Every guitarist needs to know their chords – whether you're learning favourite songs or writing your own this is a great place to start with it all
We're breaking 22 essential chords into three areas – beginner guitar chords, folk and blues. There's plenty of inspiration here for any style and skill level though, plus audio for every chord. Let's get strumming!
Start with these 10 chords
These are the 10 must-learn chords that every guitarist uses all the time. If you don’t know these chords, learn them right now. The dots tell you where to put your fingers. The numbers tell you which of your four fingers to use. Black dots are root notes.
Check out the audio examples of how they should sound below the chord boxes too.
Essential folk chords
Get a folk vibe to your playing with these chords, which are more colourful and interesting than the simple open major chords you may already know. each shape uses open strings – this is a great way of adding intervals that would be impossible to stretch to. Try experimenting with moving the shapes up and down the neck to create new sounds.
Essential blues chords
The general theme with these shapes is the dominant 7th sound, which is essentially a major chord plus a b7th. This is a great way of injecting some ‘blues’ flavour into your chord progressions. You can also add 9th and 11th intervals for more colourful sounds a well as a #9 interval for that classic Hendrix sound.
“A well-crafted sequence is successful wherever you may wish to use it”: Use these tried and tested chord progressions to build an engaging song
“Sometimes you don't want to be overtly happy or sad and a suspended chord strikes that perfect balance”: How to understand and use suspended chords effectively
