Where Are All the Guitar Chords?

Rod Ferreira is a professional musician and educator who teaches Guitar lessons online , Music Theory lessons online. Find out more on his Lessonface profile.

Whether you are a beginner guitar player, or you have been playing for a while, you can always find new ways to play common chords.

This is extremely helpful whether you want to play songs, compose tunes, write solos or simply become a bit more fluent on the neck of the guitar.

Let’s think of a simple major and a simple minor chord:

G major
A minor

Most of us would first learn these two shapes: (Video 1)

E---3-------0-------
B---3-------1-------
G---0-------2-------
D---0-------2-------
A---2-------0-------
E---3-------x-------

     (G)        (Am)

Video 1

Without getting too deep into music theory, we can just dissect those chords above and figure out what notes we are playing.

G Major:

E---3--G-------
B---3--D-------
G---0--G-------
D---0--D-------
A---2--B-------
E---3--G-------

A Minor:

E---0--E-------
B---1--C-------
G---2--A-------
D---2--E-------
A---0--A-------
E---x----------

Therefore a G major chord is formed by the notes G B D, and an A minor chord is formed by A C E. These are known as triads, and as long as we have at least one of each note, we are forming the chords above.

So, now with that idea in mind, let's grab more G major chords on the fretboard. (Video 2)

E--3---7---10----------------------------------------------
B--3---8---12----3---8---12--------------------------------
G--4---7---12----4---7---12----4---7----12-----------------
D------------------5---9---12----5---9----12----0---5---9----
A----------------------------------5---10---14----2---5---10---
E-----------------------------------------------------3---7---10---

Video 2

Important to mention: Whenever the root note (G in a G major chord) is not the lowest on the sequence, the chord becomes an inversion. If the B is the lowest note, then we have a G/B (first inversion) and if the D is the lowest note we have a G/D (second inversion).

Let’s work the same process for the A minor chord: (Video 3)

E--5---8---12---------------------------------------------
B--5---10--13----5---10---13------------------------------
G--5---9---14----5---9----14---5---9----14----------------
D------------------7---10---14---7---10---14---2---7---10---
A------------------------------------7---12---15---3---7---12---
E-----------------------------------------------------5---8---12---

Video 3

The beautiful thing about studying those shapes is that you can move them around to make different chords. So if you have learned the G’s all over the fretboard but now you need a G#, just move all those shapes a half step up!

After you memorize and understand this concept, it's time to practice in a more musical way, so grab a drum track and a couple of your favorite shapes and mix them together! NO rules, add whatever rhythm you want, and strum those chords any way you like.

Example (Video 4):

E---8---7--------------------0----3---
B-10---8--5--3-------------1----3---
G--9---7--5--4---5---4----2----0---
D----------7--5---7---5----2----0---
A-------------------7---5----0----2---
E-----------------------------------3---

Video 4

Check out the example with a drum track: (Video 5)

Video 5

You can download and practice along with the 8-minute drum track below.

This is part of a BIG topic, so feel free to enter a comment below to keep the discussion going. I hope you guys have enjoyed this lesson, and I will see you next time!

ROD

ABOUT ROD Guitarist, composer and producer Rod Ferreira has performed across the USA sharing the stage with lots of talented musicians. He has recorded several albums and enjoys teaching musicians of all ages and styles. While living in Brazil he earned several diplomas in piano, harmonica, bass, music theory and guitar. Graduated with a bachelor's degree in music from the University of North Dakota he started to teach guitar at several music schools and studios which lead him to write three guitar guides.  > Book a lesson with Rod

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