Guitar Chords for Idiots

Guitar Chords for Idiots is a step by step guide to guitar chords. Guitar Chords for Idiots covers everything you need to know about guitar chords including which guitar chords to know. There are thousands of guitar chords out there and many you’ll never use just because the sound is unpleasing to the ear. There’s a hand full of chords that you’ll learn to use frequently and those are the following guitar chords that you will learn from this page. Enjoy GUITARMADEEZ’s complete guitar chord guide, Guitar Chords for Idiots.

"What is a guitar chord?"

Guitar chords are created from individual notes from the fret board that are pieced together to form a colorful sounding multi note called a chord. Each chord has its own individual fingering pattern depending on the position on the fret board. You can play the same guitar chord in many different places along the fret board. A big misconception is that every note within the guitar chord would have the same name as the chord itself (ex. a G chord would be created from all G notes, not true). A chord is created from various notes in the scale of that chord. For example, C chord is created from the C major scale. Pretty much everything in music revolves around guitar scales and keys, but we'll get to that later.

How to practice guitar chords

Practice them over and over. This part can take anywhere from a month to years. This part took me one month with about an hour of focused practicing almost everyday. I just fingered the guitar chords and then practiced transitioning to other guitar chords. That’s it!!! However, you must get this down so you can do it quickly and it’s not easy. Your fingers will hurt and possibly even bleed (its common, put Neosporin on them before you go to bed). Some guitar chords like F require a whole lot of finger strength which you will develop. This part is extremely important and when you learn these chords and transitioning well enough you will be able to play thousands of songs. Every song is made up of a chord progression; just some songs are more complex with riffs and other instruments than others. Just remember that even the most complex songs are created from chords which act as the basis for playing guitar. From "guitar what to practice"

! "X" - Don't play string, "0" - play note open !

Major Chords sound happy, Play a C major.... it sounds like a happy sound

Minor Chords are sad, Play an A minor(Am).... it sounds sad or dark compared to a A major (A). 

7th Chords (A7, B7, etc.) are blues chords. They are the foundation for the blues.

What are diminished chords?

Diminished Chords are suspenseful chords.. they leave you in suspense...

What are suspended chords?

Suspended chords (sus) are variations usually of the major chord. The give the chord flavor, and usually require adding or removing a finger from or to the chord. 

Other Guitar Chord Shapes

"Great! What do I do now?"

There's almost an endless supply of guitar chords out there and the ones you should be concerned with right off the bat are the major and minor chords (all the ones listed above). Learn all the major and minor chords that you can and practice them for about 30 minutes a day for about a month and you should get them down.