Hopefully you’ve been keeping up your 15 minutes a day. I’ve received emails from some of you that you are doing even more. Well done to all of you reading who have been putting in the extra effort, it will pay off in the long run!
To kick off today’s lesson, we’ll quickly review the C and G chords that you learned last lesson, and then we’ll introduce some minor chords.
Are you ready? Lets begin!
Play button goes here – cadgedit1.wav
I hope that you are getting used to playing these new chords. One of the best ways of learning new chords is to find famous songs that use these chords and playing along with them. I strongly recommend that you have a look at the various guitar tab sites on the web, and start trying to play well known songs that use these chords. For example, "Time of Your Life" by Green Day uses these particular chords.
Or, you could get hold of my recommended learn-guitar course – Learn and Master the Guitar. In it you’ll learn to play lots of well known songs step-by-step!
Now, back to today’s lesson. So far we’ve looked at the Major chords, A, D, E, C and G. Today I want to introduce you to another family of guitar chords – the minor chords. They are very easy to learn when you’ve already mastered the corresponding major chord, so we’ll learn A minor, D minor, E minor, C minor and G minor all in the next few days. Today we’ll look specifically at A minor and D minor!
The A minor
The A minor chord is played using your index, middle and ring fingers. Here is what it looks like:
Diagram and photo go here
Note: If you want comprehensive online video lessons that teach you ALL the guitar chords, famous songs and more, go get yourself a copy of "Learn and Master the Guitar".
Getting back to our lesson, make sure that you press all 3 fingers down firmly. Try to strum the following using downward strums (Am = A minor):
Am Am Am Am A A A A
E E E E Am Am Am Am
Am Am Am Am A A A A
E E E E Am Am Am Am
Play button goes here
The D minor chord
The D minor chord is played using your index, middle and ring fingers. Here is what it looks like:
Diagram and photo go here
Try to strum the following using downward strums:
Dm Dm Dm Dm D D D D
A A A A Dm Dm Dm Dm
Dm Dm Dm Dm D D D D
A A A A Dm Dm Dm Dm
Play button goes here
Alright, now we’re going to do an intensive 6 minute practice session. And then you’re done for the day! Make sure you get through this and review it again tomorrow so that you get these new chords mastered before we look at the other minor chords in a few days time. Are you ready? Lets get into it!
1 minute |
No strumming, change between A minor and D minor back and forth as quickly as you can. |
30 seconds |
Have a break |
1 minute |
Now try to strum the following using downward strums: Am Am Am Am Dm Dm Dm Dm Am Am Am Am Dm Dm Dm Dm Am Am Am Am Dm Dm Dm Dm Am Am Am Am Dm Dm Dm Dm Play button goes here |
30 seconds |
Have a break |
1 minute |
No strumming, change between A minor and D minor back and forth as quickly as you can. |
30 seconds |
Have a break |
1 minute |
Now try to strum the following using downward strums: Am Am Am Am Dm Dm Dm Dm Am Am Am Am Dm Dm Dm Dm Am Am Am Am Dm Dm Dm Dm Am Am Am Am Dm Dm Dm Dm Play button goes here |
That brings us to the end of another step on your journey towards mastering the guitar. Now is the time that a lot of people get bored of their new hobby (the guitar, in case you've forgotten). Make sure you keep practicing; it's going to get a lot more exciting if you push through and keep it up!
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