Unlock Your Inner Guitarist: A Beginner's Guide to Chords

Have you ever picked up a guitar, eager to play, only to be stumped by the question: "What do I play? Where do I even start?". A great place to begin your musical journey is with guitar chords. Guitar chords help create harmony in music. Without them, there wouldn’t be much rhythm and music itself would feel incomplete. Most popular instruments are played, with the exception of drums and bass as they pertain to the beat, tempo and adding depth to the harmony. This guide will walk you through the basics of guitar chords, from understanding what they are to learning some easy songs to practice with.

The Essence of Chords

Chords are the foundation of harmony in music. They provide the rhythmic and harmonic structure that makes music feel complete. While drums and bass provide the beat and depth, chords, played on instruments like the guitar, create the melodic backdrop for vocals and other instruments.

Types of Guitar Chords

Chords may be challenging for beginners, as there are different types of chords and various ways to play them. Here's a breakdown of three fundamental types of guitar chords:

Power Chords: The Rock 'n' Roll Foundation

Power chords are some of the first few chords that you’ll learn. Power chords are very common as they are used in rock, classical and modern music today. Power chords are known to be easy for beginners as they focus on two or three strings and frets which makes it easier on the fingers and therefore, easier to play. They can be played on any type of guitar, but are primarily used for electric. When power chords are played on an electric guitar, sounds can be distorted to add more depth and color.

Simplicity: Power chords involve only two or three strings, making them easier to finger and play.
Versatility: They're commonly used in rock, classical, and modern music.
Electric Guitar Focus: While playable on any guitar, they're primarily used on electric guitars where distortion can add depth and color.
Neither Major Nor Minor: Power chords don't have the third, they can be used where a major or minor chord is called for.

Open Chords: The Beginner's Best Friend

Open chords are great for beginner players as some of the strings are open in the chords. Open chords are similar to power chords as they focus on fewer frets, using fewer fingers and making it easier to play. The only difference is that open chords use all the strings. Your left hand, which you use to fret down on the string, is not used for every string. The common open chords are called CAGED.

Accessibility: Open chords are ideal for beginners due to the use of open strings and fewer fretted notes.
Full Sound: Unlike power chords, open chords utilize all six strings, creating a richer sound.
CAGED System: The CAGED system is a set of common open chords (C, A, G, E, D) that form the basis for many songs.

Barre Chords: The Movable Chords

Barre chords are very different and tend to be a bit trickier than power and open chords. They are very useful because as you get more skilled and equipped with the guitar, you’ll be able to take the position/shape of the chord and move it up and down the frets to create new chords. In a sense, they’re easier to switch between because you don’t have to change the shape of your fingers, only to move the fingers up and down your guitar. However, they’re known to be hard for beginners because most barre chords focus on one or maybe even two fingers holding down the same fret on different strings at the same time.

Moveable Shapes: Barre chords allow you to play the same chord shape in different positions on the neck, creating different chords.
Finger Strength: They require more finger strength and dexterity as they involve pressing down all strings at a single fret with one finger.

Reading Chord Diagrams and Tablature

Understanding how to read chord diagrams and tablature (TAB) is crucial for learning and playing guitar chords.

Chord Diagrams: A Visual Guide

A chord diagram shows what strings are being played, what frets are used, and which fingers are on each fret. The diagram is read horizontally. The first line is your low E string and the last line is your high E string. Think of it as if you’re holding the guitar upright in front of your face. The x stands for muted strings which means it’s not played at all. The O, or circles on top, stands for an open string which means no finger is on any fret on those strings but it’s still being played. The numbers are on particular frets but they don’t represent the fret that is being played on. The numbers represent which finger is on that fret: 1= index finger, 2= middle finger, 3= ring finger and 4= pinky. You want to figure out what fret it’s on by looking at the box from the top to down. The first box represents the first fret and so forth. As an example, in the A Major chord, all the frets are on the second fret. However, your index finger is on the second fret of the D string, middle is underneath, and ring finger is underneath that.

Orientation: Chord diagrams are read horizontally, with the thickest string (low E) at the top and the thinnest string (high E) at the bottom.
Symbols:
- X: Muted string (do not play).
- O: Open string (play without fretting).
- Numbers: Indicate which finger to use (1=index, 2=middle, 3=ring, 4=pinky).
Fret Numbers: The numbers on particular frets but they don’t represent the fret that is being played on. You want to figure out what fret it’s on by looking at the box from the top to down. The first box represents the first fret and so forth.

Tablature (TAB): A String-by-String Map

A chord diagram is read a bit differently than reading tablature. Tablature is used to help guitarists by reading notes and finding where those notes are on the guitar. When it comes to tablature, the lines represent the strings and are read vertically as shown below. The bottom line represents your lower E string and the top represents your higher E string. As you go up on the Tablature, it’s as if, when you’re holding the guitar, you’re going down on the strings. The numbers on the TAB represent which fret you’re playing. O stands for open string and the numbers stand for frets. Therefore, even though both diagrams look different, you don’t want to confuse reading a chord diagram the same way you read TAB and vice versa.

Orientation: Tablature is read vertically, with the lowest string (low E) at the bottom and the highest string (high E) at the top.
Numbers: Indicate the fret to be played on each string.
O: Represents an open string.

Tips for Practicing Chords

Chord diagrams are super useful as they not only show you how to play the chords, but they also show you the correct fingers to use to play the chord so it’ll make it easier to transition between them. The more you practice, the more they’ll be committed to memory and you’ll no longer have to look at the diagram. Make sure that your fingers are as close to the fret as possible. What does that mean? On the guitar, there are little bars that separate each fret. You’ll want to keep your finger close to those little bars but not directly on them. Use your fingertips. This is where you’ll get the most sound. When it comes to placing the fingers on the frets, you want to place right on your fingertip or close to the fingertip and make sure that you keep your finger arched, almost like a C. Play each note/string by itself. Why is this important? Practice fretting and unfretting a chord. What does that mean? You want to practice with your fingers on and off the fretboard.

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Finger Placement: Place your fingers as close to the fret as possible, just behind the metal bar. Use your fingertips and keep your fingers arched.
Clear Sound: Ensure each string rings clearly by pressing down firmly and accurately.
Individual Notes: Practice playing each note of the chord individually to ensure proper finger placement and sound.
Fretting and Unfretting: Practice transitioning between chords by repeatedly placing your fingers on and off the fretboard.

Songs to Practice Easy Guitar Music Chords

Now that we have gone over some basic guitar chords, how to read chord diagrams, and tips to practice, we can look at some songs that we can use these chords in. Many of these songs use easy guitar music chords. Here are a few popular songs that utilize easy guitar chords:

Good Riddance (Time Of Your Life) by Green Day: In the key of G and uses the G, C, Cadd9, and D5 power chords. Using a C and a G chord guitar shape is very common in pop and rock.
Island in the Sun by Wheezer: Uses four chords throughout the song. Em, Am, D, G.
Boulevard of Broken Dreams by Green Day: In the key of Fm and uses the chords Em, G, D and A.
Let It Be by the Beatles: With this song, you can use power chords or open chords. The song uses the C, G, Am and F open chords.
When I Come Around by Green Day: The whole song uses power chords.
Rockin’ In the Free World by Neil Young: Starts off with power chords then goes into a mixture of open and power chords.

Power Chords vs. Open Chords vs. Barre Chords

Power chords are easier than open guitar chords but are very similar to barre chords. How? Compared to open guitar chords, power chords have fewer notes which means they use fewer frets and fewer strings. However, the chords for both are very similar. Before it gets more confusing, let’s look at it a bit more deeply. Let’s think of an example of an A major chord and an A5 power chord. The A Major chord has the notes A, C# and E. The A5 power chord has the notes A and E. The A Major chord focuses on the root, third and fifth while the A5 focuses on the root, fifth and octave (same note as the root). In essence, they are almost the same chord. The only difference is the power chord doesn’t have the third. Also, when it comes to power chords, they are neither major or minor. The third in a chord is what determines if it's major or minor. Since a power chord doesn’t have the third, they can be used where a major or minor chord is called for. Compared to barre chords, power chords are very similar but are easier to play. Power chords can be played in many different ways. There are three string power chords that can be played like a barre chord using the barre technique. What is the barre technique? What types of music can you practice with power chords? Classic rock music and even some pop music today focus heavily on power chords.

The following table summarizes the key differences between power chords, open chords, and barre chords:

Feature	Power Chords	Open Chords	Barre Chords
Difficulty	Easiest	Easy	More Difficult
Strings Used	Typically 2-3	All 6	All 6
Finger Strength	Less Required	Less Required	More Required
Sound	Raw, powerful	Full, resonant	Versatile, moveable
Major/Minor	Neither (no third)	Can be major or minor	Can be major or minor
Common Genres	Rock, Metal, Punk	Pop, Folk, Country	All genres

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