In music, patterns are a fairly common occurrence that brings some “order” to something that otherwise might seem pretty complicated! The CAGED System is no different and can be quite the resource for familiarizing yourself with chord shapes and how notes on the fretboard relate to one another. Let’s dive in! The CAGED System in
The Cm7 guitar chord, like all minor seventh chords, has that beautiful jazzy sound. It’s not to say that minor seventh chords are only present in jazz although you’ll find them there a lot. They just fit in with jazz so well. But you’ll find them in pop, rock, blues, etc. Any time a little
Personally, I like the key of E. I like the chords in it and it’s a comfortable key for me to sing in. If you’re a beginner, some of the chords may be a little harder, but there are plenty of ways to play chords that may be easier. In any case, it’s nothing that
Transposing chords is a necessary skill to accommodate a singer’s vocal range. Especially on the fly. We can’t always get the music printed in a different key and it’s not always appropriate to use your phone, tablet, or laptop. So while it’s all good to use the transpose buttons on Ultimate Guitar or one of
Bookmark this guitar chord chart page as you will probably find it very handy. Here we have detailed guitar chord charts of all major guitar chords including power chords, major chords, minor chords, sus2 chords, sus4 chords, major 7th, minor 7th, diminished 7th, add9 chords, add11 chords, augmented chords, diminished chords and more. What are
Ah, the C7 chord. It’s full of tension, but in a beautiful way. It’s jazzy, but it fits into the blues, rock, pop, and so many other genres. This chord, like all other dominant seventh chords, is versatile and injects flavor into chord progressions that have become a little stale. It’s true, the C7 guitar
The Dm7 guitar chord is one of those that I feel is gentle with a jazzy flavor. Of course, as with all seventh chords, D minor seventh is used to introduce some tension, add some spice to the mix, and works well in turnarounds. Sounds a bit contradictory to my earlier impression of it being
So many songs are written in major keys, especially in pop music. So when you hear one in a minor key, it’s quite noticeable. Even if you don’t know exactly what it is, you can just hear and feel that there’s something different. Often these songs in a minor key are some of the most
I quite like the C#m guitar chord. Minor chords by nature typically sound sad or poignant, but I feel that C#m sounds hopeful at the same time. In fact, depending on the chord progression, I don’t find it sad sounding. As complicated as the name, C sharp minor, sounds, it’s not actually that complicated to
The F#m chord, pronounced F sharp minor, seems like an intimidating chord at first glance, especially if you’ve just mastered the more simply named major and minor chords. But believe it or not, chords with accidentals (# and ♭) can be played in a variety of ways. Some of these versions are actually quite simple
Learning guitar is exciting and fun. But it can also be confusing and frustrating, especially if you’re trying to play chords or riffs above your skill level. If you’re learning on your own, it can also be hard to know where to get started. And of course, it’s all good and well to learn chords,
The Bm chord is one of those chords that I found a little daunting in the beginning. At the time, I only knew of the open chord and the barre chord in the seventh fret. When I first learned how to play barre chords, I could play only in barre chords and only in open
As a beginner guitarist, I had this impression that any chord that had a number tacked onto the back of it was hard. To be fair, they can be. But many of them are actually quite easy to play, as is the case with Am7. The beauty about the guitar is that you can get
A chord is a group of notes that are played simultaneously. These chords make an integral part of the songs. The chords make up one of the three integral parts of any music called Harmony, the other two being Melody and Rhythm. Any and all types of music contain these three components in various amounts
As Axis of Awesome’s “Four-Chord Song” proves, you can play (almost) any popular guitar song with only a handful of major and minor chords. But what if you want to break out of the G-C-D-Em rut? Shake up a tired chord progression? Learn something new? This is when sus chords come in handy. Sus chords
Power chords are the key to unlocking many iconic guitar songs across genres and decades –– from Buddy Holly to Black Sabbath to Blink-182. The best part is, they’re not even that hard to play. They’re nowhere near as finger-cramping as barre chords. They’re even easier to fret than some open chords (looking at you,
Triads are some of the simplest chords that you can play on your guitar. The shapes are generally pretty easy, and as long as you aren’t playing any open strings, the basic shapes can be moved all over the neck to play different guitar chords of the same quality. Knowing where to find them on
You’re able to play barre chords, you might’ve tried experimenting with your finger positioning, moving frets or taking fingers off. If you have, you’ll have found that the sound of the chord changes drastically with even small changes, unlocking a whole new dimension to your playing and to the chords that you choose to use
Spanish guitar, or more commonly known as ‘flamenco’ guitar, is a unique style of playing using a nylon-strung guitar, which is usually a specialized flamenco instrument. The flamenco style of playing utilizes percussive strumming and fingerpicking technique, with an emphasis in fingerstyle plucking and ‘raking’. It is often high energy playing, accompanied traditionally by a
I bet you’ve heard “Girl from Ipanema” by Sergio Mendes at least once in your life. It’s one of the most popular Bossa Nova songs ever, and Bossa Nova is a beautiful Brazilian version of American Jazz. Little did you know Girl From Ipanema is the second most played and covered song in the world
A lot of chords you’ll hear and play are diatonic, meaning they’re mostly going to sound ‘good’. However, eventually you’re going to want to add a bit of interest to what you’re playing by adding some non-diatonic notes into interesting places. In this important guide, I’ll talk you through the process of adding dissonance to
A lot of times I find guitar players running from one fretboard end to another just to play the major chords for a particular song while breaking unnecessary sweat. These can sometimes hamper the smooth transition as you move from one chord to the other. The chords will also sound unprofessional as you tend to
Jazz involves a lot of improvisation, which can be intimidating as a new guitar student. How do you improvise if you don’t know how chord progressions work? Can you play songs that have absolutely no structure when you’re new? Guitar sets and performances don’t always follow a strict progression. Instead, jazz musicians tend to use
Extended chords were probably not among the first chords you learned when you initially picked up the guitar. Unfortunately, most beginner guitarists master just their open chords and basic barre chord shapes without progressing through to more harmonically interesting altered chords. That’s a real shame — extended chords are some of the most unique and
Having already looked at ‘open’ chords and their simple shapes, it’s time to move towards some harder to grasp, rarer chords that are known as the ‘black notes’ on a piano. In this important guide, I’ll be taking you through a huge number of variants of the A#/Bb chord: If you’re looking for a place
Any budding guitarist with an interest in playing jazz quickly hears about the fabled ii-V-I sequence. This humble three-chord progression is the foundation of most of jazz music, in the same way that the I-IV-V forms the basis of blues and rock. But while beginner and intermediate guitarists can master blues improvisation relatively easily —
Writing music offers a window into the soul. Artists across generations bare their souls with musical progressions, finding beauty in catharsis. There’s even evidence that suggests that playing an instrument helps us develop our motor and memory skills. Writing music offers a type of self-expression that’s seldom matched. But getting started can be overwhelming. If
DADGAD chords on the DADGAD tuning are very helpful to master as you strive to become a better guitar player. Playing the guitar doesn’t have to be limited to standard tuning. EADGBE is great because it allows you to play in multiple different keys relatively easily. However, if you don’t mind being somewhat ‘stuck’ in
Having already looked at ‘open’ chords and their simple shapes, it’s time to move towards some harder to grasp, rarer chords that are known as the ‘black notes’ on a piano. In this important guide, I’ll be taking you through a huge number of variants of the G#/Ab chord: If you’re looking for a place
Having already looked at ‘open’ chords and their simple shapes, it’s time to move towards some harder to grasp, rarer chords that are known as the ‘black notes’ on a piano. In this important guide, I’ll be taking you through a huge number of variants of the F#/Gb chord: If you’re looking for a place
Having already looked at ‘open’ chords and their simple shapes, it’s time to move towards some harder to grasp, rarer chords that are known as the ‘black notes’ on a piano. In this important guide, I’ll be taking you through a huge number of variants of the D#/Eb chord: If you’re looking for a place
Having already looked at ‘open’ chords and their simple shapes, it’s time to move towards some harder to grasp, rarer chords that are known as the ‘black notes’ on a piano. In this important guide, I’ll be taking you through a huge number of variants of the C#/Db chord: If you’re looking for a place
There are a lot of chords you’ll come across while learning guitar, but few of them will crop as much as a simple D chord. We’ve done a lot of guides to how to approach playing chords through various techniques, and many different variations on these basic shapes. In this important guide, I’ll be taking
There are a lot of chords you’ll come across while learning guitar, but few of them will crop as much as a simple A chord. We’ve done a lot of guides to how to approach playing chords through various techniques, and many different variations on these basic shapes. In this important guide, I’ll be taking
There are a lot of chords you’ll come across while learning guitar, but few of them will crop as much as a simple E chord. We’ve done a lot of guides to how to approach playing chords through various techniques, and many different variations on these basic shapes. In this important guide, I’ll be taking
There are a lot of chords you’ll come across while learning guitar, but few of them will crop as much as a simple G chord. We’ve done a lot of guides to how to approach playing chords through various techniques, and many different variations on these basic shapes. Maybe start by having a look at
Depending on why you’re learning the guitar, playing chords may just be the most important first step you can take. They are the basis of almost every song, and in most cases, they are the key way to make your own versions of tunes immediately recognisable. In this important guide you will learn: What
From the moment you take the guitar for the first time in your hands, teachers, courses and basic books are teaching you how to use chords. Sound pieces composed of several notes that generate a specific sound, commonly used for rhythmic musical tracks or bases. But, every good musician should know sooner or later where
The B chords are chords that have their sound root in the B note and assure you have already noticed. They tend to be the hardest chords to master when you venture into the world of the guitar for the first time, but you can learn to play guitar more fluently in 7 days. As