Guitar Chords - How to Play Chords on a Guitar

Guitar chords are combinations of notes. Every song you learn on the guitar will contain a group of chords. Some songs have only one or two, many songs have three chords, a few songs might make use of half a dozen guitar chords.

There are three ways to learn how to play chords on a guitar. The most time consuming way is to learn to read music. If you can read standard music notation you do not necessarily need to know the names of the chords you are playing. You will have the ability to recognize and play musical notes without hesitation. To learn to play chords this way takes a long time but the ability to sight-read music will make all your work at learning how to play the guitar much easier.

Another way to learn how to play chords on a guitar is to learn to read tablature. Guitar tablature, or "tabs", is another musical language. Tabs show you where to put your fingers on the guitar fretboard. It only takes half an hour or so to learn the basic idea behind guitar tab, and although it has its limitations, it is a good way to learn how to play chords.

The simplest and most immediate way to learn chords is by chord charts. Chord charts are basically pictures of the guitar strings showing you where to put your fingers to play chords. Chord charts do not take any time to learn to understand and they give you the freedom to get on with the job of learning how much pressure to exert to play your chords and how to place your fingers so that you do not muffle the strings.

Once you have chosen a way of learning to read chords, the next step is the physical work of learning how to play chords on a guitar. The simplest way to begin is to strum the guitar with a pick while you make the chord shapes with the fingers of your left hand. The pick is held firmly between the thumb and first finger of your right hand. You must hold your hand so the pick strikes the strings cleanly without scraping.

When you first begin to play chords it is a good idea to choose a chord that is easy on the left hand like the E minor or C major chord in the first position. When you have your fingers in the correct positions, try strumming the chord. The sound should be clean with each of the strings sounding without the left hand fingers brushing against them causing the notes to stop sounding.

You have now played your first chord. The next step in learning how to play chords on a guitar is changing from one chord to another. Again, you should take care that your fingers only touch the strings they are supposed to touch, so careful practice is called for.

Do you want to learn to play the guitar? Learn How To Play A Guitar For Free is a constantly updated blog which contains all the resources you need for: learning to play solo guitar, how to learn guitar chords, how to learn to read and play easy acoustic guitar tabs, finding a free online guitar tuner, looking for free guitar lessons online, and how to learn guitar scales.