Welcome to video nine of the Beginner Guitar Quick-Start Series. In this lesson we're going
to go over the remaining chords that you need to know to play the song at the end of this
series. These two chords are G major, open G major, and the open D major chord shapes.
You're going to be using these all the time in your guitar career. Now remember everything
we learned in the last lesson about the fretting hand technique. Relax, pretend like you're
holding an apple, keep your thumb behind the fretboard on the back of the neck, come right
down on the very tips of your fingers, relax there and right behind the frets too. Remember
all those things.
Alright let's get going with a D major, and open D major. And if you look on the chord
diagram you're going to see "Xs" above the E and the A strings. So that's telling you
to leave those notes out of this chord completely, right. Okay, let's get our first finger on
the second fret of the G string. That's a good place to start. You're going to want
it right behind the fret. Come right down on the tip of your finger. Second finger is
going to grab the second fret of the high E string, and your third finger is going to
grab the third fret of the B string. Those are the three notes that you want to get.
And this chord is a little bit harder just because you have to scrunch your fingers in
such a small area, and you don't want particularly this third finger brushing up against this
high E string or the G string right there. So take your pick and strum just through the
top four strings. If your chord sounds like this, make sure that third finger is coming
right down on the tip.
So again, go through the whole process of getting this chord committed to memory. Take
it off all the way, put it on. If it takes you a while to get it there that's fine.
Take it off. Put it on. Remember what it looks like. Remember what it feels like too.
So that's your D major chord, your open D major chord.
One tip that I want to give you right here, just as a little bonus, is if you haven't
had your guitar set up by a professional I would recommend doing it. It's only twenty
or thirty bucks, and if you're struggling, if your guitar is hard to play, it's totally
worth it. It will make your guitar easier to play and your practicing and learning a
log more enjoyable.
Alright, let's move on to the open G major chord, and this is probably the harder chord
of the Beginner Guitar Quick-Start Series. You'll see why. There's going to be two ways
that I'm gonna show you how to play this chord. One way uses the first, second, and third
fingers. The second way uses the second, third, and fourth fingers. I really recommend using
this way, using the second, third, and fourth fingers. I'll show you why later, but let's learn
the actual shape first.
Okay, a lot of beginners tend to learn a G using the first, second, and third fingers,
this shape. So get your second finger on the third fret of the low E string right behind
the fret. First finger second fret of the A string, and your third finger is going to
grab the third fret of the high E string. And this open G chord, you can strum all six strings.
So that's the way that a lot of beginners learn, but I would really recommend that you
use your second, third and fourth fingers. I'll show you how to do that right now.
Put your third finger on the third fret of the low E string. Second finger is going to grab
the second fret of the A string, and your pinky, your weak pinky, is going to grab the
third fret of the high E string. Same exact shape, different finger used to make the chord.
The reason I recommend using your second, third and fourth fingers to make this chord
is because a G to a C is a really common change for the guitar. And check this out. If I make
it with my first, second, and third fingers and switch to a C, that's a huge movement
that I have to make. If I make that G with my second, third, and fourth fingers, I don't
have to, the change isn't that big. It's a lot easier to get to that. It's a lot faster
too. So go through that same process for learning your G chord. Put it on. Take it off. Remember
what it looks like, feels like, all of that.
Many guitar players struggle with changing chords smoothly. That's probably one of the
biggest challenge for newer guitar players. And one of the reasons for that is they don't
learn their chord shapes their working on one hundred percent before they start trying
to switch between chords. So, learn these chords to where you can go right to them on
their own before trying to switch between like a G and a C chord, right.
When you don't learn a chord really thoroughly what you're going to do is compound the challenge of
switching between chords and that makes it really frustrating for you.
So once you have two chords shapes down, for example a G and a C, what you want to do is
try to visualize the chord you are going to switch to before you actually need to go there
so there's a better chance of hitting it. If I'm playing a G, I want to visualize that
C before I actually need to move there. So in preparation for the next lesson what you
should do is just take two chords at a time. Don't try to switch between all four. If you
have just your A minor 7 and your C, just practice switching between those two.
Once you have those two down you may want to practice switching between your A minor 7 and your D
Remember to try and visualize the chord your going to before you actually need
to go there.
So try to work on your chord transitions multiple times throughout the day so you can train
your muscles and they have a better chance of remembering what's going on switching between
all these chords, right. Get ready for the next lesson because we're going to learn the
song that I promised, like I said. If you have any questions on this G or D major chord
leave them in the comments below and I'll get back to you, or you can email me nate@guitarsystem.com See you.