The Complete Flake’s Guide To Learning Guitar Chords

Chords are possibly the most important factor in the success of the guitar. They're also the most important thing to focus on when you're learning guitar.

But how on earth do you start? The important thing is that you must be willing to focus on learning the basics. Here are 5 answers to common questions beginners have when learning guitar chords:

Why Do I Need To Learn Guitar Chords Anyway?

Besides being relatively easy to carry on a bus, the guitar owes most of it's popularity to the ease of playing chords. If you can learn 3 chords, strum a little and sing a bit you can play hundreds of popular songs . . . and even write your own.

Guitar chord boxes are easy to learn and read which means if you can get hold of a chord book you can potentially know hundreds of chords within hours.

Chords are the backbone of your guitar playing and it's most useful feature. Ignore chords at your peril!

How Many Chords Do I Need To Learn?

Well Bob Dylan only knew a handful of chords and he led a musical social revolution in the 60s. You don't need to know hundreds of chords to play songs. Start with 3 or 4 and then gradually learn the extra ones you need to play your favourite songs. That's what worked for me. Learn your first 3 chords and you can play almost any Chuck Berry song.

How Do You Read A Chord Diagram?

The strings of the guitar in a chord diagram are represented by 6 vertical lines. The thickest string (bottom E) is on the far left of the diagram and the thinnest string (top E ) is on the far right of the diagram. The horizontal lines on the diagram represent the frets.

Black dots represent where you put your fingers. Usually they have numbers on them to show which left hand finger should be used. Sometimes you might see a 'T'. This means use the thumb of your left hand.

At the top of the diagram are X and 0 marks. An X means don't play that string and a 0 means play the string but don't put a finger down on it. This is called playing it 'open'.

Sometimes there is a number on the top left hand side of the diagram it means the chord shape should be played up the neck - for example a 5 means the chord should be played at the 5th fret.

What's The Difference Between a Major and a Minor Chord?

Technically, the difference is that a major chord contains a 'major 3rd' note and a minor chord contains a 'minor 3rd' note. So if you count up 3 from your root note (usually the letter name of the chord such as C or G) then this note is the 3rd of the chord.

For example, for a C chord, the 3rd is E. If the chord is a minor chord, the E will be an Eb. If it is a major chord it will just be a plain old E.

When you hear a minor chord it often sounds sad or lonely, whereas a major chord sounds happy and bright in comparison.

Which Chords Should I Learn First?

You should learn G C and D first (when there is no 'minor' or number after the name of the chord it means it is a major chord). Then move on to learn the CAGED chords. For more on learning these guitar chords click here.

So that's your quick start guide to learning guitar chords. Remember, you don't need to know a ton of chords to get started. In reality, most guitarists don't know that many chords - trust me, you'd be pleasantly surprised.

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