Guitar chords and chord progressions, from A to Z

If you try to learn guitar harmony and chords by rote, you will spend hours of uninteresting, boring study, repeating patterns you don't understand.

It's best to understand chords and how they are built. There are different kinds of chords, the most common of which are 3 part and 4 part chords. In fact, if you understand these 2 types of chords and how to use them, they are all you will really need to practice a lot.

More complex guitar harmonies are built using precisely these building blocks, so don't let it daunt you. Forget all about chord bibles and the like, and focus on really getting the basics.

Guitar chords are the basis to accompaniment in rock, Jazz, and many other styles. And you definitely need to know how to play rhythm guitar before you become an awesome lead guitarist, so take your time and explore this section until it all clicks...

Guitar Harmony and Chords: this subject, as most we'll cover in these pages, can be viewed from many angles. You can go as deep as we want: let's take it all in one piece at a time!.
Ironically, the fastest and most effective way to learn is to go SLOWLY: rushing never helps!!!

The most basic definition of "chord" is very simple: two or more musical tones played together. The 12 tone tempered system -on which the guitar is based- allows combinations of up to 12 tones.

The "Grandmother Chord", invented by Nicolas Slonimsky, includes all 12 tones and 11 different intervals. It cannot be played on a guitar!!!

However, the chords most widely used in most musical styles are triads (3 part chords) and 7th chords (4 part chords). They are built by stacking notes a third apart (major and minor thirds).

These are the guitar chords you really have to know: Once you have mastered them and their use, you can use triads and 7th chords as assumed roots to play harmony of up to 7 simultaneous parts. I'll be adding more info over tim, so stay tuned!

If you want to learn chord piano and see how chords are built on a keyboard , visit Play-the-Piano.org for helpful tools and advice.

Basic Guitar Chords:

Triads:

Chord Chart 1: Major Triad Inversions
Chord Chart 2: Minor Triad Inversions
Chord Chart 3: Diminished Triad Inversions
Chord Chart 4: Augmented Triad Inversions

Basic 7th Chord Types (only Drop2):

Chord Chart 5: Maj7 Chord Inversions
Chord Chart 6: Min7 Chord Inversions
Chord Chart 7: 7 Chord Inversions
Chord Chart 8: b5m7 Chord Inversions
Chord Chart 9: Dim7 Chord Inversions