Learn 4 Chords: beginner guitar lessons, start playing songs

In this unit we will learn the following chords.

G major

E minor

C major

D major

these are all used to play in the key of G.

These chords are sometimes called open chords, or cowboy chords.

They are not just beginner chords, they are part of the foundation of everything that can be played on the guitar.

they are also some of the easiest and most commonly learned chords by first time guitarists.

If you haven't found a tuner or tuner app for your phone yet, tune your guitar by listening to the notes I play in this video and matching the notes with your own guitar tuning pegs.

How to use your tuning pegs:

On the top of the guitar head stalk, the tuner on the right controls your low E string. the middle tuner controls the A string, and the tuning peg on the left controls the D string.

On the bottom side, the one on the bottom left is for the G string.

the bottom middle tuner is for the B string.

the bottom right is the high E string.

It can feel confusing, but on the top side, turning to the left makes the note go higher, right makes the note go lower.

On the bottom, it's the opposite.

You'll get the hang of it. Just match the tone of your string to my strings, or to your tuner app.

the G Chord

Check out the pdfs and pictures to help understand the fingering.

Remember low strings are fat strings, high strings are skinny strings.

g chord fingerings

finger 1 (pointer) fret 2, A string

finger 2 (middle) fret 3 low E string

finger 3 (ring finger) or finger 4 (little finger) on fret 3 of high E string

Alternate fingering

finger 2 (middle finger) fret 2 A string

finger 3 (ring finger) fret 3 of low e string

finger 4 (little finger) fret 3 of high E string

You will understand why this might be useful when we get to the C chord.

Strumming:

My favorite way to strum is with the backs of my pointer and middle fingers on my right hand. You might like to use a pick.

While some people might use their thumb, I feel as though it gets stuck on or between the strings so I only use my thum for rhythmic picking.

E Minor chord

Check out the pdfs and photos to help you understand the fingerings.

The most common fingering is

finger 2 (middle finger) fret 2 of the A string

Finger 3 (ring finger) fret 2 of the D string

One other possibility is to switch the two fingers around.

finger 3 (ring finger) on fret 2 of the A string

Finger 2 (pointer finger) on fret 2 of the D string.

the second fingering might make it faster to transition to a C chord as you will soon see.

DO NOT use your pointer finger or index finger for this chord because keeping your pointer finger free will help you move to other chords in the future.

Practice by transitioning from

E-minor to G

em G Em G Em G Em G

The C Chord

Take a look at the pdfs and photos for help understanding the fingering.

there is only one fingering for this chord

finger 1 (pointer) fret 1 B string

Finger 2 (middle) fret 2 D string

Finger 3 (ring) fret 3 A string

Try not to hit the low E string when strumming the C chord.

Transition from the C to the G chord is easy.

Move finger 2 up to the second fret of A string and finger 3 to the Third fret of Low E string.

think of just moving those two fingers up one string without changing frets.

then just place your pinky (finger 4) on fret 3 of the high E string. Your hand sortof swivvles around.

Practice:

C g C G C G C G

C Em C Em C Em C Em

the D Chord

As always, take a look at the pdfs and photos to better understand the fingering.

Fingerings:

finger 1 (pointer) fret 2 high E string

Finger 3 (ring) fret 3 B string

Finger 2 (middle) fret 2 G string

Alternate fingering

Finger 1 (pointer) fret 2 high e, B, G (small bar)

finger 2 (middle) fret 3  B string.

Wehn strumming, try not to hit the low E and A strings

this chord is challenging  because the fingers are bunched up, and also because when changing chords, none of the fingers stay in the same place.

This is where your finger memory comes in to play. Once you've gotten the chord shapes in to your memory, your fingers will begin to naturally go where they need to be.

Practice switching from the D chord to all other chords

D G D G D G

D Em D Em D Em

d C D C D C

Congratulations! You've learned the main four chords in the key of G.

These chords can be arranged in any order to create a chord pattern we call a chord progression.

The introductory music to these videos is an example of the many ways these chords can be arranged to create songs.

These short song sections are all played with the four chords you have just learned.

Of course, the copyrights to these songs all belong to their respective writers. I lay no claim to them, and I use them here for purely educational purposes as specified by the Fair Use Clause in copyright law.

the secret to playing the guitar well is practice! Obviously! right? but stick with me.

While practicing a lot creates fast results, even a little practice is better than none.

I suggest you commit to practicing 5 minutes two or three times a day.

don't hideyour guitar.

don't go far from your guitar. Leave it available so that it can call out to you, so that it can catch your attention from time to time during the day.

A little bit of consistant practice each day and you will be able to play these chords and some of your favorite songs within a matter of one to four weeks.

----------

Tips for Practicing

----------

Spend time practicing the basic transitions that I mentioned in previous lessons.

G Em G Em G Em G Em

G C G C G C G C

C D C D C D C D

Pick two chords and practicing transitioning.

then pick three chords and play them one after the other.

Download the chord chart pdfs provided in this section. follow the first one slowly, then write your own series of chords in the blank one so you can play the progression.

----------

Do a google search for "guitar songs in the key of G" and pick one you like.

Then work on learning that song or part of that song.

Search for an acoustic version of that song on youtube or another streaming service and try and play along with it.

----------

If you can count to 4, you can be a musician. A very large number of songs are in 4/4 time. Tht means that there are 4 beats in each measure.

if you count to 4 with the beat. It will fit right in.

I recommend that you get a metronome. A metronome is a device or an app which plays a constant click for you to practice with.

You can download a free one or purchase one from the app store, or maybe you'll want to get an actual physical metronome.

some metronomes on the app store actually play a drum beat. Those, in my opinion, are much more enjoyable to play along with.

Set the metronome to a comfortable slow beat. Start at around 60 - 80 bpm.

Begin counting 1-2-3-4-1-2-3-4 and so on,  with the metronome.

then, strum a chord once each time you count "1."

"strum-2-3-4-Strum-2-3-4"

After a while, begin to strum on the 1 and 3 beats.

"strum-2-strum-4"

or the 2 and 4 beats.

"1-strum-3-strum"

You can also begin to work on transitions with the metronome.

Play a G chord on count one and the next time you count 1, play a c chord and repeat that several times.

----------

I have a practice booster course which will guide you through your first few weeks of practice.

Congratulations!

You now know enough chords to play hundreds of songs.

In technical terms, you know the I, iv, v, and vi chords of the key of G.

Many well known and very popular songs were written with only these chords, and many only use three of them or even less.

If you would like to learn more, I invite you to rouse the other courses I offer.

To speed up your learning, start with my Practice Booster course.

during the practice booster  course, you will proceed through a series of short lesson videos ideally every other day for two weeks.

these lesson videos will contain exercises, chord progressions, and other tips to help you memorize the chord shapes and learn to play the guitar much faster.

The practice booster course is intended to "boost" you through the difficult beginner stages of playing the guitar.

----------

After that you can proceed to the next course in which you will learn "five easy guitar keys."

This course will teach you to play in the five keys which are considered to be "guitar friendly keys." this means they're the easiest to play in.

the guitar is a versatile instrument, and you can play in any key, but there are five keys which are the easiest.