Major Chords

When you first start playing guitar, the easiest chords to play are the ones requiring the least amount of fingers, and in the least awkward positions. This usually means that one or more open strings are involved, meaning that you play that string but you don't need to place a finger on it. Major chords are perhaps the most common type of chord found in Western music, and are traditionally the first chords that a beginning guitarist learns.

One mnemonic that teachers use to help remember the most common major chords is the the word CAGED. This stands for the

* C Major
* A Major
* G Major
* E Major
* D Major

chords. Each of these chords has its own special fingering which we will go over in this lesson, and gradually these shapes will become second nature to you (trust me on this). When someone said that rock and roll is basically "three chords and an attitude", the three chords they were talking about are some subset of the chords you will learn in this lesson. If you can play these chords comfortably, you can play some blues, Beatles, Nirvana, and a lot of other cool music.

For now, I don't want you to worry about strumming or rhythm. I just want you to concentrate on each chord, how it sounds, and how it feels under your fingers. Also, keep in mind that becoming comfortable with these fingerings and switching back and forth between them is one of the hardest tasks you'll ever endure and is usually the difference between those who have fun playing their guitar, and those that keep it in the case under their bed.

so that when you jam with your friend and they say 'play a C chord', you know what to do. The fingering for a C chord is shown below:

So what does this mean? This is a typical chord chart. Each string can have one of three options:

1. X - which means don't play that string
2. O - which means play that string open
3. Note Marker - This shows you where to put your finger on the string and the number inside the marker tells you which one to use.

Thus, the chart for the C chord above tells us the following:

* 1st String - Play it open
* 2nd String - Put your index finger on the 1st fret
* 3rd String - Play it open
* 4th String - Put your middle finger on the 2nd fret
* 5th String - Put your ring finger on the 3rd fret
* 6th String - Don't play it

So try it out. Put your fingers in place and strum it. It's OK if some notes don't ring. That's natural. In time, all the notes will ring loud and true. The important thing is that you just played a C chord!.

One of the reasons why the C chord is a good first chord is that it lays out on the fretboard in a very natural way for your hand. You'll find this not to be the case for some of the other CAGED chords that we'll learn in this lesson.

Try playing the music example below, set your loop count to "Forever" in your preferences at the bottom of the page, hit the play button, wait for the music to start, and try to play along with the example. It'll help you become more comfortable with the chord.

The A Major Chord
The fingering for an A Major chord is a little more difficult than the C chord, especially if you have big fingers or a small guitar. The main thing is that you have to play the 2nd fret on the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th strings in order to play an A. The fingering for an A chord is shown below. Also, note that the chart shows exactly where your fingers should go for this fingering. The notes are staggered a bit along the second fret because there isn't enough room to align all three of your fretting fingers vertically across the neck:

Thus, the chart for the A chord above tells us the following:

* 1st String - Play it open
* 2nd String - Put your ring finger on the 2nd fret
* 3rd String - Put your middle finger on the 2nd fret
* 4th String - Put your index finger on the 2nd fret
* 5th String - Play it open
* 6th String - Don't play it

So try it out. Put your fingers in place and strum it. It's OK if some notes don't ring. That's natural. Note that if another fingering feels better, then by all means go with that. I think Sean uses his ring finger to play the 3rd string, and his middle to play the 2nd string. He does this because it's easier to move to a D Major chord using this fingering (more on the D Major chord later in this lesson.)

Try playing the music example below, set your loop count to "Forever" in your preferences at the bottom of the page, hit the play button, wait for the music to start, and try to play along with the example. It'll help you become more comfortable with the chord.

G Major Chord

E Major Chord

D Major Chord
That's pretty much it for this lesson. Hopefully these chords are starting to feel a bit more comfortable under your fingers.
The most important thing is to have fun, and don't get too frustrated. Even Hendrix started off by learning his major and minor chords.


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