A little rough, but this the first time I made it through all these chords without looking at the chord chart.
Introduction To Chords
This lesson has no video
Up until this point, we have been playing individual notes one at a time. When you play more than one note at a time, this is called a chord. Chords are the building blocks of songs. It is important to introduce you to commonly played chords early in your studies. The sooner you learn basic chords, the sooner you can play the songs you want. This keeps you motivated and interested in the learning process. I am going to show you the most common and most easily played chords in popular music. You will be surprised how many of the songs you love contain these chords.
Chords are portrayed in vertical diagram form (shown below). The chord diagram represents the top part of the guitar neck. The vertical lines are the strings, and the horizontal lines are the frets. The dots show you where your fingers go, and the number in the dot tells you which finger to use there. To review, the pointer finger is 1, middle finger is 2, ring finger is 3, and pinkie is 4. If there is an O above a string, this is an open string, so strum it along with the others. If there is a X above a string, that string is not to be played at all. The red dots are the roots, or the notes that share the name of the chord. For example: In a C chord, the roots (red dots) would be the "C" notes in that chord.
When making these chords, first place your fingers in the correct place and then pick one note at a time to ensure that each note can be heard clearly, then give it one strum across the strings to hear the whole chord. If a note is not coming out clear, it is one of three things:
1. Either you are not pressing down hard enough.
2. You are not pressing your finger down directly behind the fret.
3. The string is hitting another finger which is preventing its vibration.
The proper way to play chords is to arch your fingers "up" and come straight down on the strings. Some chords are harder than others, so don't be discouraged if some seem impossible at first. They will not stay that way.
Also, it is important to note that you shouldn't work on a specific chord for more than a few minutes. Move on to the next one and come back to it tomorrow. Muscle memory is built through repetition. Below are chord diagrams for all the basic major and minor chords on your guitar. Without getting into theory just yet, the best way to look at the difference between major and minor chords is that major chords sound "happy" and minor chords sound "sad." These chords are your bread and butter. All competent guitar players have these memorized and have them available at an instant. This is your goal. Learn them. Love them. Make them a piece of you.
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πΈ Introduction to Chords πΈ
Iβm sharing what Iβve learned about the most common and easily played chords from Guitargate, along with tips for getting them to sound clean and clear. This includes:
How to read chord diagrams
The importance of muscle memory
Troubleshooting techniques for clearer chords
If youβre working on these lessons too, let me know how itβs going for you! Are there any chords you find especially tricky, or tips youβve discovered along the way?
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Working on the open chords here. I noticed sometimes I get a little buzz when I pick my fingers up to change chords. Amy tips on how to correct that?
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Learning the open chords was not difficult as long as I figured out the corresponding scale. They made sense at that point. Getting my fingers to move in these ways (while remaining relaxed) is the challenge. It saddens me that some of my favorite key signatures are the hardest ones to make sound nice, e.g., B/G#m, Eb/Cm... My new goal: a beautiful Cm chord. :)
I look forward to working on transitions with the metronome next week. That will be really good for my fingers and muscle memory.
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Trying my hand at the list of chords provided on the lesson. Ignore my daughter singing along in the back lol.
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Still struggling to get the index finger to correctly barre the strings. I can feel the way I pull the guitar into my body to make it more forceful. Would love some input and suggestions.
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Running through the chords from the lesson, then strumming some chords. Can you name the tune?
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Introduction to chords video.
I have never played F Major or Minor as shown in the diagram, only ever a barre, so I will have to learn these ones.
Also I realized when making this video I have never ever played a G minor before.
I will practice these chords that I didn't know previously.
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Trying to work on my audio when recording. Both recording and playing have a long way to go haha. Thanks for the platform to promote growth.
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Introduction to chords A through G major and minor chords.
(Video quality leaves a little to be desired, still trying work out the audio recording process with a phone.)
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Mostly open chords. :)
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Mostly review, but I've never seen the B chords or C/F minor, so something to work on!
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Practicing my chords and trying not to use barre chords!
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Fret Diagrams
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