Minor Chords And Indroductions..

The chords we have discussed so far have all been in major keys, and based on what are known as major triads. Each major key also has a relative minor key, which has a characteristic sound of its own. To show you this difference in sound, finger and play the following chords. First A chord you have learned already:
A MAJOR CHORD

And now the chord of A minor, which looks like this:
A MINOR CHORD

The only difference between these two chords is, as you will see, the fact that the 2nd string is fingered one fret lower in the minor chord. This makes the note on the 2nd string C natural, instead of C sharp. Although everything else about the chord remains unchanged, this minor third interval between the A on the 3rd string and C on the 2nd gives the chord its characteristic minor sound.
A minor is the relative minor key to C major. As with the major key, the minor key has three principal chords. Those in A minor are A minor, E7 and D minor. The dominant seventh in the key of A major.
D minor looks like this:
D MINOR
Here again you will see that the only difference between D minor and the D major chord, which you have learned already, lies in one note. In this instance the 1st string is fingered one fret lower, putting an F natural at the top of the chord, instead of an F sharp.
In chord symbol writing A minor is usually written Am- or sometimes Amin, and D minor written Dm or sometimes Dmin, and so on through the minor chords.
Although only one note is changed in both of the minor chords we have discussed so far, you will notice that this necessitates a considerable modification of the fingering in each case. Thus we can improvise a useful exercise for your left hand by alternating major and minor chords, as follows:

||4x4 A///|Am///|D///|Dm///||

Play this exercise very slowly at first, gaining speed as your left-hand fingers become more accustomed to the necessary movements.
Now you should be ready to play this simple exercise on the chord of A minor:

||4x1 Am///|Dm///|E7///|Am///||

Guitar Chords In A

A' is a favourite key of many of the classical composers for the guitar. One good reason for this is the fact that the 5th and 6th strings are tuned to the natural bass notes of the key - A and E, thus allowing these strings to be played open as accompaniment to more complicated fingering with the left hand. From our point of view offers a good opportunity to begin to explore the string bass style of playing.
The string bass style means merely that, having formed a chord with your left hand, instead of strumming it straight across, or playing it arpeggio fashion, you hit one of the lower strings on its own for the first beat of the bar, then play the remainder of the chord on the second. You can then play another bass string, followed by the chord, for the third and fourth beats.
You may wonder why I didn't go staek, raving bonkers with the monotony of this um-ching um - ching, but it is possible to make this style very interesting both from the playing and listening points of view. If you can get hold some of the Eddie Land/Joe Venuti recordings you'll hear Lang using this type of Accompaniment to good effect. Another example that falls immediately to mind is Django Reinhardt's duet version of ALABAMY BOUND, made with Stephen Grappelly in 1937- I guarantee that the first time there's only one guitar playing the accompaniment.
Just how interesting you can make the string bass style depends on your ability and imagination. By making care in the choice of your bass notes you can produce a pleasant counter-melody should fill in the gaps, rather than competing or dominating. You'll get to play the melody yourself later on, but at the moment we're concentrating on the job of making a reasonable accompaniment of you, and this is an art in itself. Your chance to become a soloist will come in Section Four.

Now, the principle chords, in the key of A. These are A, E7 and D. As usual, we'll take tonic chord first:

By now your fingers should be becoming hard enough and flexible enough to find the correct position without much difficulty. Try this chord arpeggio fashion,, making sure that the fingered 4th, 3rd and 2nd strings ring as well as the open ones. Now try playing the chord in the string bass style, hitting the open 5th string alone first, followed by the chord.

(Guitar) Chord Window F

Yes, it is a bit of a stinker, isn't it? But don't panic. You'll notice that in this chord the first finger stops both the 1st and 2nd strings, which means that you can't use the tip of the finger as before. Instead, the first finger is flattened down to bring its first joint in line with the fingerboard. Try that first, picking the 1st and 2nd strings only. If the strings don't ring, adjust the position to your finger until they do. Take your time. Then when you're certain you've mastered this part of the chord, place your second finger on the 3rd string at the second fret, still keeping your first finger in position. Now pick the 3rd, 2nd and 1st strings in that order.

When those three are sounding clearly, you can then add the fourth note, which is made by placing your fourth finger on the third fret of the 4th string. Now play all four strings - arpeggio fashion at first to make sure they're all ringing as they should - then five strings, by including your un-fingered 5th - then strum.

When you've mastered the F chord on it's own, try changing between it and the other chords in the key, something like this:
||:F///|G7///|F///|C///:||

I can't emphasise too much how important it is to learn to change quickly from one chord to another. Each chord is a building block, and its shape has to be learned individually, but to play a chord sequence like that given above, without stumbling or hesitating between the bar lines, it is necessary to go on practising until the left-hand fingers move automatically to the correct position on seeing a given symbol.

(Guitar) Chords In C

The next simple and frequently used key for accompaniments is C. Here again we have a set of three principal chords. This time C is the tonic, or home chord. The dominant is G7, and the sub-dominant is F. You've already learned the four-string version of the chord of C in the previous lessons, so you're part of the way there. However, this time we're going to use the sixth string version, which looks like this:



Your first and second fingers go on the 2nd and 4th strings in the same positions as before, but now we are adding the fourth finger on the third fret of the 5th string and the fourth finger on the third fret of the 6th string. You won't do this perfectly the first time, but will become easier with practice. Try moving from this version on to the other chords that you know already and back again. Like this: ||:C///| D7///| C///| G///|:||

Now we can move on the sub-dominant of the key, G7. The four-string version of this is probably the easiest chord there is to play on the guitar. It requires only the use of your first finger left hand. The other three notes of the chords are formed naturally by the open 2nd, 3rd, and 4th strings, as well from the window below.
Try these out with your download able browser and get the super-unique song for you. And then begin the practice on your own personal room. You need no help after reading these .



It shouldn't take you long to get this one, but here again the important thing is to be able to move as quickly as possible from the fingering of one chord to another, so you try practicing something like the following:
||:G7///|C///|G7///|C///:||
We talked in the last chapter about the three chord trick, but here's something even easier-a song accompaniment that uses only two chords. The song is OH DEAR! WHAT CAN THE MATTER BE? and i've written out the chords and words below. You may be familiar with certain variations on this lyrics, but whether you use them or not depends on you, and your audience, if any.

The melody of the song begins on the note G, which is the sound of your open string, so hit that note first.

Strumming And Arpeggios

When the plectrum is drawn quickly across the strings all the notes of a chord sound more or less simultaneously. This is strumming, in which you will not normally be able to distinguish one note from another, but are aware of the chord as a blended whole. If on the other hand, you draw the plectrum across the strings more slowly, so that there is a definite time lag between one note and the next, you will produce what is known as an arpeggio.

The strumming, rhythmic style is the one we shall use for our accompaniments at first. It is therefore important that you should learn to strum with a regular beat, in order to make your accompaniment as rhythmic as possible. Try fingering the G chord with your left hand and strumming, counting an even 1-2-3-4 as you do so.
After the chord symbols- such as the C, D7, G we have learned so far - diagonal lines this / are used to indicate how many times the chord should be repeated. Thus the 1-2-3-4 beats on the chord of G which you have just played are written in symbol notation | G/// | The vertical lines are Bar lines. In the example here you be playing a four to the bar rhythm. You will also find that a lot of pieces are written in three to the bar rhythm, or waltz time. Three to the bar looks like this | G// | and is counted 1-2-3, 1-2-3 and so on.

Now that you are reasonably familiar with the fingering of the three principal chords in G, try the following exercise over a few times to get used to changing from one chord to another.

Play four beats to the bar, strumming:
||: G / / / | C / / / | D7 / / / | G / / / :||

The double lines and dots at the beginning and end of this exercise ||::|| indicate that the section enclosed by them should be repeated. Remember this, as you will encounter them often in the future. In this instance you should repeat the exercise until you are sure that you can hit the chords correctly each time and maintain a constant rhythm. In all exercise it is better to start off quite slowly, at a tempo you can manage easily without fumbling the changes. If the first part of an exercise seems easy, many students have a tendency to begin as fast as they can - only to come a cropper when something more difficult turns up later on. This is bad because it produces chopping and changing of the original tempo which robs the exercise of any musical value whatsoever. Go slowly at first, concentrating on producing a good tone and a full song. Speed doesn't matter at this stage. That will come naturally with practice. Maintaining a steady tempo is much more important.

Now let's try our fist folk song, GOODNIGHT LADIES, which uses the chords of G. The starting note for this song is the open second string (B). In fact, if you like, you can pick out the melody of the first two bars completely, on open string, by playing in this order. 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 3rd. This gives you the notes equivalent to the phrase 'Goodnight Ladies'. Play it over a couple of times to get the idea before going on to the song.

STRUM FOUR TO THE BAR
BEAT FOUR TO THE BAR

This note
is open B.
|4/4 G / / / | G / / / | G / / / | D7 / / / |
Good-night, - la-dies,- Good-night,- la-dies,-

| G / / / | C / / / | G / D7 / | G / / / ||
Good-night,- la-dies,We're goin' to leave you now.-

You may have noticed that the chord of the song is G, the tonic chord. The tonic is sometimes referred to as the 'home' chord, because it is variably the one upon which a piece written in a particular key ends. Thus, a song played in the key of G will end on the chord of G, or one in the key of C, on the chord of C.

Guitar Chord Window C

The 5th and 6th strings are not sounded in this chord, as you will note from the X symbols side the nut position. The O symbol over the 1st and 3rd strings indicates that they should be played open. When you have mastered the C chord, try changing from this to D7, and then to G.

A NOTE ON TONE PRODUCTION
Concentrate from the outset on making as full a sound as possible each time you play a chord. By this I don't mean that you should bash the plectrum down on the strings with all the force you can master. This will only succeed in producing ugly rattles and buzzes. It is far more important at this stage - and at any other, for that matter- that you should obtain the best tone of which your instrument is capable, rather than striving for sheer volume.

You will have no doubt have noticed by now that the position at which you strike the strings makes a distinct difference to the nature of the tone produced. If you haven't already done so, experiment with this. Finger the G chord with your left-hand and strike the strings close to the bridge. The tone thus produced will be bright and tinny- almost banjo-like. Now, still holding the chord, move your right hand up past the sound-hole to where the neck joins the body of the instrument and draw the plectrum slowly across the strings at this position. The tone this time will be softer, but much rounder and more mellow.

As with so many things, the happy medium is the one to be recommended. That is, a playing position about half-way between these two extremes. This leaves the very sharp and very mellow tones in reserve for any special effects you may wish to produce.

Guitar Chord Window D7

Finger this chord, using left-hand fingers indicated in the window. Then play it slowly, one string after another, to make sure that each is sounding properly. If it isn't, look again at your left-hand fingers, to see if you are pressing the stings down with sufficient firmness, and in the correct position behind the frets. Also check in case any of your fingers are fouling adjacent strings and preventing them from vibrating.

When you fell happy about D7, try changing from D7 to G... and back again. It will be a struggle at first. You'll find it necessary to look down at the fingerboard and guide your left-hand fingers carefully into position. Don't worry_ we've all been through this stage , and the only way to get past it is to practice the change again and again until you are able to make it smoothly. Don't worry about speed, just take it slow and easy, and make sure that all the notes in each chord sound every time.

A SPECIAL NOTE FOR THE LADIES
You're going to have cut those lovely long finger nails on your left-hand or right-hand. If you don't you'll never able to press the strings down in the correct manner. So get out your clippers and look upon it as a sacrifice made for your Art.
Generally, many players plays with their right hand. They said, right hand playing is universally right thing to do on guitars. Many artists like also plays guitar right hand. If you don't want to play it right hand, then you can simply choose left-handed playing.

Guitar Chord Window

Over the nut position on the diagram you will notice the two symbols X and O. There refers to the un-fingered strings in the chord shape. When X is placed over a string, this string should not be sounded. Therefore, in the example above section, the 5th and 6th strings are not played. The O symbol placed over a string means that, although it is not fingered, the string should be sounded. In this case you will see that the 4th, 3rd and 2nd strings are played open in this way, producing the notes D,G and B, which are in fact the basic notes of the chord of G.

When fingering a string it should be pressed down just behind, NOT on the fret. This brings the string firmly into contact with the metal of the fret, thus shortening the length of the part which vibrates when struck and making its pitch higher than that of the open string. In this case the 1st (E) string is stopped at the third fret and becomes G. If you turn back to the Fingerboard Diagram at the beginning of this section you will to check this. Notice that each time you move your finger up a fret, the pitch of the string goes up a semitone.

Now, holding your plectrum between the first finger and thumb of the right hand, as described earlier, draw it cross the top four strings. Remember, just the top four - we are using the 5th and 6th string at this stage. You should not have any difficulty in producing a musical sound from the 4th, 3rd and 2nd strings in this chord, because they are sounded open, but you may find that first gives you nothing more than an inelegant 'phut'. This does not indicate that there is anything wrong with your guitar, or with the method of fingering described above. The trouble lies in the fact that all this stage your fingers are not strong enough, nor your finger-ends hand enough, to press the strings down with sufficient firmness. Another possible fault is that the side of your left-hand finger may be making accidental contact with the un-fingered 2nd string and deadening it's sound.

Guitar Chord In Window System

The best way for a beginner to learn his chords is through a system of diagram known as 'Windows'. (The origin of this name will soon become obvious.) The window system is based on a pictorial representation of the guitar fingerboard as shown in figure.
The vertical lines represent the strings of the guitar, 6th, 5th, 4th and so on, reading from left to right. I have shown the top horizontal line as a double one, to indicate that it represents the nut, that is the point which divides the vibrating section of the strings from the part which goes on the tuning head. As you will see from the diagram of the guitar fingerboard on the opposite page, the frets are numbered downwards, 1st,2nd,3rd and so on. To show a chord in the window system it is merely necessary to add it's fingering to the basic diagram. Thus the first of our principal chords G is as shown below.

-CHORD WINDOW NO FINGERING

The circle on the 1st string shows the position at which the string should be pressed. The number inside the circle indicates that the third finger of the left hand should be used for this purpose, no other. It is important at this stage that you should use precisely the left-hand fingering indicated. To keep things as simple as possible I have given you only the four-string chord of G. Later on, when you learn the additional left-hand fingering that makes this chord into a six-string one, you may encounter unnecessary difficulty if you get into the habit of using the wrong fingers now.
-Chord Window G