Re: For guitarists of all levels…
Reading chord diagrams
To start with, chords in most chord charts have a sequence of six digits and X’s. The digits each represent a string and fret co-ordinates, and x simply means to not play the string, or to mute it. The leftmost digit is the thickest string, the rightmost the thinnest. So,
000000
Means to play all strings open.
xxxxx1 means to play only the first fret on the thin(high) e string.
x32010 is a basic C major chord. It tells us to not play the top string, to fret the 5th string at fret 3, 4th at 2, leave the G open, second string fret 1, and the last thin string open. This gives us (from 5th string) C, E, G, C, E - all the notes in the C major chord.
Inversions and voicing
We can also play the same chord by only hitting the 5, 4 and 3 strings, we’ll get the same chord. It will sound slightly different, but will be essentially the same chord. This is known as an voicing. Staying with C major, play the following:
x32010
x320xx
x32013
All are open positions for the C major chord. All work equally well, and can be used effectively for tonal variations. Now play
xxx988
xx5553
x3555x
x35550
All are the same C chord, but starting from different root notes. In strict chord theory terms the first two in the above set are not C at all, but G65-sus4 and Em#5. But they work just fine as substitutes for C, and when fingerpicking, they are invaluable as playing C in the same position sounds very boring. These are called inversions of a chord.
CAGED
Now onto the last part, which is the CAGED system. These 5 keys contain all the shapes you will ever need to play any of the major scales and chords. Learn the shapes and you will get far, the only thing you need is to barre.
C: CdeFGa**
A: Abc#DEf#[G#]
G: GabCDe[f#]
E: Ef#g#ABc#[D#]
D: Def#GAb[C#]
The minor chords are small letters, and denotes diminished chords. Finger as many chords as you can in the open positions. Some of them will be impossible,so we now move to the next part: barre chords.
Barre chords**
Barre chords, together with the CAGED system, basically open up the entire fretboard for you. A barre chord is formed by using your index finger to form a ‘bar’ on the strings at a given fret. This basically allows you to ‘move’ the zero fret of the guitar, and acts as a new ‘nut’ so that the chords sound correct at a position higher up on the fretboard. It requires that
-
you are familiar with the shape
-
your index finger has sufficient strength to form the bar and not mute any strings
-
the rest of your fingers can form the chord shape without assistance from the index
As you already know, each fret on you guitar is a chromatic half step. So the fretboard goes (top string) E F F# G G# A A# B C C# D D# E till the twelfth fret, and then repeats. Any chord that you play at the open position can be moved down to transpose it. For example, play an open E like so
022100
Now without taking your left-hand fingers off the strings, move the 2 down to the 5th fret. Like so:
x554xx
Only play the three fretted strings. See how you’ve kept the same chord tone, but higher in pitch? This is strictly an inversion of G, but addition of your fourth finger will give you the proper chord:
35540x
And a full barre will give you a full G:
355433
Note that a full barre will be difficult at first. Our instincts get us to use our most important fingers first. That is why we have to train up all our four fingers or we will never be able to free up the index finger for barring chords.
Also note that it is strictly not necessary to full barre chords. A 35540x barre will be much quicker to execute and quicker to play, as we are only hitting five strings at a time. Unless you’re playing bluegrass where fuller chord sounds are required, the other forms will do fine.
The easiest shapes to barre are E major and Minor, and A major and minor. Between these four forms, you can move up and down and explore the fretboard to your heart’s content.
Done!!
This wraps up my theory monologue - sorry for the long posts. Do feedback as much as you can, and let me know if there are any questions on the same. Here are some chords to add a bit of variety to your playing, these sound good on acoustic guitar:
x24400
xx0787
xx0788
xx0780
xx078(10)
x54530
xxx453
