fingers on the frett
I remember when I first starting learning to play guitar I got frustrated with the part of learning chords. It was the main reason I wanted to learn the guitar, but making the shapes was difficult and switching between the chords was even more difficult while strumming.

Because of this frustration that can arise I thought it best to introduce you to some three string beginner gutiar chords. These chords are easy to strum and pretty easy to make on the fret board. Seeing that two of the three only require you to use one finger to make the shape.

Take your time learning these chords and practice strumming and switching between them. There’s a video below that will fully explain the shape the chord should be and how to practice them.

A quick note about the TAB notation I’ve used to explain the chords. Each line represents a string on the guitar, with the string names on the left hand side. The X’s represent strings that are not to be strummed, numbers represent the fret number you should be playing and the zero’s are the strings to be played open.

3 String C Chord

E — 0 —
B — 1 —
G — 0 —
D — X —
A — X —
E — X —

The C chord is played by placing your first finger on the first fret of the B string and strumming the bottom three strings.

3 String G Chord

E — 3 —
B — 0 —
G — 0 —
D — X —
A — X —
E — X —

The G chord is played by placing your third finger on the third fret of the G string and strumming the bottom three strings.

3 String D7 Chord

E — 1 —
B — 2 —
G — 1 —
D — X —
A — X —
E — X —

A little more difficult then the first two to make the D7 chord you place your second finger on the 1st fret of the E string, your third finger on the 2nd fret of the B string and your first finger on the 1st fret of the G string.

Now you can start practicing these chords. I suggest first playing the chords one at a time, stopping your strumming before you switch to another chord. Once you feel comfortable making the chord you can incorporate switching between the chords while strumming.

Below is a video that explains this beginner chords lesson in even more detail.

Like to learn more guitar chords and improve your playing? Every consider learning at home using a learn to play guitar dvd? Home study courses on dvd are becoming the private guitar lessons of the 21st centruy. With online integration where you can ask questions and get feedback it’s a great method of learning on your own terms.