Guitar Pickers Help Part II

[Buckfever]

I am playing an acoustic.
I have learned, and I can remember these chords so far:

A
A7
G
C
D
D7
E
Now working on F

The chords are clear, and dang my finger tips are getting tough and are kindof sore, and numb at the same time.

What chords now? Do I need the minors now? What minors if so? What others to play along with Tabs? What else do I need to work on now?

I am practicing changing from one chord to the other right now. It takes a bit but memory is helping me to do it smoother all the time.

I am digging this.

Dave in Denton

[boss bowman]

F is a tough cord for a beginner, to be honest I haven't used it much. What genre are you focusing on, country, rock? If county learning cords is the was to go, if you want to play rock or metal or are interested in lead guitar you need to start practicing scales, the blues and pentonic scale in particular. I have always used tabs but would recommend trying to learn by ear (which I have never been able to do) it will definitely make you a better musician.

[Rickzilla4645]

Try these

Am, Em, B, Bm, and next the barre chords.....easy just takes practice...barre (press all strings down)with your index finger now finger an E with your middle ring and pinky right in front of your index finger....you are strokin now...metal gods beware...just kidding... maybe I'll see you out at the grasslands for the extreme hunt and I'll show you..piece of cake ..Rick

[John_b]

E minor & A minor are easy to learn. You only use 2 fingers with E minor. You
will have to learn B minor sooner or later. it pops up in a lot of songs. B major
is a tough one to learn as well as B minor. You can play a B easier using a bar chord but this takes time to learn to stretch 2 fingers across the fret board. Practice,practice,practice. Most songs are only 3 chords, some might have a minor chord in the chorus or leading up to the chorus.
This is interesting to know- most songs are 3 chords using the 1-4-5 progression. The progression goes like this, if you song is in the key of A (starts with an A chord) the other 2 chords should be D (#4) & E(#5). I will count this out for you- #1 is A #2 is B #3 Is C #4 is D & # 5 is E. The chords only go up to G then you start back at A. If song starts in D (#1) the second chord is G (#4) & A (#5).remember that the chords end with G and starts back with A. Count would be D#1 E#2 F#3 G#4 & A#5. 1-4-5 = D,G and A. I
hope this music lesson will help you understand thing a little better. Good luck and DON'T QUIT! Guitar players wave a magic wand that captivates people.

[ScottyK79]

Start learning your leads with those chords as well, it will hwlp you in the long run to be able to play with 2 guitars.

[Richard M.]

I hate the B chord!

[Dugie]

Learn "House of the rising sun" it has a lot of those chords in it....helps with the changes....

also keep playing your callouses will form soon, then you can play for hours with out pain or blood.....

[GWHunter]

Cadd9 and your barr chords and youll be on your way!

[Buckfever]

Thank you all.

John you lost me at the 1-4-5 Progression!! I read that and my ADD kicked in, and everything after read like------------. Made my head swim. Seriously, it takes me a while to get something, but I retain it forever. It just takes a while to wrap my mind around it. I am 38 by the way.

It seems like all these chords that I am learning are pretty much all on the first 3 frets. But I see people play chords closer to the face and the strumming hand. Do the chords move around to accomodate higher or lower tones or are there other chords that I will be learning further down the neck.

Seriously, I am learning from scratch and seem to be picking it up, but I have 1,000 questions, and no money for proper lessons. I am basically printing out info off of the web, and just stumbling through it.

Thanks for your patience with stupid questions.

Dave in Denton

[tinman]

John you lost me at the 1-4-5 Progression!!

Here's a G scale...
G - A - B - C - D - E - F - G
1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8

The 1-4-5 progression (in G) is basically a song that uses these chords - 1-G to 4-C to 5-D and the back to 1-G in one of many different patterns. It's the basic fundamental of most blues songs and a bunch of country and rock tunes as well.

I give it to you in G because that is a very common structure for acoustic songs but you can use it with any key.

Key of E would use, E-A-B...the Key of A, A-D-E and so on.\

Find a song that you have a CD of that strums easy, pull the TAB for it and try to play along. This is a good step in between learning chords and actually playing songs.

Keep having fun with it!...and thanks for making me knock the dust off my dobro last night with your thread

[Bluesman]

A, D, E
B, E, F#
C, F, G
D, G, A
E, A, B
F, B flat, C
G, C, D
Above chords are the major chords. The first letter in a row is the root chord. Simple songs written in the key of C will consist of 3 major chords, C, F, and G. A majority of tunes will consist of 3 major chords.
So, if you learn all of the chords above in the first position (first 4 frets) on the guitar neck it’s time to learn the variants of each chord. Minors, 7ths, and Major 7ths are handy. A lot of blues songs are full of 9ths and 6ths.
If you find it easier to stay with the finger positions you first learned you can use a capo. Using the finger position for a C chord with the capo on the second fret will give you a D chord. In that way you use the C, F, and G finger positions to play D, G, and A chords. Presto! You’re playing in the key of D.
Once you figure out what the capo is actually doing the bar chords might be easier to understand. Basically the capo is replaced with your index finger, the other 3 fingers assume the positions originally taken in the basic 1st position chord. You are just learning to play the same basic chord with different fingers and in another position on the neck.
Another thing that will help is to understand Whole and Half steps. There are 7 root notes A, B, C, D, E, F, and G then A again. The distance between these notes in terms of frets on a guitar is fairly simple. B&C, E&F are only a one fret difference and are half steps. Everything else is 2 frets or whole steps. The notes on the fret between whole steps are known as either flat or sharp. This is why the capo example works and allows you to use the C chord finger position and play the D chord. The capo on the second fret changed the tuning of the guitar by a whole step or 2 frets. You went from C to D.
I either help or kill.

[Bluesman]

Here's a 1, 4, 5 Chord Progression Chart:

[Buglemintoday]

Just stick with it and you will get it!

I think my most hated chord is B. But I've gottem all down

[buzzcut]

A cool song to play(and easy) is Bob Dylan's "Knocking on Heaven's Door". Start off with G,then to D,then A minor.Just keeps repeating.Simple song but sounds great!

[Buckfever]

I am stupid. I cannot comprehend music theory and chord progression, and it ****** me off.

If a moron like Slash from GNR, or some of these other rock star clowns can learn it, why can't I?

I have printed off what you guys have written, and have been looking at all the major, minor, dimininished, flat, and sharp notes, and I just dont get it.

It may as well be written in friggin Korean.

I can remember the chords and where to put my fingers on the strings, but I am stuck there. I have rythem, I can strum. I hate not getting something.

I am just venting. This is how I am while learning anything, and how it is with the way my brain is wired. You should have seen me learning Spanish. Conjegating verbs was a *****.

Dave in Denton