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Easy chord shapes everyone should learn on Guitar (simple, easy and fun)

By Mike Hayes | May 29, 2010

One of the biggest stumbling blocks for the aspiring guitarist is
how to deal with difficult chord shapes, as a matter of fact I’ve
discovered the best way to deal with them is by not playing them
at all! As long as you know what you are doing you can design
easy chord shapes and have more fun playing the guitar.

Difficult chord shapes tangle your fingers and worst of all stop
you from playing good rhythm, as the guitar player concentrates
too much on trying to maneuver their fingers from one fretboard
gymnastic event to the next their foot stops tapping and all is
lost.

The lifeblood of music is the rhythmic pulse (the ground beat)
the primary concern of every musician should be to develop their
rhythmic feel for music … their “groove” therefore once the
guitarist becomes distracted by impossible chord shapes their can
be no musical progress.

Regardless of how many chords, scales, or songs a guitar player
knows if the do not play with a good rhythmic feel they will
never play music!

So here is a quick look at some of the possible alternatives you
have for playing chords on the guitar, keep in mind this is just
a sample there are many other possibilities waiting to be
discovered.

Let’s with the “A” chord

The notes in the A chord are A-C#-E

A
–0—
–2—
–2—
–2—
–0—
–x—

This is the standard way of playing an “A” chord what many
players don’t understand is that you will get your best sound by
playing five strings for this chord not six as indicated in most
chord books. Leave string six out of this chord and you will hear
the chord clearly.

A great substitute for the common garden variety “A” chord is the
“Asus2″chord it sounds as if it would be more difficult to play
but it isn’t in fact many recordings feature this chord as a
substitute for the standard “A’ chord.

Asus2
–0—
–0—
–2—
–2—
–0—
–x—

The Asus2 chord is sometimes written as A2.

How about the “B” chord? Now here’s a chord that stops most
players in their tracks let’s look some nice and easy options for
this monster.

The notes in the B chord are B-D#-F#

B
–2—
–0—
–4—
–4—
–x—
–x—

or

B
–x—
–0—
–4—
–4—
–2—
–x—

Bsus4 or B4 is a handy substitute for B chord that many
professional guitarist use to add a different texture to their
rhythm playing.

B4
–0—
–0—
–4—
–4—
–2—
–x—

Moving on to “C” chord; the “C” chord is a very common but
unfortunately quite cumbersome chord shape for many beginners to
negotiate, here are some alternatives for you to try.

The notes in the C chord are C-E-G

Three string version.

C
–0—
–1—
–0—
–x—
–x—
–x—

How about a four string version.

C
–0—
–1—
–0—
–2—
–x—
–x—

Here’s a handy substitute for the common “C” it’s called C(add2)
it might look difficult at first however you will find it similar
to one of our “G” shapes coming up next.

C(add2)
–3—
–3—
–0—
–2—
–3—
–x—

Even “G” chords can be tricky, how about trying these!

The notes in the G chord are G-B-D

Three string version.

G
–3—
–0—
–0—
–x—
–x—
–x—

or the four string option.

G
–3—
–0—
–0—
–0—
–x—
–x—

or even this great sounding “G” chord that works well with the
C(add2) we just discovered.

G
–3—
–3—
–0—
–0—
–2—
–3—

Hopefully that will give you something to think about, try them
all and pay close attention to how each chord sounds on your
guitar.

Topics: Beginner Guitar Lesson, Guitar Chords, Guitar Tips | No Comments »

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