The 9 Basic Guitar Chords That Every Guitar Player Should Know

There are 9 basic guitar chords which beginner guitarists first learn and that all guitar players should know. These guitar chords are also called open position chords because they are played in open position, or in other words, played down by the nut of the guitar utilizing open strings.

These 9 basic guitar chords are so essential that every guitar player should know how to play them, and most do. With these 9 basic guitar chords alone, you will be able to play most if not all the songs you want to learn! When jamming, you will see other guitar players use these exact same chords all the time. Imagine, you as a beginner guitar player hanging with guitarists who have been playing for years. Thats how important these 9 guitar chords are!

The 9 Basic Guitar Chords

The C major chord - Place your 3rd finger on the 3rd fret on the 5th string, your 2nd finger on the 2nd fret of the 4th string and your 1st finger on the 1st fret on the 2nd string. The 3rd and 1st strings are to be played open and the 6th string is not to be played.

The G major chord - Place your 2nd finger on the 3rd fret on the 6th string, your 1st finger on the 2nd fret of the 5th string and your 4th finger on the 3rd fret of the 1st string. The 4th, 3rd, and 2nd strings are to be played open.

The D major chord - Place your 1st finger on the 2nd fret on the 3rd string, your 3rd finger on the 3rd fret of the 2nd string and your 2nd finger on the 2nd fret on the 1st string. The 4th string is to be played open while the 5th and 6th strings are not to be played.

The E minor chord  Place your 2nd finger on the 2nd fret of the 5th string and your 3rd finger on the 2nd fret on the 4th string. The 6th, 3rd, 2nd and 1st strings should be played open.

The E major chord  Played the same as the E minor chord except the 3rd string is not played open but instead played with your 1st finger on the 1st fret.

The A minor chord  Played the same as the E major chord except the fingering is moved up one string set. Place your 2nd finger on the 2nd fret of the 4th string, your 3rd finger on the 2nd fret of the 3rd string and your 1st finger on the 1st fret of the 2nd string.

The A major chord  Played the same as the A minor chord except the note on the 2nd strings is moved up one fret and the chord is re-fingered. Place your 1st finger on the 2nd fret on the 4th string, your 2nd finger on the 2nd fret on the 3rd string and your 3rd finger on the 2nd fret on the 2nd string.

The D minor chord  Place your 2nd finger on your 2nd fret on the 3rd string, your 3rd finger on the 3rd fret on the 2nd string and your 1st finger on the 1st fret on the 1st string.

The F major chord  Place your 3rd finger on the 3rd fret of the 4th string your 2nd finger on the 2nd fret on the 3rd string and your 1st finger on the 1st fret on both the 2nd and 1st strings.

Take your time to learn these 9 basic guitar chords. You may find some chords are hard to finger, particularly F major and A major, but with practice they will come. You should find that in no more then a few weeks you will have these chords down solid and be able to move from one chord to the next rather comfortably.

Jonathan Dykerman is a professional guitar player and instructor. For more information on the 9 basic guitar chords please visit Guitarwarp.com. This article may be reprinted providing the aforementioned link is included. Copyright 2008.

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