Guitar I: First 5 Chords

The first 5 chords are G, C, G7, Em, and D. This video will illustrate those chords and the progression used in the songs, In My Life by the Beatles and When September Ends by Green Day.




The Progression played in the video...

G       D       Em     G7     C       C       G       G
| / / / / | / / / / | / / / / | / / / / | / / / / | / / / / | / / / / | / / / / |

With each chord, please listen and observe these characteristics:

• Clarity- with practice, each note within the chord should ring clearly. If the notes buzz or sound muffled it might be because:
• your thumb is not positioned correctly behind the neck
• Your callouses are still developing on your fingertips
• Your fingers are lying flat and not arching over the strings
• Motion- Once you are happy with the sound of the chords the next challenge is to move smoothly from one to the other
• try to be economical with your hand movement- find the shortest path and move directly without wasted hand or finger movement
• move slowly with your strumming patterns. Only move as fast as your weakest chord change. This will help develop consistency between chords.
• Strumming- The most advanced strums are basically combinations of up and down strokes. When we have trouble with strums it generally is a result of the following:
• keep your wrist relaxed so there is a natural flow on the up and down strokes.
• Try to sync your hand motion with the rise and fall of your tapping foot. This will help you play more consistently in time.
• Say the strumming pattern in your head as you play until it becomes second nature. (syncopated = "down  down-up  up-down-up"), etc.