The Guitar Chord Zone

Easy Acoustic Guitar Tabs

2011-07-10T08:18:00.000-07:00

Interested in some good easy acoustic guitar tabs? Yesterday I researched and created a new page on Guitar Players Toolbox that has tabs for 12 fairly easy to play acoustic guitar songs. The tabs are interactive, in that you see and hear the tab being played, which helps you learn much better than with a plain old static tab.

The songs include popular rock and pop songs by artists like Neil Young, Green Day, John Lennon, Tom Petty, Jack Johnson, the Animals, Bob Dylan, and Coldplay, among others.

Here's the link to check out this collection of easy acoustic guitar tabs:

http://www.guitar-players-toolbox.com/easy-acoustic-guitar-tabs.html

So grab your guitar, head on over to GPT and start playing!

All the best,
Pete

Learn Guitar Fast and Easy

2010-06-26T19:03:00.000-07:00

Lately I've been checking out the lessons in Jerry Wyatt's "Learn Guitar Fast and Easy" site. Jerry has a unique teaching style that is very effective. This course isn't for everyone, but it is perfect for an advanced beginner or intermediate looking to really improve on playing lead guitar.

Here's a video I put together that highlights the content of the course. The video lessons and easy to absorb lesson guides, combined with Jerry's great persona and teaching style make for a fun guitar learning experience.

Learn Guitar Fast and Easy

All the best for your playing,
Pete

Learn and Master Guitar Review - finally a real one

2009-11-27T05:34:00.000-08:00

If you Google the term " learn and master guitar review ", you'll get dozens of listings for reviews of this popular learn guitar home study course. These reviews are for the most part just set up by internet marketers who want you buy the product, and buy it through them. From what I've seen, most of these so-called "unbiased product reviews" are anything but. They all sound the same.

It's to the point that these types of reviews are no longer credible, even in the rare case it is truly an unbiased review. So I've decided to take a complete different approach...read my radically different Learn and Master Guitar Review here.

Alvarez RD8 Guitar - a better quality guitar

2009-11-27T05:27:00.000-08:00

The Alvarez RD8 guitar answers a common question: what's a high quality entry level guitar that won't break the bank? It can be a mistake to go too cheap on your first guitar: it may be harder to play, not sound good, fall out of tune, and all sorts of other problems that are a barrier to your learning and enjoyment. If you want an acoustic, the Alvarez RD8 guitar solved this dilemma nicely. First, Alvarez has earned a reputation as well-respected maker of quality guitars. The RD8 has materials and features usually seen in much more expensive guitars... learn more about the Alvarez RD8 guitar.

Guitar Center Gift Card - the perfect gift for your guitar player

2009-11-25T17:45:00.000-08:00

What's the best gift for a guitar player? The one he or she wants! A Guitar Center Gift Card will be well-received every time. It's never the wrong brand, size, or color. The lucky recipient has complete flexibility to get whatever they want, either online or at a Guitar Center Store. Unless you know exactly what your guitar player has in mind, the Guitar Center Gear Card will always be a good choice!

Play well and Happy Holidays!

For more info on the Guitar Center Gift Card.

Updates to Easy Guitar Tabs

2009-09-13T20:12:00.000-07:00

The list of easy guitar tabs on Guitar Player Toolbox has proven to be very popular. Some recent updates include Lynyrd Skynyrd's Sweet Home Alabama, and Hey There Delilah by the Plain White T's. There are well over 100 entries, and they include not only tabs, but also chords and video lessons. Most of the songs are well-known rock and pop songs. Check it out and pick a new song to learn!

http://www.guitar-players-toolbox.com/easy-guitar-tabs.html

More Free Guitar Lessons for Beginners available

2009-09-13T20:04:00.000-07:00

This is a notice that ~20 new free guitar lessons for beginners have been posted over at Guitar Players Toolbox:
http://www.guitar-players-toolbox.com/free-guitar-lessons-for-beginners.html

This collection covers most of the beginner topics as well as some more advanced stuff. The lessons range from how to hold the guitar and take a proper position, through simple scales and chords, playing some basic chord progressions, barre chords as well as quite a bit on techniques such as slides, hammer-ons, pull-offs, and vibrato. This series is no substitute for instructor lessons or a multi-media home study course, but they will help the aspiring guitarist get some skills and get the learning process started.

Peal Guitars - Beware of Dealing with Ye-IL International

2009-09-07T10:34:00.001-07:00

I just put up a page on the topic of Peal Guitars over on Guitar Players Toolbox. This is just a little off topic because it deals more with business-related issues than how to play guitar! However, I wanted to warn people about the risks involved with import/export scams based on my experience being scammed by Ye-Il International, the Seoul, Korea company that produces and markets Peal Guitars world-wide.

Unfortunately I had a very bad experience with my dealings with this company and its owner, Mr. US Kwon. I ended up losing all the money I put into the transaction to import some Peal guitars into the U.S. Ah well, lessons learned! Read all about my problems with this company at:

My unhappy story of trying to buy Peal guitars from Ye-Il International.

After Christmas Learn and Master Guitar Sale

2008-12-26T12:11:00.000-08:00

Here's the latest information on the current Learn and Master Guitar Sale. This is the best opportunity to pick up the finest quality guitar home study package at the best price. The After Christmas special offer is in full swing. How about giving your-self a Christmas present? If you're ready to take your playing to the next level, Learn and Master Guitar is an great choice, and an excellent investment at this nice discount.

Get Learn and Master Guitar sale details here.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

Peter

The Top 100 Guitarists

2008-12-23T23:15:00.000-08:00

The Top 100 Guitarists of all time? An article originally published in Rolling Stone in 2003 named a list of the 100 greatest guitar players of all time. The top ranked guitarist was Jimi Hendrix, followed by Duane Allman, BB King, Eric Clapton, and Robert Johnson (of Delta blues fame). Any time you put a top 100 lists together, especially of musicians, there bound to be some "discussion".

Guitar Players Toolbox has a page where you can indicate your views of who are the top guitarists of all time. I personally like Neil Young, but he's listed as # 83 on the list!

Here's a video of the Top 15 guitarists. Check it out and leave your input!

See the list of the Top 15 of the Top 100 Guitarists of all time (per Rolling Stone)

Learn Christmas Guitar Songs - Enjoy!

2008-12-14T14:31:00.000-08:00

Want to learn some Christmas guitar songs? The holiday season is the perfect time to add a Christmas song or two to you repetoire. Check out this collection of carols, tradtional songs, praise songs, and "modern classics" like Jingle Bell Rock. It includes tabs, chord sheets, and video lessons:

http://www.guitar-players-toolbox.com/christmas-guitar-songs.html

I hope you enjoy these Christmas tabs and guitar songs, courtesy of The Guitar Players Toolbox.

Cheers, and Happy Holidays!

Peter

Electric Guitar Packages - the All-in-One Solution

2008-12-14T12:55:00.000-08:00

Especially for beginners, Electric Guitar Packages are great way to get everything you need to start rockin' out. These bundles make shopping much simpler, and also save you money. Typically they include an electric guitar, a practice amp, cable, strap, picks, and a tuner. They may also include an instruction book or DVD.

For more info on some of the more popular electric guitar packages from Fender, Ibanez, and Gibson among others visit:

http://www.guitar-players-toolbox.com/electric-guitar-packages.html

Cheers!

Peter

Learn to Play Guitar the Right Way

2008-11-17T14:58:00.000-08:00

What's the best way to learn to play guitar? The answer depends on your unique situation. There is no "one size fits all" way to learn guitar.

One good choice is to take in-person lessons from a private instructor. This usually involves meeting with the instructor one a week for 30 minutes. Depending on where you live, the cost per lesson might be in the range of say $15-30, or $60-120/month. This works out to $720-1440/year. Although the quality of the instuction can be good depending on who your instructor is, this is still a pretty big chunk of change. Another consideration is that in-person lessons can be inconvenient, in that you need to travel there and it can be hard to fit it into your schedule.

A popular substitute to in-person lessons are home study guitar courses. These have the benefit of a reasonable one-time cost upfront ($50-250), and give you the flexibility to learn and practice when you want, and at your own pace.

The problem with home study learn guitar courses are that the quality varies all over the place. Some are crappy and cheap. Others are good and fairly priced. Some are outstanding and represent solid value for the money spent.

Over the past 3 years of running the Guitar Players Toolbox, I've had a chance to try out most of the popular learn guitar packages. If you are looking for a reasonable way to learn how to play guitar or improve your skills, check out your options over at my main site:

Good options to learn to play guitar.

All the best, and Play Well!

Pete

The Pink Electric Guitar Shop - now open

2008-09-07T07:13:00.000-07:00

The Pink Electric Guitar Shop has been added to the "Pink Guitar Shop" over at The Guitar Players Toolbox. This online store offers 18 different models from __ vendors such as Daisy Rock, Fender, Dean, and Italia. All are quality musical instruments from top guitar makers with solid reputations. Prices range from $99 to $561, so there's something for every budget and skill level and budget. Free shipping and satisfaction guarantees are offered. This online store sources products from among top suppliers to provide the best value in terms of price, service, and quality.

These guitars are very popular with girls these days, but also women, men and boys are using pink guitars to show off their style! So if you are shopping for yourself, or shopping for a gift for your daughter, wife, or special someone, you can find the right pink electric guitar at this online shop:

http://www.guitar-players-toolbox.com/pink-electric-guitar.html

Play Well!

Pete

Pink Acoustic Guitar Shop - Now Open

2008-09-04T19:59:00.000-07:00

Check out The Pink Acoustic Guitar shop over on Guitar Players Toolbox. The shop has a broad selection of pink acoustics, including Daisy Rock, Luna, and Fender. and Martin. The offerings of this online guitar shop have been selected to provide the the best price and quality available. So check it out:

http://www.guitar-players-toolbox.com/pink-acoustic-guitar.html

Whether you are looking for a pink acoustic guitar as a gift for someone else, or to play yourself, chances are you'll find it here!

Play Well!

Pete

Beginner Guitar Chords

2007-12-16T11:37:00.000-08:00

Learning a set of beginner guitar chords is one of the first hurdles an aspiring guitarist needs to get over. Most lists or charts of beginner chords contain about 8 to 10 basic major and minor chords. Going beyond this core group of chords, I've developed a set of six chord charts that comprise a set of about 40 chords for beginners. They include: basic major and minor chords, easier substitute for basic Barre chords, major 7ths, dominant 7ths, minor 7ths, and a sampling of some more interesting chords.

These chord charts are available at:

http://www.guitar-players-toolbox.com/beginner-guitar-chords.html

Good luck with your playing!

Guitar Auctions

2007-12-13T18:00:00.000-08:00

Guitar auctions are a great way to get a better quality guitar or guitar gear for less money than buying new.

18 months ago I found a car on eBay, the car of my dreams. I bought it. Although 4 years old and with over 75,000 miles, it is a beautiful car, made in Germany. Even though it weighs over two tons, it can launch of the line faster than most sports cars. It even gets ~28 miles per gallon on the highway.

So, what does this have to do with guitar auctions? The first owner of my car paid over $75,000 for it. I paid only $17,500 on eBay. Sure, the car is well "broken in", but it still runs great, and is the best-of-the-best. It still can go 150 MPH, although I purchased it at auction on eBay. Talk about a great deal!

For great deals on:

- a used electric guitar
- a used guitar for sale
- used Fender guitar listings
- used Gibson guitar listings
- used bass guitar amps
- used guitar amps

go to the GTP guitar auctions ... the guitar of your dreams may be there...

http://www.guitar-players-toolbox.com/guitar-auctions.html

Buy Well!

Martin Acoustic Guitar Contest

2007-12-12T15:20:00.000-08:00

How would you like to own a $1400 Martin Acoustic Guitar? And how about if it cost you nothing? Dan Denley is giving away a Martin D16-GT as part of the celebration of the Acoustic Guitar Secrets release. It’s the guitar Dan played during the shooting of the 5 DVDs worth of video and it’s what he used to record the 2 CDs that come with the course.

This is a fine musical instrument: The traditional Martin D-16GT Dreadnought Acoustic Guitar is part of the 16 series of guitars, incorporating modern guitar specifications with the famous Martin quality and sound. Quality-built with a solid spruce top, mahogany back and sides, Micarta fretboard and bridge, and hybrid D1 bracing. It features numerous deluxe appointments such as wood herringbone rosette, black binding, tortoise pickguard, chrome-enclosed tuners, and a natural gloss-top finish. Wow!

It's easy to enter, there's no cost, and the odds aren't that bad (~400 entries so far). The deadline for the last entry is midnight, Friday, Dec. 14.

Why not give it a shot?

http://martincontest.best-guitar-tools.com/

Play Well!

Acoustic Guitar Secrets Launches Dec 12, 2007

2007-12-11T20:51:00.000-08:00

The Acoustic Guitar Secrets home study course from Dan Denley launches at 9:00 am EST on December 12. I've had a chance to pre-view the multi-media course with guitar in hand. It it certainly is a comprehensive instruction guide for anyone aspiring to be a proficient acoustic guitarist. The video lessons, audion CD's and the hard-copy book are of excellent quality, and Dan is a great teacher. Although not cheap, it is a good value.

The detailed product website will be live at 9:00 am EST on Dec 12. Early customers will get some nices incentive bonuses, including a substantial discount. It's worth checking out at:

http://acousticgs.best-guitar-tools.com

Play Well!

How to Play Acoustic Guitar - free video lessons

2007-12-11T09:44:00.000-08:00

How to Play Acoustic Guitar? I came across some excellent video lessons that could help answer that question! They come from a new home study course for acoustic guitar players, Acoustic Guitar Secrets. The course comes from Dan Denley, the creator of several well-regarded guitar courses, starting with Amazing Guitar Secrets.

The free video lessons are samples of the material in the course. They cover acoustic playing skills such as arpeggios, blues-style fingerpicking, turnarounds, and more. These are high quality video lessons and even come with printable tab so you can play along.

Get the details to access the videos here:

http://www.guitar-players-toolbox.com/how-to-play-acoustic-guitar.html

Check out these videos...they will help answer the question "How to Play Acoustic Guitar?" !

Play Well!

Guitar Gifts - It's that Time of Year Again!

2005-11-13T06:45:00.000-08:00

Time to start thinking about guitar gifts (already!) As the holiday season rolls around, I've noticed the impact on the guitar world. Big displays of guitar "starter packs" crowding the floor at the local guitar shop. The seemingly endless infomercials on the shopping networks of Estaban hawking his entry level guitars. And the festive holly-covered banners splashed all over the landing pages of the big online guitar retailers. Is it just me, but didn't we just carve our Jack-O-Laterns?

Any way, with the Christmas and holiday season upon us, what about guitar gifts for the aspiring (or actual) guitar players on out lists? With that in mind I put together a some tips and specific recommendations for selecting guitar gifts that will be appreciated. Check it out over at the Guitar Players Toolbox: Guitar Gift Guide

Play Well!

Peter Bussey

Guitar Shred Show-"The Ultimate Guitar School"- Too Funny!

2005-11-02T07:51:00.000-08:00

If you play guitar, you have to see the Guitar Shred Show interactive Flash animation by Mika Tyyska. "Mr. Fastfinger reveals the arts and secrets of electric guitar to all. You're not only going to learn cool techniques and licks, your going to jam with one of the true masters of shred guitar".

Here's the link: Guitar Shred Show- The Ultimate Guitar School

As well as being highly entertaining (show it to your kids!), it is instructional in that the animated Mr. Fastfinger shows you how to play all manner of advanced licks and techniques in the shred style (e.g., power licks, hammer and pull legatos, up and down sweeping, super fast picking, "screaming monkey", dive bomb, tap to the top, to name just a few.)

You'll even visit the "Mountain of the Tapping Dwarves" and meet an accordian playing demon! Although amusing, it is also a legitimate guitar lesson, in that techniques are demonstrated, and printable tabulature is provided.

Anyway, this is way cool and you'll be glad you checked it out!

Play Well!

Peter Bussey
Guitar Players Toolbox

Guitar Lessons : A Guide to Your Options

2005-11-01T19:56:00.000-08:00

So you want to play guitar? Guitar lessons, in some form or another, are a necessity for anyone wanting to learn to play the guitar. Established players also rely on guitar lessons to acquire new skills and move up to the next level. Finding the right lesson, course, or product sounds simple, but there are so many choices available that it’s a tough task to figure out what’s best for your individual needs. These guidelines will help you sort through your options and make a good decision.

Guitar Lessons- Private Instructor or Online?

The traditional way of learning guitar is by taking private lessons from a guitar teacher. The student typically meets with the instructor once a week for 30 minutes at a cost of about $15-25 per week. This is certainly a great option, and perhaps the best way to learn to play: under the personal guidance of a dedicated teacher. However, in many cases private lessons are not a good option due to the time, cost, and transportation factors involved.

The good news for guitar players is that there is a wide range of alternatives to private instruction. Guitar lesson and instructional books have been a mainstay for years. Technology developments then brought us lessons in the form of videotapes and DVDs, as well as multimedia software programs to run on the PC.

Today, widespread access to the internet has caused a major revolution in guitar instruction methods and availability. Now an abundance (some might say over-abundance!) of information on various guitar lesson choices is available in minutes through your favorite search engine. The array of choices is staggering, ranging from free online guitar lessons, to high-end distance learning guitar instruction leading to a certificate from Berklee College of Music,

Aside from better visibility into the options, there have also been tremendous advances in the technology used to develop and deliver the instructional material. Interactive video lessons in which the student controls the pace of learning and the tempo of the material are a good example of this. Online guitar lessons and products can be accessed immediately on the Web, either on-demand or downloaded to the local PC. This gives great flexibility on when and where to learn.

Guitar Lessons Options

Aside from private lessons, there are three basic formats of guitar lessons and instructional material.

Books- If you’re on a budget and like the idea of the portability of a book, this may be the way to go for you. Books often come with a CD to provide audio tracks. Typical Cost: $15-25

Video-based lessons- In my experience, pure video-based lessons are a good “icing on the cake” to help you learn, but not typically a good foundational guitar lesson program. They often lack supporting learning materials needed to be effective for baseline learning.

Multimedia Online Lessons- The Web, plus advances in the technology for creating learning material such as video, has really opened the door to some great multimedia guitar lesson programs.. These can be delivered and accessed on several ways: downloaded for use on your PC; accessed directly from your PC with a live web connection, or as a physical CD/DVD that you run on your PC.

Sorting through the many options can be made easier with information dedicated to this topic on various guitar websites, such as this online guitar lessons guide.

Wrap-up

For those wanting to learn to play guitar, or to play better, there is no better time than now to take advantage to the available online guitar lesson and learning options. The realm of guitar instruction is certainly one that has benefited from the Internet
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Peter Bussey has been an avid guitar player for over 10 years. In 2004 he became Editor of The Guitar Players Toolbox, a website dedicated to helping advancing guitar players improve with practical tools, tips, and information. Visit http://www.guitar-players-toolbox.com for a variety of free, practical resources on guitar lessons, guitar chords, guitar chord charts, song chords, and more.

Copyright 2005 Peter Bussey of www.guitar-players-toolbox.com
This article can be reprinted freely online, as long as the entire article and the above resource box, with active hyperlnks, are included. Publishers can get the source article at EzineArticles.com

Guitar Chord Diagrams: An Essential Tool

2005-10-10T14:50:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone,

Just wanted to let you know I published an article today on the topic of Guitar Chord Diagrams. An excerpt is below. You can get the whole article on my article collecton page.

Guitar Chord Diagrams: An Essential Tool for Learning to Play the Guitar

By Peter Bussey

How do you use guitar chord diagrams? A complete understanding of how to read and use diagrams of guitar chords is essential knowledge for any guitar player, from the “greenhorn” beginner to more advanced players. The best and easiest path to becoming a competent guitar player is by learning some chords and then applying them to learning the rhythm parts of songs. Guitar chord diagrams help you do just that!

What is a Guitar Chord Diagram?
...
...
How to Read a Chord Diagram
...
...
...With just this basic information on a chord diagram, you can form and play any guitar chord. The best part is that you don’t need to know how to read standard musical notation, or even guitar tabulature, to read a chord diagram. Well enough words! View examples of guitar chord diagrams here. ...

Tips for Using Guitar Chord Diagrams
...
...
[End of Article Excerpt]

Note: the whole article is available for guitar players and guitar webmasters on my article collection page (use link at top of this post). hope you enjoy it!

Play Well!

Peter

Learning Guitar Chords: a Lifelong Process

2005-10-09T16:36:00.000-07:00

A personal goal for me is to do a better job of learning guitar chords. I've played on and off for over 30 years. I'm working with the same basic set of chords I learned back when I started. This includes most of the basic open major, minot, and 7th chords, as well as E-form and A-form Barre chords, and minor and 7th variations off of them. One of the reasons I started this Blog is to give my own guitar playing advancement some structure, especially when it comes to learning chords.

The truth is I mostly just hack around. Typically I'll hear a song on the radio or a CD with some good rhythm guitar work that sounds "doable", then go to Guitar Tab Universe or OLGA and look for the guitar tab, or song chords. Then play along with the original music, satisfied to just get close to the real song. I've done this with songs like Neil Young's Rockin' in the Free World, and China Grove by the Doobie Brothers. It is a lot of fun, but it is an almost random approach that practically insures that I'll stay stuck at my current level of playing. I'm investigating a lot of options on how to best advance my playing. Due to my work and travel schedule, lessons from an instructor are not an option. So I'm mostly looking at lesson programs available online or DVD, especially those geared towards helping me in learning guitar chords and ryhthm guitar techniques.

What are your playing goals, and what is your game plan to reach them?

Peter
The Guitar Players Toolbox

My Favorite Guitar Chord

2005-10-09T07:56:00.000-07:00

Some random musings on a Sunday morning. Almost every guitar player starts off by learning a set of basic open chords. Such as A, D, E, C, Am, Em, etc. with some 7ths and minor 7ths thrown in as an easy way to extend. Although I went on to learn Barre chords and other more complex chords, the easy open chords are still my favorites. Especially the E major. What a cool chord, and once you learn it so versatile! Lift one finger and you have an Em, or an E7. Drop your pinky down and you have another E7. Then lift one finger for an Em7, etc. Also its easy to play cleanly, because all the fingered strings are together, and all 6 strings are played.

Most of all I like the sound of an E. Solid, stable, firm. Bright and hopeful if all 6 strings are played, yet easy to palm mute to get a heavy rock sound. Maybe the question is, when you pick up a guitar, where does your left hand instinctively go? for me its straight to an open E chord.

Play Well!

Peter

Basic Guitar Chords: How to Easily Master the Guitar Chords You Must Know

2005-10-08T12:30:00.000-07:00

A new article on Basic Guitar Chords By Peter Bussey

One of the first challenges faced by the advancing guitar player is learning a core group of basic guitar chords. Why is it so important to learn these basic chords? Chords form the backbone of most rock and pop songs, and provide the harmonic accompaniment to the melody and instrumental solos.

Rhythm guitar based on basic chords provides many of the most memorable rock riffs… think AC/DC’s “Back in Black” or The Who’s “Won’t Get Fooled Again”. What’s really amazing is that by learning no more than 10 to 15 basic guitar chords, you will be equipped to play thousands of rock and pop songs!

First let’s establish the definition of a chord. A chord is three or more different musical notes played together. In the case of the guitar, this means that at least three strings are strummed or plucked simultaneously to sound three or more notes. Since the guitar has six strings, the maximum numbers of notes in a guitar chord is six. All chords can be placed in one of three groups based on the musical structure of the chord: Major, Minor, or Seventh. Each of these chord groups has its own “sound” or “feel”. Major chords sound stable and complete. Minor chords can evoke a more somber or pensive mood, and Seventh chords are jazzy and somewhat incomplete sounding.

There is no standard list of “basic guitar chords” that every one agrees to. However, there is general agreement that there is a list of somewhere between 8 and 18 basic guitar chords (open string) that every guitarist must know cold. These chords are used in all musical styles from rock and pop to country, jazz, and classical. No matter where you are on your guitar-playing path, you should take the time to learn and master the basic chords. Getting these right will ensure you have the basic tools and skills to learn many songs and increase your playing enjoyment.

So what are the basic guitar chords? Our basic stable includes the major and minor chords from four common musical keys, A,G,C, and D. They are played as “open chords”, that is at least one string in the chord is not fretted (pressed down with a finger). Open chords are easier to learn and play than more advanced chords such as Barre chords, or complex chords further up the guitar neck. Our list of basic major and minor chords is:

A Major (or A), A Minor (or Am), C, D, Dm, E, Em, F, G

These chords can be best learned as chord “families” (by key) that can be combined into great-sounding chord sequences that make up lots of popular songs. Using this chord family approach is much more interesting and useful than just memorizing a bunch of chords in random order!

These chords grouped by chord family (key) are as follows:

A Family (Key of A): A, D, E

D Family (Key of D): D, Em, G, A

G Family (Key of G): G, Am, C, D, Em

C Family (Key of C): C, Dm, Em, F, G

Tips for Learning the Basic Chords:

1. Pick a Chord Family and master it. This will give you quick success and let you play great sounding progressions right away.

2. Use a Guitar Chord Chart as a reference tool. A chord chart shows each chord as an easy to read “chord diagram” with exact finger positions. See this example of a chart of basic guitar chords.

3. Find the chords and lyrics for an easy song that is based on the chord family so you can apply your skills. Many great songs are based on only three chords!

4. Ensure each string sounds right. Take care to make sure that each string is sounding clearly, and that only the strings that should be played are played.

5. Practice, practice, practice! Every day, practice continually change from one chord to another until you can do it rapidly. Learn the chord families one at a time.

6. Master all the basic chords first. Only then move on to Barre chords and other more complex chords. First things first!
7. Expand with 7th chords. As a next step you can easily expand on your basic chord knowledge by adding 7th and minor 7th chords based on the nine basic major and minor chords.

8. Have fun using your new skills! Enjoy your musical ability by applying it to learning a small set of 5-10 songs you know really well and can confidently play at any time.

Copyright 2005 Peter Bussey of www.guitar-players-toolbox.com
This article can be reprinted freely online, as long as the entire article and the resource box are included.

Peter Bussey has been an avid guitar player for over 10 years. In 2004 he became Editor of The Guitar Players Toolbox, a website dedicated to helping advancing guitar players improve with practical tools, tips, and information. Visit http://www.guitar-players-toolbox.com for a variety of free, practical resources such as guitar chords, guitar chord charts, song chords, and more.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/

Let's Get Things Rolling!

2005-10-08T11:47:00.000-07:00

This is the inaugural post of the Guitar Player Toolbox blog. The theme revolves around how becoming a better guitar players. How can we reach our potential (and meet our personal goals), no matter our current skill level and inate capabilities we bring to the party?

My contribution to this blog will be to share my personal experience playing guitar (and hopefully improving!), as well as of my two sons (ages 11 and 15), who both play guitar. Also I will trace the development of my website, The Guitar Players Toolbox.

Play Well!

Peter Bussey