How is your guitar playing going? Hopefully you’re still enjoying it, and you feel like you're making progress. Have sore fingers? If you do, well done, it means you’ve been practicing lots and it’s all part of the journey. That will go away and your fingers will strengthen. If you haven’t been practicing,… why not? Get off your butt and pick up your guitar today! 15 minutes a day is nothing when you compare it to the lifetime of satisfaction you’ll be feeling a year from now and beyond.
Imagine how fun it will be when you can bust out virtually any song you can think of at the drop of a hat! What about all those friends, girls/guys you’ll impress? It really is an amazing skill to have and it only takes a small amount of your time each day and a comprehensive course to keep you moving forward to achieve that goal. That course can simply be this free artricle series here, or if you’re extra serious about your guitar success, you could purchase one of the highly recommended home-study courses - "Learn and Master the Guitar" or the online lessons from "Jamorama".
Ok, that’s my two cents about keeping up with your practice, now let’s get to learning!Today we’re going to learn two new chords: G and C.
The G chord
The G chord is played using your index, middle and ring fingers. Here is what it looks like:
Photo of G Chord
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Back to our lesson, make sure that you press all 3 fingers down firmly. Try to strum the following using downward strums:
G G G G E E E E
G G G G A A A A
G G G G E E E E
G G G G A A A A
Play button goes here
The C chord
The C chord is played using your index, middle and ring fingers. Here is what it looks like:
Photo of C Chord
Again, make sure that you press all 3 fingers down firmly. Note that you shouldn’t strum the top string. Don’t worry if you do, but aim to hit the 2nd thickest string first as that will produce a cleaner, more professional sounding C. Try to strum the following using downward strums:
G G G G C C C C
G G G G C C C C
G G G G C C C C
G G G G C C C C
Play button goes here
Now it’s time for a 6 minute practice session. Master these chords and it’ll open up a LOT more songs that you’ll be able to play. Are you motivated? If you aren’t, you should be! These chords are used in most guitar songs you hear. Lets get on to our practice session:
1 minute |
No strumming, practice putting your fingers straight into the C position, then lift them up, and put them back down on C again. Keep repeating. |
30 seconds |
Have a break |
1 minute |
No strumming, change between C and G back and forth as quickly as you can. |
30 seconds |
Have a break |
1 minute |
No strumming, practice putting your fingers straight into the G position, then lift them up, and put them back down on G again. Keep repeating. |
30 seconds |
Have a break |
1 minute |
Try to strum the following using downward strums: G G G G C C C C G G G G C C C C G G G G C C C C G G G G C C C C Play button goes here |
I hope that you’re getting the hang of these new chords. For homework, I suggest that you try experimenting with your own creative uses of these chords. Play G, C, A, D and E in any arrangement that you feel sounds good to you. Try to keep strumming at a consistent speed while changing between the chords. Make use of the metronome below so that you can keep playing in time:
Play button goes here
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