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Guitar Classroom Archive
This page contains past postings on our "Guitar Classroom" page. This archive is courtesy of the dilegent folks at Don't Fret Producitons™ and is published for distribution to everyone. The information is free to download, copy and paste, Etc. The goal we have in mind is to help people learn to play an instrument. Music has many, many positive qualities that we can all benefit from. individually and as a group. More and more research is being done that reinforces the principles that learning to play an instrument can help you live longer with a better quality of life. So we say, "start jammin' and live better, longer".
Our first archiving is provided below. Additional archivings will be done on a semi-regular basis. Archives will be purged on a semi-regular basis to make room for future Guitar Classroom postings. So get 'em while they're hot.
Fifteen Beginners Chords
The fifteen chords diagrammed below are a great foundation for any guitarist. The Chords that have an asterisk ( * ) represent chords that we show on our Don't Fret Chord Map. You can put the Chord Map right on your guitar, giving you a no-miss color-coded visual representation of where ten of the most popular beginner chords are. The map is the original "easy on, easy off" chord guide. It uses no glues or adhesives because it sticks to itself. You don't even have to loosen the strings to put it on your guitar.
Here's how the chord chart below works. First you will need to number your fingers. Pointer finger is number 1. Middle finger is 2. Ring finger is 3. Pinky finger is 4. So in the first example (E chord) you put your pointer finger (1) on the third string, first fret; your middle finger (2) goes on the fifth string, 2nd fret; and your ring finger (3) goes on the fourth string, 2nd fret. Give it a strum. At the top of a particular grid you will sometimes see a small x. That x indicates a note/string that is not a part of the chord. It means that you should not strum that string. In the examples below all the E chords are 6 string chords, all the A chords are 5 string chords and the D chords are 4 stringers. The rest of the examples are a mixed bag.
Have fun learning these chords. If you are new to the guitar, learn the chords at a pace that will let you memorize and retain them. Our Don't Fret Chord Map is a great learning aid in this process. Start out by learning two or three chords in one session. Then make sure to commit them to memory through repetition. Once you can proficiently play the first group of chords, go on to the next group of three. Soon you will be able to play all fifteen chords by memory (without looking at the fretboard).
Three Chord Theory.
It is interesting to note that almost all songs have three chords that can be used to play the song. Some examples would be C, F and G7 (key of C); or G, C, and D7 (key of G). This concept is known as the Three Chord Theory. One major component of the theory is to assign a Roman numeral to each note in a particular key/scale. If the key of the song you wanted to play is C, then the scale for that key would be C, D, E, F, G, A, B, C. No sharps, no flats. The first C in the scale gets the Roman numeral I (1) attached to it. The D gets to cozy up to II (2). E and III (3) get to become acquainted, and so on up to the last C which should have I (1) assigned to it because it's the way it is (a more detailed reason could be offered here, but it's really not necessary).
Here's the essence of the Three Chord Theory represented in Roman numerals I, IV, V. That's 1, 4, and 5 in that order. So in the key of C you use the first note/chord in the scale which is C (root note or chord), the fourth note/chord which is F and the fifth note/chord which is G. The V (5) chord is called the dominant chord and can be played as a 7th.
In a 4/4 song it's easy to add the C you started with onto the end of the progression. So that would be: C, F, G7 and back to C. It sounds great. Try strumming the pattern. Find the chords on the Fifteen Beginners Chords chart above. Use four beats for each chord. Something like this, C, two, three, four; F, two, three, four; G7, two, three, four; C, two, three, four. Repeat.
For something entertaining try emphasizing different beats. Start by sounding the "one" beat louder than beats 2,3 and 4. After you get that down, try making the "two" beat louder than the other beats. Then move the emphasis to the "three" beat and so on. You can do two beats per measure also. Like the one and three beats or the two and four beats or whatever sounds good to you. The important thing is to have fun with it.
An astounding number of songs are built on the I, IV, V chord progression in the key of C. The Three Chord Theory may very well be the back bone of music. If you know the notes in a particular key you can use the chart above to figure out the 1,4,5 chords for that key. Just replace the letters in the chart above with the letter note names for your new key. Always start the Root Note/Chord with the first Roman numeral.
The Blues
The Blues is the ultimate extension of the three chord theory. It has been said that all you have to do is flat the fifth and you can play the Blues. Although it is somewhat more involved than that, the Blues is a somewhat easy genre of music to start playing. The following examples use the three chord theory from above and demonstrate the 12-bar concept. Twelve bar Blues is arguably the most common form of the Blues. It is important to go slow at first. Tap out the beats with your foot and use down strokes on the beats. Once you get the feel of it, try alternating down and up strokes. So each measure/bar would go down, up, down, up for a total of four beats (two down and two up) per bar.
The first example is in the key of E. The Chords used are E, A and B. The B chord can be substituted with B7 (see above). Tap out four beats per measure with your foot for twelve bars. Speed it up as you get more comfortable with it. Don't forget to try down and up strokes as you progress.
This next example in the key of E uses sevenths and really introduces the sound that is the Blues. The Chords used are E, E7, A and B7. There are many, many sites on the web for learning to play the Blues. Find them. Explore them and have fun. The Blues is fun.
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