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March, 2024

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Just bought a guitar (acoustic). Best Chords to Learn?

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Spic-N-SpaN
Posts: 2002 - Karma: 1,465
Title basically sums it up, I know A D and sort of E and need to learn to change between them quicker.

But after that, whats the best stuff to learn?
Mar 11 2013 2:03PM
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TNORTS
Posts: 2076 - Karma: 2,753
Learn the major and minor bar chords. You only need to learn a couple of positions and from there you can play a bunch of different chords.
Mar 11 2013 2:10PM
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KaneDog
Posts: 1551 - Karma: 2,190
this.

Open chords G, C, D, Am, A, Em should give you a solid start
Mar 11 2013 2:14PM
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ILLinoisance
Posts: 3527 - Karma: 5,398
add E, Dm, and F to that list.
Mar 11 2013 2:27PM
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J_BISCHOF
Posts: 2082 - Karma: 1,449
your fucked going in with the mindset to learn just a few chords. learn as many as possible,

more importantly, learn scales, and the name of each note you play. if you can do that, you can do anything.
Mar 11 2013 2:32PM
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TheHamburglar
Posts: 3895 - Karma: 3,314
learn a bunch of augmented and diminished stuff so your music is atonal. bitches love taking it atonal.
Mar 11 2013 2:40PM
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Casey
Posts: 7785 - Karma: 23,466
Yeah learn a through g so you can strum like you sort of know what your doing
Mar 11 2013 2:42PM
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YoungChristmas
Posts: 1065 - Karma: 2,105
e7#9 comes up a lot more than you think
Mar 11 2013 2:45PM
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Stose
Posts: 7109 - Karma: 4,123
E, A, C, D7, G. Or just learn what a power chord is.
Mar 11 2013 2:53PM
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Spic-N-SpaN
Posts: 2002 - Karma: 1,465
I'm just looking for suggestions as to what I should be learning, since I'm not actually taking lessons from a guitar teacher. Instead people are throwing out suggestions and I'll plug all that into youtube and see if someones made a video teaching that particular thing.

But thanks.
Mar 11 2013 2:54PM
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cope+
Posts: 763 - Karma: 870
All of them? Not that hard...
Mar 11 2013 2:55PM
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steezbox
Posts: 1394 - Karma: 701
Really? b5#13 chords are more common in my opinion.
Mar 11 2013 2:58PM
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Darth.Maul
Posts: 2472 - Karma: 652
No such thing.... Good try though.
Mar 11 2013 6:16PM
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northeast
Posts: 2119 - Karma: 254
check your meter
Mar 11 2013 8:00PM
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_DUSTY_
Posts: 1097 - Karma: 686

This website is great for learning new chords, start with the majore triads.
Mar 11 2013 8:04PM
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Darth.Maul
Posts: 2472 - Karma: 652
If you're gonna post a ridiculous chord, at least make it a real one...
Mar 11 2013 8:04PM
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YoungChristmas
Posts: 1065 - Karma: 2,105
for the record e7#9 is not a rediculous chord, pretty practical if you wanna play anything by hendrix. Trust this guy...

Mar 11 2013 8:16PM
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Casey
Posts: 7785 - Karma: 23,466
I've been doing kind of the same thing as OP for the last few years, I always go to ultimate-guitar.com and look up tabs of a song I hear that I want to learn. Slowly you learn what each note is, and get progressions and scales committed to memory etc.  I think if guitar is a casual hobby for you thats pretty much the best way to go.
Mar 11 2013 8:16PM
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spliff.Life
Posts: 7847 - Karma: 1,549
also comes up in some Led, talking heads, and even clapton songs. When i learned new songs with it i was like "wow thats the jimi hendrix chord" then i saw this video and it made it all make sense
Mar 11 2013 8:29PM
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Darth.Maul
Posts: 2472 - Karma: 652
I know that. I love that chord. I was talking to the kid who said b5#13.

SRV uses the #9 chords a ton as well. The end of Cross Fire comes to mind right not.


Mar 11 2013 8:46PM
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CliffyByro
Posts: 5678 - Karma: 3,903
pretty much what i do.

lessons really help too if you can get a good teacher who suits you. they can make the difference between being able to play songs and actually being a good guitarist (if that makes sense). obviously its very subjective but its something worth thinking about. anyone who says lessons are for pussies or anything like that is an idiot
Mar 11 2013 8:51PM
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Blake.P
Posts: 9894 - Karma: 3,585
a, g, d, e, em, c, f, and bar chords are the essentials.

also learn scales. a lot of people don't and it is a really essential part of mastering guitar
Mar 11 2013 9:29PM
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steezbox
Posts: 1394 - Karma: 701
haha, dude how is a b5#13 not a real chord? My post was a joke, but there is no such thing as a chord that isn't real.

so I chose the scale degrees 1, 3, b5, #13

e major scale = E F# G# A B C# D#
                         I  II    III   IV V VI  VII

A 13th is just a sixth one octave above. Just as a 9th is a second, one octave above.

Emajb5#13 would then comprise of the notes: E G# Bb C##

Of course, D is technically just a min7th, but this is all a matter of enharmonic equivalence. I am a beginner at music theory, so if someone sees that I am wrong with my analysis here please correct me.

Point is, you can take any notes, slap 'em together and get a chord. Whether they will be playable with your four fingers is another thing to consider. So no, I did not post a "fake chord".
Mar 11 2013 9:53PM
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Darth.Maul
Posts: 2472 - Karma: 652
I was just wondering why you chose to call it a #13 where like you said, it would be a m7.

Just seemed like a weird way to name a chord. Also if you include the major 3rd, it would just be a E7/B7 (you used both in your example) chord... Nobody in their right mind would call a 7 chord a 5#13 chord...
Mar 12 2013 2:44AM
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jameskiy
Posts: 396 - Karma: 3
put yer finger on the top string den get another finger and put it 2 to the right on da string underneath den put another finger underneath dat one and den you have made a power chord, keep you fingers the same and move this side to side and up and down an boom
Mar 12 2013 4:14AM
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jameskiy
Posts: 396 - Karma: 3
soz forgot Click for larger image
Mar 12 2013 4:16AM
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steezbox
Posts: 1394 - Karma: 701
ah. I see my mistake. I did not include the seventh. Once the seventh is included then I can call it a 13th.  Haha, whatever, it was a joke and I am still learning everything about chord construction. Though technically I wasn't wrong...?
Mar 12 2013 10:52AM
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yuck
Posts: 8384 - Karma: 2,090
uh oh music theory fight!

but OP all you gotta do is learn six chords. i mean taylor swift apparently only knows 5 and she did pretty well for herself
Mar 12 2013 10:56AM
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Darth.Maul
Posts: 2472 - Karma: 652
You couldve put an add13? That would work and usually 13chords are add13 chords since it would take too many fingers and strings to include a root, 3rd, 5th, 7th, 9th, 11th and a 13.
Mar 12 2013 11:01AM
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Darth.Maul
Posts: 2472 - Karma: 652
Also OP, learn 1, 4, 5, 6- and you can play about 1000000000000 songs. Add the 12 bar blues to that and you can now play 1x10^12 songs.
Mar 12 2013 11:04AM
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stokedelic
Posts: 1478 - Karma: 3,121
if i were you, id definitely start with the diminished 7ths scales, if you want to learn power chords theyre essential.
Mar 12 2013 11:49AM
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CliffyByro
Posts: 5678 - Karma: 3,903
dude, he was joking, no one cares if it's real or not. the point is it sounds crazy and obscure...
Mar 12 2013 1:18PM
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act.resist
Posts: 8875 - Karma: 513
all uh dem
Mar 12 2013 1:59PM
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theabortionator
Posts: 51263 - Karma: 157,455
I mean it's cool that you bought a guitar but what's the point of this? Just check out some stuff online, learn some scales learn some basic chords and go from there.


There aren't magic answers that are going to make you good. Just need to pic that baby up and play her till it makes sense.

Good luck
Mar 12 2013 2:11PM
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