BEGINNER GUITAR I CHORDS

Learning how to play chords on the guitar is an essential part of your overall guitar education.  Songwriters have made careers with fewer than 15 chords in their entire vocabulary.  It’s amazing what a creative singer/songwriter can do with only three chords and a couple of strumming patterns! 

My aim is to get you to master the most popular chords as quickly as possible.  And yes, this is possible because the easiest of chords tend to be the most used in songwriting.  The guitar is built for this.  For the average guitarist who has put a year or two into practicing chords, literally hundreds of songs are available for learning and writing. 

Due to its awkward design, the guitar does have a steep learning curve but quickly levels out as you get more comfortable with the instrument.  For this reason, I have planned out a strategy to address the physical challenges of learning chords on the guitar.  You will start with the easiest chords first and work your way to the more difficult ones as you progress.  During that process, your strength and flexibility will improve as you tackle usable popular chords. 

If you are a dead beginner I would recommend not learning bar chords right now.  If you have ever tried this, I can relate to the frustration.  Your inability to play certain chords is not due to a lack of talent, it has everything to do with conditioning.  You need to train like an athlete!  But don’t worry, you can still eat doughnuts and be a guitarist.  Your hands need to develop certain muscles and the ability to stretch in different directions to learn even the most basic chords.  This can be achieved with incremental practice.   

Beginner I Guitar Chords will guide you in the most logical, seamless progression taking you from the simple E-minor chord to the dreaded B-minor at the end of this course.  Along the way, you will learn over 50 of the most popular chords from the past, present, and well into the future of songwriting.   Because you will be developing your physical abilities with each challenge, you will have fun overcoming obstacles instead of dealing with the frustration caused by practicing certain chords too early.

Before starting this course it is recommended that you get up to speed with some guitar basics.  Levels 001-006 in Beginner Guitar I at Levels For Guitar will prepare you for Beginner I Guitar Chords.  After reviewing that all you have to do is follow the order of links that I have provided on this page.

Enjoy the journey!

Module 1Beginner Guitar I Level 001 To Level 010
Unit 1Level 001 - How To Hold A Guitar, Guitar String Names, And Perform Tuning 
Unit 2Level 002 - How To Hold A Pick 
Unit 3Level 003 - Right Hand Position On The Guitar 
Unit 4Level 004 - Right Hand Picking Exercise 
Unit 5Level 005 - Hold Scale Technique 
Unit 6Level 006 - Scale Technique 
Unit 7Level 007 - E-Minor And A-Minor Guitar Chords 
Unit 8Level 008 - Song In E-Minor With Pick Strum 
Unit 9Level 009 - Whole Steps, Half Steps & The Musical Alphabet 
Unit 10Level 010 - Guitar Practice Routine 
Module 2Beginner Guitar I Level 011 To Level 020
Unit 1Level 011 - Guitar String Crossing Technique 
Unit 2Level 012 - C-Major Guitar Chord 
Unit 3Level 013 - Song in A-Minor 
Unit 4Level 014 - Sharps, Flats, And Note Finding On The Guitar 
Unit 5Level 015 - String Crossing On Lower And Upper Guitar Frets 
Unit 6Level 016 - G-Major Guitar Chord 
Unit 7Level 017 - Song In C-Major And Increasing Chord Change Speed 
Unit 8Level 018 - Time Signatures And Counting 
Unit 9Level 019 - Picking Technique And Subdivision 
Unit 10Level 020 - Practice Routine 
Unit 11Level 020A - Play Along For Levels 001 To 020 
Unit 12Level 020B - Random Chord Game 
Module 3Beginner Guitar I Level 021 To Level 030
Unit 1Level 021 - A-Minor Pentatonic Scale Form I 
Unit 2Level 022 - Strumming Patterns Using Quarter & Eighth Notes 
Unit 3Level 023 - D-Major Guitar Chord 
Unit 4Level 024 - Guitar Song in G-Major 
Unit 5Level 025 - Finding C Notes On Each Guitar String 
Unit 6Level 026 - A-Major Guitar Chord 
Unit 7Level 027 - Song in D-Major 
Unit 8Level 028 - Guitar Strumming Exercises Continued 
Unit 9Level 029 - Picking Technique & Subdivision 
Unit 10Level 030 - Guitar Practice Routine 
Module 4Beginner Guitar I Level 031 To Level 040
Unit 1Level 031 - The Tie Strumming Exercise 
Unit 2Level 032 - The Triplet & The Swing Scale Exercises 
Unit 3Level 033 - E-Major Guitar Chord 
Unit 4Level 034 - Song in A-Major 
Unit 5Level 035 - Finding E Notes On Each Guitar String 
Unit 6Level 036 - D-Minor Guitar Chord 
Unit 7Level 037 - The Arpeggio 
Unit 8Level 038 - Song In D-Minor 
Unit 9Level 039 - Music Theory Quiz 
Unit 10Level 040 - Guitar Practice Routine 
Module 5Beginner Guitar I Level 041 To Level 050
Unit 1Level 041 - Guitar Strumming Patterns Continued 
Unit 2Level 042 - A-Minor Pentatonic Scale Form II 
Unit 3Level 043 - F-Major Barre Guitar Chord 
Unit 4Level 044 - Song in F-Major 
Unit 5Level 045 - The Time Signature 
Unit 6Level 046 - Strumming Patterns In 4/4 Time 
Unit 7Level 047 - 12 Guitar Chords 
Unit 8Level 048 - The Movable F Shape Song 
Unit 9Level 049 - Music Theory Quiz 
Unit 10Level 050 - Guitar Practice Routine 
Module 6Beginner Guitar I Level 051 To Level 060
Unit 1Level 051 - Guitar Strumming Patterns Continued 
Unit 2Level 052 - A-Minor Pentatonic Scale Form IV 
Unit 3Level 053 - Four Fingered G-Major & Cadd9 Guitar Chords 
Unit 4Level 054 - The Four Finger G-Major Song 
Unit 5Level 055 - The Major Scale 
Unit 6Level 056 - Strumming Patterns With The Sixteenth Note 
Unit 7Level 057 - E-Minor 7, A7sus4, & Dsus4 Four Finger Chords 
Unit 8Level 058 - The Wonder Chord Song 
Unit 9Level 059 - Music Theory Quiz 
Unit 10Level 060 - Guitar Practice Routine 
Module 7Beginner Guitar I Level 061 To Level 070
Unit 1Level 061 - Picking Technique & Subdivision 
Unit 2Level 062 - Hammer-On Technique 
Unit 3Level 063 - Seventh Chords 
Unit 4Level 064 - 12 Bar Blues In E 
Unit 5Level 065 - Major Scale Construction 
Unit 6Level 066 – Strumming Patterns With Quarter, Eighth, Sixteenth Notes 
Unit 7Level 067 - D7 Guitar Chord 
Unit 8Level 068 - 12 Bar Blues In A 
Unit 9Level 069 - Music Theory Quiz 
Unit 10Level 070 - Guitar Practice Routine 
Module 8Beginner Guitar I Level 071 To Level 080
Unit 1Level 071 - C7, F7, & G7 Guitar Chords 
Unit 2Level 072 - Country Song In 12 Bar Blues Form (C Blues) 
Unit 3Level 073 - Pull-Off Technique 
Unit 4Level 074 - 12 Bar Blues in G 
Unit 5Level 075 - Major Chord Construction 
Unit 6Level 076 - Strumming Patterns Using Quarter, Eighth, & Sixteenth Notes With Ties 
Unit 7Level 077 - Scales Using The Slur Technique 
Unit 8Level 078 - 12 Bar Blues In D 
Unit 9Level 079 - Music Theory Quiz 
Unit 10Level 080 - Guitar Practice Routine 
Module 9Beginner Guitar I Level 081 To Level 090
Unit 1Level 081 - Outside String Crossings 
Unit 2Level 082 - A-Minor Pentatonic Scale Form III 
Unit 3Level 083 - The Full Bar 
Unit 4Level 084 - Half Note Strumming Patterns 
Unit 5Level 085 - Major Scale Construction Using Flat Keys 
Unit 6Level 086 - Minor Chord Construction 
Unit 7Level 087 - Power Chords 
Unit 8Level 088 - Smells Like Power Chords 
Unit 9Level 089 - Music Theory Quiz 
Unit 10Level 090 - Guitar Practice Routine 
Module 10Beginner Guitar I Level 091 To Level 100
Unit 1Level 091 - Inside String Crossing 
Unit 2Level 092 - Guitar Strumming Patterns 
Unit 3Level 093 - The B-Minor Guitar Chord 
Unit 4Level 094 - The F#-Major Guitar Chord 
Unit 5Level 095 - Song in B-Minor 
Unit 6Level 096 - A-Minor Pentatonic Scale Form V 
Unit 7Level 097 - Slur Technique 
Unit 8Level 098 - 7th Chord Construction 
Unit 9Level 099 - Music Theory Quiz 
Unit 10Level 100 - Guitar Practice Routine