Guitar Today

In the first major chords installment we looked at the main G,C,D chords, then we had a look at the open guitar chords E and A in part 2. In this third and final installment on major chords we will be looking at the last two major guitar chords. They are the B and F guitar chords. These chords require slightly more finger dexterity and strength.

B major

The B chord requires a technique called ‘barring’. Barring is using one finger to cover a fret on multiple. In the case of B you need to cover the first and last strings of the chord meaning your index finger must barre the entire width of the neck starting from the fifth string. You will need to press down extra hard and anchor with your wrists to do this. Place your index finger on the second fret of the fifth string, ring finger on the fourth fret of the third string, then place your pinky finger on the fourth fret of the second string.

F Major

To play the F major guitar chord, place your index finger across the first frets of the second and first strings, your middle finger on the second fret of the third string and your ring finger on the third fret of the fourth string. For this chord your index finger is somewhat barring the beck as your need to place it flat on the two first guitar strings.

In yesterday’s post we covered the G,C, and D, major guitar chords. Today we will look at two major chords which are also known as open chords chords. They are also extremely easy to play. E major and A major are a little bit tricky because the major and minor versions of the chords form opposing chord shapes. Where E major resembles an A minor on the first string, A major resembles an E minor on the fifth.

E major - The E major chord is as low as you can go on a standard tuned guitar. E is also agreat chord to play a guitar solo to because you have the most distance across the fretboard to work with as it is the first and among the last of the notes on the board. To play the E major chord place your index finger on the first fret of the third string, your ring finger on the second fret of the fourth string, your middle finger on the second fret of the fifth string and leave the sixth string open. Strum at will.

A major - The A major is a very easy guitar chord to learn. To play the A major chord place your index finger on the second fret of the fourth string, your middle finger on the second fret of the third string, and your ring finger on (you guessed it) the second fret of the second string.

The above demo uses the E, A and D major, which is also sometimes considered an open chord. The next two major chords are C and B which get into a slightly more difficult fingering position. But first we’ll be having a look atsome strumming patterns you can use for these examples.

Today we will be looking at some of the most popluar Major guitar chords. They are usually the first set of chords that any guitar teacher will give you, and as your friendly psuedo teacher (who isn’t mean and doesn’t give homework) I am going to give you those same chords. The Major G, C and D guitar chords are very important to music because they make up almost all of our common three chord melodies and strike a sense of familiarity in our minds. Not only do they make up most of the melodies, but these three major chords basically resemble every possible three chord major melody there is.

How to play the G,C,D major guitar chords

We’ll start by looking at the chords and each of their fingering positions, then we’ll look at some basic applications that may surprise you.

Remember how to read chord diagrams? Use the red circles as a guideline for which finger to use, these chords go in order of difficulty so, if you are new at chords, brace yourself for the D major chord coming up at the end. Don’t be surprised if you need a break after the fingering lesson.

G Major- The G major guitar chord, often called simply the G chord. Heres how to play it: Place your second finger on the third fret of the sixth string, place your index finger on the second fret of the 5th string, take your pinky (4th) finger and place it on the third fret of the (streeeeetch) first string. Now press down on the frets and strum. Now say ‘G’ what a swell sound that makes

C Major- Place your middle finger on the third fret of the fifth string, place your ring finger on the second fret of the fourth string, place your first (index) finger on the first fret of the first string. ‘C’ how easy that was?

D Major- This one is a tuffy. The D major chord is the thorn in the sides of many budding guitarists (thorns? budding? man I’m on a roll today). Once you have it down its’ a snap to play, but at first this major chord can cause major cramps. I think its’ partially from squeezing your fingers into a tight spot and then having to apply pressure.

Place your first finger on the second fret of the first string, place your third finger, on the third fret of the second string, next place your middle finger on the second fret of the third string. You will now be ‘D’-lighted to hear the sound of the D major chord.

Changing chords, Chord Progressions…

Once you have each of these chords mastered, try strumming them in differing patterns so you can practice rapidly changing guitar chords without any pauses.

Some chord progressions to try out: Get ready for someone to come running into the room shouting “I know that song!”

A THREE CHORD MELODY - G-G-G-G-G-G-G-G/C-C-C-C/D-D-D-D

SWEET THREE CHORD STATE - D-D-D-D-/C-C-C-C-/G-G-G-G-

LETS CALL THIS A 12 BAR BLUES DERRIVATIVE 

G-G-G-G/G-G-G-G/C-C-C-C/G-G-G-G/D-D-D-D/C-C-C-C/G-G-G-G

In tomorrow’s lesson we will continue looking at some major chords for the guitar. Feel free to post any questions, corrections or comments

Tomorrow we will be working with chord diagrams, so I thought I would take today to do a quick refresher or intro for those of us who aren’t familiar with them.

A diagram of a guitar chord is a graphic that gives you an idea of what a chord should look like by using dots to represent your fingers and lines to represent the fretboard and strings. The horizontal lines represent the frets and the vertical lines represent the strings. It also provides you with suggestions of what fingers to use in which places by numbering the dots counting your index finger as the first and your pinky as the fourth.

The strings are in order from left to right 6E, 5A ,4D, 3G, 2B, 1E and there will often be a number next to one of the frets indicating the fret number depicted. If there is no fret number it is safe to assume the first fret in the diagram is the first fret on the guitar neck.

If you shouldn`t play a certain string it will be signified by an X above the first horizontal line and if you should leave a string open it will be indicated by an 0.

The above diagram would produce an A major chord. All the components of a basic guitar chord diagram are highlighted and explained. If you run into any more trouble with chord diagrams and how to read them, don`t be shy to leave a comment and I will try to help you out.

As always, Feel free to post any questions, corrections or recommend your favorite guitar chord diagram reference… 

Since there are only 12 notes on a musical scale and a 22 fret guitar has 132 possible notes, there are ends up being several places that you can play the same note on a guitar fretboard. If you played every note starting from a C until you got to another C, you will have just played an octave. A guitar has four octaves (unless you’re counting natural and false harmonics, feedback, sliding, ect..).

Parallel to the individual notes, there are also several places you can play the same chord of the same type. The difference between these notes and chords is their pitch. An open E note played on the sixth string will have a lower pitch than an E played on the seventh fret of the fifth string.

A note with a higher or lower pitch is just that. Unless you are adding a bend of vibrato, the only difference that can be heard between two notes in different octaves is pitch. A chord, however, played in different octave will have a completely different dynamic and level of ‘blendability’ towards the music. Where an acoustic, country type of song would use an A major in its’ common form employing an open A note on the fifth string, a rock song with electric guitars might use the A major barre chord.

These alternates are called voicings and inversions.

Below is an example of just a few of the voicings of an A major chord. The first is the conventional A major you have likely seen, the second is a barre chord, the next is a higher pitched one that might be used like a ska chord .

E--0--|--5--|--9---|

B--2--|--5--|--10--|

G--2--|--6--|--9---|

D--2--|--7--|--7---|

A--0--|--7--|------|

E--x--|--5--|------|

All of these chords are made up of the same notes in the same order. They are just played in different spots on the fretboard. Each has its’ own unique sound and feel. For more voicings and inversions on different chords and chord types, consult a your favorite chord dictionary or check out the links below.

ChordBook - a great easy to use, complete and compact online chord dictionary.

Feel free to post any questions, corrections or recommend your favorite guitar chord reference…