Open Chords

Like the piano, the guitar is a chordal instrument. Chords are a 1-3-5 of a major or minor scale, or simply put, a combination of notes that together create a harmonic sound. I have put together a collection beginner open chords that, as a guitarist, you will use over and over in various genres.

I have put 8 open chords in a format called a chord chart. To understand these chord diagrams you need to be looking at it as if you were looking directly at your guitar. The horizontal lines represent the frets and the vertical lines represent the strings. The strings are ordered from left to right as 6-5-4-3-2-1.  The alphabetical letter represents the chord name and the numbers represent the left hand fingers to be used. The circles show the strings that are to be strummed and the location of the corresponding fingers. Note that where no circle is show that string should not be strummed.

It is best to look at this chart as a graph. Find the string and then go up and find the fret. You can go in any order of the fingers but you might find it easiest to start with the first finger and go up from there. As you practice these chords, make sure you get a good sound from each note in the chord. To do this make sure you are playing on the tips of your fingers and that you have a good arch in your fingers. This will keep each note from buzzing. When you strum the chord, first play one note or string at a time to check to make sure you are getting the best possible sound.

Most of the chords are pretty simple and easy to play however a few seem to always give my students trouble. The chords to look out for are C and both D and Dm. The C chord is challenging because you have three fingers that have to be arched enough to clear the adjacent strings. Make sure to check that each finger isn’t running into the string underneath. Both of the D chords are difficult for the same reason. Make sure that your 3 finger clears, and isn’t touching, the first string.

Because these chords are so commonly used through out all genres you want to memorize each one. That includes the name, shape, and strings that you strum. This will enable you to play it quickly and cleanly.

Chromatic Scale

When beginning playing the guitar, it is real important to make sure that you start with the basics and master those techniques.  I see too many beginning guitarist start to immediately play songs and tough repertoire without having a fundamental grasp of the instrument.  This usually results in students playing things with sloppy technique, which stays with them throughout their playing careers. It is much easier to start playing properly in the beginning than to have to change the way you play later. That is the approach I will take for this first beginning lesson.

We are going to start with mobility, getting the fingers and hands moving together.  We are going to play the chromatic scale. Chromaticsm is when you play every note in order with out skipping frets. This scale is played  Open-1-2-3-4 frets on every string from the low E(6 string) to high E(1 string). The left hand should play the notes using the same finger as the fret you’re in. First fret first finger, second fret second finger, ect. If you are using a pick in the right hand, start simple and just do down strokes until your hand becomes accustom using the pick. If you are finger picking, use i and m fingers (index and middle fingers).

In addition to playing the scale, it is important to play it correctly with proper technique. I am going to give you a set of practice tips that I want you to be thinking about while you practice the chromatic scale.

First is thumb placement. It is important that your left and thumb not creep up over the back of the neck. This is a sloppy technique that a lot of players have a problem with. Ideally, you want your thumb to be placed in the middle of the neck. However, everyones hands and fingers are different. Some might be a little higher than the middle, some might be lower. That is ok, just don’t let it creep over the neck.

Second is playing on the tips of your fingers. It is very important to play on the tips of your fingers to ensure you will have enough pressure to play the note. In addition, you want to make sure you keep your fingers curved. If your knuckles flatten then you will not get a good enough arch to avoid the adjacent strings.

Third is fret placement, or where to place your fingers in between the frets. This rule is important to get a good clean sound. We don’t play right on the metal fret, that will create a very dull and weak sound. We don’t want to play to far back in between the fret cause that will create fret buzz. Ideally we want to place our fingers from the middle to the front of the fret. This will give us a firm grip on the string and a clean sounding note.

If you practice this scale and consciously think about these general rules you will start off with a good fundamental base for moving around on the fret board.