Beginner Open Guitar Chords
These are the chords that you need to learn. Open chords are the starting point for every new guitarist. They are called “open” chords because they live in the “open position” of your guitar, which refers to the frets closest to the headstock. First I will list the major open chords, they have a “happy” sound compared to the minor.
The major and minor chords listed on this page are also known as triads. This class of chords contains only three notes. You may notice that you are playing more than 3 strings. Triads don’t need to contain each note only once, usually some are doubled. Triad chords contain a root note, a major or minor 3rd, and a 5th. A long time ago I made a (goofy) video about this concept, check it out!
D string: Middle Finger
G string: Index
B string: Ring
A string: Ring Finger
D string: Middle
B string: Index
G string: Index Finger
B string: Ring
E thin string: Middle
A string: Middle Finger
D string: Ring
G string: Index
E string: Middle Finger
A string: Index
E thin string: Pinky
And here are the minor open chords, notice the more sinister sound.
D string: Middle Finger
G string: Ring
B string: Index
G string: Middle Finger
B string: Ring
E thin string: Index
A string: Middle Finger
D string: Ring
Awesome! Now you can start making music with these chords.
Check out these related posts:
Easy Two-finger Open Chords
Sweet & Simple Chord Combos
Cool Open String Guitar Triads
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