A Bit About Acoustic Guitar Chords

Author: AllisonThompson
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All acoustic guitar chords are made up from several different notes that are played together at one time. As you will soon discover when learning how to play the acoustic guitar there is lots of different chords you will need to be able to play. But in many cases, just actually knowing the basic ones should help you in being able to play hundreds if not thousands of different songs. Also, each chord will have a different sound to them the major chords sound bright whilst the minor ones are much darker and sadder sounding.

When playing chords on an acoustic guitar you can use a chord diagram, which looks very similar to guitar tabs. However, there are some differences in these notations. With the notations for acoustic guitar chords, the lines, which represent the strings on the instrument, run vertically rather than horizontally as they do on the guitar tab ones. Also in front of you all chord diagrams look similar to a grid that would be used in mathematical equations.

The vertical lines represent the strings. The horizontal lines represent the frets. The dots represent where you are to hold the string down. You will also see numbers, either at the top or the bottom of the diagram which represent which finger you are to use to hold down each string, with 1 meaning index, 2 middle, 3 ring and 4 pinky.

If however you see a zero this is means that the string should be left open as it is played. Although the thumb does not generally, get used when playing the guitar on the grid this is denoted by the letter "T".

Now we have explained a little about what makes up an acoustic guitar chord now let us show you the positions you should place your fingers in order to play them. The first chord we are looking at is G-Major. To play this particular chord you need to place your middle finger on to the sixth string above the third fret. Then take your index finger and place this on to the fifth string above the second fret and finally take your ring finger and place this on the first string above the third fret. Once you have your fingers in place you need to play, each of the strings in the order shown one at the time (not altogether).

Make sure you can hear each note clearly and there aren't any odd sounds like buzzing or rattling. If you hear something off, try pressing the string down harder on the fingerboard or move your finger closer to the fret. Also make sure that your fingers aren't touching each other or any of the other strings. Once all of the notes sound good, strum them all at once. That's a G-major acoustic guitar chord.

Another basic chord which any would be guitarist should learn in the beginning is the E-Minor one. This is much simpler to learn, as it only requires a couple of fingers in order to do so. You take your index finger and place this on the fifth string above the second fret and then your middle finger on to the fourth string above the second fret also. When placing your fingers on the strings makes sure once again that, there is sufficient space between them to ensure that they do not touch. But where as when playing the G-Major chord you need to play each note separately with this one you can play, (strum) the strings at the same time. The sound that this particular chord produces is much darker than that you would hear when you play the G-Major chord.

Other good basic acoustic guitar chords to learn are C-major, D-major, A-minor and A-major. Practice moving back and forth between acoustic guitar chords. Try to get your fingers in place quickly. At first you'll need to take some time and get your fingers in place one at a time. But by practicing this over and over again, you're building muscle memory. After a while, your fingers will just get in place by themselves.

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