Acoustic Guitar Chords

Acoustic Guitar Chords

An acoustic guitar chord is several notes all played at once. There are a lot of different acoustic guitar chords, but if you can learn a few basic ones, you can play hundreds, if not thousands, of songs. There are major chords, which have a brighter sound, and minor chords, which have a darker or sadder sound.

Guitar chords are notated with chord diagrams. Acoustic guitar chord diagrams are similar to guitar tabs, except the lines representing the strings run vertically (up and down) rather than horizontally (side to side). When you look at a chord diagram, you will see a grid. The vertical lines represent the strings. The horizontal lines represent the frets. The dots represent where you are to hold the string down. You will also see numbers, either at the top or the bottom of the diagram which represent which finger you are to use to hold down each string, with 1 meaning index, 2 middle, 3 ring and 4 pinky. Where you see a number 0, that string is left open and played. Where you see an X, that string is left open and not played. The thumb isn't used too often, but when it is, it's noted as T.

The first acoustic guitar chord we're going to talk about is the G-major chord. To play this chord, place your middle finger on the sixth string at the third fret, your index finger on the fifth string at the second fret and your ring finger on the first string on the third fret. Now play each note, including the open strings, one at a time. Make sure you can hear each note clearly and there aren't any odd sounds like buzzing or rattling. If you hear something off, try pressing the string down harder on the fingerboard or move your finger closer to the fret. Also make sure that your fingers aren't touching each other or any of the other strings. Once all of the notes sound good, strum them all at once. That's a G-major acoustic guitar chord.

The next acoustic guitar chord we're going to try is much easier on the fingering; E-minor. In this chord, you place your index finger on the second fret of the fifth string, and your middle finger on the second fret of the fourth string. Be sure to make enough room on the fret for both fingers without letting them touch each other. Try each of the notes out and adjust your fingering until you get the right sound. Strum the E-minor chord. Notice how the minor chord gives you a darker sound.

Other good basic acoustic guitar chords to learn are C-major, D-major, A-minor and A-major.

Practice moving back and forth between acoustic guitar chords. Try to get your fingers in place quickly. At first you'll need to take some time and get your fingers in place one at a time. But by practicing this over and over again, you're building muscle memory. After a while, your fingers will just get in place by themselves.

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