At a basic level, guitar chords are formed with the fingers of the right hand and transformed into sound by strumming or picking strings with the right hand. Chords are played with two or more notes.

For the moment, don't worry about what you're right hand should be doing. It's probably easiest to just play down strokes with your thumb while you concentrate on the chords with your left hand.

The Basic Primary Chords

Categorically, there two kinds of chords - minor and major. And the basic primary chords are C,A,G,E,D or CAGED. If you are new to playing the guitar, mastering the CAGED pattern should be up there at the top of your things to do list. A lot of artists who mastered these basic chords confessed that it paved the way for easy manipulation of the other difficult chords.

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The 6 Secrets Of The Chord Diagram

Don't panic! Reading a a chord diagram is not nearly as difficult as reading music. All you need to understand from a chord diagram is which fingers to put on which strings.

• Imagine holding the guitar vertically with the head pointing to the ceiling. This is the orientation of the chord diagram. The diagram represents the guitar's fretboard and strings.
• The vertical lines of the diagram represent the strings of the guitar. The vertical line furthest left on the diagram is the bottom E string and the furthest right vertical line on the diagram is the upper E string.
• The horizontal lines of the diagram represent the frets of the guitar. The very top horizontal line is usually represented in bold and is the 'nut' of the guitar (that's the plastic bar that the strings lie in). So the first fret is actually the second horizontal line on the diagram.
• The large black dots on the diagram are where you put your fingers.
• The numbers on the dots, or at the bottom of the diagram represent which finger should be used. 1 = Index finger, 2 = middle finger, 3 = ring finger, 4 = little finger. usually the thumb is not used.
• An X or a O at the top of each string means you don't put a finger on that string. If it's an X then you don't play the string at all and if it's a O then you play the string 'open' which means you don't put a finger on it.

if the chord is to be played further up the fretboard then a number appears to the left representing which fret to play at. But for now we'll be playing chords at the very top of the fretboard. These are called open chords.

Here are the chord diagrams for CAGED.

Troubleshooting

Often a lot of beginners complain how sore their fingers are after finishing one session with their guitar. This is a normal reaction. You should be surprised if you're not hurting even a bit, this means that you're not playing it correctly. Don't worry, the skin on your fingers will soon harden up if you do just 5 minutes a day.

The proper way to carry out fingering is by pressing your fingertips hard enough on the strings. When you notice that there is a buzzing sound, try to press harder on the strings. Try to place your fingers as close to the fret (on the right-hand side) a possible to avoid buzzing.

Fingernails Are Banned!

1) Cut those long fingernails. They will make it difficult for you to press the strings correctly.

2) Don't let your fingers lie down while playing for they tend to mute some strings. This is the most common mistake by beginners.

3) Be sure that the very top of your fingertips are in contact with the strings and not the flat, soft pad of your fingers. Maintain the straight arch. Aside from the fact that this is exhausting, this is also painful and difficult but will pay off as soon as calluses are produced.

4) Remember that you should press the notes altogether. Make sure that no strings are left out except the ones marked with an X.

5) Practice. 5 minutes a day. Memorize each chord pattern.

6) Don't rush yourself. If you do, it'll just frustrate you.

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