Guitar Chords Explained

All right, lets take this from the beginning. A guitar chord comes into existence when you strike (also called strumming) at least two notes at the same time (could be more but must be at least two). Some definitions explain that it must be three or more notes for it to be a chord. There is a chord called E minor that is just two notes... so that blows that idea over. It's as simple as that but gets way more complicated. It's a fundamental part of playing guitar.

You might remember in my review of acoustics vs electrics that I said it was better to buy an acoustic if you wanted to learn how to strum (and this how to play chords). This is obviously something that can be learned on either an electric or acoustic guitar but it is worth mentioning that acoustics have value in learning to strum chords.

Major and Minor Chords

There are two types of chords namely major and minor. When you hear someone say a G chord they are actually referring to a G major chord, it's only when speaking of minor chords do most people actually use the word minor (someone would say G minor Chord).

Major Chords

These are the happy sounding chords. Happy doesn't mean goofy though. You'll hears these chords all the time and most pop songs are major chords and scales. Listen to almost any punk song especially and you'll hear a major scale.

The above picture illustrates the chords you want to use in a major scale. Mix and match them up to create some great sounds. Although certain scales work for certain types of music, try different combinations and don't stick to conventions.

Minor Chords

These are the sad sounding chords. Sad or sometimes even evil sounding but don't think laying minor chords makes you evil, its just a sound. Almost any sad song utilizes minor chords and scales. Listen to almost any metal song especially and you'll hear a minor scale.

This picture illustrates the chords you want to use in a minor scale. Again don't stick to conventions and try mix and match, even between majors and minors.