Chord Diagrams
Chords are written on a chord diagram. This chord diagram shows you exactly where to place your left hand fingers in order to play a particular chord. A chord diagram is a grid of horizontal and vertical lines representing the strings and frets of the guitar. The chord diagram and the following photograph illustrate an open E major chord.
Left Hand Fingering
The black dots show you where to place your left hand fingers. The white number tells you which finger to place on the string just before the fret. If there is no dot on a string, you play it as an open (not fretted) string.
E Major Open Chord Shape
E
To play the E chord place your:
- First finger just behind the first fret of the 3rd string.
- Second finger just behind the second fret of the 5th string.
- Third finger just behind the second fret of the 4th string.
The other chord diagram symbols used in this book are summarized with the following two open chord shapes.
A dotted string indicates that string is not to be strummed. A small bar connecting two black dots indicates they are held down by the same finger. This is called barring.
An X on the string indicates that string is to deaden by another finger lightly touching it. The string is still strummed as a part of the chord but it is not heard.
Chord Shapes
There are three main group of chord shapes a guitarist will encounter.
1. Open Chords
These chord shapes are found within the first four frets and contain at least one open (i.e., not fretted) string. These chord shapes are the first shapes you should learn to play. They are commonly used to play Pop, Rock, Country and Blues music. Open chords sound particularly good played on acoustic guitars either strummed (Rhythm Guitar) or fingerpicked.
In this book the easiest open chord shapes have a box around them. There are about 25 basic ones and you should know how to play all of them as they are very useful. These open chords are also the basis for Bar chords and other movable shapes. With these open chord shapes and knowledge of substitution, transposing, and use of a capo, you will be able to play almost every song ever written.
2. Bar Chords
A bar chord has no open strings and can be played anywhere on the fretboard. The first finger of the left hand is used to Bar across all six strings of one fret and the other fingers are used to form the chord shape as shown in the following Bar chord diagram and photograph of the G major Bar chord.
Bar chord are based on open chords, e.g., This root 6 G chord is an open E major chord played after a Bar across the 3rd fret.
G Major Root 6 Bar Chord Shape
G
The note after which the chord is named is called the root note, e.g., G is the root note of the G major chord. The G major bar chord shape shown previously is a root 6 shape because the root note is on the 6th string. If the root note is on the 5th string as in the C maj seventh (Cmaj7) bar chord shown in the following diagram, the chord shape is called a root 5 shape.
C Major Seventh Root 5 Bar Chord Shape
Cmaj7
Bar chords are commonly used in pop and rock music and when played on an electric guitar with loud volume and amplifier distortion, Bar chords (and parts of Bar chords called power chords) are the basis of heavier rock styles, e.g., heavy metal. Bar chords are easier to play on an electric guitar but are also played on acoustic guitars.
Bar chords shapes are called movable shapes because they can be played with the first finger Bar on any fret, e.g., if the Root 6 G major Bar chord shape was moved two frets higher it would be an A major chord. If the Root 5 Cmaj7 Bar chord shape was moved two frets higher it would be a Dmaj7 chord. Bar chords and all other movable chord shapes in this book have the root note indicated with a box.
3. Movable Chords
There are many movable chords which do not involve the first finger barring all the strings. In the book these chords are simply called movable chords.
Many seventh chords and higher extensions commonly occur as movable shapes and are often called Jazz chords. They are sometimes harder to play but songs and chord progressions containing these chord shapes have a unique sound that cannot be achieved by with open or Bar chords.
The movable chords given in this book are shown with the root note (indicated with a box ). The following G major seventh (Gmaj7) chord shape is a root 6 chord. The C minor seventh (Cm7) is a root 5 chord.
G Major Seventh Root 6 Jazz Chord Shape
Gmaj7
C Major Seventh Root 6 Jazz Chord Shape
Cm7
Many movable chord shapes contain ‘deadened’ strings as indicated by the on the string. All strings are strummed but the ‘deadened’ strings are not heard. The strings are deadened by lightly touching them with another finger in the chord shape, e.g., in the G major seventh chord shape previously shown the 5th and 1st strings are deadened by the first finger lightly touching them.
