The Nine Basic Guitar Chords
There are nine basic guitar chords that are essential for every guitar player to know, and when I say every guitar player, I literally mean EVERY guitar player. These chords are used every day by even the most advanced guitar players and for a lot of guitar players these are the only chords they know, which is ok, because these nine chords you are about to learn are that useful. These nine chords are also called open position chords, meaning that they are played in open position... down by the nut on the guitar neck. The first chord has already been seen in the lesson on How To Read Guitar Chord Diagrams which if you haven't already, should read before continuing. All of these chords will be demonstrated through the aid of guitar chord diagrams so it is important that you fully understand how to read these diagrams correctly to make this learning process easier.
E Minor, E Major, A Minor and A Major
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Instructions for E Minor Place your 2nd finger on the 2nd fret of the 5th string and your 3rd finger on the 2nd fret of the 4th string. All other strings should be played open. |
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Instructions for E Major Place your 2nd finger on the 2nd fret of the 5th string, your 3rd finger on the 2nd fret of the 4th string and your 1st finger on the 1st fret of the 3rd string. All other strings should be played open. The difference between an E Minor and E Major chord is one change. Can you find it? |
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Instructions for A Minor Place your 2nd finger on the 2nd fret of the 4th string, your 3rd finger on the 2nd fret of the 3rd string and your 1st finger on the 1st fret of the 2nd string. The 5th and 1st string should be played open. Avoid the 6th string. Notice the fingering for an A Minor chord is the exact same as an E Major chord but moved up one set of strings. |
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Instructions for A Major Place your 1st finger on the 2nd fret of the 4th string, your 2nd finger on the 2nd fret of the 3rd string and your 3rd finger on the 2nd fret of the 2nd string. The 5th and 1st strings should remain open while the 6th string should be avoided. |
Part III - D Minor and F Major