What Guitar Chords Do I Need to Learn First?

What Guitar Chords Do I Need to Learn First?

Mark Wilkes

When you are just starting out learning guitar, it can be hard to know where to begin. There are countless songs, genres, and styles of playing to choose from. Some books have up to 3000 different chords to learn! How do you know which ones to focus on?

The best place to start is with the chords that appear most often in songs. Songs are written in keys. Each key has three or four principle chords. If you begin learning the chords of the most popular keys, it will help you to play more of your favourite songs sooner!

Start with the most popular key - G Major. The principle chords in G Major are G, C and D7. Learn these first.

Diagram of G, C and D7 chords. G is played by placing your second finger on the fifth string of the second fret, third finger on the sixth string third fret, and fourth finger or pinkie on the first string third fret. For C place your first finger on the second string first fret, second finger on the fourth string second fret, and third finger on the fifth string third fret. For D7 place your first finger on the second string first fret, second finger on the third string second fret, third finger on the first string second fret.

Then add the fourth chord that regularly shows up in G Major - Em.

Diagram of E Minor chord. Place your second finger on the fifth string of the second fret and your third finger on the fourth string second fret.

You have now learnt the four main chords of the G Major key. The last one we will cover is the D chord, which sometimes replaces D7.

Diagram of D chord. Place your first finger on the third string second fret, second finger on the first string second fret, third finger on the second string third fret.

Once you have these five chords sounding good there are thousands of songs you can play. They form the foundation of many genres including folk, rock and pop songs. Whether you are into Bob Dylan, John Denver or Taylor Swift you will find songs that use these chords.

Want to get started the right way? Try Village Guitar’s First Chords course to get you started.

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