Beginner On Guitar? Learn These Ten Chords!

By: Joey Robichaux

It's a combination that just doesn't mix, but it always happens.
Take 1 part enthusiastic beginning guitar player, add 1 part
beautiful new guitar, and 1 part confusing "Learn guitar" chord
book. The result is rarely pretty -- it usually results in 1
confused and frustrated not-so-enthusiastic-anymore guitar
player!

A "chord" is simply a mixture of notes played at the same time.
You finger certain positions, then strum the strings; what
results is a chord.

Most chord books are technically correct -- they do show you
finger positions for loads and loads of chords. However, they're
often functionally deficient -- they show you chords, but don't
show you which ones are important and why!

Rather than trying to learn hundreds of chords in order, it
makes more sense to learn the most important chords in the right
combination. I think that if you concentrate on learning just 10
chords -- in combinations of two or three at a time -- you'll
jump-start your guitar-playing career and have fun from the very
beginning.

Let's start and see how easy it is!

The First Three

We'll still use your guitar chord book; you'll look up the
chords we mention to learn how to finger them. We just won't
learn the chords in the order presented in your book

The first three chords you want to learn are: G, C, and D. These
may be called G Major, C Major, and D Major in your chord book.
These chords are important for several reasons.

First, they form the famous "I-IV-V" Chord sequence, sometimes
called a "3 Chord Progression". Once you learn to listen, you'll
realize that probably 90% of all music uses this progression
(rock, country, blues, soul, even classical!).

Next, this particular "key" (key of G) is used in a lot of
popular music, especially country. This means you can "play
along" with songs and you'll be in the same key, or pitch.

These three chords happen to use a lot of "open" strings --
strings on which you do NOT place your fingers. Open string
chords "ring" in a most pleasing manner and generally sound
richer than non-open string chords.

This key fits well with instruments such as violins, banjo's,
and mandolins -- that's another reason it's common in country
music.

Finally, this particular key is one that most people find very
easy to sing in. It's not too high, not too low -- just right.

Play these chords in different combinations; try and become
adept in switching between chords (especially between the G and
the C). You'll quickly recognize the "I-IV-V" signature. For
instance, "Louie Louie" would be "GGG CC DDD CC". Most country
tunes would be something like "GGGG GGGG CCCC GGGG DDDD CCCC
GGGG". As you become familiar with the pattern, you'll start
recognizing different combinations ... maybe something like "DDD
CCC GGG GGG".

The Second Three

Our next three chords are: A, D, and E. However, since we
already know how to play a D, we're really only learning two new
chords.

These three chords are also a "I-IV-V" chord sequence -- just in
a slightly higher key, or pitch. You can play the same songs you
might play with the G-C-D combo ... they'd just be a little
higher. It's more common to find the A-D-E combination in rock
music than in country.

The Third Three

Another "I-IV-V" progression -- this time, it's C, F, and G.
Since we already know C and G, we really only have to learn one
new chord -- F.

This key is about half-way through the scale from G. That means
you can sing either higher or lower to be in the proper pitch.
You'll also probably note that F doesn't "ring" as richly as the
other chords you've learned -- because it doesn't have as many
open strings. You'll probably find it the most difficult to play
of all you've learned so far.

It's worth it to spend time to get the "F" chord right. It will
really pay off further down the road when you begin learning
chords in different positions on the neck of the guitar.

Another Three

This time we need E, A, and B. We already know E and A -- we
just need to add the B. This does present a problem, though.

B is not an easy chord to play in first position. The easiest
way to play a B in this position on the neck is with a "bar
chord" -- however, beginning guitar plays are usually not quite
ready to play bars at first.

A good compromise is to learn the B7 chord in the open position
instead. If you count the string closest to you as "1" (the
fattest string) and the string furthest from you as "6" (the
skinniest string), then the fingering would be: 1-open, 2-second
fret, 3-first fret, 4-second fret, 5-open, 6-second fret. By the
way, early Beatles music uses this particular chord quite a bit.

The E, A, B (or B7) combination is another "I-IV-V" progression.
Why it's important is because this key is very often used in
rock-and-roll music. Don't know quite why -- it's not a great
natural key for guitar (because of the B issue), it's not the
easiest to sing in, and it doesn't mix well with instruments
other than an organ -- but it seems to have become standard!

The Final Three

We've now learned seven chords -- G, C, D, A, E, F, and B7. It's
time to slip in the last three. These will be "minor" chords.

The three chords are A Minor, E Minor, and D Minor. These are
also written as Am, Em, and Dm. You won't necessarily play these
three chords together -- although if you did, you'd have a great
blues progression. Play the A, D, and E progression -- then play
the same thing, but use Am, Dm, and Em instead. Yep, that's the
"blues", alright.

You'll probably use the Am and Em the most. The Am fits well
with the C, F, and G combination. Use it like "C, Am, F, G".
(Think of that little piano ditty, "Heart and Soul" -- remember
Tom Hanks dancing on the Keyboard in "Big"?) This combination
works well in both slow and fast tempos.

The Em fits well with G, C, and D -- the order would be "G, Em,
C, D". This is the same progression as the last, just again in a
different key.

This particular combination (addinging the minor with the I-IV-V
chords) is called a "I-iii-IV-V" progression.

What's Next

There's a lot you can do with just these ten chords. Playing the
normal "I-IV-V" and "I-iii-IV-V" progressions in different keys
will serve most singers and will cover many of your favorite
tunes. You'll also find other progressions with these same
chords -- for instance, try A, D, G, C and see what happens.

What chords should you add next? Well, you might want to add the
7th to some of these -- for example, G7, C7, D7, A7, E7. Next,
you'll want to start exploring different positions on the guitar
neck -- which probably means bar chords. I'd learn the B bar
chord with your finger across the entire second fret first. Once
you master this, just slide your hand one fret lower -- and
you'll have a B-flat chord -- which fits in between your F and C
to give you another "I-IV-V" progression in a new key!

Still, no matter how far you go and how many chords you master,
the odds are quite high that you'll find yourself most often
using these basic Top Ten favorites!

About the author:
Joey Robichaux is a long-time guitar addict who rides the Road
Warrior circuit; he also maintains "Free Sheet Music" at
http://www.freesheetmusic.net, one of the longest-running free
sheet music websites on the internet.