GRANTS FOR OUTDOOR CLASSROOMS

Basic Chord Types.

Now it is important to understand that there are many different variations of chords. Three of the most common types of chords are major, minor, and sevenths. The way in which you use these chords will determine the type of music or mood that you will make. For example, if you need some solemn and meditative chords, use minor chords. If you want a really solid and stable sound, then you will want to be using major chords. If you want a jazzier yet somewhat incomplete sounding chord, you would want to go with seventh chords.

Commonly Used Chords.

Just as you would need to know several basic phrases in the case of learning another language, so you will need to learn around 6-16 chords fluently in order to really have a grip on playing the guitar. Some of the most common chords are listed below.

A, G, C, D, E, F, Am, Em, and Dm chords (note: the lowercase “m” next to the letter means that it is a minor chord.)

• Get Out your Guitar and Strum Some Chords.
• Now that we understand the need to learn chords, let’s look at what steps there are to help you learn chords.
• 1. Get a chart of guitar chords and look at where the fingering is for each chord.

2. Start by simply choosing at least two of the basic chords and work on the transition between the two.

• 3. Make sure that it sounds good. The fact is that if it sounds good you are probably doing it right. (HINT: If it doesn’t sound good to you, press down on the strings firmer with your fingers.)
• 4. Now learn to enjoy playing guitar chords by choosing a few of your favorite songs that have these basic guitar chords and play them until you can sing along. (FYI: Beatles have a great selection of well known songs that use basic guitar chords as the foundation.)