First Guitar Chords You NEED TO KNOW to Learn Songs on Guitar TODAY!
These easy guitar chords for beginners are the 4 most important chords you must know!
Learn songs on guitar RIGHT AWAY with the 4 easiest absolute beginner guitar chords are the first shapes I teach my beginner guitar students on their first lesson. You’ll play thousands of songs with just 4 easy chord shapes and the “2 finger” trick.
Ready to make steady progress on guitar?
The GoodGuitarist Academy gives you five step-by-step courses, in the right order, so you always know what to practise next—and can confidently play more of the songs you love.
Songs using these 4 beginner guitar chords:
Wonderful Tonight – Eric Clapton
Zombie – The Cranberries: Coming soon!
Sweet Home Alabama – Lynyrd Skynyrd
Wagon Wheel
Perfect – Ed Sheeran
Brown Eyed Girl – Van Morrison
Viva La Vida – Coldplay
Little Talks
Save Tonight
Good Riddance Time of Your Life – Green Day
Hey Ya – Outkast
Wonderwall – Oasis
Hey Soul Sister – Train
I’m Yours – Jason Mraz
No Woman No Cry – Bob Marley
Fast Car – Tracy Chapman
Despacito
Stand By Me – Ben E. King
You Belong With Me – Taylor Swift
Country Roads – John Denver
When I Come Around – Green Day
Get the Worksheet That Goes With This Lesson!
Academy Members can download it instantly and follow along step-by-step.
We begin with the core of this entire progression. We need to place our 3rd and 4th fingers on the top 2 strings at the 3rd fret. They will stay there for every single chord shape and provide you a “pivot point” that will make switching as easy as possible.
Next we add our first finger, and play the D chord easily. This is followed by the G chord, which uses our middle finger. With 2 shapes, we can practice switching, which is really the essential skill you need to play rhythm guitar. It only takes these 2 shapes, and we can already play a full song (What I Got by Sublime).
We repeat the process for the Em and C chords, practicing the switch between each shape and then putting our entire progression together. We practice switching gradually and add simple rhythm, followed by a useful strumming pattern.
With just those 4 shapes and a simple pattern, you are ready to play TONS of hit songs. We go over a few simple ones before concluding the lesson.
Enjoy!
-James
Build the skills to play more songs with confidence.
The Academy gives adult learners a clear path from the basics to complete guitar playing. Each course builds on the last, so you always know what to practise next and can feel yourself making steady progress.
- 1. Learn Guitar Once and For All
- 2. Fingerstyle: Beginner to Advanced
- 3. The Complete Lead Guitarist
- 4. Barre Chords Made Easy
- 5. Music Theory 101
“By chapter two, I feel like I’m playing guitar.”
Charlotte — Academy member
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