How to Play Guitar Chords

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By: Mike Hammil

Guitar chords form the real basis of guitar playing, while scales form the backbone of understanding chord structures. However, it is important that you learn how to play guitar chords, obviously because songs are constructed from chords, and you would be a pretty useless player if you couldn't play them.

In fact, you should learn how to play a guitar starting with chords. While scales and intervals form the core of your theory, chords are what guitar playing is mostly about. Even when playing leads and solos, chords form the basis of what you're doing. Why? Because you have to know what notes to play over what chords, and you often will use chords within a solo.

It's pretty well known that the guitar legend Jimi Hendrix didn't know much about theory. But, it's been proposed that he knew something of chords. In fact, Hendrix seemed to use a secret chord practice that forms the basis of all chords – the CAGED system.

Before we head over to the CAGED system, and learn how to play guitar chords, you just need to understand some terms quickly about chords. When playing chords, you either play 'open' chords or 'barre' chords. Open is when you play them at the bottom of the fretboard, and play most of the strings. Barre Chords are those that require your first finger to hold down a set of strings, while you hold the chord nots with your others.

There are also different types of chords – triads, 7th chords, power chords, add-ninth chords etc. We won't go into all these in detail, and will be dealing with triad chords. Triad chords are just chords that contain three notes, and are usually either MAJOR or MINOR. A Major D chord consists of the notes D-F#-A. These three notes make a triad chord. Remember, the “D” is also known as the ROOT NOTE.

To know the difference between minor and major, you should learn scales and intervals. For now, let's use this D major triad chord as an example of learning the CAGED system. Triad Chords, and the CAGED system, can also be applied to learning how to play chords on the bass guitar.

All the CAGED system consists of is the three 'open' shapes of C, A, G, E and D, but moved around in different areas of the guitar.

For instance, if you JUST play the triad notes on the D open chord, and move this one semi-tone up, you are playing a D# triad chord. If you barred the notes on the first string, you can play the other strings as well. It's exactly as if you were using a CAPO, except you're just using your finger.

You can do the same with all the chord shapes of C, A, G and E. You'll notice that barre-chords are usually just the E and A shapes moved up the fretboard.

This knowledge gives you tremendous power in learning notes on the fretboard, as well as finding chords easily. Not only that, but it creates a very unique sound, used by many of the masters. Plug your guitar in an AC-30, and plug in a delay pedal, and play the D-shape chord from the C root note on the 4th string, 10th fret. You should notice that you're captivating that unique U2 The Edge sound easily with this simple method of learning how to play guitar chords.. Move this idea around, and enjoy!