Chords for beginner guitarists
Guitar is one of the most popular instruments, the sound of which mesmerizes adults and children. And how many songs can you sing to the accompaniment of the guitar? Hundreds (if not thousands)! Of course, at first you need to study chords, but with a lot of desire and persistence you can do it quite quickly. We will tell you where to start learning, how to master the skills of playing the instrument yourself, and if necessary, we will help you to become a great musician within the walls of our school.
Basic chords: how to take the first steps
To begin with, let’s define what these basic (classical) chords on the guitar are. So, these are chords of the first position. They’re easy to memorize, and they’re also pretty simple to pick up. It will take an understanding of chord grids (diagrams) and practice.
The basic chords include 10:
- Am.
- C.
- Em.
- Dm.
- G.
- E.
- A.
- D.
- F.
- B7.
These chords allow you to create a simple accompaniment for most popular songs. They give a nice sound and are easy to press unlike some others. Just 10 chords and you’ll be able to play your first tunes on your own!
How to understand the chord marking system
Chords for guitar playing are designated by Latin letters (sometimes numbers are added). For example, chord A corresponds to the note “A”, B to “B”, C to “C”, etc. All chords consisting of 1 letter are initially major chords. If there is a prefix in the form of a small letter m (e.g., Am), the chord is read as minor. The combination of a capital Latin letter with the number 7 (A7, B7, C7, etc.) gives chords of the dominant sept type.
For a beginner, it is enough to understand the system of designation of basic chords – minor, major and dominant sept chords. To do this, you can use special tables and diagrams, which demonstrate which strings and where you need to clamp to get the desired sounds.
How to learn to take chords on the guitar
After the system of designation of guitar chords for beginners is mastered, you can start practicing playing the instrument, namely the setting of fingers. The numbering of strings is done vertically, and the numbering of harmonies is done horizontally. The first string is the thinnest and runs at the bottom of the fingerboard. It is the first string to be counted from.
The numbering of fingers is of great importance:
- 1 – index finger.
- 2 – middle.
- 3 – ring finger.
- 4 – little finger.
- The thumb is a support, it does not take a direct part in playing.
At the first stages of acquaintance with the guitar it is important for a beginner to learn to clamp the strings qualitatively. They should be tightly pressed to the fret, not to rattle – so the sound will be sounding sounding and clean.
Practicing playing by strumming and strumming
After learning chords for beginners, you need to start practicing the game. There are two ways – overdubbing and strumming. The first involves alternating strumming, the second involves rhythmic beats.
Prepare for the fact that at first you will not be able to quickly move from one chord to another – it will take time. At the first stages your fingers may hurt from pressing the strings, but after a couple of weeks the painful sensations will no longer be so sharp, as calluses will appear on the bundles and the skin will become rougher.
We advise you not to hurry with transitions between chords. Try to bring each movement to automaticity. Yes, it is not fast, but it is possible. Learn at least 5 chords on the guitar, and then move on to mastering the next five.
We also invite you to our music school, where the teacher will help you learn the guitar faster. Here you will surely make close “friends” with your favorite musical instrument and very soon you will be able to sing popular ones to your accompaniment.
