The chords presented here are the bread and butter of guitar fundamentals.  The more you study music theory, the more you’ll realize that there isn’t one exclusive way to play any one particular chord.  Rather, there are a hundred variations of one chord, but what you see below could be considered as the most commonly played chord shapes in the guitar world.

I have categorized the chords by their families.  This means that once you learn what chords belong in which family, you can happily switch between any familial chord and be confident that you are playing consistently in the same key.  For the sake of practicality, I have not added the VII chords.  Don’t know what I’m talking about?  Don’t worry–we’ll get to that later. If you’re unfamiliar with how to read a chord chart, check out my article on Understanding Chord Charts.

Let’s start with the key of C:

A few comments here about the chords above.  First of all, you’ll notice that the F chord is not a full barre chord.  Rather, I’ve elected to minimize the barring technique for those of you who are new to forming chords.  In the F chord pictured above, you’ll notice that the index finger is only barring the first and second strings on the first fret.  This is because we should learn to crawl before we learn to walk.

If you’re a new student, these chords take patience.  The stretching feels uncomfortable and the pressure you have to apply to the strings is tough on your fretting hand and fingers.  All I can say is to be patient.  You’ll slowly develop calluses and the more you practice, the less foreign it will feel. Play a chord one string at a time and listen to make sure you don’t hear any buzzing. Check to make sure each string is ringing out appropriately and that your fretting fingers aren’t muting any neighboring strings.

And I encourage you to try each of these chords in different orders.  For example, try playing C to F to G. Then try Am (the “m” stands for minor”) to F to G to C. All of your transitions will be very slow at first, but it will be hugely rewarding as you continue to practice.

Rhythm: What About My Strumming/Picking?

In regard to rhythm, I highly recommend that you focus on your fretting hand nailing the chords. Once you can play a chord without any buzzing, you can begin to focus on getting your strumming hand in line. Try to complete a steady down-stroke, even if the rhythm is painfully slow. More to come on how to handle the strumming/picking hand later.

Happy playing!

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