A chord is two or more notes played together. Learning your first chords opens up hundreds of songs. This lesson teaches the C chord and G7 chord — two of the most important chords in music.
A chord is made when two or more notes are played together at the same time. Chords are named after notes of the musical scale — the C Chord, D Chord, G Chord, and so on. Most chord backings for songs need at least four strings to be played together to create a full, satisfying sound.
Chords are made by playing at least four strings simultaneously. The simplest chords are called 'open chords' because they use open strings alongside fretted notes. The C Chord was among the first chords discovered by guitarists, and it remains one of the most used chords in all styles of music.
Make the C chord like this:
When your fingers are in place, press the back of the neck with your left thumb and play the C chord by brushing your right thumb across the strings with a smooth, quick downward stroke. The right thumb should quickly stroke the strings without digging in — the whole hand and forearm can move with the thumb, and the C chord sounds best if the 6th string is not played.
When you play chords, touch only the strings you need and make sure your fingers are in the right place. If a chord sounds dead or buzzes, check that all your fingers are on the correct frets, that the guitar is not out of tune, and play each string one after the other to find which note is not sounding clearly.
The next chord to learn is called G7 (G SEVEN). It is similar in shape to the C Chord, but the fingers shift position. Make the G7 chord like this:
The C chord and G7 chord are normally found together in many tunes. Practise changing from one to the other. Notice that the 2nd and 3rd fingers are in the same general shape for both chords — only the 1st finger moves over one string.
Work out where your fingers need to go for each chord. Try changing from C to G7. The 2nd and 3rd fingers stay in the same shape but move over one string each. The 1st finger moves to the 5th and 6th strings for G7.
Count slowly and tap your foot. Play C for four beats, then change to G7 for four beats. Do not pause between chords — count through the change as if the bar lines were not there. When you can do this smoothly without hesitating, gradually speed up.
Try to move all your fingers at the same time when changing chords. This is the key to smooth, professional-sounding chord changes. Lightly hold each chord before moving to the next, and check if any fingers stay in the same place — anchor fingers save time and help with smooth changes.
Everything guitarists ask about this topic
The easiest chords to learn first are C, G7, and G major — they use only two or three fingers and appear in hundreds of songs. Once you can change smoothly between C and G7, you will be able to play the chord backing for many popular tunes.
Buzzing chords usually mean one of these problems: a finger is not close enough to the fret it is pressing behind, a finger is accidentally touching an adjacent string, not enough pressure is being applied, or fingernails are too long. Press each string firmly with the fingertip and check each note rings clearly.
With daily practice, most beginners can form clean C and G7 chords within a week or two, and begin changing between them within a month. The change between chords is the real challenge — it requires muscle memory that only comes with repetition. Short daily sessions produce faster results than occasional long ones.
A chord diagram shows the guitar fingerboard from the front. Vertical lines are the strings (thickest on the left), horizontal lines are frets, and dots show where to place each finger. A number inside a dot tells you which finger to use. An X above a string means do not play that string. A circle means play that string open.
The C chord is one of the foundational chords of Western music. It appears in hundreds of songs across pop, folk, rock, and classical styles. It is also the starting point for understanding keys, scales, and music theory on the guitar. Mastering C and its related chords (F, G, Am) unlocks a huge repertoire of music.