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More Easy Chord Shapes everyone should learn on Guitar (simple, easy and fun)

By Mike Hayes | May 30, 2010

Sometimes you can luck out with most of the chords in a song but
there always seems to be one or two pesky characters that make
you cringe when you see them coming up in the next verse.

Take for instance the key of G as we discussed in a previous
article there are a number of easy ways to play G and C chord the
problem is wherever there is “G” and “C” there is usually a
“D” chord, now for some guitar players the “D” chord presents no
problems whatsoever, however for some newbie guitarists trying to
co-ordinate three fingers can be quite a challenge.

Let’s begin today’s discussion with the standard “D” chord shape.

The notes in the “D” chord are D-F#-A

D
–2—
–3—
–2—
–0—
–x—
–x—

This is the standard way of playing an “D” chord, take particular
note that the “D” is a four string chord, most guitar chord books
indicate that you play the fifth string, try playing your “D”
chord as a four string chord and you will immediately hear the
chord ring clearer and more defined!

As I mentioned earlier this standard “D” shape can pose problems
for the new player, here’s a neat substitute that only requires
two fingers, it’s called “D6″.

D6
–2—
–0—
–2—
–0—
–x—
–x—

Another great substitute for the common garden variety “D” chord
is the “Dsus2″chord, suspended 2nd chords are passive sounding
chords and will work well in many musical settings.

Dsus2
–0—
–3—
–2—
–0—
–x—
–x—

The Dsus2 chord is sometimes written as D2.

Next it’s time to deal with the “E” chord, most people seem to
play this chord pretty much straight away however I’ll include
some options for you to try.

The notes in the “E” chord are E-G#-B

E (standard shape)

–0—
–0—
–1—
–2—
–2—
–0—

Here is a three string version of “E”

E
–0—
–0—
–1—
–x—
–x—
–x—

Now for a surprise, another three string version this time I’m
using the “D” shape we learn recently, take particular note of
the fact that we are using the same “D” shape only moving that
chord shape to a different fret location on the fingerboard.

E (using “D” shape chord pattern)

–4—
–5—
–4—
–x—
–x—
–x—

And now the moment we have all been waiting for … the dreaded
“F” chord, if there is one chord that strikes fear into even the
most dedicated amateur guitarist it’s the ‘F” chord let’s see how
the pro’s deal with this character!

The notes in the “F” chord are F-A-C

Standard F (pretty hard to play)

F
–1—
–1—
–2—
–3—
–3—
–x—

Here is a great substitute for “F”, it’s called “Fsus2″ or”F2″,
just remember not to play the first and sixth strings.

F2
–x—
–1—
–0—
–3—
–3—
–x—

If we move our “D” shape up to the fifth fret it becomes “F”,
remember to play only three strings with this shape.

F (using “D” shape)

–5—
–6—
–5—
–x—
–x—
–x—

Here’s a neat twist to a nasty chord, by removing your fingers
from the third and fourth strings and playing those strings as
open strings we create another substitute for the “F” chord, this
time it’s an F6/9 chord (F six, nine chord) derived from the
pentatonic scale.

F6/9
–1—
–1—
–0—
–0—
–x—
–x—

I couldn’t resist one more “F” chord shape, this time it’s simply
a slightly smaller chord shape than our original “F” chord.

F
–1—
–1—
–2—
–3—
–x—
–x—

I better stop now and let you try out your new chords on the
guitar.

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

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