Having Guitar Chord Lessons? Think About This

Learning to play chords on the guitar leads to a lot of frustration in many beginners

, especially for those who are unfamiliar with the correct way of pressing the strings and how to position the fingers. Although anger and cursing are usually present in this stage in the process of learning to play the guitar, it is important that students go through it to get to the more advanced and rewarding stages of the instruction.

Guitar chords are widely available in songbooks and other printed materials, as well as in various sites on the web. Guitar chords are shown as rectangular images with number notations on them. These rectangles are illustrations of the frets (the long straight board attached to the curved guitar body).

The rectangles are divided into several horizontal parts to show the divisions on the fret board, as well as five vertical divisions illustrating the six guitar strings with the thickest, lowest-sounding string on the left. .

The chords usually show the top of the fret board and include black dots on the strings indicating where the fingers should be pressing the strings to make sound. Numbers on the black dots or given at the bottom of the chords indicate which finger should be pressing the strings, with 1 as the index finger, 2 as middle finger, 3 as the ring finger and 4 as the pinky finger.

The letter X, a circle outline or the number zero indicates that the string is open or that no finger should be pressing on it. There are also notations in many chords where there is an arrow that runs across more than one string end and ending on a black dot; this means that the strings should be pressed by the indicated finger (some players press the strings with two fingers to give a firmer pressure and a better sound).

Some chords, usually for advanced players, indicate that the rectangular image does not start at the topmost fret. This is usually indicated by a number or a Roman numeral on the left side of the chord.

Here are some tips from experienced instructors on to make guitar chord lessons easier for students:

1. Learn easy chords such as G, A, D or E to practice changing from one chord to another. Practicing transitions are one of the best ways to learn chords but using difficult chords might make you frustrated and give up.

2. Ask experienced players or research on the Internet on techniques to make playing easier and faster.

Guitar chord lessons are an essential part of learning to play the guitar, and a necessary challenge which can lead to a more rewarding goal.

Having Guitar Chord Lessons? Think About This

By: Ewen Chia

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