How to Play Guitar Chords. Try This Free Beginner Guitar Lesson

How To Play Guitar Chords and...
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Get clear instruction on how to play guitar chords. Learn basic chord guitar with this excellent lesson. If you're a complete beginner on guitar, I would recommend clicking here to get started. Come back to this page later :-)

Switching between basic guitar chords.

These instructions get you switching between basic guitar chords. The goal is to be able to change between 2 different chords without hesitation. That is the first challenge to overcome when learning basic guitar.

Memorize 5 chords first... This lesson on how to play guitar chords is based on an earlier exercise from a different page. Go to that page now. Check that you know a minimum of 5 chords from the chord charts there. If you don't, I strongly recommend going through that lesson. And watching the guitar lesson video on that page. Then come back here.

OK. Let's get started...

Choose any 2 basic guitar chords.

Check to make sure all the necessary strings are ringing through clearly when practicing how to play guitar chords.

Make sure you know which string to hit first with the pick! For example, don't hit the low E (string 6) first when playing a D major chord.

Follow the previous steps for the 2nd guitar chord that you chose.

Strum downward only. Switch to the other chord after 8 strums. Do not stop strumming.

If you "miss" the chord change, simply continue strumming. Adjust your fretting hand if necessary.

After 8 strums, switch back to the 1st chord. Continue alternating like this until your fingers bleed ;-)

Kidding aside now. When learning how to play guitar chords it's very important to VISUALIZE the chord BEFORE you make the switch.

At this point, you can try the same exercise with only 4 strums. Once mastered, pick 2 new chords and go through the entire process again.

Playing songs...

If you can now switch a handful of chords with some degree of confidence, you're ready to try this method on a song that you like. Important! Choose a song you already know most of the chords to.

If there are one or two chords you don't know, that's OK. Learn them! Most songbooks have a basic guitar chord chart above the lyrics. If not, go to guitar bar chords . That should give you all the ammunition you need :-)

Relax! There aren't all that many chords to learn if your goal is simply to accompany yourself to songs. That's why I strongly recommend singing along as best you can. Eventually, singing while you play will be effortless. Just like picking up a book, or walking from one room to another.

If you aspire to play lead or solo guitar, you've got a longer - but very rich journey ahead. Interspersed with bouts of frustration, of course. Is that why some rockstars used to smash their guitars onstage? Although personally, I consider that an extreme waste of wood and value ;-)

Moving forward...

There are a couple of other very important skills to develop when learning how to play guitar chords. You've got the ball rolling by being able to switch between some of the chords. Now it's time to add rhythm to the mix.

When it comes to playing guitar chords, rhythm usually means strumming. Notice how close the word strumming is to drumming. They are almost the same. Actually, some people go as far as classifying the guitar as a percussion instrument. This is because when a guitarist is strumming chords, she's keeping the beat. We hope ;-) Here's a free video guitar lesson on strumming.

As always, be patient and persist. Enjoy the moments you have to learn guitar :-) Best in guitar and Life,

Dave

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