Though neglected by some guitar players, learning how to read guitar a guitar chord chart is key if you are serious about learning how to play guitar chords. Aside from practice, the most effective way to learn guitar chords would be to first learn how to read guitar chord charts.
First off, what is a guitar chord chart? A guitar chord chart shows you a list of chord diagrams. A chord diagram is an illustration of a guitar chord. Imagine your guitar lying in front of you. On the chart, you should see six horizontal lines and six vertical lines that intersect each other. The first horizontal line depicts the nut of the guitar while the rest represent the frets; while the six vertical lines represent the guitar strings. The black dots on the chord chart tell you what string and fret to press down on; while the numbers inside the dots indicate which finger to use. Number one is the index finger; number two is the middle finger; number three is the ring finger; and number four is the pinkie finger. The letter P represents the thumb.
White dots, on the other hand, mean that the string should be played openly. What does it mean to play a string openly? This means that the string is played without any notes being pressed down on the fret board. It is important to keep in mind that strings without either a black dot or a white dot should not be played.
Example: Refer to video for an example of me showing you how to read an E major Chord.
Now that you have learned how to read a guitar chord chart, you’re probably wondering where you can find a complete guitar chord chart. If you are looking to take the traditional route, some of the best-selling books that show beginners the ropes on guitar-playing through the use of chords are: “How To Play Guitar” by Roger Evans; “The Complete Book of Scales, Chords, Arpeggios and Cadences” by Amanda Vick Lethco, Willard A. Palmer and Morton Manus; and finally, “Guitar Fretboard Workbook” by Barrett Tagliarino.
These books come highly recommended by many guitar enthusiasts. If you are looking to find a complete guitar chord chart for free, say no more. In this day and age, thanks to technology, almost all types of information can be found online. Music tips are no exception. Some sites I’ve found to contain printable and complete guitar chord charts include jamplay.com
The problem with guitar chord charts is that they can be overwhelming because there is so many of them available. And if you’re just getting started with the guitar, they don’t provide much of a step by step process on how to play the chords.
If you were getting lessons from a guitar tutor, he wouldn’t just throw down a bunch of chord charts in front of you and say “here you go, now go off and learn them”. He would pick a chord like the E Major, he would show you the chord chart, and then show you step by step, how to actually play that chord. He would also give you tips to make it easier, and show you the mistakes most people make and how you can avoid them.
Because of this problem with Guitar Chord Charts, I’ve decided to create a new course which I really think you’ll like, that addresses the problems we’ve spoken about with chord charts.
My new course is actually designed to be as if you are sitting in front of me, and I am giving you step by step instructions (like a guitar tutor) on how to quickly & easily learn to play 14 major and minor chords.
