitar chord voicings provide fuller tones by repeating one or more notes at different octaves to give each chord its full sound. To play these chords clearly, it may help if you finger each string one at a time while listening carefully for any buzzed-off notes or muffled tones that could interfere with playing correctly.
To practice, try holding your index finger across six strings at the seventh fret and forming a barre chord. Strum this chord for four beats while taking off your fingers between each strumming stroke to help memorize its shape. Alternate between this chord and other common ones while maintaining a steady rhythm.
F minor chord
The F minor chord is a versatile guitar chord used in multiple musical genres. As the tonic chord in F minor key, this chord can be combined with Bb minor’s IV chord (iv chord) or C major V chord to create progressions and songs.
F minor is composed on the F natural minor scale, consisting of its root note, flat third (minor third), and perfect fifth notes. This genre tends to produce darker soundscapes than its major counterpart.
Practice this chord using ear training apps or online resources, playing songs that include it or with an experienced teacher who can give real-time feedback and guidance.