Lessons › Lesson 4

Your First Three Chords

Lesson 4 of 8 · About 6 minutes of reading, 15 minutes of practice

This is the lesson where your guitar starts to sound like music. E minor, G and C are three of the most common chords in popular music - thousands of songs use them together.

E minor (Em)

• Finger 2 (middle): 5th string, 2nd fret.
• Finger 3 (ring): 4th string, 2nd fret.
• Strum all six strings.

Em is famously the easiest full chord on guitar. If it sounds clean, you are doing it right.

G major (G)

• Finger 2 (middle): 6th string, 3rd fret.
• Finger 1 (index): 5th string, 2nd fret.
• Finger 3 (ring): 1st string, 3rd fret.
• Strum all six strings.

C major (C)

• Finger 3 (ring): 5th string, 3rd fret.
• Finger 2 (middle): 4th string, 2nd fret.
• Finger 1 (index): 2nd string, 1st fret.
• Strum from the 5th string down - skip the 6th (thickest) string.

Make each chord sound clean

1. Form the chord shape slowly.
2. Pluck each string ONE at a time. Every note should ring clearly.
3. If a string buzzes or sounds dead, check: are you on your fingertips? Right behind the fret? Is another finger accidentally touching that string?
4. Fix one string at a time, then strum the whole chord.

Practice for this lesson

Spend five minutes on each chord: form it, check strings one by one, strum, relax, repeat. Do not worry about changing between chords yet - that is Lesson 6.