Your first real chords: Am, C, Em and G — and how to move between them

Welcome to the real chords. It is time you started playing real chords. Let's start with some easy ones.

To play A minor, you need to put your first finger in the first fret of the second string, the second finger in the second fret of the fourth string, and the third finger in the second fret of the third string.

Why this fingering? You will see now.

Your second chord. Being in this position, you can leave both your first and second fingers (on the second and fourth strings respectively) and simply shift your third finger from the second fret of the third string to the third fret of the fifth string.

That's is it… you are playing C major chord.

Does it seem like a mess? Does it seem hard to do?

Just try it, you will be surprised.

Remember, you should to strum just the first five strings for these two chords, so leave the sixth string untouched (the one with the lowest tone).

Chords alternation. Once in C major, do you know what to do in order to move back to the Am chord?

Yes, leave both your first and second fingers (in the second and fourth strings respectively) and now shift your third finger from the third fret of the fifth string to the second fret of the third string.

Strum the first five strings when you are in the Am position, change to the C position and strum again. Move back to Am and strum once again.

Well done, you are playing guitar!

Try changing again. And again. And again…

yeah!… you have your first chords transition.

These are real chords, and these two particular chords are really useful - you are going to play them a lot, so don’t hesitate spending time practicing them.

A new chord. Do you want more?

Ok. Once you have passed from Am to C major, you can leave your second finger in the second fret of the fourth string and shift your first finger to the second fret of the fifth string while you letting go with your third finger.

Yes, you only need this to close fingers to play this useful chord: E minor.

And yes, this chord is really easy. Practice the transition from C major – remember, you only have leave the second finger, shift the first and let go with the third.

Now you can practice the following transitions: Am → C major → Em → C major → Am and start again.

Yet another chord. When you feel comfortable with these three chords, we will try the fourth one (the last one at this level).

It can be a little challenging, but you can do it quickly, beginning the transition from Em: you have to leave the first finger in the second fret of the fifth string and the second and third fingers are to pass to the third fret, second finger to the sixth string, and third finger to the first string. Yes, it’s quite a leap, but by practicing you will easily become used to it. So, we arrive at the last of the first four chords you will learn: G major.

To play these last two chords, Em and G major, you need to strum all six strings.

Do you remember that we avoided strumming the sixth string for Am and C?

For Em and G, we will strum all six strings.

This is the perfect moment to note what you have achieved so far. You can play some chords, and you have advanced a lot.

By practicing these chords, you will be able to play a decent number of songs, especially if you are assisted by a capo: