Beginner Guitar Chords

Six Chord Charts Show You How to Play 40 Simple Chords

When you are learning beginner guitar chords, it is true that you should start with the basics and go from there. Most lists or charts of beginner chords have about eight to 10 easy open chords, and this is a good starting point.

We have gone beyond that and created a series of six chord charts that will give you, as a beginner, a repetoire of about 40 chords to work with, before you even learn Barre chords.

All of the chords have been logically grouped and presented in six parts covering simple major and minors, seventh and minor seventh chords, and a sampling of some more exotic chords.

Part 1 -- Simple Major and Minor Chords. This chart shows you how to play a good basic set of eight beginner guitar chords. The best place to start.

Part 2 -- Easier Substitutes for Basic Barre Chords. Beginners often have trouble with F, Bm, B, B flat and some other basic chords that require Barre chord technique. This chart shows you some easier open chord work-arounds.

Part 3 -- Major Seventh Chords. After you learn the basic major and minor chords, you can start adding sevenths, like this short list of major 7ths with a jazzy sound.

Part 4 -- Dominant 7th Chords. Add the easy dominant 7th chords to your repetoire, like A7, D7, E7 and G7.

Part 5 -- Minor Seventh Chords. These easy minor 7th chords will add a nice dimension to your playing.

Part 6 -- Various Cool Easy Chords. These chords are a little more exotic, but are still easy to play open chords.

Additional Guitar Chord Resouces for Beginners

Learn Basic Guitar Chords and Chord Families

Download and Print Beginner Guitar Chords Chart