Did you know that everything that we play on the guitar can be simplified? We can do that with chords, a melody, rhythm, scales, and technique exercises.
In this guitar lesson, I am going to show you how to play and simplify 18 chords for beginners. I am also going to teach you how to practice the chords so that you can finally change chords smoothly and faster.
Each chord has a bunch of exercises that show you how to play the chord in a chord progression. Once you familiarize yourself with these basic chords, you can check this useful article I wrote a while back where I talk about how to play nine beautiful chords on the guitar.
We will learn:
- Nine simple chords: D, A, G, C, E, F, Am, Em, and Dm.
- Nine simplified chords: Dsus2, Asus2, G6, Cmaj7, Fmaj7, Am7, Em7, and Dm9.
Don’t worry if you don’t recognize the name of the chord. I will explain in details how to play them step-by-step.
IMPORTANT! A lot of beginners think that practicing simplified chords is a way of cheating. You shouldn’t feel like that. Almost all guitar players play these simplified chords from newbie to pro.
Learn the Left-Hand Fingers
Before we get started with the chords, have a look at how we name the left-hand fingers.
On guitar, we assign a number for each finger.
- Number 1 – Index.
- Number 2 – Middle.
- Number 3 – Ring.
- Number 4 – Little finger.
The exercises that you find in these lessons will be played with both strumming and fingerpicking guitar. Listen to the example next to the guitar tab.
The D Major Chord
The first chord is called D major, one of the most simple chords on the guitar.
Let’s learn the chord shape.
The number one challenge that a lot of beginners face when they start practicing the D major chord is the muted E string. The 3rd finger, the one who plays the B string fret three, will inevitably sit on the top E string, muting the string.
The Simplified D major Chord – Dsus2
I think that practicing the D major chord without fretting the top E string is the best way to learn this chord.
Get rid of the middle finger and play the E string open. Adjust the left-hand angle and play the chords a couple of times.
This is the chord diagram
Also, check the difference between the D and Dsus2 from the pictures below.
WARNING! QUICK MUSIC THEORY LESSON. The sus2 chord is a basic chord played without the 3rd. In this chord, we lower the 3rd down to a 2nd. The notes of the D major chord are D F# A but with the Dsus to you only play D E A.
How to Practice the D major and Dsus2 Chord
In this example, I am going to show you a straightforward chord progression played with both Dsus2 and D major.
Play the exercise with the fingerpicking technique and pluck one string at a time.
Click the “Play” button to listen to the exercise.
The A Major Chord
Moving on to the next basic chord. The A major chord is very simple to play and easy to memorize. You will have to squeeze three fingers in the same fret and play the 4th, 3rd, and 2nd string on fret two.
There are two different ways of playing the A major chord. With the finger 1, 2, and 3 or with 2, 3, and 4. Many beginners find the second option more comfortable as it’s easier to position the fingers and avoid the horrible buzzing noise.
The Simplified A major chord – Asus2
Let me show you how to simplify the A major chord by playing the B string open (instead of the 2nd fret).
The Asus2 chord is one of the easiest chords on the guitar. You can play this chord with two fingers only, and it’s indeed the most simple and beautiful chord on the guitar.
Check the left-hand position and the difference between the A major and Asus2.
How to Practice the A major and Asus2 Chord
Let me show you this beautiful chord progression in A major using both A major and Asus2.
We are still using the fingerpicking technique which allows us to single out the notes of the chord.
Enjoy this chord progression.
The G Major Chord
The G major chord is another “Must learn” chord for beginners. It is played in many songs such as “Knocking on Heavens Doors” by Bob Dylan and I “Wish You Were Here” by the Pink Floyd.
Here’s how the chord looks like.
There are two different ways of playing the G major chord. The Basic shape and Country shape. With the Country shape, you will add a note on the B string fret three.
The Simplified G major chord – G6
One thing you can do to reduce the fingers stretch is to play the top E string open. By playing the note E, the G major becomes a G6 which has a very particular sound, different from the basic and sus2 chords.
You can play the G6 with both Basic and Country shape.
Learn the G6 chord shape from the picture below.
WARNING! QUICK MUSIC THEORY LESSON. The G6 chord is a basic chord played with the extended 6th. The notes of the G major chord are G B D. With the G6 chord you will also play the note E. The notes for the G6 chord are G B D E.
How to Practice the G major and G6 Chord
In this simple example, I am going to teach you how to practice the G6 and G major chord.
We are going to play the G6 in a beautiful chord progression in C major that has both G and G6 chords.
The C Major Chord
In music, we always have examples in C major. Think about the first scale you learned or the first music theory you take. They all refer to C major.
Now, the C major chord isn’t necessarily the very first chord you’ll learn because it isn’t a simple chord at all. It is stretchy on the left-hand, and it requires a lot of work to achieve a crisp and clear chord change.
The chord looks like this:
The most difficult part will be playing the G string open, which is usually muted by the middle finger.
Check how to correctly position the fingers when you play the C major chord.
The Simplified C major chord – Cmaj7
The Cmaj7 is beautiful chord loved by beginners.
It looks like the C major chord but without the first finger on the B string. This chord shape is less stretchy and more comfortable to play with other chords.
To go from C major to Cmaj7 remove the index finger and you are done.
Check the chord diagram below
And also the right-hand position.
WARNING! QUICK MUSIC THEORY LESSON. The major 7th chord is a basic chord played with 1st, 3rd, and 5th plus the 7th note. For the Cmaj7 the notes are C E G B.
How to Practice the C major and Cmaj7 Chord
We can finally strum some chords. In this simple chord progression, we are going to play a Cmaj7 chord followed by a Fmaj (more later).
The chord progression is played slowly and has a dreamy vibe.
The F Major Chord
The F major chord is the number one chord that every guitar player fear. It’s the dreadful chord guitar players avoid, mainly because it’s played with the infamous bar chord technique.
So, is the F major chord an easy chord for guitar players? The answer is “YES indeed.” But we have to simplify a few things.
The dreadful F major chord played with a six strings bar chord looks like this:
If we strum this chord, then there isn’t much we can do. But you learned from the previous chord progressions that we can also use the fingerpicking technique which allows you to single out some of the notes of the chord.
You can learn more about strumming and fingerpicking technique in this article I wrote a while back.
Let me show you a simple way to play the F major chord.
The Simplified F major chord – Fmaj7
We can simplify the F major even more by playing the Fmaj7 chord.
This is the Fmaj7 chord diagram.
This chord is played just like the F major but with the top E string open.
It’s another dreamy chord that can be played in many chord progressions.
How to Practice the F major and Fmaj7 Chord
A simple chord progression using the F major and Fmaj7 chord.
The chord progression is in A minor key and involves Am, Fmaj7, C, and G.
The A minor Chord
Let’s finally learn a minor chord. The A minor chord is one the easiest chord on guitar for both strumming and fingerpicking technique.
All the fingers are in one position just like the A major chord, but I find this chord more natural to play.
Just check the difference between the A major and A minor chord.
The only trouble you could have is a dead G string. When you play this chord, lower the thumb and adjust the left-hand position so that you can comfortably press the strings correctly.
The Simplified A minor chord – Am7
The Am7 chord is played just like the A minor but with the G string open. The chord is played with A string open, D string fret 2, G string open, B string fret 1, and top E string open.
It’s a folky, country chord which can be played in many minor chord progressions.
Am7 chord diagram.
This is the A minor chord diagram and how to play it.
WARNING! QUICK MUSIC THEORY LESSON. The Am7 chord is a basic minor chord played with the notes A, C, and E. To make an A minor 7th chord, add the note G. For this chord, the note G can be played on the open G string.
How to Practice the A minor and Am7 Chord
You can practice this chord in many different ways. In this example, I am going to show you a simple chord progression in fingerstyle guitar.
The E minor Chord
Another simple chord loved by beginners. The E minor chord is simple and used in thousands of songs.
So, what makes the E minor the most natural chord on the guitar?
First off, the chord shape is simple to memorize. The chord is played with the low E string open, the A and D string fret 2, and the G, B, and top E string open.
Look at how simple this chord looks on a diagram.
You can strum all the six strings and practice simple strumming patterns or pluck the strings with different fingerpicking arpeggios.
This is how the E minor chord looks like.
There is also a more interesting way of playing this chord.
The Simplified E minor chord – Em7
It can be quite tedious to practice the E minor chord. The chord is simple, but it also sounds pretty dull after a while.
Learn the Em7 shape. Follow the chord diagram below.
What’s a good way to spice up such a boring music chord? Just learn the Em7 chord in its two most common chord shapes.
The second chord, also called Country Em7 work perfectly with chord progressions in G major and E minor.
Let me show you a simple example.
How to Practice the E minor and Em7 Chord
Learn one of the most played chord progressions on guitar, the Em7, G, Dsus4, and A7(sus4). This is the same chord progression played by the band Oasis in the famous song “Wonderwall.”
The D minor Chord
The D minor chord is indeed one of my favorite chords to play on guitar. I like the simple shape and the note range. I also like the fact that the chord is played in one of my favorite song, Layla by Eric Clapton.
The majority of beginners learn this chord easily. One of the reasons why you could struggle learning this chord is because your fingers can’t stretch enough.
There is a considerably wide stretch between the note on the E and B string. For this reason, the chord can be played with two different fingerings.
Learn how to position your fingers here.
The Simplified D minor chord – Dm7
This chord shape will drastically reduce the stretch between the E and B string. However, a two strings bar chord is necessary if you want to make this chord easy to play.
Learn the Dm7 chord.
The bar chord covers the E and B string fret 1. You will also have to play the G string fret 3.
How to Practice the D minor and Dm7 Chord
As for the other chords, the Dm7 chord sounds pretty folk.
Because this is probably the very first time you are dealing with a bar chord, I would recommend that you practice the chord with the fingerpicking technique. This approach makes it easy to play one string at a time.
Enjoy the chord progression.
Let’s Wrap This Up
I hope you enjoy this lesson and you are finally able to simplify some of the most common guitar chords for beginners.
As for the other things you learn, always take things step-by-step and practice a chord for a while before moving on to the next one.
The worst approach you can have towards practicing chords is to skim through each chord shape and briefly play each example. Instead, learn one exercise at a time an implement the things you learned in other chord progressions and songs you already play.
Good luck guys.
