Reading Chord Diagrams. This article is a continuation of the the mini-series I’m writing on beginner guitar. Today we’ll dive in and get some actual playing done by learning to read some basic chord diagrams for guitar.
As mentioned in previous lessons, the guitar is a very visual instrument. In the same respect, chord diagrams are all about the way chords look, and actually contain very little information actually relating to music, which is OK, because at this point in the game it’s challenging enough to figure out where to put your fingers. Later on we can worry about why we placed them there.
Parts of a Guitar Chord Diagram (Chord Chart):
As you can see in this illustration, a guitar chord diagram is simply an actual drawing of the neck of the guitar with just some simple dots to indicate where you should place your fingers, and numbers inside which, in this case represent suggested fingering (however the fingering numbers are not mandatory).
Note that in these diagrams the top of the chart is ALWAYS closest to the headstock, while the bottom is always closest to the body. Also, the vertical line farthest left represents the lowest SOUNDING string, while the vertical line on the right represents the highest sounding string.
Below is a list of the most common “Open Chords” for guitar.
Practicing chords:
When you begin practicing these basic guitar chords it’s important to remember what the ultimate goal is. What you are actually striving to achieve is to improve your speed, dexterity, and muscle memory on the instrument.
Suggested practice procedure for learning chords:
- Play a chord.
- Take your hand of the neck
- Play the chord again.
- Repeat indefinitely (or at least until you can do it without looking or thinking too hard)
Practice procedure #2
Once you have mastered several chords individually using the first method try this:
- Play a chord
- Play a different chord
- Play the first chord again
- Play the second chord again
- Repeat until there is no delay between chord changes.
Now that you have mastered the art of open chords you can (A) go find yourself a campfire to get down at, or (B) continue to the next lesson which will turn you into the great guitar soloist you’ve always knew you could become, (or at least point you in the right direction!)
Beginner Guitar pt 1: Guitar Anatomy
Beginner Guitar pt 2: Thinking Like A Guitarist
Beginner Guitar pt 5: Reading Tab (still to come)
more articles by Tyler Oakleaf
- Notes of Fretboard Diagram
- Like our lessons? Take a poster!
- The Big Picture
- Chord Soloing & Chordal Embelishment 1
- Good Things…
- “Making It” In Music
- Practice Progression
