Let’s jump in and learn a chord E minor, which is written down as E and a small (lower case) m for the minor bit.
I’m picking Em because it only takes 2 fingers. No not that that sort of 2 fingers;-) Nor that sort 
[ PICTURE Em chord shown as a Chord Diagram ]
[ PICTURE Em chord shown as a Guitar TABlature & in score notation ]
Here’s what the Em chord sounds like;
[MP3 sound file of the chord of Em]
Minor chords tend to sound powerful or sad.
The assumptions:
- If you are right handed, you finger the neck with your left hand and you strum or pick with your right hand.
You can just use your hand (thumb to strum) or use a plectrum (pick). - On the left hand, the thumb is behind the next to form the “grip”. BTW try to keep your wrist bent and the thumb in the middle of the back of the neck. this will work out well for you later, believe me.
- The finger next to the thumb, I will cal number 1. The one next to that 2. If you can guess your little finger is number 4, then you almost certainly know what finger number 3 is
- The very thickest string (lowest pitched/note) on the guitar is numbered the 6th string. In normal tuning this is the “note” of E BTW.
- The very thinnest string (highest pitched/note) on the guitar is numbered the 1st string. In normal tuning this is also the “note” of E. The difference between these two E notes is that they are in different “octaves”. More about octaves another time.
- As a side note, one of the cool things about guitar is that many notes repeat in different places. Some in the same octave. Others in different octaves. This is cool because it means we can reach any note without our hand having to travel far. And that lets us play quickly. When there are several of the same note, you also get that rich, chorus like, sound.
- To “FRET” a note, simply means to place your (left hand) finger, just behind the vertical metal strip on the neck. Ideally it should be 5mm back from the fret. You will need to push quite hard, to get a clear tone. If you get a muffled sounds, check your fingering and push harder. If you get any buzzing sounds, it is often a finger part (or clothing) touching somewhere it shouldn’t. Check your fingering. It needs to be very precise. Each finger tip should only cover one string.
- To “STRUM” a chord, start from the 6th (fattest) string and work downwards to the 1st (thinnest) string. Play as “evenly” as you can. Make each string sound out cleanly and with the same volume (level)
Do everything you can to make each note clear and clean, with no muffled sounds, no buzzing and to sound defined.
NB It may seem a pain right now, but getting in to good habits with clean fret fingering (and strumming) now, will save you SO much time later. - Your fingers will start to hurt and get grooves in them, and callouses (hard skin) on the tops.
If you get blisters, you are probably trying too hard and should do more frequent, but shorter sessions.
Trust me! After a few days the pain will go and after a few weeks, you’ll wonder what all the fuss was about.
Ah yes you need to keep the name on your left hand, quite well trimmed and even (filed rounded). The nail should be slightly higher than level with the finger top.
Nail clippers tend to be best, vs scissors, because you get the more perfect round shape after the cut. Also it is quite hard to cut too low, with nail clippers (but don’t even try)
EXERCISE: To play the chord of Em:
Use finger 3 on string 4 to hold fret 2
Use finger 2 on string 5 to hold fret 2
Play all six strings (evenly from top (6th) to bottom (1st) string)
NB: It may seem hard at first to slip your fingers together so closely, but you will soon get used to it.
Guitar Practice:
Practice playing the string open (holding down no frets) and playing the Em chord.
It won’t sound great, but this is only our very first chord. By all means experiment
What’s next in the guitar guru panacea?
Once we learn our next chord, we can start playing a song.
How fast and FUN is that?!
Peter.
(C) 2008 Peter Buick. All rights reserved. Please LINK to this post, not steal it.
Tags: chords, Easy Guitar, Em, Guitar Exercise
