lessons | first chords


Dylan Schorer

Seven Easy Chords You Need to Play
Thousands of Songs

Dylan Schorer was Acoustic Guitar's music editor from 1994 to 1999. He won the 1993 fingerpicking contest at the Telluride Bluegrass Festival, and he performs throughout the San Francisco Bay Area, accompanying various songwriters and playing solo. He currently plays and records in the Celtic ensemble Logan's Well with guitarist Steve Baughman and vocalist Carleen Duncan.

In this lesson Schorer shows you seven easy-to-play chords that will give you the tools you need to play thousands of songs. To hear the examples, you need the RealPlayer plug-in. Enjoy your lesson, and check out The Beginner's Guide to Guitar, the Acoustic Guitar Method, and other tools for emerging guitar players at Stringletter.com and our extensive library of online guitar lessons here at acousticguitar.com.

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Introduction and Tune-up

In this lesson we’re going to loosen up our fingers and start building calluses with some basic guitar chords. These common shapes are the same chords players like Bob Dylan, Peter Buck, and Dave Matthews use as the foundations for many of their songs.

Let’s start with what may be the most used chord in the entire guitar repertoire: the G chord. Begin by placing your middle finger on the sixth string at the third fret, as shown in the photo below. Remember that the sixth string is the lowest, fattest string on the guitar. (When I say "lowest," I don’t mean closest to the ground—the thin first string is the closest to the ground when the guitar is on your lap. The sixth string is the lowest in pitch.)

Hold the string firmly against the fingerboard just behind the metal third fret. Pluck the string and make sure it rings clearly without any buzzing or rattling. If it does buzz, press more firmly or position your finger closer to the fret.

While leaving your middle finger in position, place your index finger down at the second fret of the fifth string, and then press your ring finger down at the third fret of the first string. The ring finger will be the hardest to get into place. Just experiment with your hand position until all three fingers can be held in their proper places comfortably. Compare your fingers with the photo below.

Now pluck each string one at a time beginning with the low sixth string. Make sure that each note rings loud and clear, including the open strings (second, third, and fourth). In addition to pressing the strings down firmly, you also need to make sure your fingers don’t touch or lean against another string and interfere with its vibration. If a note doesn’t ring clearly, adjust your hand position and finger placement until it is bright and clear. Continue adjusting and plucking the strings one at a time until all six strings ring clear. Now strum down across all six strings with your thumb. Congratulations, you’ve just played your first chord! Click to the next page to learn six more.


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