Ask Brendan is a monthly column where Guitar Educator, Brendan Burns, answers questions about music and the pursuit of Understanding and Mastering the guitar.

BEGINNING CHORDS

November 02

Q: Brendan, I’m just getting started with guitar. What chords should a beginning guitarist know?

B: The Open Chords are a great place to start. They have a nice full sound and are essential knowledge for Understanding the Guitar. Click here for a “Quickview” PDF file with some common Open Chords.

Hints: If these chords are challenging at first, consider that maybe your fingers are underdeveloped for playing the guitar. THIS IS NOT A BAD THING! It just means you’ll need a little conditioning. It’s very common for beginning guitarists to have “awkward fingers” or “weak fingers” Use this set of chords to “work out” your fingers. You can strengthen your muscles and your muscle memory with these chords. Also try some finger exercises and range of motion stretches to get warmed up. It’s just like any other physical activity. If you are not trained for it, it will take some time before you really start cruisin’ at it.

When the time is right, try moving from chord to chord. Here are two fun common progressions:
| G | C | D |
| C | Am | Dm | G |