Lesson 2 Chord Placement

Lesson 2

Chord Placement

Jump to lesson Contents Lesson 1 · Hello Guitar! Lesson 2 · Chord Placement Lesson 3 · Chord Switching Lesson 4 · Let’s Play Lesson 5 · Le Barre Lesson 6 · Re: Le Barre Lesson 7 · Strumming Lesson 8 · Re: Strumming Lesson 9 · Plucking Lesson 10 · Re-Plucking Lesson 11 · Guitar Theory

In this lesson, we will focus on learning the correct techniques for chord placement and building strength in the fingers of our left hand.

Section 1 of 7

2.1 Finger Notations

To aid the learning of the fingerings for the different chords and later fingerstyle plucking, the fingers on your hands are given the following notations:

2.2 What are Chords?

Chords are formed by playing 3 or more notes simultaneously.

For instance, C chord is made up of the notes C, G and E, and G chord is made up of G, D and B.

To play a chord on the guitar, you will need to press the frets that correspond to the notes that make up the chord.

In guitar playing, chords are represented by chord diagrams and/ or chord notations.

Let us look at how to interpret both types of representations using the C chord.

Chord Diagrams

• Circles on the fretboard indicate the frets to be pressed for that chord.
• Numbers represent the suggested fingers that you can use to press the respective frets (see 2.1).
• “x” means to avoid the string(s) when playing the chord.

Chord Notations

Chord fingerings can also be represented as a string of numbers which stands for the frets to be pressed from the 6^th to the 1^st string e.g.

C: x-3-2-0-1-0

Let’s try to make a C chord on the guitar!

If you have placed your fingers correctly on the fretboard, it should look like this:

Now sweep your index finger across the 5^th string to the 1^st.

Does it sound muted or cracky?

For beginners, your fingers may lack the strength to hold down the strings firmly enough for a clean sound.

But don’t fret (notice the pun)!

Key idea

To play a chord cleanly, it is more of pressing the strings in the correct manner than pressing it down with a lot of strength.

2.3 Chord Placement

1. Use the tip of your fingers to press down on the strings.
2. Press near the middle of the fret. Avoid pressing at the edges which will produce a muted sound.
3. The most common mistake that beginners make is to allow their fingers to collapse and the joints to lock when pressing on the strings. Locking of joints may allow you to exert more strength but prolonged playing with incorrect posture will lead to pain.
4. Ensure that all your fingers are upright and rounded with no locking of joints.

Before moving on to the Exercises, let us go through some basics of guitar strumming.

2.4 Basic Strumming

Definition

Strum (verb): to sweep across several strings setting them in vibration.

In guitar playing, it can be done:

1. Using your fingers

Pinch your thumb and index finger together. Use the nail of your index finger to brush the strings near the soundhole.

2. Using a pick

Pinch the pick between your thumb and index finger and brush the strings with the pick.

Exercise 2A

C chord C: x-3-2-0-1-0

Note that there is an “x” above the 6^th string.

This means that this string is not played.

1. The tempo is set to 60 beats-per-second (bps); press Play when you are ready to start the practice. A tempo of 60 bps means a tempo of 1 count per second. The click is higher on beat 1. Use the tempo slider to go slower or faster.
2. Hold down C chord.
3. Strum (using your index finger or the pick) at every beat for 4 bars (i.e. 16 times).
4. In the diagram below, each / represents a downward strum. The beats light up as the audio plays.

* The tempo numbers stated in all exercises are only suggested. Feel free to use other tempos to suit your preference and progress.

Let us look at 2 other chords.

D chord D: x-x-0-2-3-2

Note that there are “x”s above the 5^th and 6^th strings.

This means that these 2 strings are not played.

G chord G: 3-2-0-0-0-3

Alternate fingering for G chord:

Exercise 2B

D chord D: x-x-0-2-3-2

Note that there are “x”s above the 5^th and 6^th strings.

This means that these 2 strings are not played.

1. The tempo is set to 60 beats-per-second (bps); press Play when you are ready to start the practice. The click is higher on beat 1. Use the tempo slider to go slower or faster.
2. Hold down D chord.
3. Strum at every beat for 4 bars (i.e. 16 times).
4. In the diagram below, each / represents a downward strum. The beats light up as the audio plays.

Exercise 2C

G chord G: 3-2-0-0-0-3

Alternate fingering for G chord:

1. The tempo is set to 60 beats-per-second (bps); press Play when you are ready to start the practice. The click is higher on beat 1. Use the tempo slider to go slower or faster.
2. Hold down G chord.
3. Strum at every beat for 4 bars (i.e. 16 times).
4. In the diagram below, each / represents a downward strum. The beats light up as the audio plays.

Next lessonLesson 3 · Chord Switching

Lesson 1 Hello Guitar! << | >> Lesson 3 Chord Switching