Which Chords First

Chord

to left-handed guitarists.

Fingers & Fretboard

right handed guitarist

Firstly, when learning guitar chords, there are a few things to learn when reading the following charts.
Each finger on your hand has a number which shows you what finger to use on each string.

T = Thumb

1 = Index     

2 = Middle

3 = Ring       

4 = Pinkie   

Although the thumb is rarely used, it does come in handy especially when you play bass notes and the
other fingers are required for playing the chord, or it may be 'stretch' to play the chord and bass note
using 4 fingers, e.g. D/F#. You can simply play the D chord as usual and use the thumb to play the bass
note F#.

The next thing we need to look at is the guitar fretboard, which includes the nut, the frets and the
strings. Notice that the strings are all a different thickness. Top E (string 1) is the thinnest string with the
highest tone, while bottom E (string 6) is the thickest string with the lowest tone.

Please note that we use the term 'fretboard' as opposed to 'fingerboard' because of the presence of
frets. Stringed instruments that don't have frets use the term 'fingerboard', i.e. fretless bass, double
bass, cello, violin, etc.

Although you won't be playing any barre chords in this session, I have included a barre line in the
diagram, so that you are familiar with it for later sessions. In the following diagram, the first finger uses a
barre to cover the first 5 strings on the first fret.

Guitar Fretboard
Basic Guitar Parts

1. Frets

Frets are the metal strips (fret wires) that are set into the entire length of the fretboard at right angles to
the strings. When you press a string down on a fret, you are shortening it. The length of the string is one
of the factors that determine the pitch of the note.

Please note: When you are asked to play a note on a particular fret, you actually press the string in the
space behind the fret, not on the actual fret, as this causes the note to sound muffled.

You can see this clearly on the diagram above... notes played on the first fre