Mastering the basic guitar chords first will get you on the right track to learning to play the guitar. Before you can start practicing simple songs, it is a good idea to get a grasp of playing the simple chords perfectly. Here are the five basic guitar chords you need to learn to play and some suggestions for songs that help you put your new skills to practice.

Frets and Strings

Before you get started, it is essential to understand the guitar frets and strings. Frets are the sections that the guitar neck is divided into. You can locate them by noticing the little metal strings that are on the neck. When you are playing the chords, your fingers need to be pressing the string on a specific fret. These are often displayed on a tab by using the different sections, like this:

|——– |——– | E

|——– |——– | A

|——– |——– | D

|——– |——– | G
|——– |——– | B

|——– |——– | E

When it comes to strings, you need to remember that the bottom string is actually referred to as the first string. Thus, the top string is the sixth string of the guitar. When you are reading a tab, the sixth string is always the bottom string. Furthermore, each string has a corresponding letter or note. You can see them in the tab above.

1. E

E major is one of the basic open chords that you need to learn to play. You’ll need to press three different strings on the first two frets of the guitar. To play the chord you need to do this:

• Place your index finger on the G string (third string) of the first fret
• Place your middle finger on the A string (fifth string) of the second fret
• Place your ring finger on the D string (fourth string) of the second fret

On a tab the chord would be displayed like this:

|——– |——– | E

|——– |—2— | A

|——– |—3— | D

|—1— |——– | G
|——– |——– | B

|——– |——– | E

2. Am

Am or A minor is a simple chord to learn to play, especially after you learn to play the E chord above. You only need to move each of your fingers down by one string. You play it by:

• Placing your first finger on the B string (second) on the first fret
• Placing your middle finger on the D string (fourth) on the second fret
• Placing your ring finger on the G string (third) on the second fret

On a tab, the chord would be displayed like this:

|——– |——– | E

|——– |——– | A

|——– |—2— | D

|——– |—3— | G
|—1— |——– | B

|——– |——– | E

3. C

C chord is another one of the basics chords to play. You can play it by:

• Placing your first finger on the B string (second) on the first fret
• Placing your middle finger on the D string (fourth) on the second fret
• Placing your ring finger on the A string (fifth) on the third fret

When you display the C chord on the tab, it would look like this:

|——– |——– |——– | E

|——– |——– |—3— | A

|——– |—2— |——– | D

|——– |——– |——– | G
|—1— |——– |——– | B

|——– |——– |——– | E

4. D

D chord is very common chord in many songs. It’s a little bit different to the chords above, but it won’t be anything too difficult to learn. To play the chord, you need to:

• Place your first finger on the G string (third) of the second fret
• Place your middle finger on the E string (first) of the second fret
• Place your ring finger on the B string (second) of the third fret

On a tab, the D chord is displayed like this:

|——– |——– |——– | E

|——– |——– |——– | A

|——– |——– |——– | D

|——– |—1— |——– | G
|——– |——– |—3— | B

|——– |—2— |——– | E

5. G

Finally, the G chord is a simple chord to add to your repertoire. In order to play it, you need to:

• Place your first finger on the A string (fifth) on the second fret
• Place your middle finger on the E string (sixth) on the third fret
• Place your ring finger on the E string (first) on the third fret

Again, when displayed on a tab, the G chord looks like this:

|——– |——– |—2— | E

|——– |—1— |——– | A

|——– |——– |——– | D

|——– |——– |——– | G
|——– |——– |——– | B

|——– |——– |—3— | E

Best Songs to Play

You have many songs to choose from that use the above chords. You can check out our previous blog posts for some good songs to use. Alternatively, you can check out websites such as Tabulous.co.uk for great guitar tabs and pick your favourite songs to play.