A chord is a group of notes that are played together. Chords are used to play along with someone who is singing or playing the notes of a song. Chords are written on chord diagrams. The first chord you will learn to play is the G Major chord, usually called the G chord.
The G Chord
Place your left hand finger just behind the fret shown by the black dot. The number in the dot tells you which finger to use. If there is no dot on a string, you play it as an open string.
The G chord diagram above tells you to place the third finger of your left hand just behind the third fret of the first string. Do not play any strings which are shown as a broken line.
To play the G chord, play all three strings at the same time.
This is called a strum. A downward strum which lasts for one count is shown below the chord symbol by a t .
In the music above, there are four bars of G chords. Strum the G chord four times in each bar. To make the song sound finished, always end with one strum of the first chord.
The D Seventh Chord (D7)
To play the D7 chord you must use three fingers of your left hand and strum four strings.
In this song, play four bars of the D7 chord, using downward strums. Count aloud as you play. Try to strum a little bit louder every time you count the number one. This will help you keep time.
In this song play only two strums in each bar. Strum when you count one and when you count three.
A downward strum which
lasts for two counts is
shown below the chord
symbol by a e .
