Last Updated on October 2, 2022 by Guitarist Authority
We’re going to show you twenty-eight different chord variations that you can use to learn how to play guitar chords. Also, we will also provide you some tougher chords to work towards. For every note, we will include major chord, minor chord, major 7th and 7th chord.
Before We Get Started
It’s worth noting that learning new chords and learning to play guitar can be frustrating. Your fingers are not used to doing what you are now asking of them. Learning chords does not happen overnight. You will have to put in the time to see results.
However, once you begin to make progress, the time involved will seem completely worth it. You are making an inanimate object sing and that’s pretty cool.
Also, make sure you tune your guitar before playing. It’s hard to know if you’re playing the chord correctly if it’s not in tune.
How To Read Chord Diagrams
String Names and Frets
Note how the string names are across the top: E A D G B E
The frets are labeled on the side, one through six in this example.
Finger Positions
Each dot with a number represents which finger commonly goes where. These are not absolute, you can use whichever finger(s) feel the most comfortable. However, these are written in the way that most guitar players play them.
Beginner Guitar Chords
From the chords listed below, we recommend a beginner focus on chords with open strings. For example, C D E Em A Am
These are easier to learn and will provide a solid foundation to be able to learn harder guitar chords. As you become more proficient in playing these chords, you’ll gain finger strength and dexterity that will enable you to start advancing the difficulty of the chords you play.
How to Learn Guitar Chords?
Repetition until your fingers hurt… not kidding. You need to teach your hands and fingers to cooperate and it takes patience, time and practice.
Hold each chord, pluck each string individually and make sure it rings out with no interference from your hand/fingers. Some chords will be much harder to do this than others. C Major 7, for example, will be much easier to pluck and let ring than F Major.
You’ll also want to spend time chord changing. The process is simple in theory, play a chord, change to another chord. This is ultimately what you’re striving for while learning to play. It’s not easy but don’t get discouraged.
Chords and Variations:
A Chords:
- A Major
- A Minor
- A Major7
- A7
B Chords:
- B Major
- B Minor
- B Major7
- B7
C Chords:
- C Major
- C Minor
- C Major7
- C7
D Chords:
- D Major
- D Minor
- D Major7
- D7
E Chords:
- E Major
- E Minor
- E Major7
- E7
F Chords:
- F Major
- F Minor
- F Major7
- F7
G Chords:
- G Major
- G Minor
- G Major7
- G7
Are There More Guitar Chords?
In addition to the chords above, which are just a few of the many, there are also augmented chords, diminished chords and suspended chords.
Augmented chords are just major chords with the fifth raised one semitone. For example, a C chord would consist of the notes C E G. The augmented C would include the notes C E G#. Notice the fifth is raised one semitone from G to G#.
Diminished chords are chords consisting of the root, a minor third and a diminished fifth. Taking the same C E G from above. The diminished version would be C Eb Gb.
Suspended chords replace the third with another note. For example, Csus2 would C D G. Csus4 would be C F G
How Many Guitar Chords are There?
Researching this I found a multitude of answers:
338
2210
2341
4017
4625
And more…
The correct answer? A chord can be defined as a three, four, five, or six note chord. Each of these chords can have multiple variations (Maj, min, 7th, dim, aug, sus, etc..).
Guitars have a twelve note scale. If you were to multiply all the possibilities, you would get a number in the thousands. But there are too many variables, as you see from the numbers above, to completely settle on a definitive number.
How to Play Bass Guitar Chords
To play chords on a bass guitar you’ll mostly focus on triad chords (chords with three notes) although there are four note chords with the root on the E string. This is just a very basic overview of bass chords. You can go really in-depth here, we’ll cover this in another article.
Helpful Tips
- Make sure to stretch your fingers and hands before, during and after playing.
- Tune your guitar! Make this a priority every time you play. You’l begin to develop an ear for in-tune versus out of tune.
- Try to hold your chord and pluck each string individually to make sure each note rings out without being impeded, muted or silenced in any way by your own hand/fingers.
- Practice, practice, practice. A regular practice routine will ensure you keep progressing. The better you get, the more you’ll want to play. The more you play, the better you’ll get
