How Many Guitar Chords Do I Need To Know?

By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Duane_Shinn]Duane Shinn

Guitar chords, (chords played specifically on a guitar,) differ only from other types of chords by virtue of instrument; they're simply a series of three or more notes played together. These notes don't necessarily have to be played simultaneously, however.

Broken chords (also referred to as arpeggios) are three or more notes that aren't played at the same time but closely enough to still be heard as a group or whole. And even the three-note rule is open to the occasional exception; some guitar chords consist of only two notes, but they still function as chords because they work diatonically in the same way that a major or minor chord would.

Guitar chords might very well be the most important element of guitar playing; after all, they're the basis of what makes a song. Most people picking up a guitar for the first time figure out a few guitar chords before even going for their first lesson, and still more teach themselves guitar chords without any help from an instructor. Self-taught guitarists learn guitar chords in a number of ways. Some learn by listening to their favorite songs and slowly picking out the notes, a common yet often frustrating process. Others figure out guitar chords by learning to read guitar tab, a type of sheet music intended for fretted instruments that uses a graph-like chart to show where on the frets the fingers are placed. Both techniques are common among those learning guitar chords, though the number of self-taught guitarists who never learned to read tab is fairly high.

Just like any other instrument, the sheer number of possible guitar chords can often be overwhelming for a new guitarist. And even the frequently taught guitar chords are beginning to fall by the wayside, making room for a variety of guitar chords created by tuning the strings in almost innumerous ways. Though power chords (guitar chords using a base note, an octave note and the fifth) are still the most common type of guitar chords, new bands are increasingly experimenting with alternate tunings to create new sounds; alternative bands have been toying with this way of playing interesting guitar chords for decades.

So how many chords does a guitarist really need to know?

Most simple songs contain just 3 chords – called “primary chords”. So even a stark beginner can learn 3 simple chords well enough to strum along and accompany himself as he sings. But after that, the sky is the limit – there are thousands of possible chords, so it is up to the individual guitarist as to how many he or she want to master.

(With Mollie Wells)

Duane Shinn is the author of over 500 music books and music educational materials such as DVD's, CD's, musical games for kids, chord charts, musical software, and piano lesson instructional courses for adults. His book-CD-DVD course titled [http://www.chordpiano.com/]How To Play Chord Piano In Ten Days! has sold over 100,000 copies around the world. He holds advanced degrees from Southern Oregon University and was the founder of Piano University in Southern Oregon. He is the author of the popular free 101-week online e-mail newsletter titled [http://www.playpiano.com/]Amazing Secrets Of Exciting Piano Chords & Sizzling Chord Progressions with over 57,400 current subscribers.

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Electric Guitar Chords - Secrets to Playing Rhythm Guitar Revealed

By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=John_Robert]John Robert

Playing chords on your electric guitar is quite different from an acoustic, especially when using distortion. To get the best sound out of your distorted guitar it is best to substitute standard open electric guitar chords with bar chords, power chords and simple triads. The aim of this article is to discuss the different electric guitar chords that sound really cool with distortion.

The first electric guitar chords you should use with distortion are bar chords. A bar chord gets it name due to the fact that the first finger will lay across the fret board covering all of the strings. To make a simple bar chord first look at how you would play an open E major chord. Now move that same fingering for an E major chord up the neck one fret and use your index finger to bar all the strings on the first fret. The advantage of using bar chords is that you can easily move this same pattern up and down the neck. Bar chords sound great on an electric guitar because you can easily keep any unwanted strings from ringing and causing feedback.

Some more electric guitar chords you may find useful are power chords. Power chords are made up of just two notes. Usually the a root note and a fifth. If you are a fan of Metallica then you will love power chords. Almost all of their earlier songs are played using these electric guitar chords. An example of a power chord would be to play the 6th string 5th fret and the 5th string 7th fret together at the same time. These two notes make up an A5 power chord. This same pattern can be moved anywhere on the neck. Try it you'll see what I mean.

Lastly, you can play triads, or three note electric guitar chords. Triads can be made up of the root, third and fifth, however many guitar players like to omit the fifth and use the seventh chord tone because it generally gives a more unique sound. A good example of a band who utilizes a lot of triads in their electric guitar chords is Opeth.

All three of the electric guitar chords above sound great with heavy or light amounts of distortion. Bar chords help stifle unwanted feed back and noise while power chords and triads are simple chords shapes that have a clean crisp presence. The electric guitar can be a completely different monster than the acoustic so take advantage of the electric guitar chords mentioned above to make up your own brutal riffs.

John Robert has been playing guitar for longer than he can remember and teaching for the last three years. His area of expertise is rock and heavy metal. You can learn more bone crushing [http://www.jam-o-rama.info]electric guitar chords and other rockin' techniques by visiting [http://www.jam-o-rama.info]Jam-o-rama.info

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