Just 8 basic guitar chords for beginners are enough to play thousands of songs. Hard to believe? Let us explore that in this blog.
The 8 basic chords are referred to as Open guitar chords as it involves playing open strings. These beginner guitar chords can be split as major & minor chords. These three notes are essentially the 1st, 3rd and 5th note. The minor chords combine – 1st, flat 3rd and 5th notes. In this blog we have given easy guitar chords for beginners along with fingers position diagram. Let us dive in to master these basic guitar chords.
Music comes alive as guitar strings create melodies blending the whispers of the soul into a symphony of emotions.
List Of Basic Guitar Chords For Beginners
1. C Major Guitar Chord
The C major chord is one of the most widely used basic level beginner guitar chords across all genres and languages. It is an easy guitar chord to start your guitar journey.
C Major Chord Finger Position
This was the first guitar chord my music teacher taught me. Let me teach this C major chord in 3 simple steps.
1 : Use your 1st finger to fret the 2nd string in the 1st fret.
2: Place your 2nd finger on the 4th string in the 2nd fret
3 : Use your 3rd finger on the 5th string in the 3rd fret.
Strum all the strings except the 6th string.
There are many great songs to be played on the chord C major chord. Some songs to get you started are Hey Jude by The Beatles, (Don’t Fear) The Reaper by Agents of Fortune, House of the Rising Sun by The Animals etc.
2. D Major Guitar Chord
Another easy guitar chord to start with is D major chord. You can hold it without stretching your fingers too much. It also sounds pleasant. You have to use the first three fingers to hold this chord.
D Major Chord Finger Postion
You can play this chord in just 3 simple steps.
1: Place your 1st finger on the 3rd string on 2nd fret
2: Use your 2nd finger on the 1st string on the 2nd fret
3 : Fret using your 3rd finger on the 2nd string of the 3rd fret.
Remember to only strum the first 4 strings. Don’t strum the 5th and 6th string. This gives you a D major chord.
D chord is used in Sweet home Alabama by Lynyrd Skynyrd, Summer of 69 by Bryan Adams, All Apologies by Nirvana, Say Something by A Great Big World etc.
3. A Major Guitar Chord
Another easy guitar chord to master, this chord can be played multiple ways, but as a beginner we will teach you play two methods to play A major chord. As you can see in the diagram all the notes that have be to fretted are in the second fret.
A Major Chord Finger Position – 2 Methods
- You put the 4th, 3rd and 2nd fingers on the 2nd, 3rd and 4th strings respectively and strum all the strings except the 6th String.
- Put the 1st, 2nd and 3rd fingers on the 2nd, 3rd and 4th string respectively. Strum all the strings except the 6th.
Use any one method explained above to play the A major chord
There are plenty of songs in the A major scale. So, you can strum this chord and sing the whole song as it gives you the root note. Ex: Here comes the sun by The Beatles, Wonderwall by Oasis, Chasing Cars by Snow Patrol, Numb by Linkin Park and so on.
4. E Major Guitar Chord
Some of the popular songs that can be played in the E chord are as follows. The Climb by Miley Cyrus, Roja Janeman by S.P. Balasubrahmanyam, Slow Dancing in a Burning Room by John Mayer and so on
Finger Position of E Major Chord
We will learn to play E major chord in 3 simple steps.
1 : Put your first finger on the 3rd string,
2 : Place your 2nd finger on the 5th string.
3 : Use your 3rd finger on the 4th string.
Give all the strings a full strum. That pleasant sounding chord is the E major chord.
Although, the diagram suggests that the E string is muted but practically that gives you an octave of the root note. So there is no harm in playing all the strings.
5. G Major Guitar Chord
The G major chord is another one of the most utilised chords. You can play it very easily.
G Major Chord (Variant 1) Finger Position
To play the G major chord, put your 1st finger on 2nd fret of 5th string, 2nd finger in 3rd fret of 6th or low E String, 3rd finger on 3rd fret of 1st or high E string and strum all the six strings, that is the G Major chord for you.
G Major Chord (Variant 2) Finger Position
Here is another versions of G major chord, which will sound even more better than the one above, but please note it involves all four fingers and is relatively tougher to the one explained above.
Here you just put your 1st finger on 2nd fret of the 5th string, 2nd in the 3rd fret of the sixth string , 3rd finger on the 3rd fret of 2nd string and 4th finger on 3rd fret of 1st or high E string and strum all the 6 strings in one stroke. That is G major chord. Check the image give below for better understanding.
The songs that you can easily play the G major chord in, are: Creep by Radiohead, Sweet Home Alabama by Lynyrd Skynyrd, Wake Me Up When September Ends by Green Day etc.
Did You Know?
Many known songs can be performed using a easy guitar chords for beginners. With chords such as G, C, D, E and A you can easily play along, to a range of music styles. Mastering these chords introduces beginner guitar players to a wealth of opportunities!
6. A Minor Guitar Chord
A minor chord is basically the harmonic minor of the C major chord. What a Harmonic Minor is, indeed is a whole different discussion altogether. For now, what we need to understand is, there are two sorts of harmonic chords, one major and another is minor. Coming back to the question, how to hold the A minor chord, here is the way.
A Minor Chord Finger Position
Put your 1st finger on the 2nd string in the first fret, 2nd finger on the 4th string 2nd fret and the 3rd finger on the 2nd fret of 3rd string and strum the bottom 5 strings. all the strings.
There are a huge number of excellent songs that you can play using this chord such as: Hurt by Johhny Cash, Stairway to Heaven by Led Zeppelin, Californication by RHCP etc.
A lot of musical geniuses have produced heart wrenching songs on this D minor chord. Such as: Another Brick in the Wall by Pink Floyd, 21 Guns by Green Day, Come Together by The Beatles, Sultans of Swing by Dire Straits etc.
According to many guitarists, D minor is probably most sad sound chord on Guitar.
D Minor Chord Finger Position
Let us learn to play the chord in 3 simple steps.
1 : Place your 1st finger on the first string in the 1st fret,
2 : Place your 2nd finger on the 3rd string in the 2nd fret.
3 : Use your 3rd finger on the 2nd string in the 3rd fret.
Strum the bottom 4 strings and that is the D minor chord for you. Listen to it carefully, you will hear that it sounds very sad.
Interesting Fact : D minor is generally considered as one of the saddest sounding chords.
8. E Minor Guitar Chord
There are a lot of songs to play on this chord. Some of them are hugely famous. Such as: Purple Haze by Jimmy Hendrix, Come as You Are by Nirvana, Another One Bites The Dust by Queen and so on.
E Minor Chord Finger Position
E minor is, to be frank, the easiest chord to hold. It only requires two fingers. Put your 1st finger on the 5th string and the 2nd finger on the 4th string, both in the 2nd fret beside each other and give your guitar a full strum. that gives you an E minor chord.
Final Thoughts
Learning Guitar is like embarking a long journey, there will never be a dull moment. It can travel with you through the highs and low of your life. Don’t get discouraged initially when you are learning these beginner guitar chords. Take it slow, one step at a time and practice over a long period of time will help you to play 1000s of your favourite songs. Rock on.
FAQs
What are the easiest guitar chords for beginners to learn first?
All open chord shapes are considered best guitar chord for beginners. Not only are these chords easy to play, they also serve as a foundation to understand other complex chord shapes. The most common open chords are C major, A major, A minor, G major, E major, E minor, D major and D minor.
How can I make learning guitar chords fun and easy?
Apart from regular practice with the metronome, try playing along a newly learnt chord with other chords you already know. This will help you remember the new chord shape and finger placements. Also try different strumming patterns with each chord and experiment with different combinations. It’s tricky to play the same chord when you apply different rhythm patterns. Check out various strumming patterns here: 5 Easy Guitar Strumming Patterns For Beginners
I have short fingers. Can I still play guitar chords?
The size or the thickness of your fingers have little or no effect on your playability. Having short or stubby fingers shouldn’t be a problem for holding chords. You just need a right sized guitar (concert sized or ¾ sized guitar) and apply the right technique without stretching too far or straining your fingers.
How long does it take to learn basic guitar chords?
It depends. Each person learns at their own pace. It is quite tough in the beginning stages. It could take anywhere between 6 months to a year or so to play chords smoothly without cutting off one chord in order to play the next one.
What are some good songs I can learn with beginner chords?
Here’s a list of songs that help beginners to master the open chords:
- Brown Eyed Girl – Van Morrison
- Margaritaville - Jimmy Buffett
- A Horse With No Name – America
- Jumper – Third Eye Blind
- Good Riddance/Time Of Your Life – Green Day
