When a student first starts to play guitar the one of the very first thing I always teach are the eight critical first position guitar chords. There are a countless number of tunes which use these chords in them. Once a student gets these chords down they will be able to play and learn many songs which is a big motivator to keep learning and improving their guitar playing ability.
The eight critical chords are: A, Amin (pronounced A minor), C, D, E, Emin (pronounced E minor), F, and G.
Lets start with the G chord. Here is the frets which you need to fret to play the G chord:
G:
[3 2 0 0 0 3]
Fret the 3rd fret of the lowest string (6th string) and the 2nd fret of the 5th string and the 3rd fret of the highest string (the 1st string). You will also play the 2nd, 3rd and fourth string open.
Next lets move on to the D chord. Here are the frets you need to play to play a D chord:
D:
[x x 0 2 3 2]
The x’s mean that you do not play those notes, so you do not play anything on the 5th and 6th string for this chord. Fret the 2nd fret of the 1st string, 3rd fret of the 2nd string and the 2nd fret of the 3rd string. You also need to play the fourth string open.
Next is the C chord. Here you fret the 1st fret of the 2nd string, 2nd fret of the 4th string and the 3rd fret of the 5th string. You do not play the 6th string and the first and third string are played open.
C:
[x 3 2 0 1 0]
The next chord is the A chord. For the A chord you fret the 2nd fret of the 2nd string, the 2nd fret of the 3rd string and the 2nd fret of the 4th string. You do not play the sixth string and you play the 1st string and 5th string open.
A:
[x 0 2 2 2 0]
The Amin chord is very similar o the A chord. The only difference between the two is the 2nd string. For the Amin you fret the 1st fret of the 2nd string, the remaining strings are identical to the A chord.
Amin:
[x 0 2 2 1 0]
Next is the E chord. Here you fret the 1st fret of the 3rd string, 2nd fret of the 4th string and the 2nd fret of the 5th string. You also play the 6th, 2nd, and 1st strings open for this chord.
E:
[0 2 2 1 0 0]
The Emin chord is similar to the E chord. The difference is the 3rd string. For the Emin you play the 3rd string open. The remaining strings are identical to the E chord.
Emin:
[0 2 2 0 0 0]
The last chord is the F chord. This is often the most difficult chord for beginning guitar players to get down. You fret the 1st fret of the 1st and 2nd string then the 2nd fret of the 3rd string and the 3rd fret of the 4th string. You do not play the fifth or the sixth string for this chord. The key to play this chord clean is to use your first finger to bar both the 1st and 2nd string at the first fret. This one may take you awhile o get down just keep practicing and you will get it.
F:
[x x 3 2 1 1]
To practice these chords start your metronome at 80BPM and play one of these (like the D chord) on the 1 beat. So you are going to strum on the one and hold the chord for the 2 ,3 and 4. You then again strum on the 1 with the same chord. Try doing this will all of the eight chords until you can play them in time and clean. Then bump up the metronome to 90BPM and do it again. Once you get the chords down at 90BPM then increase to 100 BPM. Do not try to play these chords at a very fast tempo when you first start. Play these chords slowly and try to make them sound as clean as you can. Keep bumping up the BPM until you can play these chords at a very fast temp (180bpm is good to shoot for).
The next step is to try to play two different chords. Try the G and D chords. Aging you strum on the one and hold the chords for the 2, 3, and 4. This time you play the G on the first beat then switch to the D on the next first beat. Again, start this at a slow BPM.
Move on to playing the C to the D again switching on the first beat. A to Amin is next, then try the E to EMin. Finally try the hardest of the group the C to the F chord. Once you get these chord changes down increase your BPM. Once you get that sounding good try switching between three chords. Try the G D C. Then the Amin, D, G. Then the E, A then the D. Play around with different combinations of chords, you will naturally hear that some of these chords sound better together than others.
Once you get to this point you can start learning songs. It’s going to take some work on your part, practice these chords as much as you can. Consistency is the key to getting this down. Try to practice this for at least 30 mins 4- 5 times per week. You can do it!
When you want to take lessons to learn how to play guitar or to improve your guitar playing skill level you have three choices which can help provide you with the needed instructional information. 