Este artigo é escrito por um amigo meu de Wuppertal (Alemanha) que frequenta o mesmo curso de Professor de Música de Elite que eu.
Get started playing guitar with open chords
If you are new to playing guitar, open chords are the best way to get you started playing your first songs, since they are the easiest chords to play on guitar.
The name open chord derives from strings ringing 'open', which is very good news for you. Why? Because when strings ring 'open' that means for you, that you don't have to fret them with your left hand. All you need to do is to strum them with your right hand, so less work for your left hand!
There are two types of open chords: Major chords and minor chords. Major chords usually bring a happy, bright and joyous sound with them. Minor chords instead are known for being darker and softer and are used in many songs for expressing melancholic and sad emotions.
So let's get right in the meat of how to play this chords!
Major chords
First we take a look at the major chords. There are five basic shapes of open major chords
which I am going to introduce to you now: A major, C major, D major, E major and G major.
I am going to explain how to play these chords to you by using chord charts. Chord charts are a visual aid, displaying your guitar neck. On the left side of the chart is the nut of your guitar, with the following vertical lines marking your frets.
The horizontal lines are equivalent to your guitar strings, with the line on the bottom being your lowest sounding string and the line on the top being your highest sounding string.
The circles (o) on the left of your nut are marking an open ringing string. You are going to hit that string when strumming the chord, without fretting it with your left hand (as we have dicussed before).
If there is a symbol X on the left side of your nut, you are NOT hitting this string when strumming the chord, just leave that string out.
The black dots are the frets you are going to hit with the fingers of your left hand when playing the chord. The numbers in the circle are telling you which finger to use when fretting the notes:
1 = Index finger
2 = middle finger
3 = ring finger
4 = Pinky
A Major:
For the A major chord, you are fretting the 4th string with your index finger on the 2nd fret, the 3rd string with your middle finger on the 2nd fret and the 2nd string with your ring finger on the 2nd fret. The 1st string and the 5th string are ringing open, you are not playing the 6th string:
C Major:
For the C major chord, you are fretting the 5th string with your ring finger on the 3rd fret, the 4th string with your middle finger on the 2nd fret and the 2nd string with your index finger on the first fret. The 1st and 3rd string ring open. You are not playing the 6th string:
I'm sure you understood the concept now of reading chord charts, so go ahead and figure the following major chords out on your own, by using the principles we have discussed:
D Major:
E Major:
G major:
Minor chords
Reading and playing minor chords works exactly the same as it does for major chords. So here are the basic minor chord shapes you have to know:
A minor:
D minor:
E minor:
I hope you got value out of the article and can use the information for your playing.
About the author
Marco von Baumbach is a guitar teacher at Gitarrenunterricht in Wuppertal which is based in Wuppertal, Germany.