Learn How to Play the G Major Guitar Chord

The G Major Guitar Chord is found in the G Major Scale: G A B C D E F# G. It is made up of the 1, 3 and 5 of this scale. Meaning the notes G, B and D.

There are two different chord charts for the G Major Guitar Chord below. The chords are identical except for the fingering. There will be situations where you will need to change your fingering of this chord so make sure to practice both versions below. For instance, if you were switching from G Major to Gadd4, you would have to play the first version below as you need your first finger to press down on the first fret of the B string.

G Major Chord notes: G B D

Follow this link for advanced versions of the G Major Chord.

Here is a key that will help you read the chart:

Everything on the above chart should be self explanatory, except for the last three in the third column. They may need a bit of explaining. The O, or open symbol, simply means that you do not press down on any notes on that string. The X means you do not strum that particular string. The Barre symbol means you need to barre that particular fret. When you barre a fret you are pressing down on multiple strings at the same time with one finger.

The G Major Guitar Chord is one of the most common guitar chords. You will see it in many songs, so it is very important that you learn how to play it. Just like all other chords, make certain that you are pushing your fingers down firmly on the strings. Play each string one at a time to see if the strings are producing a clean sound.

G Major Chord Video

www.youtube.com/watch?v=_7bBG3O4cCg

By Dave Long

Movable chords are something that anyone that wants to learn acoustic guitar should become familiar with.

These chords use the same basic shape to make the same chord for any note simply by moving up and down the neck. These chords are sometimes called closed chords (in order to be so easily movable, these chords have no open strings) or barre chords.

E Series Barre Chords
The E series of bar chords all have their root note on the low E string and are based off the E or Em chord formation. Sometimes these are referred to as F bar chords, because the first natural chord with a barre used is the F chords.

Here some examples of E series chords:

E: 0-2-2-1-0-0
F: 1-3-3-2-1-1
G: 3-5-5-4-3-3
Em: 0-2-2-0-0-0
Fm: 1-3-3-1-1-1
Gm: 3-5-5-3-3-3

The pattern of the shape holds true for any position on the fret board, if this shape is used it will form the major or minor version chord of whatever note is on the low E string.

The chord is formed by “barring” all six strings with the index finger. At first, this can be difficult, but with time and practice it will become easier. The remaining notes of the chord are fretted using the remaining fingers. Since the one difference between the major and minor versions is the middle finger being lowered or raised, it makes changing between chords as simple as moving up and down the fretboard and raising and lowering the middle finger. Take some open chord progressions and try playing them with E bar chords.

A Series Barre Chords
The A series of barre chords (sometimes referred to as B series chords) is similar to the E series, except the bar chords are based off of the A or Am chords.

The root note of the chord is the note being played on the fifth string and the low E string is usually not played. This is not a hard and fast rule because extending the bar adds a fifth note, which can be added to the major or minor chord, but it is not actually required.

Below are some examples of A series chords.

A: X-0-2-2-2-0 or X-0-2-2-2-X

B: X-2-4-4-4-2 or X-2-4-4-4-X

C: X-3-5-5-5-3 or X-3-5-5-5-X

Am: X-0-2-2-1-0
Bm: X-2-4-4-3-2
Cm: X-3-5-5-4-3

One thing that is apparent is there are two versions of the major chord commonly used. Many guitarists will simply use the ring finger to bar the higher strings and not play the high e string rather than trying to hold the chord in other ways. This is because that way of holding the chord is easier to move in and out of and higher up the neck, it can be extremely difficult to hold the chord in other manners, as the frets get closer together.

The minor version of the chord, on the other hand, is quite easy to move up and down the neck in the basic form.

The movable chords are an important part of the repertoire of someone that wishes to learn acoustic guitar. Some guitarists will use them almost exclusively because they prefer the sound or ease of usage of them.

Beyond that, some chords have no open chord variants and can only be played with movable chords. If a progression has an unusual chord like Ebm, this is the only way to even be able to play the chord in standard tuning.

Learn more acoustic guitar tips: Learning Acoustic Guitar

Dave Long is the owner of http://www.LearningAcousticGuitar.net where he provides acoustic guitar tips and advice.

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By Dave Long

Open chords are one of the first things you learn on acoustic guitar.

The open chords consist of most of the very basic chords used in music, and while not every style makes as much use of them, it is still an important fundamental even to those kinds of music.

What differentiates the open chords from other chords is the use of the open strings within the chord shapes. This feature gives a little more play to some of the chords by allowing the guitarist to fret and unfret strings to form the sustained versions of several chords (chords where the third is replaced by a major second or perfect fourth).

Using sustained chords in the middle of progressions can make bars that really are just one basic chord sound much more interesting than just strumming the chord for the entire time. A very good example of this is the Dsus4,D,Dsus2,D chord riff in the chorus lead in of The Beatles ‘You’ve got to hide your love away”.

E and Em Chords

E: 0-2-2-1-0-0
Em: 0-2-2-0-0-0

The above are the notes of the E and Em open chords. The two chords are fairly easy to switch between, only requiring the lifting of the index finger. However, swapping between the major and minor versions of a chord is a pretty infrequent chord change, but it does make learning both the chords fairly easy.

A, Am, and Asus2 Chords
A: X-0-2-2-2-0 or X-0-2-2-2-X

The open A chord has two common ways it is held.

The first shows a variant that leaves the open high e string in the chord, while the second has the first four strings barred (which means that high e is not played in the second version).

Someone having difficulty holding the first chord shape may want to use the second version instead, since the first can be somewhat difficult to hold without bumping into the open A and open high e strings. The second version also can be much easier to get into and out of in some progressions (particularly ones using moveable bar chords), and may be a better choice even for guitarists who can hold the first fingering of the chord.

Am: X-0-2-2-1-0
Asus2: X-0-2-2-0-0
The above shows the Am chord, as well as the Asus2 chord. The Asus2 chord can be moved into by lifting the third finger in the first version of the A chord or by lifting the index finger on the Am chord. It can be used to add a little more interest to progressions using either the A or Am chord.

D, Dm, Dsus2, and Dsus4 Chords

D: X-X-0-2-3-2
Dm: X-X-0-2-3-1
The D and Dm chords do seem very similar, but due to the position on the neck, the fingering is slightly different for the two. It is one of the easier chords to learn because it does not really require the same amount of strength or dexterity to hold as some of the other chords.

Dsus2: X-X-0-2-3-0
Dsus4: X-X-0-2-3-3
D and Dm are probably the two nicest open chords for swapping to the sustained versions of the chords. Despite the different fingering, both work pretty much exactly the same for these chord shifts. To reach Dsus4, both chords simply require placing the pinky onto the fretboard. Dsus2 is reached by lifting the finger on the high e string to let the open string ring. There are quite a number of songs based fairly heavily around these types of switches because they sound good and are quite easy to perform.

C, C7M, and Cadd9 Chords

C: X-3-2-0-1-0

C can be a bit awkward at first, but it is still a good chord to get down well.
C7M: X-3-2-0-0-0
Cadd9: X-3-2-0-3-0
C has a few easy variants to move in and out of without too much effort. The index finger is just lifted off the B string. The Cadd9 variant is not quite as easy to do as Dsus4, but can sound quite nice in some progressions. For that variant, the pinky is brought on the B string to fret the third fret.

G Chord
G: 3-2-0-0-0-3 or 3-2-0-0-3-3

G is a useful chord for many songs, but there is not really all that much play to it besides the basic chord. There are two variants, but most guitarists just pick one. The second variant does have the advantage of being easily shifted into Cadd9, but that is about it (X-3-2-0-3-3 is also a valid way to hold Cadd9).

Learn more free acoustic guitar tips: Learn Acoustic Guitar

Dave Long is the owner of http://www.LearningAcousticGuitar.net where he provides acoustic guitar tips and advice.

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Acoustic Guitar Cords – Learn a Few Play a Lot
By Bart Rutherford

Several notes played simultaneously is called an acoustic guitar chord. Even with many different acoustic guitar chords, if you learn just a few basic acoustic guitar chords, you will be able to play hundreds of songs, if not more. Major chords give out a cheerful sound while minor chords emit a sound that seems darker or sadder.

Acoustic guitar chord diagrams notate guitar chords. Rather than side to side (horizontal) the way guitar tabs run, the lines that represent an acoustic chord diagram will run up and down, or vertically. You will see a grid when looking at a chord diagram. The strings are represented by the vertical lines, while the frets are represented by the horizontal lines. The areas where you need to hold the string down is where the dots appear.

Numbers will be at the top or bottom of the acoustic guitar chord diagram. This diagram represents the finger that holds down each strong – 1 means the index finger, 2 means the middle finger, 3 the ring finger, and 4 the pinky. If you see a 0, that means to leave the string open when you play. On the other hand, an X means an string open that is not played. And occasionally you’ll see T used. This means to use your thumb to play, but this does not occur too often.

The first acoustic guitar chord we’re going to tackle is the G-major chord. Your middle finger goes on the sixth string at the third fret, your index finger goes on the fifth string at the second fret and your ring finger goes on the first string on the third fret. Play each individual note, including the open strings one by one. Be careful you can plainly hear each note and make sure you don’t hear any strange buzzing or rattling noises from the strings. If the sound isn’t right, you can try pushing harder on the string so that it presses closer to the fingerboard. You can also bring your finger closer to the fret. Your fingers should not be touching one another, or any of the other strings. You can strum all of the notes in unison once the sound is good. You will then be playing a G-major acoustic guitar chord.

The E-minor acoustic guitar chord is easier on the left hand. The E-minor chord uses only two left-hand fingers: the index and middle fingers, both on the second fret, of the fifth and fourth strings respectively. Make sure that both strings are held firmly without the two fingers touching each other. You may want to play those two strings several times by themselves before attempting the chord, so you can adjust the fingering if needed. Then strum all strings to play an E minor chord.Since this is a minor chord, the sound will be darker.

If you are a beginner, good basic acoustic guitar chords to learn are A-major, A-minor, C-major and D-major. You should try to move back and forth between the acoustic guitar chords as quickly as you can. Practicing quick finger placement is critical.

Learning to play acoustic guitar chords will not happen quickly or easily at first and you will have to keep checking your finger placement. But if you continue to practice, practice, practice, the muscle memory will soon take over and you will be moving freely through all of the acoustic guitar chords. In a short time it will become second nature to you.

Acoustic guitar playing can be more than just good music. To read more about Guitar Cords….Playing Them ….follow here at http://www.acousticguitarguide.net

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Below is a downloadable PDF ebook that contains 50 easy guitar chord charts for beginners.  These charts are easy to read and will help you learn how to play these chords quickly.  With these guitar chords in your arsenal, you will be able to play hundreds of easy acoustic guitar songs.  Learning guitar songs is one of the best ways to  learn all of these basic guitar chords.

===> Follow this link to download the Free Ebook

I also included a list of video demonstrations below on how to play some of the chords included in the free downloadable ebook.

Play each chord slowly making certain that you have a clean sound when you play each note individually. If you don’t get a clean sound you are not pressing down on the strings hard enough, or one of your fingers is touching another string.

This is common so do not get discouraged!

Do not try and master all of these chords all at once. Take on a few at a time and then move on.

Here are the guitar chord video lessons: