Guitar Lessons: Learning the open chords, part 2

Like in part 1, in this lesson we will work on shifting between chords. These shifts are a little trickier but with some practice you will be playing these chords in no time at all.


Click here if you’re not sure how to read the chord blocks.

Click on the diagrams for an MP3 audio example.

1) We’ll start by playing the A Major,  A Major7 and A7 chords.

Play the A Major chord. Strum it trying to have each string ring cleanly.
Now remove your first and second fingers and place them where they should be in the AMaj7 chord. Again, strum it trying to have each string ring cleanly.
Now remove your 1st and second finger and place the 1st finger where it should be for the A7 chord. Once again, strum it trying to have each string ring cleanly. Repeat this back and forth ( A Major,  A Major7, A7,  A Major7, A Major etc. )


TIP: You may have noticed that when you shifted from the AMaj7 chord to the A7 chord, it would have been easier to just lift off the 1st finger and use your second finger instead of your first finger to play the A7 chord. In fact, that would be the best way to do this shift as it conserves motion. Conversely, if you were shifting from the A Major chord to the A7 chord then just lifting your second finger would be best. Play this shift ( A Major to A7 ) back and forth and see for yourself.


2) Now lets play the D Major,  D Minor and D7 chords.

Play the D Major chord. Strum it trying to have each string ring cleanly.
Now remove your first and second fingers and place them where they should be in the D Minor  chord. Again, strum it trying to have each string ring cleanly.
Now remove your 1st and third finger and place them where they should be for the D7 chord. Once again, strum it trying to have each string ring cleanly. Repeat this back and forth ( D Major,  D Minor, D7, D Minor, D major etc. )




3) Now lets play the G Major,  D Major and C Major chords. This little progression has been used in a countless number of tunes.

Play the G Major chord. Strum it trying to have each string ring cleanly.
Now remove all your fingers except the 3rd finger and place them where they should be in the D Major chord. Again, strum it trying to have each string ring cleanly.
Now remove all your fingers and place them where they should be for the C Major chord. Once again, strum it trying to have each string ring cleanly. Repeat this back and forth ( G Major, D Major, C Major, D Major, G Major etc. )



TIP:
Major chords (like the chords above) are often referred to by just their letter names. With that in mind, the above progression could be called, G, D, C, D G.

© Synaptic Systems Inc., 1999

Comments

  1. cheap guitars says

    Thank you for this lesson it was extremely helpful!

Leave a Reply to cheap guitars Cancel reply

*

Site by Synaptic Systems Inc. - Using the STUDIOPRESS Genesis Framework under WordPress