Guitar Chords For Beginners

Moving beyond guitar chords for beginners is kind of like discovering a secret formula; once you get the process it opens up a whole new world of strumming, solos and leads… find out more…

Almost everything complicated is made up of little pieces that are not that complicated by themselves. It is the same with learning guitar chords, leads, tunes and songs. These bite-sized chunks might be as small as the first 3 notes of a song, but it is a start.

Once you break them down into bite-sized chunks, you can master them. This is great news because it is very easy to play simple guitar, but quite difficult to master it. The secrets of playing guitar can be learned by anyone who is willing to take the time and practice.

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It does not matter if you are learning rock, blues, bluegrass, Celtic, jazz or swing; once you can identify phrases, or sections, you can learn to play just about anything. You may have to begin with just one note, but that is a beginning! I remember trying to learn a really cool solo for the traditional tune John Henry. It was a Dan Crary cd and I was supposed to play along. The only note I got right was the last one!

3 Secrets to learn guitar chords for beginners

1.Learn good strumming/picking hand technique
2.Develop good practice discipline
3.Use a metronome

I first learned the secrets to practice guitar when I wanted to learn a fiddle tune: Cotton Patch Rag. I just loved the sound and cool swinging rhythm and so I decided to learn it. My oh my, was I in for some learning. It sounded fairly straight forward and doable, but when I began I realized I had a lot to learn.

Once I decided to practice instead of fooling around I began making some progress. This was going to require work and effort, I needed to work at it everyday, not just when I got the whim to play. This was my introduction into the secrets to practice guitar.

Then I had to learn the down-up method of picking, which made life a lot easier and carried over into my other playing. Ahhh… this was truly one of the secrets to practice guitar and I had to rewire my brain to do it.

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Use a metronome

A metronome is essential to keep your timing correct. Speeding up and slowing down are two nasty habits that can be corrected by a metronome. As annoying as this might be, it will drill good habits into your head and hands. An alternative is to play along with looped tracks.

Once you can play a section, slow it down gradually until you can’t stand it anymore! How slow is slow? Very slow, like molasses. Then you reverse the process and very gradually speed it up, always taking care to play it right. If you practice it wrong, you will learn it wrong.

Make sure you can sing, hum or whistle the tune
Once you can whistle or sing it, you can play it. If you do not know how it sounds, it will be a mechanical process that may or may not sound like music. Take your time, remember the tortoise and hare!

How To Learn Guitar Chords

You Can Play Guitar - Vol 1 Chords and Chord Progressions

Easy Guitar Chords and Progressions - An Effortless Way To Make Your Songs Sound Great

Take bite-sized chunks to eat

But the main secret to effective guitar practice is to take a tune or riff or lead and break it down into small pieces and play it very slowly and correctly. The key is slowly and correctly. Anybody can get the main idea and turn it into a sloppy rendition of the original, but you should be after exactness, at least until you become proficient.

You can learn chords, leads, runs, rhythm and strumming, fingerstyle, slide guitar and anything else you are interested in. The best way to learn to play fast and clean is to play slow and correctly. Learn it right the first time and save yourself a lot of aggravation later on.

With some practice, you can learn to play like your heroes. Some of my favorites are Norman Blake, Dan Crary, Tony Rice, Doc Watson, Jimi Hendrix, Jorma Kaukonen, Keb Mo and, of course, Eric Clapton!