Does it hurt the first time you did it: Playing your first chord

Chords are the basic building blocks of songs. A chord in music is any harmonic set of three or more notes that is heard as if sounding simultaneously. Chords can be played in a guitar either by strumming or plucking. But you can’t just strike any group of notes; you must play a group of notes organized in some musically meaningful arrangement. For the guitarist, that means learning some left-hand chord forms.

After learning all the stuff about notations used in guitar world, which is very fundamental, you can now play your very first chord. There are a lot of easy chords to choose from but let's start with the E Major chord since it is used so frequently in guitar music. It is necessary for you to learn how to play it with ease and efficiency.

Playing the E Major Chord (E)

1. Place your first (index) finger on the first fret of the 3rd string (G# note).

2. Place your second (middle) finger on the second fret of the 5th string (B note).

3. Place your third (ring) finger on the second fret of the 4th string (E note). Your E chord should look the same with the image below.

4. Now that your fingers are in position, strike all six strings with your right hand to hear your first chord, E.

When you are just starting out to play the guitar, it can be very difficult to get your fingers to cooperate at first. After a few days of practice, your fingers will start to fall right where it is supposed to go. It's important that you spend a little time everyday to practice the chords until you are comfortable playing them.

If you are hearing a buzzing or muted sound when you play a chord, then you are not fretting the notes hard enough. Be sure that you are applying enough pressure to the string when you are playing a note so that it does not buzz. Also, a buzzing sound can also result if a fretting finger accidentally comes in contact with an adjacent string, preventing that string from ringing freely.

You may find it hard at first to press all of the strings down firmly against the frets. Don't worry, your hands will build up the strength in no time with practice.