The School of Feedback Guitar Blog

Picking up a guitar and starting from scratch is hard. One of the first challenges someone faces is to learn how to play a chord clearly. For example, the third, or ring, finger, it can be a little bit lazy and touch the string below it. Like for instance if you were playing a E Major, the 3rd finger could be touching that G string below it, and thus muddle the most important note of the chord.

One goal that every beginning guitarist could aspire to is to make every note last at least five seconds. What helps this process is refusing to be on the pads of the fingers. It's more about being on the fingertips. I have found that 95% of people I tell this to, in private lessons, warm up to the idea. Being on your fingertips works simply because there is less margin for error. Smaller area to muddle around with, too.

UPDATE: 12-18-09'

Each string should have sound for at least five seconds, just like the video below.

This blog entry's purpose is to describe and clear up any confusion surrounding how guitarists commonly name chords. If you have ever been confused about why "C" and "C Major" are the same exact chord, this entry is for you. I'm using the root note "C" throughout this post. Sometimes there are fingering differences because of the root note. "E Flat Major" for example is easiest to finger as a barre chord, and an open E Flat Major is difficult, though not impossible, to have as an open chord. This post is also a bit technical, so you have been warned if details like this bore you.

One final thing to take notice of:  Any "X" that you see on the chord chart means that if you can help it, try not to play that string.

Major Chords

In guitar, "C" and "C Major" always mean the same thing. "C" means that you can play a "C Major," and vice-versa. Choose whichever way to play this you like, but the most common way to play a "C" looks like this:

There is one other thing worth mentioning. If someone asks you to play a "C Chord," as opposed to a C or C major, they are basically hinting for you to play an open, or non-barred, C Major chord. This is exactly like the chord above. However, when someone wants you to play a barre chord, chances are they will be far more descriptive. For example, a "C Major Barre Chord" could mean this:

Do you remember how "C" and "C Major" are interchangeable? It's the same with barre chords. If someone says "C Barre Chord," I think you can safely assume that someone wants you to play a "C Major Barre Chord."

Minor Chords and Power Chords

If someone asks you to play a "C Minor" or a "C Minor Chord," it means only one thing: Play a C Minor chord any way that you can, barre or not. Minor chords are a little more exclusive than major chords. They are just a tad bit more rare on the guitar because there are more common open chords that are major. It's hard to play a "C Minor Chord" without playing the barre. Honestly, I just get the job done any way I can:

Power chords are the same as barres; A guitarist will normally ask you to play a power chord, specifically.

Upon further reflection, I think using MS Paint probably wasn't the best idea to make these diagrams. I think I am going to resolve to make these on Illustrator next time. Oh well. DiY Forevs!