How To Play Guitar Chords

Playing chords on guitar is an important skill that all beginners should learn as soon as possible. This article will teach you how to do it.

The first thing you will need to do is find some simple chord diagrams and learn how to read them. The "How to read a fretboard diagram" web page listed at the end of the article will help you with this.

Start with a simple chord like the three-string G chord found the "Simple Guitar Chords" page listed at the end of this article. Play each string individually to make sure it is ringing clearly. Often when playing chord you may notice that one or more notes are not ringing correctly but instead they sound sort of dull and "plunky". The usual cause is one of your left-hand fingers touching a string that it should not be touching. By playing each string individually you can figure out if there is a problem and where the problem is.

Once you are sure all the strings are ringing with nice, clear notes try strumming all three strings at once. You should pick them quickly enough so that you don't hear three individual notes but instead it should sound like you are playing all three at once.

The picking motion should come mainly from your wrist. Watch yourself as you do this. Most beginning players tend to strum chords using their elbow. This is incorrect! It will make your playing sound stiff and will make it difficult to play more complex rhythm patterns.

It's a good idea to mute any strings that you will not be strumming. This greatly reduces excess noise and incorrect notes and will make your chords sound a lot better. In the case of this chord, you could use your left-hand thumb or first finger to mute the 4th, 5th and sixth strings. To mute, just lightly place your finger or thumb on the strings you don't want to hear. Keep this idea in mind whenever you play a chord that does not use all six strings.

Once you master these concepts with the G chord try this basic C chord. It is a little more challenging to get all the notes to sound clearly with this C chord so it is good practice.

After you master the C chord you can start trying out some bigger chords. You can use the guitar chord chart listed in the resource box below to get you started. Just keep the same basic concepts in mind. You'll be sounding like a pro with a little practice.

Good luck!

How to read a fretboard diagram: http://how-to-play-guitar-lessons-online.com/blog/2007/09/12/reading-fretboard-diagrams/

Simple Guitar Chords:http://myonlineguitar.com/wordpress/?p=8

Guitar Chord Charts: http://how-to-play-guitar-lessons-online.com/blog/2007/10/15/guitar-chord-chart/

Resofantom
Dubstep6141
Djabsurd
Dubstep81708
Dubstepbstkofjkc
Ironmaiden
Djabsurd1
Dubstep96853
Djabsurd1
Resofantom
Dubstepkcjhlm
Djabsurd
Dubstep79661
Dubstep6141
Dubstep6141
Dubstep58488
Resofantom
Dubstepbstkofjkc
Dubstep89074
Dubstep96853
Dubstep84381
Dubstep81708
Dubstep81708
Dubstep97530
Dubstep6141
Resofantom
Dubstep21789
Dubstep91331
Dubstep89074
Dubstepbstkofjkc
Djabsurd
Dubstep21789
Dubstep97530
Dubstep29895
Dubstep21789
Dubstep97530
Djabsurd
Djabsurd1
Dubstep79661
Resofantom
Dubstepbstkofjkc
Dubstepbstkofjkc
Resofantom
Resofantom
Dubstepqxfckextm
Dubstep6141
Dubstep84381
Dubstep6141
Dubstepqxfckextm
Dubstep79661
Dubstep29895
Dubstep79661
Resofantom
Dubstep97530
Resofantom
Dubstep58488
Dubstep84381
Resofantom
Dubstep29895
Dubstep84381
Dubstep29895
Dubstepbstkofjkc
Dubstep21789
Djabsurd1
Dubstep29895
Dubstep91331
Dubstepqxfckextm
Dubstep58488
Dubstep21789
Dubstepkcjhlm
Dubstepqxfckextm
Ironmaiden
Djabsurd
Dubsteptcjuzi
Dubstep37081
Dubstepbstkofjkc
Djabsurd1
Resofantom
Resofantom
Dubstep6141
Ironmaiden
Dubstep79661
Dubstep58488
Ironmaiden
Dubstepkcjhlm
Dubstep58488
Dubstep97530
Resofantom
Resofantom
Ironmaiden
Dubstep97530
Dubstepkcjhlm
Dubstep58488
Dubsteptcjuzi
Dubstepbstkofjkc
Djabsurd
Dubstep58488
Dubstep91331
Djabsurd1
Dubstep6141