Learning The Basic Guitar Chords

In this article, we will discuss the basic guitar chords that you must learn as a beginner. However, before learning about the chords, we will discuss the importance of guitar theory for a new learner.

Learning Guitar – How Important is Theory?
The importance of guitar theory has been an often debated topic. The purists feel there is no point to learning guitar without any knowledge of guitar theory. While this might be absolutely true in the case of students learning classical guitar, those who claim you can also learn guitar for fun see no reason to adopt this view in its entirety. To them, it is about the learner being able to understand and play the different chords such that the resulting sound is melodious and in harmony.

Seen from this perspective, guitar theory becomes not a mandatory learning, but something that is also ‘good-to-know’. Some amount of theory knowledge is considered a bonus, especially as that can help you understand the chords better.

Guitar Chords for the Beginner
If you did not know this already, a chord is a mixture of at least three different pitches played simultaneously. The different chords, when played in the appropriate sequence, constitute the musical flow in a song. There are simple chords as well as complex chords. As a guitar player, you must know how to play these chords.

At the start, you are not expected to know the different chords. However, you have to make a start somewhere. To be able to play complex chords comfortably, you first have to be able to play the simple chords, or beginners’ chords. Learning these chords gives you the confidence to tackle the complex chords.

Open Chords
The most basic chords a beginner can learn are the open chords. They may not be exactly easy to play; however, with practice, they are the chords you get used to the fastest. The name ‘open chords’ comes from the fact that at each of these chords has at least one open string, i.e., a string that is not pressed down by one of your left hand fingers.

You can use open chords a lot when you play the acoustic guitar. On an electric guitar, you would not use them too much as their sound tonality is not ideally suited for the electric guitar. Open chords are most frequently used by folk and country musicians.

Learning How to Play the Beginners’ Chords
Once you learn what the beginners’ chords are, you can learn how to play them. The best way to learn how to play these chords is by learning how to play songs that are based on these simple chords.

To learn a song based on the beginners’ chords, all you have to do is get hold of a songbook that has all the chords written down, and then work on the flow and rhythm of the song. You can also get a friend who already plays the guitar to help you in this regard.

Beginner Power Cords

The reason why this lesson is for beginners is because power chords are the basics of electric guitar. It's probably the first thing you should learn on electric guitar. It is best coupled for use with distortion as it provides the 'crunch' that you won't get while playing clean. Try playing a power chord (if you know how) clean, and then with distortion to find the difference.

For those you don't know what a power chord is, a power chord is a bare fifth of a chord. However, the definition of 'bare fifth' is too complicated to really comprehend in text, I have got to admit, I don't really understand the term myself. But putting that aside, first I am going to teach you how to play a power chord. You got to remember that all power chords with their roots on the sixth and fifth string requires you to place your index finger (your pointing finger) on the root string. Now what is the root? This is difficult to explain in words. So let's just say I show you a power chord:

F5
e|-------------|
B|-------------|
G|-------------|
D|--3----------|
A|--3----------|
E|1------------|

Strumming Skill:
The X is represent the point that you strum on your guitar.

1:|XXXX|XXXX|XXXX|XXXX
2:|XX-XX|XX-XX|