How To Play Natural Chords For Beginners
In this lesson, we are going to learn to play natural chords for beginners. This is one of the hardest things to accomplish when first starting.
You have to put your hands in weird positions & they tend to cramp in the process. Not a very fun experience in the beginning.
Not to worry, It gets better as time goes on.
The issue is you’re using muscles in your hands & fingers & bring to get them to do things they’ve never done before. So naturally, they are going to ache during the process.
One thing that can help this is finger exercises. It’s all part of the learning curve so as guitar players we have to go through it. But it doesn’t have to be a chore.
Three common chords
The three most common chords that are in hundreds of songs are the G, C & D chords. If you learn these three chords, and how to strum them, you will be able to play many, many songs.
When I teach guitar lessons, I usually start people off with the E minor chord as it is the easiest to play. It is also one of the five basic chords to start with. But for this lesson, we’ll focus on the most common three.
The D major chord
This chord is made up of three notes and is played on the first three strings at the second and third frets. This chord is very common in many songs, so I recommend you work on learning it well.
Here we have the D major chord written in tabs. If you don’t know how to read tabs, that’s ok I’ll give you a quick lesson. If you’d like to learn more about it, check out my lesson on how to read guitar tabs.
But for now, the 6 horizontal lines represent your guitar strings with your biggest string on the bottom. And since the D chord is on the three smallest strings, it will be located on the top.
Think of your guitar as being upside down. I know, it’s confusing but I didn’t design it I just taught it. Anyway, the numbers will represent the frets you place your fingers on to form the chord. In this case the second and third frets.
The C9 chord
This chord could even be the C major chord, but I suggest the C9 chord because once you learn the G major chord shape, this one is really easy to form. And not too bad of a transition from the D major chord.
The C9 chord is played on the fifth, fourth, second, and first string on the third and second frets. As you can see, we have the three from the D chord in there so that finger doesn’t need to move.
In some cases, the two on the fourth string are eliminated for easier playing. I recommend you learn this chord before you learn the G major as it will make the G major easier to play and transition into.
G major chord
This is probably the most common natural chord to play out of all of them. It is also one of the hardest to learn for most beginners because you need a finger on both the first and sixth strings. This can be a bit frustrating at first to get.
I know I had issues with it a long time ago, but hopefully, with this training, you won’t have to struggle as I did. If you have the C9 chord formed, it’ll make this one easier to form as you just have to move one finger.
The common way that the G chord is shaped can be a bit difficult to form for a beginner, so in this example, I eliminated the two on the fifth string. It just makes it a bit easier to form and hold. This is a very common way that a lot of people play this chord in songs.
If you notice by looking at the diagram, it is very similar to the C9 chord. You just need to move the note that is on the fifth string (C) to the note on the sixth string. This is a G note.
I present these this way because the way they are formed and played is very common among many players and in many, many songs.
Use these as a starting point for your natural chord vocabulary and keep building. As time goes on, you’ll see what I mean as you continue your development.
Many chords you can play on the guitar.
Major, minor, diminished, augmented, harmonic, etc, etc, etc. You don’t need to learn them all, just the most common ones. And once you do, you’ll have set yourself up with a foundation for playing rhythm & creating all kinds of cool sounds with the guitar.
Learn more about the guitar
If you like to learn more about natural chords, rhythm, and playing guitar, you are in luck, because the guitar is mainly a rhythm instrument. Although you can play guitar solos, it’s mostly an accompanying instrument. Meaning it is designed to accompany other instruments and singers.
Get started playing guitar and if you master playing chords and rhythm you’ll be having fun playing the guitar for years to come. One way to get started learning how to play is with the book that I authored and published on Amazon. Learn Guitar: Simple Method For Beginners.
Learn Guitar: Simple Method For Beginners will show you everything you need to get started: You’ll learn such things as:
*What guitar is best to learn from
*How to hold the guitar
*Tuning the guitar
*Using a guitar pick
*Guitar chords that are best to start with
*Easily forming and moving them around
*Reading basic sheet music
*Chord diagrams
And much, much more. Everything you need to get started learning to play guitar is in this book. An easy step-by-step system that can be learned by anyone. No musical knowledge or experience is needed.
This is also available in my Etsy Shop where if purchased here, you’ll receive a “personally signed” author copy. And in addition to that, if you have any questions about the lessons you can contact me.
Lesson conclusion
Never underestimate the power of playing chords. The D major, C9, and G major are the most common natural chords for beginners to play.
They can be the foundation of a lot of songs and many of them use these natural chords. So take the time & discipline to learn how to play natural chords for beginners & you’ll be set.
If you have any questions, feel free to contact me, and follow me on Social Media for my latest lesson updates. Best wishes and good luck with your guitar playing.
Sincerely, Dwayne Jenkins
