Some tunes need two chords, but most music needs at least three. This lesson adds four essential chords to your vocabulary — F, Am, Dm, and E7 — and explains the important difference between major and minor chords.
The F Chord is important because it is a step towards more advanced guitar playing. Two strings are pressed at the same time by the 1st finger for this chord — exactly like the f and c notes you played together earlier.
Make the F chord like this:
The x marks over the 5th and 6th strings in the chord diagram mean these strings should not be played with the F chord. Play starting from the 4th string downward. Practise the F chord a little every time you play — at first you may not always get a clear sound, but keep trying and before long you will be able to play it.
The F chord and C chord are often found together. When changing from C to F: put fingers in place for C, then relax them, twist the hand slightly so the 1st finger presses flat across both strings 1 and 2, and move the 2nd and 3rd fingers to strings 3 and 4. To return to C, relax and twist back.
The chords you have learned so far — C, F, G7 — are all called Major Chords. Major chords are usually known by the note name only: C Major is just written as C. There is another completely different set of chords called Minor Chords. Minor chords sound slightly different — they often have a sadder or more emotional feeling, but they can also be exciting depending on how they are used in a piece of music.
Minor chords are marked with a small m after the note name. A Minor is written Am. D Minor is Dm. You will often find minor chords mixed with major chords — this is what gives music its variety and feeling.
Make Am like this:
Make Dm like this:
The 6th string should not be played with the D Minor chord because it will not sound correct.
The E7 chord is often found with Am and Dm chords. It is similar to Am and Dm — make it like this:
E7 and Am are similar shapes, but E7 uses one less finger. When changing from Am to E7: keep the 1st and 2nd fingers in the same general shape, but shift them over one string each.
When you can play all of these chord sequences smoothly, you will know how to make the chord changes for hundreds of tunes: C / F / | C / G7 / | C / F / | G7 / C / — and with minor chords: C / Am / | Dm / G7 / | C / Dm / | G7 / C /
Everything guitarists ask about this topic
Major chords tend to sound bright, happy, or resolved. Minor chords tend to sound darker, sadder, or more emotionally complex. The difference comes from one note — the third note of the chord. Lowering the third by one semitone changes a major chord to a minor chord. On guitar, this usually means just moving one finger slightly.
The F chord requires the 1st finger to press flat across two strings simultaneously at the 1st fret, while the 2nd and 3rd fingers form the rest of the shape. The 1st fret has the highest string tension on the guitar, making it physically harder to press. Most beginners find F difficult at first but master it within a few weeks of daily practice.
Hundreds of folk, pop, and rock songs use the Am, Dm, E7 combination — sometimes called the Am cycle or Spanish progression. These chords appear in songs like The House of the Rising Sun (Am C D F), Scarborough Fair, and many Spanish-style guitar pieces. The progression Am / Dm / E7 / Am is one of the most recognised sequences in music.
The key to a smooth C to F change is keeping the 2nd and 3rd fingers in the same relative shape while the 1st finger flattens across strings 1 and 2. Practise the change very slowly, moving all fingers simultaneously. The 2nd finger moves from string 4 to string 3, and the 3rd finger moves from string 5 to string 4.
The essential beginner chords are: C, G, G7, F, Am, Dm, and E7. These seven open chords allow you to play the chord backing for a huge number of songs in the keys of C, F, G, Am, and related keys. Master these before moving on to barre chords or more advanced shapes.