Beginner Guitar Chords

This lesson focuses on helping you learn the essential open chords. Every guitarist should know these fundamental guitar chords that can be found in 80% of most music today, they are a great foundation from which you can grow your musicianship!

What You'll learn in this lesson

1. What an open chord is
2. How to read a chord diagram
3. What strings to play and not play
4. Six Open Major Chords
5. Three Open Minor Chords

Open Chord Basics

Most open chords are played by fretting different notes on the first four frets of the fretboard while also playing combined open strings to get a fuller chordal sound. By utilizing these principles most open chords only require three fingers of the fretting hand to play. The lowest tone played is also the root note of the chord.

How to read our chord diagrams

1. In the top left hand corner of the chord diagram you will find the Chord Name
2. Just past the chord name you can see the Notes reference area this is where you can quickly learn what notes make this chord
3. The six gray vertical lines running from the Nut to the 4th Fret represent the six strings of the guitar. The String on the far left is known as the 6th string and is also called low E string because it has the lowest pitch when played open and is the fattest string, The String on the far right is known as the 1st string and also called the high E string, because it has the highest pitch of the open strings and is tuned to a pitch of E when a guitar is in standard tuning. In the playing position the high E or 1st string is the string closest to the floor, & the low E or 6th string is located closest to the ceiling.
4. Standard Tuning EADGB is almost always used in Chord Diagrams and represents the open pitch of the string running directly below it.
5. The four darker gray horizontal lines represent the metal frets on a guitar

In our second example we have added color.

1. Yellow strings represent strings you should play and fret.
2. Yellow dots with numbers show which fingers should Fret which strings and where
3. A Yellow dot with a 1 indicates where you should press your index finger.
4. Yellow dot with a 2 indicates where you should press your middle finger.
5. Yellow dot with a 3 indicates where you should press your ring finger.
6. Yellow dot with a 4 indicates where you should press your pinky
7. Red Strings with a red X above them represents a string that is not played when playing the chord.

What this diagram should be telling you.

1. when playing this chord you do not play the Low E / 6th string
2. The A / 5th string is played open
3. The D / 4th string is fretted between the 1st and second Frets by the index Finger
4. The  G / 3rd string is fretted between the 1st and second Frets by the middle finger
5. The  B / 2nd string is fretted between the 1st and second Frets by the ring finger
6. The High E / 1st string is played open
7. You don't use your pinky finger

Six Open Major Guitar Chords

A Major Chord Diagram

C Major Chord Diagram

D Major Chord Diagram

E Major Chord Diagram

F Major Chord Diagram

G major Chord Diagram

Three Open Minor Chords

A Minor Chord Diagram

D Minor Chord Diagram

E Minor Chord Diagram