No matter what genre of music you want to play, learning guitar chords is essential. Once you get comfortable with basic chord shapes and progressions, you’ll be able to learn pieces faster and easier. Ultimately, memorizing guitar chords will make you a more well-rounded guitarist!
Click on the chord category or note name below to view the chord charts, descriptions, and images:
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Basic Chords for Beginners
Below are some of the best chords for beginners to learn. Once you learn the most common major, minor, and dominant 7th chords, you’ll be able to play thousands of songs in various genres!
Major Chords
Major chord triads have a root, major third (4 half steps above the root), and minor third (3 half steps above the third).
Here’s the basic major chords all beginners should learn:
Minor Chords
Minor chord triads have a root, minor third (3 half steps above the root), and major third (4 half steps above the third).
Here’s the basic minor chords all beginners should learn:
Dominant 7th Chords
Dominant 7th chords are four-note chords. They have a root, major third (4 half steps above the root), minor third (3 half steps above the third), and another minor third (3 half steps above the fifth).
Here’s the basic Dominant 7th chords all beginners should learn:
Barre Chords
Barre chords (or bar chords), are more difficult to play. Start learning these chords once you’ve mastered the basic open chords above.
- B Minor
- B Major
- F Minor
- F Major