In order to learn chords, you need to be able to read a chord diagram.

first, let’s know which strings are which, starting from the left it goes E, A, D, G, B, E. the far left E represents the top string of the guitar, or the lowest sounding one. While the right E represents the bottom string or the highest sounding pitch string.

Next, we are going to learn how to read where we place our fingers. If you look at a chord diagram you will notice that there are circles with numbers on them. Those numbers represent which finger goes where. The number 1 represents your pointer finger, and the number 4 represents your pinky.

You may also see on a chord diagram an open circle without a number on it. That means that you don’t place your finger on any of the strings, but you still strum it. Finally, if you see an X on a string, you do not strum that string.

On this chord, we would place our pointer finger on the B string, our middle finger on the D string, and strum all the chords from the A string to the E string.

If you want more clarification, check out this site that gives a great explanation for what we just went over.

Now that we know how to play notes on our guitar, it is time to start learning some basic chords.

In this tutorial, I am going to introduce you to two basic but extremely useful chords, A Minor 7 and C Major.

To play the A Minor 7 chord what you want to do is is take your index finger and press it on the first fret on the B string, then take your middle finger and place it on the second fret of the D string. Here is a picture illustrating this.

The filled in circles represent where your fingers are supposed to go, so the filled in circle with a one shows where you put your pointer finger. the open circles tell that you don’t place your finger there, but you still strum that string. Finally, the x tells that you don’t strum that string.

Here is a great resource on learning chords.

Now lets look at C Major.

C major is very similar to A Minor 7 only your going to take your ring finger and place on the third fret of the A string.

Justin Guitar is a great blog for newcomers and intermediate players.

One of the biggest reasons Justin Guitar is such a good blog to follow is his lessons. His lessons are broken down into categories based on the difficulty of the subject. However he doesn’t just handle lessons on how to strum correctly or which cords to play, he also does tutorials on Music Theory and Ear training. These lessons are crucial for beginners as it can help open a beginners mind and make them realize there is more to guitaring then just strumming chords.

Another reason to follow Justin Guitar is his song tutorials. In his blog, there are over 500 songs that have a video dedicated to them that gives a step by step instruction on how to play them. Plus these are good songs, not Mary Had a Little Lamb, but songs like Stairway to Heaven, Layla, and Don’t Fear the Reaper. Not only that but he also organizes the songs based on the difficulty which will help newcomers not pick a song they are not ready for.

Finally, another cool reason to check out Justin Guitar is the tools he offers. Firstly he offers a BPM calculator, this helps determine the beats per minute in a song and can help beginners figure out the rhythm to playing their favorite songs. Secondly, he has a countdown timer which can give beginners a guide on when to start. Finally, he also offers blank music paper so that those who want to write their own music are able to do so.

In short Justin Guitar is a great resource for guitarist and I highly recommend them. His twitter is @justinsandercoe

Before we can play chords we must know how to play notes, and before we can play notes we need to know how to play a note.

To play a note all you have to do is place your finger and push down on one of the strings and strum the corresponding string. Doesn’t sound too hard, but there were a few things that I didn’t realize when I was starting off.

Firstly you don’t need to press down with all your strength to play a note. If you do this and try to play for long periods of time you can experience pain and possible cramps. The best way to figure how much you need to press down is to first barely place your finger on the string and strum. Slowly apply more pressure until the note sounds clean, and voila you now know the amount of force you need to use.

Speaking of strumming lets learn how to strum. Take your pick then swipe it down the string, boom done. Now I’m going to save your future guitar playing self and teach you a good exercise to learn how to alternate strum, and hopefully not get copyright stricken in the process.

A good way to learn alternate strumming while also learning a few notes is to play the Twilight Zone theme. Here is a video showcasing the exercise.

With these skills in mind, all that is left is to practice.