Basic Guitar Chords for the Beginner
Learning the basic open chords on guitar is one of the very best ways to get yourself up and running on guitar. With the following chords, you can play TONS of songs in no time. Learning songs early on is a key way to build confidence in your playing, which will keep you improving at a much faster pace. The chart below is courtesy of the Guitar Tricks and Tips website and does a great job of illustrating each chord. Dive in and let me know if you have any questions!
The C Chord
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The C Chord is made up of C, E and G. To play the chord we place the first finger on the second string, first fret (C), the second finger on the fourth string, second fret (E) and finally the third finger on the fifth string, third fret, this is the root note (C). Along with these we include the third string, (open G) and the first string, (open E).
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The D Chord
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The D Chord is made up of D, F# and A. To play the chord we place the first finger on the third string, second fret (A), the second finger on the first string, second fret (F#) and the third finger on the second string, third fret (D). The chord also includes the open fourth string (D), you do not play the first or the second strings.
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The E Chord
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The E Chord is made up of E, G# and B. To play the chord we place the first finger on the third string, first fret (G#), the second finger on the fifth string, second fret (B) and finally the third finger on the fourth string, second fret (E). Along with this we include the other open strings sixth string (E), second string (B) and first string (E).
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The F Chord
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The F Chord is made of F, A and C. With the first finger we bar the first and the second string on the first fret, (F) and (C), the second finger on the third string, second fret (A) and the third finger on the forth string, third fret (F). The fifth and sixth string are not played.
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The G Chord
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The G Chord is made up of G, B and D. To play the chord we place the first finger on the fifth string, second fret (B), second finger on the sixth string, third fret (G) and finally the third finger on the first string, third fret. We also include the fourth string, (open D), the third string, (open G) and the second string, (open B).
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The A Chord
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The A Chord is made up of A, C# and E. To play the chord we place the first finger on the fourth string, second fret (E), the second finger on the third string, second fret (A) and finally the third finger on the second string, second fret (C#). We also incude the fifth string, (open A) and the first string, (open E).
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The B Chord
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The B Chord is made up of B, D# and F#. To play the chord we place the first finger on the fifth string second fret (B), the second finger on the forth string, fourth fret (F#), the third finger on the third string, fourth fret (B) and finaly the fourth finger on the second string (D#), fourth fret. The sixth and the first strings are not played.
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