Do I Need Chords To Learn Guitar?

Many beginner guitar players, anxious to get through the hard stuff and start playing ask if they really need chords to learn guitar. There's also the question of how many chords are really necessary. Some people have actually bought their first guitar, downloaded some tabs and learnt to play them. So for people who have been able to learn guitar without chords, the question is whether they can just keep going in this way.

If you are going to be a guitar player with some understanding and mastery of not only your guitar, but also of music, you are going to have to learn some chords. The good news is that of the blinding number of chords you will find in a chord dictionary or jazz guitar tutor, there is only a handful that are really necessary to learn today's music.


You will need to learn the chords A B C D E F and G - major and minor. You can start with the open chords which means you will be playing within the first three frets on the guitar, and stay with these as you learn how seventh and ninth chords enhance your playing. After that, you can learn the basic barre chord shapes and the way they can make your playing sound more interesting.

As you learn new chords, you will be putting them to use in songs that you like. Otherwise you are going to get bored learning and practicing chord fingerings alone. The open chords are all pretty easy once you get the knack of pressing down on the strings without muffling the adjacent strings.

Bear in mind that as you get a collection of chords to learn guitar you totally ignore any impulse you might have to play fast. Speed comes by itself the more you practice. You main concerns at the moment are precision and relaxation. It will seem like impossibly slow work, but that's the way you need to do it.

If you want to speed up the job of trying to learn chords for guitar, it is best to allocate half an hour a day to practice. At least. Remember that you are not only learning the chord fingerings but also practicing changing from one chord to another.

As you learn your chords, you will gradually be able to change chords while you keep in time with the music. Again, you will be playing slowly at first as you become more convinced that you DO need chords to learn guitar, your confidence and speed will both grow.

By: Ricky Sharples