beginner

Beginner Open Chords

G, C, D, Em, Am — the core of most pop songs.

Objective

Fret and strum G, C, D, Em, Am with clean tone, and switch between any two in under 2 seconds.

Concepts

▸These five chords (G C D Em Am) are in more than half of all popular songs ever written.
▸G Major: fingers on strings 6 (fret 3), 5 (fret 2), 1 (fret 3). Strum all 6 strings.
▸C Major: fingers on strings 2 (fret 1), 4 (fret 2), 5 (fret 3). Mute string 6.
▸D Major: fingers on strings 1 (fret 2), 2 (fret 3), 3 (fret 2). Strum strings 1–4 only.
▸Em Major: fingers on strings 5 (fret 2), 4 (fret 2). Strum all 6.
▸Am Major: fingers on strings 2 (fret 1), 3 (fret 2), 4 (fret 2). Mute string 6.

Diagram / Notation

G               C               D
e --3--          e --0--          e --2--
B --3--          B --1--          B --3--
G --0--          G --0--          G --2--
D --0--          D --2--          D --0--
A --2--          A --3--          A --x--
E --3--          E --x--          E --x--

Em              Am
e --0--          e --0--
B --0--          B --1--
G --0--          G --2--
D --2--          D --2--
A --2--          A --0--
E --0--          E --x--

Exercises

1.One-minute chord changes

1.Set a timer for 1 minute.
2.Switch between G and C as many times as possible.
3.Count each successful, clean change. Write the number down.
4.Rest 1 minute. Repeat. Try to beat your previous score.
5.Rotate: G↔D, D↔Em, Em↔Am, Am↔C.

2.4-chord pop loop

1.G → Em → C → D, one chord per bar at 70 BPM.
2.Strum 4 downstrokes per bar.
3.Recognize this progression — it is in: "Let Her Go", "With or Without You", "Take Me to Church".

3.Name that chord

1.Have a friend (or use flashcards) call out a chord name. Fret it in under 3 seconds.
2.Work down to under 1 second per chord. Muscle memory is the goal.

Tips

💡Keep your thumb behind the middle finger on the back of the neck for all these chords.
💡Arch your fingers so they don't touch adjacent strings.
💡Practice the chord change (not the chord itself) — the movement between chords is the hard part.
💡Most pop guitarists spend 90% of their time on these 5 chords. Master them and you master pop.

Sources & Further Study

▶ Video♪ Song◉ Article✦ Lesson

✦JustinGuitar — Beginner Guitar Course (free)↗▶YouTube — 5 beginner guitar chords you must know↗◉Wikipedia — Open chord↗

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