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A
chord
is the sounding of three or more notes simultaneously. One of the most important roles of
playing chords in music is to provide accompaniment for singers or other instruments. In
this chapter, you are going to learn the basic, yet most-used guitar chords, called
"open chords" and one of the basic accompaniment styles called
"strumming." Below are a few items for you to go over before doing the
exercises.
CHORD DIAGRAM
A chord diagram or a chord frame
shows a portion of the guitar fingerboard. Six vertical lines represent strings, from left
to right, 6th, 5th, 4th, 3rd, 2nd, 1st. Horizontal lines represent frets. The thick
horizontal line at the very top is the nut. Black dots placed on the vertical lines
represent the locations at which left-hand fingers should be placed.
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¡: indicates an open strings meaning you play the
strings without pressing.
´: indicates the string is not to be played. |
Each left-hand finger is assigned a number:
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Finger
Numbers: |
T:
Thumb
1: 1st finger
2: 2nd finger
3: 3rd finger
4: 4th finger |
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SLASH NOTATION
Slashes instead of oval-shaped notes
are normally used when indicating strumming. Just like the note, a slash indicates how
long or how many counts you sustain the chord. Below you will find the different kinds of
slashes corresponding to the notes.
HOLDING A PICK
The use of a pick is one
of the most popular and useful ways to play the guitar, especially when strumming. If you
prefer, you can strum with your right-hand fingers or with a thumbpick. There are a number
of different ways to hold a pick: some people use the thumb and the index finger, others
hold a pick between the thumb, the index finger and the middle finger and yet there are
other guitar players who prefer holding a pick with their thumb and the middle finger.
Experiment with several ways and try to find the method of holding the pick that is most
comfortable for you. As a reference, the most common way of holding a pick is shown below.
USING A CAPO
If you have some difficulty holding
chords, especially the ones that require you to stretch your hand, a capo may help you
press those chords better. Place a capo on the 2nd or 3rd fret and pretend that the fret
is the nut or very top of the guitar. The narrower distance between each fret as you go
down the fingerboard may allow you to play that difficult chord more easily.
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NEXT
[ Intro] [Ch. 1] [Ch. 2] [Ch. 3] [Ch. 4] [Ch. 5]
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