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.

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Tuning the Guitar is Childs Play...

When beginners first start out most ensure they purchase an electric tuner with their guitar since they have no idea how else they can tune all 6 strings. Today I want to share with you a simple exercise you can practice to tune your guitar without the need for an electric tuner.

Since there are so many notes on the guitar neck you can easily tune each string by finding the same note as the open string in question at another place, on another string on the guitar.

This might sound difficult but thankfully there is a very easy pattern you can follow.

This pattern only has two rules you must remember.

1.)The 5th fret on each string is the same note as the string below it.
2.)There is one exception to the above rule on the G and B strings. When tuning the B string you must use the 4th fret of the G string.

Keeping these two rules in mind we can walk through a simple example of how to tune a string without the use of a tuner.

EXAMPLE: Let’s say that the 1st string, or high E string is sounding a bit out of tune. No worry, armed with this new information you can simply play your B string on the 5th fret then play the open high E string and compare the notes. If the E sounds like it may be higher or lower then the 5th fret of the B string adjust it’s tone using the tuning pegs.

This exercise should be practiced each time your pick up for guitar for the first couple of weeks. It takes a bit of practice to hear the tone correctly and recognize if it’s lower or higher then the base note your tuning to.

After a couple week of consistent practicing you’ll have no trouble what so ever quickly checking each string on your guitar to ensure it’s in tune.

Below is a brief video that explains this concept in detail and walks you through an entire example of tuning all 6 strings. Watch the video and then go grab your own guitar to give this a try.

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find the notes on the strings

Understanding the different guitar string notes is the foundation of almost everything you’ll learn on the guitar. Chords, scales and solos are all made up of notes so the more you understand what notes are located where on the neck the easier you make it to become a great guitar player.

In this article I’m going to explain what half and whole steps are and how to measure them on the guitar neck, how half and whole steps play into the spacing between each musical note and how to find notes on each string of the guitar. At the end of this article there’s a short video that explains these concepts as well. I suggest you take a few minutes to watch the video after reading this and then grab your own guitar to try it out.

Half and Whole Steps

Originally based on the keys of a piano half and whole steps are what separate one note from another. We have seven musical notes (A, B, C, D, E, F and G) tand the space between each of these notes is either a half step or a whole step.

The guitar neck is divided up into multiple half steps, each fret is one half step. Knowing the spacing between each musical note you can easily find your way around the neck and know where each note is.

The Spacing Between Notes

The spacing between each note is either a half step or a whole step. Actually, it’s easier to understand then that since all notes have a whole step between them but two exceptions. There is a half step from B to C and from E to F. All other notes have a full step between them.

Here is a listing of the spacing and number of frets that separates each note.

A to B – Full Step or Two Frets
B to C – Half step or One Fret
C to D – Full Step or Two Frets
D to E – Full Step or Two Frets
E to F – Half Step or One Fret
F to G – Full Step or Two Frets

Now we can take this new found information to the guitar neck and start finding some notes.

Starting with the String Names

It’s important that you know the names of all six strings, starting from the top: E, A, D, G, B and E. You can use this as the starting point to determine where each note is at on the guitar neck.

Let’s do a quick example: Starting on the top E string, when played open is an E. The next note after E is F and using the list above we can see that between E and F there is only one half step or one fret. So by pressing on the first fret on the top E string we are playing an F.

Let’s keep going on that low E string. After the F at the first fret we want to play a G and the spacing between an F and G note is a full step or two frets. So playing up two frets takes us to fret number 3 which is a G.

I won’t go through all six strings because the video below gives an easy to follow example of the top three strings and the notes on each. Take a few minutes to watch the video and you should be able to start finding your way around the neck a lot easier.

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