Tutorial Tips – Making the A Major Chord
Some guitarists actually have a lot of trouble with the A major chord. It looks like it should be easy enough, but that’s exactly where the problem lies.
Learn About Guitar Chords
Learning about guitar chords, how they are made, what notes they contain and why you should learn the notes is an important step for beginners. As you move beyond the beginner level you’ll want to improve at changing chords smoothly and start making barre chords without too much fuss. Check out our handy guitar chord dictionary for help with the most common guitar chords.
Barre Chords (Part 2 – Shapes)
Knowing four simple basic chords allows you to play forty-eight barre chords. This article teaches you to play two versions of any basic chord you know.
Barre Chords (Part 1 – Forming and Playing)
Learn how to play barre chords by taking them one step at a time. David Hodge walks you through playing your first barre chord making them as easy as possible.
Diatonic Chords
Diatonic Chords are chords formed using only the notes in a single major scale. Knowing the diatonic chords of whatever key in which you’re playing a song can help you in more ways than you might dream possible!
“SUS” (suspended) Chords
Suspended chords, or “sus chords” for short, such as Dsus4, Asus2 or just Gsus, can be a guitarist’s best friend. These easy-to-play chords can make your strumming a lot more interesting.
Tip: Harmonizing a Melody
Putting chords to a melody is one of the most rewarding aspects of making music. Even if you can’t play chords on your guitar, you still can play arpeggios.
Tip: A Helpful Chart
If you’re more comfortable thinking with fret numbers than note names, the chart in this tip will help. Use it the next time you learn a tune’s chords from sheet music.
Tip: Learning Root Movements in a Chord Progression
When you learn a chord progression, try doing so in a way that helps you understand and apply it effectively, and helps you understand better how music works. That way involves learning the root movements between the chords.
