Learn Guitar Chord Structure Easily

By Fretcam.com http://www.fretcam.com

Learn Guitar Chord Structure Easily

Simple Instructions to Learn Chord Structure Easily

A technical knowledge of harmony is not an absolute prerequisite to the enjoyment of music, but the amateur musician and listener alike should be aware of harmony as an element of guitar chord structure. He should be cognizant of certain basic principles, properties and uses of this element.

Harmony as an element is more sophisticated than rhythm and melody. It is virtually non-existent in primitive cultures. Moreover, it is an element which appeared comparatively late in the history of music, and which was developed primarily in western civilization.

Harmony is a musical element based on the simultaneous combination of musical tones (as distinguished from the consecutive tones of a melody), or the accompaniment of a melody by chords.

A combination of three or more tones played simultaneously and perceived as sounding as a whole is called a chord.

Learn Guitar Chord Structure Easily

A few rudimentary principles will help you understand the nature of conventional chord construction. The simplest chord is the major triad, which consists of three tones. We can build a triad by selecting the tonic of a certain major scale and by adding two or more tones above it on alternate degrees of the said scale. For example, if we start with the tone C as do, the tonic of the C-major scale, we get the triad do-mi-sol, 1-3-5, or using the letter names C-E-G.

The tones of any chord maybe arranged in different order, and they maybe duplicated an octave above or below without changing the essential nature of the chord. This is the reason why oftentimes we see chords such as C/E, (the first inversion of the C major triad using the chord tone E as the bass) or C/G (the second inversion of the same triad using the chord tone G as the bass)

Building chords in thirds (on alternate scale degrees as described) was the basis of all conventional harmony from 1700-1900.

Learn Guitar Chord Structure Easily

In the twentieth century serious music composers have expanded chord vocabulary by additional means of construction for the sake of more colorful and complex effects. Although additional means of construction have been introduced, modern pop, rock and jazz music still follow the conventional way of chord construction by thirds.

Going back to the major chord, you may be wondering why there are lots of fingering for a certain major chord. This is possible because in the 12 frets of the guitar, the notes simply repeat themselves in increasing octaves, at their corresponding string. C, for example, is on the first fret at the B string, third fret at the A string, fifth fret at the G string, and on the eighth fret at the E strings. As reference, here are the other notes and their possible fingerings:

D: 3rd fret at B, 5th fret at A, 7th at G and 10th at E;

E: 2nd at D, 5th at B, 7th at A, 9th at G and 12th at E;

F: 1st at E, 3rd at D, 6th sy B, 8th sy S snf 10th at G;

Learn Guitar Chord Structure Easily

G: 3rd at E, 5th at D, 8th at B, 10th at A and 12th at G;

A: 2nd at G, 5th at E, 7th at D, 10th at B and 12th at A;

and B: 2nd at A, 4th at G, 7th at E, 9th at D and 12th at B.

So depending on how the melody of the song is arranged, the chord formation can assume any fingering position as long as the triad is formed and however it is conveniently played.

Now that you have an understanding of the major chord, let us investigate its parallel counterpart the minor chord. If the third of the major triad is altered by lowering it to one semitone (one fret on the guitar and two frets for each whole tone), the resulting triad will be C-Eflat-G, which is the minor triad.

Check the fret board and investigate all the possible fingerings, for the minor chord. You may see that if comparing it with the major chord fingerings, only one string is lowered when forming the minor chord, unless there is a doubling of the minor third (Eflat).

Learn Guitar Chord Structure Easily

If ever you are wondering why all the examples mentioned here are on the C chord, well, it now your turn to apply the lesson here. Chart down the major and minor chord triads for the rest of the notes and start strummin!

How to practice changing chords Practical Guide to Practice Changing Chords

How quickly can your fretting hand switch from one chord to another? The speed and confidence one has in doing chord changes will be the key to further mastering the guitar and successfully playing and creating music for the instrument.

The key to learning any instrument, like most intricate human activity, is to develop brain and muscle coordination, more commonly called, the muscle memory needed to play the instrument. If you picture a basketball player, for instance, the key to a good shooting performance is the proper handto-eye coordination in order to bring the ball up, prepare, aim, and throw it towards the hoop. The different muscles of

Learn Guitar Chord Structure Easily

the arms, wrist and hands will learn the right movements and strength needed to score. Constant practice will condition the brain, eyes and entire body to know the routine of shooting the ball.

This is similar to guitar playing. The muscles involved would be the arms, wrists and the fingers, with the eyes, ears and brain working in unison to relate the movements to the music being read and the notes produced by the guitar. This is the mechanism that works when a guitar player starts to change chords.

Luckily, there are simple techniques that can help the beginning guitar player to develop these muscle memories and ear training for proper chord changes. Read on below and you will see that chord changes are not that difficult to do.

When changing chords, first memorize all the chords involved in the song. Then visualize exactly which fingers of the fretting hand are involved in playing the chords. When playing simple barre chords, the most important finger is the

Learn Guitar Chord Structure Easily

index finger, which will squeeze all 6 strings across the fretboard. So as you move towards playing the chord, you have to position the index finger across the proper fret, or place, along the fretboard before positioning the other fingers of the chord. When playing a broken or simple chord, it is usually the index finger that is the most important finger. Primarily, the index finger and the thumb will form a stable anchor on the guitar neck in order for the other fingers to press the other strings of the chord. The index finger is usually played on the lowest fret and the highest string (by pitch, or string 1), where it could more easily find the proper note, and the other fingers can follow to complete the chord.

When playing a particular song, keep time with the music, but anticipate in which bar and on which beat the next chord will continue. For beginners, it would be safe to practice the entire song slowly from beginning to end, taking care to change to each chord on time and on tempo.

When the student can play the entire song like this without chord errors, he can start increasing the speed to the songs

Learn Guitar Chord Structure Easily

proper tempo. It would also be helpful to identify particularly tricky chord changes.

For instance, 2 consecutive bar graphs would be a relatively simple change, because the guitar player needs only to slide his index finger (which is already in the barre position) to its proper position on the fretboard and quickly press in the other strings of the chord.

Changes from simple chords to barre chords and vice versa and chords that are positioned at a far distance from each other along the length of the neck would be more difficult to do. Isolate these difficult changes and practice the chord changes.

If it is still to difficult with the slow tempo, dont play the last beat of the last chord and use the time to move your fret hand into position for the next fret. Keep practicing these changes until the short passage can be played without error.

Afterwards, go back to playing the entire song as discussed above. When you can play an entire song properly, try

Learn Guitar Chord Structure Easily

different strumming styles to accentuate parts of the song, or a particular beat. Or alternate strumming and light plucking to give volume and variety to the music of the song. First, it is best to complete the song by actually copying how the original artist played it on the guitar. Then, you can add your own twists and extra technique according to your ear and taste. This will help you develop you hands for more difficult chords and finger playing techniques.

Do this for every song, and before you know it, youd be playing a new song like a seasoned guitarist in no time.

How to toughen up those fingers Stronger Fingers for Guitar Playing

Guitar playing is one of the most popular ways to personally play and enjoy music. The appeal of the guitar is mostly due to its presence in practically all popular and rock music recordings. Furthermore, it is an instrument that is very portable, versatile enough for many kinds of songs and occasions, and is more practical as an accompaniment to vocalists or other instruments.

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Playing the guitar requires more than the requisite musical ability, dedication and practice. A guitar players fingers must be dexterous and agile to allow quick single string or chord changes in rhythm or solo musical performances. However, those fingers also need to be tough and strong to be able to press the strings enough during those quick changes to produce clean tones.

All beginners will remember the first time they played the guitar for an extended period. Our fingertips are originally soft at the very end, with thin skin protecting them. First, we feel pain after pressing down on the strings too much.

After continuing to play, blisters will develop on the fingertips of the hand playing the fretboard, specifically all fingers except for the thumb. If the aspiring musician hasnt given up by then and continues to practice playing, the blisters will eventually dry up and leave calluses on the fingertips. These calluses will protect the fingertips from the pain of playing, for a little bit.

Learn Guitar Chord Structure Easily

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Eventually, the pain builds up again, until the calluses keep building up and you end up with the thick rough fingertips of a guitarists left (or fret) hand. And graduating to full chords, the entire 1st and 2nd fingers, which form bar chords across the strings, will also go through the process of pain, blisters and calluses. This process toughens up the guitarists fingertips, and makes it easy to press on the strings to produce the needed musical tone on the guitar.

The most effective way to strengthen the fingers and improve dexterity is to practice scales and chords on the guitar itself. Chords and scales will help the beginner become familiar with the different chord progressions and musical setup of the fretboard.

In other words, it will help the student master the instrument. Knowing and playing chords and scales will embed the musical secrets of the guitar to the player and make it simpler to read, learn and perform music, and to create or write your own music for the guitar. As an added bonus, all that practice will greatly improve the strength and agility of the fingers. With the dual advantage of musical training and

Learn Guitar Chord Structure Easily

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strength and endurance improvement, a guitarist can develop the ability to perform several full pieces or songs in a long performance event.

However, there is a danger of over-training. Tendonitis is a common affliction of over-exercising and is widely prevalent in professional athletes and musicians alike. Tendonitis is caused by repetitive action of a limited set of muscles, causing inflammation and possible damage to tendons and joints. Because certain athletes and musicians tend to use a focused set of muscles in their activities, they share a certain propensity to this injury.

But this can be easily avoided. Many persons over-train when they choose to ignore pain during practice and instead continue to do their activity. This directly leads to tendonitis. For guitarists, once you feel pain on your wrist or the tender par of your hands, stop. You should incorporate 5-15 minutes of rest in between sets of scales or chord practices. Put the guitar down and shake your hand for a few seconds. If you are not tired but still feel pain, change the practice method: if you are doing scales, switch to slow strumming

Learn Guitar Chord Structure Easily

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with full chords, instead. Changing the set of muscles you exert can help avoid injury and increase the strength of your fingers.

Finally, like an athlete, a guitarist should take care of his body with exercise. Following are two stretching exercises that will improve the flexibility and strength of your fingers:

1. Stand straight with your arms at your sides and hands facing forward. Stretch your fingers down and outward as far as you can and count to ten. Relax and rest for a few seconds and make three repetitions.

2. With the same posture, hold the four fingers of your left hand 9except the thumb) with your right and push them towards the back of the hand. Hold the stretch for ten seconds then relax, doing three repetitions.

Remember, strength and agility is achieved by practice, proper rest, and stretching exercises. Now play on!

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