If you’re just beginning to learn how to play guitar, certain chords may be better candidates than others to learn how to play first. There’s no popular consensus on which ones, but among the first ones you should learn might be the chords G major, C major, D major, E minor and A minor.
These chords are shown in illustrations that are known as “chord frames.” A chord frame is a depiction of a chord that shows how it’s played. The vertical lines in chord frames represent the strings on your guitar, with it’s thickest string represented by the leftmost line in each diagram, and the thinnest string rightmost. The horizontal lines represent frets, which are the metal strips embedded in the guitar’s neck. The slightly thicker uppermost horizontal line in the frame is the “nut” of your guitar, which is usually made of plastic or bone, and separates the guitar’s neck from it’s head (the head is the part of the guitar where the tuning pegs are, which you use to tune up the strings). The numbers along the bottom of each chord frame point out which finger to use on a given string: “1” for index finger, “2” for the long middle finger, and “3” for the ring finger. A “0” at the top or bottom of the frame indicates an “open” string (a string that’s strummed as part of the chord, but allowed to ring on its own, without being fingered). An “X” at the top of the frame indicates a string that’s not involved in the playing of the chord.
If you learn these chords, learn them one at a time, then gradually start practicing going from one to another. Since they’re used as the basic progression for many songs, learning just these few, and how to strum them, will enable you to play a number of different songs.
