To start playing songs on your guitar you’ll want to first learn some of the easy guitar chords available to you. Later on you’ll have a chance to add to your repertoire but for now we’re going to stick with the 4 simplest chords available to you.

The holy grail for the beginner guitarist is being able to get their fingers to go to the right place, apply the right amount of pressure and not accidentally touch adjacent strings. No easy task. On top of that learning how to change from one chord to another and in time with the music is usually enough to send guitars flying. Follow these instructions carefully and you will bypass these obstacles.

I don’t think any guitar lesson is complete without applying the theory to a real world example and a practice routine you can use by yourself. We will cover a simple song using just three of the four chords you are about to learn and I will provide a routine for you to add to your daily, or weekly practice schedule that will help solidify this knowledge.

EMaj Open Chord

The open chord E Major uses all of the strings on your guitar, strum from the top down to the bottom E strings. Place your 1st finger at the 1st fret on the G String, your 2nd finger at the 2nd fret on the A String and your 3rd finger at the 2nd fret on the D String. The Root Note is E which is played as the Open Low E String.

GMaj Open Chord

Place your 1st finger on the 2nd string from the top, 2nd fret. Your 2nd finger on the top string 3rd fret, and your 3rd finger on the bottom string on the 3rd fret.

The C Major Open Chord

The open chord C Major uses just 5 of the strings on your guitar, be careful not to use the Low E String when strumming this one. Place your 1st finger at the 1st fret on the B String, your 2nd finger at the 2nd fret on the D String and your 3rd finger at the 3rd fret on the A String. The Root Note is C which is played as the A String fretted at the 3rd fret.

DMaj Open Chord

The open chord D Major uses just the bottom four strings on your guitar, strum from the Open D String down. Place your 1st finger at the 2nd fret on the G String, your 2nd finger at the 2nd fret on the High E String and your 3rd finger at the 3rd fret on the B String. The Root Note is D which is played as the Open D String.

There’s nothing like putting this theory to a real world example. Knocking on Heavens Door by Guns N Roses uses the G, D and C chords above. You will be playing two bars of four beats per bar. On the first two beats play the open chord G Major, followed by two beats on the open chord D Major, and finally four beats of the open chord C Major, returning the start of the first bar with the G Major.

Let me show you a simple practice routine you can add to your practice sessions to improve muscle memory and changing between chords. Use just the 4 chords outlined above, randomize their order for each session, and play each chord in sequence for a count of 4 beats before moving to the next chord. To start with these changes may take you minutes to complete, but before long (usually 2-4 weeks) you’ll be able to move seamlessly from one chord to another.

The key to this practice routine is to change the order of the guitar chords each time you practice it. You might do the same loop for 15 minutes one day, but the next time you come to it try the chords in a different order.

Take these four chords and practice getting your fingers into position, you don’t even need to strum them, I used to sit in front of the TV with my guitar just moving my fingers into different chord positions, when I came to play the next day I noticed my speed and finger strength had already improved.

Master the easy guitar chords for beginners under the watchful eye of Adam Summers. Once you’ve completed this lesson, check out the b chord guitar guitar lesson to understand more about this controversial chord.

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