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Learning electric guitar requires learning electric guitar chords. What exactly is a chord? According to Webster’s Dictionary, a chord is a combination of three or more tones sounded together in harmony.(1) That is all a chord is, three or more notes or tones sounded together to make a distinct sound that is repeatable and can be multiplied in the form of other chords. The beauty of the electric guitar is that there are so many chords that can be played, yet to really make music, you only need a few. Many times an individual or a band cranks out song after song utilizing the same few guitar chords that you will no doubt learn over the life time of your playing experiences. Here are 5 tips for learning electric guitar chords that should help you understand chording a little better.

Electric Guitar Basics Tip 1- First, before learning chords make sure you know the notes on the modern electric guitar fret board. This is fundamental because each chord is made up of separate notes, and also electric guitar leads utilize the notes of the individual chords being played in order to keep within the same key. Plus, it just helps you to know where you are on the fret board when you are in the middle of a song.

Electric Guitar Basics Tip 2- Learning electric guitar, a person normally learns the basic chords first. These consist of 15 or so basic chords they are A major, A Minor, A7, B7, C Major, C7, D Major, D Minor, D7, E Major, E Minor, E7, F, G and G7. Now for the tip, learn A First, it is the easiest chord to learn and one that you will use quite a bit. It is also the easiest one to finger. After you are comfortable with that, learn the C Major and then the D Major and then G major. These four chords are very basic and will be utilized quite a bit when first learning electric guitar.

Electric Guitar Basics Tip 3- A person just starting out learning electric guitar always has the questions on their mind of how do people put chords together to make songs and how do they learn to play the guitar fast? Again it all goes back to the notes on the modern electric guitar fret board. If you notice in songs, certain chords sound good with other chords. Well that is no mistake. Try strumming G Major, C Major, and D Major in succession one right after the other as you would playing a song and you will notice that these three chords ring together in harmony no matter which way they are played. Now this is very basic and bands such as AC/DC have become millionaires many times over because of these three chords and maybe just a handful of others. Now do you get the point? Actually it is a bit more complicated than that but a discussion of keys and chord theory and the circle of fifths is beyond the scope of this article. Learning to play the guitar fast is not unattainable however it may be more rewarding for you to take your time because playing electric guitar is an art form. Now, learning to play fast on the guitar is another thing, it all starts with your fundamentals and repeating patterns and accuracy and how much time you put into it.

Electric Guitar Basics Tip 4- Learning the basic chords and the positions is one thing, but you must also train your ear. What? Why do I have to train my ear? Well, because playing the guitar is a very loud hobby and you will use your ear as much as you will use your hands. Look, many people do not have the opportunity to learn to read music when learning electric guitar, so they learn by hearing, by ear, just as I learned to play. That does not mean that you should not endeavor to learn how to write or read music properly because even I have learned about quarter notes and half notes so on and so forth. I do however suggest that a new player take the time to explore guitar tablature first and then after getting used to that way of guitar notation then tackle shaped notes.

Electric Guitar Basics Tip 5- Practice, Practice, Practice. The only way you will learn electric guitar for yourself is to play as often and as long as you can. Keep it simple and take the time to learn your finger placements for each chord pattern and don’t rush. Never cut corners especially on proper technique. Learn your first chord to the point that you can play it in the first position or the first four Frets of the neck without even having to look at it, make it instinct. Then move to the next chord and do the same thing, over time your hands and fingers retain the memory of the chord shapes and the positions and you will get to the point where you will just get a “feel” as you are playing for the chords and their movements. After all, a song is really just repetition of the chords and notes that make up the melody. It all starts here at this point for you!

Steve Vai’s For the Love of God adapted for Les Paul by Lele Melo