[simz]

Hi,

I have learnt to play all Major and Minor Chords from A to G.

I am a bit stuck on what to do next.

I am learning to shift from one chord to another.

Would really appreciate if some one could post the chord combinations for practicing .

e.g A - Bmin - C

Regards,
Simz

[timvass]

The Three Chord Trick !!!

Thats a good place to go next . Grouping chords together in keys would be a logical next step. If you know what the three main chords are in each of the major keys and can change smoothly between them you can play accompanyment to hundreds of thousands of songs(I am not exagerating its probably more).

Into that three chord framework you can slot minors and 7th chord and loads of others to add colour and interest.


The three chords group that works with a piece of music are determind by the scale that the melody is written in.There is a lot of theory that time wont permit me to explain.This theory determins which chord work with particular melody .

Any how here are some goups that work in some common keys

key chords

D play D G A

E Play E A B


G Play G C G


A Play A D E

C Play C F G


If you look through chord books and internet sites you will find chords written over the lyrics of songs you want to play. Try strumming along with the melody .Or just pratice changing between the three chord groups you will find once you master the changes you can play lots of stuff.


If you look carefully at a complicated chord pattern often these three chord groups will jump out at you .Usualy if you start by just playing those with the melody you can get away with it.Then start adding in the others to make it intersting.Many many songs only use 3 chords anyway .

[Tekker]

If you're interested in the theory behind what timvass mentioned above, this tutorial explains some basic theory including how to create chords from the major scale.
Music Theory Basics


Something else to work on is try finding tabs to songs you like that aren't to complicated and work on learning how to play them. This is very good practice for chord switching and strumming/rhythm as well. Plus it is a lot of fun, especially at the beginning stages, when you can play a song that people can recognize.

Strumming/rhythm is also another fundamental aspect to work on. If/when you are pretty comfortable with strumming I highly recommend getting a metronome to help improve your timing as having good timing is extremely important. The metronome is very unforgiving and will reveal any timing issues you may need to work on.

-tkr

[Stratrat]

Originally Posted by Tekker

...Something else to work on is try finding tabs to songs you like that aren't to complicated and work on learning how to play them. This is very good practice for chord switching and strumming/rhythm as well. Plus it is a lot of fun, especially at the beginning stages, when you can play a song that people can recognize.

Strumming/rhythm is also another fundamental aspect to work on. If/when you are pretty comfortable with strumming I highly recommend getting a metronome to help improve your timing as having good timing is extremely important. The metronome is very unforgiving and will reveal any timing issues you may need to work on.

-tkr

+1 to what Tekker said. Working on chord changes is a lot more enjoyable when it involves playing something that sounds like a song rather than just a random chord progression! There are a TON of three-chord songs out there that are actually very simple to play.....you get to make music AND practice your chord changes at the same time. Check out "ThreeChordGuitar.com" for some ideas - Mojocaster gives you plenty of ideas to work with there. (NOTE: His site triggers a malware warning in some browsers - but there are no "bugs" or bad stuff there - he's a stand-up guy).

Good points about strumming and timing too. Working with a metronome or playing along to songs on the radio/computer/mp3 player will greatly help in this regard. Timing/rhythm is a very important thing to learn. There are few things more unsettling to listen to than music that doesn't keep a beat. I'd rather listen to somebody who mangles their chord changes every time than somebody who can't keep a solid rhythm going.

[allthumbs]

Wikpedia for common chord progressions. There are maybe 1/2 a doz. that are used most often in various genres

[Maddog54]

Boy did that just answer a question that's been pondering me....I just figured I'd learn later on what it means to play in a certain key. Or did I get the wrong idea here? Playing in 'D' means A,D,G chords and Playing in C means C,F,G chords? So if I hear that a song is in the key of D, does it mean that A, D, & G are the chords for the song(plus of course minors and 7ths like you said, Tim)? This may be a major breakthrough for me LOL.........now why exactly are some chords called "7th" or "SuS" or "ASuS"? Thats my next question to ponder.

[Stratrat]

Maddog - check out the "Workings of Music" sub-forum. There are a ton of threads in there with useful information and lessons on music theory.

[timvass]

Pretty much sort of yes.

If a song is in a certain key means it uses a particular group of notes called a scale. This scale starts on the note of the key you are in say C and goes up in steps (7 steps for C major) untill you are back to C again . Do ray me far so la tee Do if you like. If you play a group of notes together from this scale you get a chord .

So if I am playing in the key of C I will be using notes from the scale of C for the melody and groups of those notes for chords.Because C F ans G chords are made from those notes they will fit.

7ths minors and the rest are about adding extra notes to a chord .with out getting bogged down its a bit like mixing colours .

If you add a touch of white to blue you get light blue,do the same to green you get light green.They are both still the original colour green and blue but they have both been altered in the same way lightened .You may call the tinted colours pastel blue and pastel green,because thet have both been changed in the same way.

SO...... add a note to A and you get A7th still an A but different .
Make the same kind of change to a D chord and you get D7 still a D but coloured.

I once heard the note you add to make 7th called a "Tension note" which I think descibes its effect on the sound pretty well.

This a simplfication .There is a lot to learn but its good to have a idea of how it works

[Fretsource]

Originally Posted by Maddog54

Boy did that just answer a question that's been pondering me....I just figured I'd learn later on what it means to play in a certain key. Or did I get the wrong idea here? Playing in 'D' means A,D,G chords and Playing in C means C,F,G chords? So if I hear that a song is in the key of D, does it mean that A, D, & G are the chords for the song(plus of course minors and 7ths like you said, Tim)? This may be a major breakthrough for me LOL.........now why exactly are some chords called "7th" or "SuS" or "ASuS"? Thats my next question to ponder.

You're on the right track Maddog. If a song is in the key of D (major) then it has been written by using mostly notes from the D major scale, and yes, the most important chords in that key are D G & A.

7th chords are chords that contain a note which is 7 scale degrees (letter names) higher than the note the chord is named after.

So the chord A7 contains the note G (which is 7 letters higher than A).

Major chords are made from the first, third and fifth notes of the major scale and SUS means that scale note 4 is used instead of 3
A major = A, C# & E (1, 3 & 5)
A SUS = A, D & E (1, 4 & 5)

There's more to it than that and, as Stratrat says, you can find lots of info in the theory forum.

[Maddog54]

This is actually interesting to me....kinda like opening up a box of legos and figuring out how to build the castle

[cshude]

Here's a thread that may help a bit to get learning all those chords and the keys to which they belong:
Chords in a key- why should I know them?

Also, check this one out:
Guitar Chord Chart - Chords Arranged by Key - FreeHand | Digital Sheet Music Downloads | FreeHandMusic.com | Notes
That has a real nice free download for a one-page chart that gives you the most common chords used in each key, sorted by the majors, relative minors, and alternative chords. It's a handy tool for when you're looking for that illusive chord you can hear in your head but can't seem to find with the strings.