Guitar Chords

Chords are groups of notes that, when played together, make a pleasant sound. Chords are used to accompany melodies. Each chord is named for its bass note, and is made up of the first (bass note), third, and fifth notes in a scale. The first thing most people want to learn to do on the guitar is to play simple chords.
The first chord we learn is known as the C chord, since it is built on the bass note C.
Try placing the fingers as in the illustration, keeping the following points in mind:
➤Press just behind the fret. If you are too far back the string will buzz against the fret.
➤Keep a slight curve on the fingers—don’t let the joints straighten out or give way. ➤Keep the thumb behind the neck, slightly forward of the first fret. Don’t bend this joint—keep it back.
➤Don’t press too hard. Accuracy is more important than force. ➤When you are ready, sound the chord by sweeping your thumb across the upper five strings.
There is a great pleasure in hearing your first chord when the guitar is in tune and resonant. When you have it right, take the hand away and do it again from scratch. Continue until you can find the chord quite easily.
There is a fair amount of detail involved in the correct placement of the left hand, and good habits formed at this stage will pay off tremendously as you continue. The chord can be shown graphically in various ways. Perhaps the easiest to recognize is the chord block showing part of the guitar fingerboard with round dots representing the fingertips.

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