How To Play Guitar Chords
The G Chords
G Major
Wow! You've learned a lot about how to play guitar chords. We’re finally winding down with the easiest of the rock guitar chords. It’s been a lot of work, but worth it, I think. All right, let’s close down this party.G major is one of those chords that you’re going to see a lot of in your guitar playing career. As usual, we’ll start with the open G.
This chord will take some practice, but once you have it you’ll be a powerhouse! Place your middle finger on the fifth string (A) at the second fret. Press your ring finger on the fifth string (E) at the third fret. Lastly, and this is the stretch, put your pinky all the way over on the first string (e) at the third fret. I know, it feels a little un-natural, but you'll get used to it. You know the drill, when you're learning how to play guitar chords, it’s practice, practice, practice, blah, blah, blah. It really works, though!
G can also be played barred at the third fret. Your index finger bars all six strings, and your middle finger goes on the third string (G) at the fourth fret. At the fifth fret, press the A and D strings (5 and 4) with your ring and pinky fingers. That's it.
The last G major chord we’ll cover is way up on the neck at the tenth fret, where you bar all six strings with your index finger. With your ring finger, bar the B, G and D strings (2, 3, and 4) at the twelfth fret.OK, admittedly, it’ll be rare that you use this chord, but you never know when it will come in handy.
I guess the point is that all the way up the neck, there are easy patterns to follow for these common chords. Once you understand them, your playing starts getting more natural and it becomes easier to figure out what chords are being played in a song. Again, it’s all about how to play guitar chords the easiest way possible.
Gm – G Minor
As far as an open position Gm chord, it’s pretty much the same as the barred Gm chord that follows, you just don’t play the sixth and fifth strings (E and A). It’s actually easier to play the bar chord! So let's just do that...
The barred Gm chord is easier to play than the G major chord. Just form the barred G chord at the third fret and then lift your middle finger off the G string. Ok, index finger barring all six strings on the third fret, with your ring finger pressing the fifth string (A) and your pinky finger on the fourth string (D), both at the fifth fret. That's it – simple!
You can also do the Gm up there at the tenth fret, but come on, do you really want to? Ok, ok, I’ll walk you through it.So bar the six strings at the tenth fret (index finger again). Place your middle finger on the second string (B) at the eleventh fret. Your ring and pinky fingers go on the D and G strings (fourth and third) at the twelfth fret.
Whew! That’s it. That’s the major and minor chords that you're going to run into playing rock guitar. Like I said before, there’s thousands of possible chords out there when you're learning how to play guitar chords. I mean, think about it. We've only covered the standard tuning of your guitar strings (E A D G B e).
A lot of artists use alternative tuning when they write. For example, you have the Drop D tuning where you take the low E (sixth string) and tune it down a full step to a D note. This completely changes many of the chords you just learned.
OK, I’ll stop. It can make your head spin! Let’s just focus on learning how to play guitar chords with these "normal" chords. We can get all crazy later, once you’re a bonefied guitar hero!
To start over at the beginning o
F major in the open position starts with your index finger barring the first and second strings (e and B) on the first fret. On the third string (G), place your middle finger at the second fret. Press your ring finger on the fourth string (D), third fret. Strum from the open A string (fifth string) all the way through.
Barre all six strings with... wait for it... wait for it... That’s right, your index finger. Your middle finger goes on the third string (G) at the second fret, and your ring and pinky fingers are pressed on the fifth and fourth (A and D).
One more F major chord. Move up to the eighth fret and bar the first through fifth strings (e through A) with your index finger. With your ring finger, bar the second, third and fourth strings (B, G and D).
F minor in the first barred position is again at the first fret. Barre all six strings with your index finger. Your ring and pinky fingers go on the fifth and fourth strings (A and D) at the third fret.
In the last barred position we’re doing for Fm, move your index finger up to the eighth fret and bar strings one through five (e through A). Press your middle finger on the second string (B) at the ninth fret. Press your ring and pinky fingers on the fourth and third strings (D and G) at the tenth fret.
Open E major starts with finger positions on the third, fourth and fifth strings. The low E string (number 6) will be played open. Place your index finger on string number 3 (G) at the first fret. Press strings five and four (A and D) at the second fret with your middle and ring fingers, respectively.
The next most used E chord is barred at the seventh fret. The fingering is just like the barred D chord. The difference is that instead of muffling the first string (low E), play it loud and proud. So barre strings one through five with your index finger on the seventh fret, and bar strings two, three and four (B, G and D) with your ring finger.
You can also mix it up and play an E major barred at the second fret. Bar the first through fifth strings (e through A). Using your ring finger, press the third string (G) at the fourth fret. Press your pinky down on the second string (B) at the fifth fret. Strum all six strings, since the first string is an open E.
Em in the open position is super simple. Just set up for an E major and then lift your index finger off the third string (G). All you’ll have left is your middle and ring fingers on strings five and four (A and D). Done!
In the barred position at the seventh fret, the Em will be the same fingering as the Dm. Again, barre the first through fifth strings, leaving low E (6th string) open. Your middle finger will press down on the second string (B) at the eighth fret. Your ring and pinky fingers will both be at the ninth fret on the fourth and third strings (D and G).
The D string (fourth) will be played open. On the third string (G), press your index finger at the second fret. Your middle finger goes on the first string (e) at the second fret. On the second string (B), press your ring finger at the third fret. Give it a strum.
D major as a barre chord is just like the barred C major, just up the neck a full step (two frets) to the fifth fret. Barre strings one through five with your index finger, then bar the B, G and D strings (2, 3 and 4) with your ring finger at the seventh fret.
If you really want to get crazy with guitar chords to learn, you can also play D up the neck and barred at the tenth fret. Of course, use your index finger for the barre, all six strings. Your middle finger is pressed on string 3 (G) on the eleventh fret. On the twelfth fret, press your ring finger on the fifth string (A) and your pinky finger on the fourth string (D).
Dm in the open position is formed by pressing your index finger at the first fret on the first string (high e). Your middle finger goes on string 3 (G) at the second fret. Lastly, your ring finger gets pressed on the second string (B) at the third fret. Like D major, when you strum the chord, play the fourth string open (D). There you have it.
The barred Dm chord is again at the fifth fret. Strings 1 through 5 are barred with the index finger and your middle finger presses at fret 6 on the second string (B). Meanwhile, your ring and pinky fingers press the fourth and third strings (D and G) at the seventh fret. Are you getting the hang of this? Excellent!
You can play the Dm chord two different ways at the tenth fret. The first is a super easy version of the Dm guitar chords to learn. Just barre the first three strings (G, B and e). Play the chord with the fourth string (D) open. That’s it!
Lastly, the Dm in the barred position at the tenth fret. Just press your index across all six strings. On the twelfth fret, press your ring finger on the fifth string (A) and your pinky finger on the fourth string (D).
Start with your index finger and press down on the B string (second) at the first fret. Your middle finger goes on the D string at the second fret. Finally, on the A string (fifth), press your ring finger at the third fret. That’s the C major.
Moving up the neck to the next C, this bar chord is exactly like the B major chord. The only difference is you move your fingers up one half step, or one fret. So, you’re barring the third fret with your index finger across the first through fifth strings (A through e), and barring the second, third and fourth strings (B, G and D) with your ring finger at the fifth fret.
OK, you’re going to bar all six strings at the eighth fret with your index finger. Press your middle finger on the third string (G string) at the ninth fret. Press your ring finger on the fifth string (A string) and pinky on the fourth string (D string), both at the tenth fret. 
So, the index finger goes all the way across strings 1 through 5 at the third fret. Muffle the low E (first string) with your thumb. Press your middle finger to the second string (B) at the third fret. Your ring finger goes on the fourth string (D) and pinky on the third string (G), both at the fourth fret.
Barre all six strings with your index finger at the eighth fret. The ring and pinky fingers will be on the tenth fret on strings 5 and 4 (A and D).
You’re starting the B chord on the second fret by barring strings 1 through 5 (A through e) with your index finger. This is because you won’t strum the low E when playing this chord. As you get comfortable with the fingering, you can muffle low E with your thumb, but it’s not a big deal right now.
You can also do a B chord at the seventh fret. Move your fingers up the neck towards the guitar body to the seventh fret. Bar all six strings at the seventh fret with your index finger. Press your middle finger on the third string (G string) at the eighth fret. Press your ring finger on the fifth string (A string) and pinky on the fourth string (D string), both at the ninth fret.
For B minor, you use the fingering from Am with a little twist – that’s right just add the bar. So, the index finger goes all the way across strings 1 through 5. Press your middle finger to the second string (B) at the third fret. Your ring finger goes on the fourth string (D) and pinky on the third string (G), both at the fourth fret.
Same goes for the Bm at the seventh fret. Just like Am at the fifth fret. Do you remember what to do for the Am chord? That's right, bar all six strings with your index finger, but move up to the seventh fret. The ring and pinky fingers will be on the ninth fret on strings 5 and 4 (A and D).
The easiest is just to "barre" the fourth (D), third (G) and second (B) strings at the second fret with your index (first) finger. This gives you a combination of the notes E, A and C# (C "sharp").
Another way to play an open A chord is to start with your first finger on the G string/second fret, your second (middle) finger on the D string/second fret and your third finger (ring) on the B string/second fret.
Back to A major. Place your index finger across all six strings at the fifth fret. Next, put your middle finger on the G string (third) at the sixth fret. Now you’re going to press your ring finger on the fifth string (A)and your pinky on the fourth string (D), both at the seventh fret.
This time we’re going to do another barre chord but at the seventh fret, so press your index finger across all six strings there. Press your ring finger on the third string (G) at the ninth fret, and your pinky on the second string (B) at the tenth fret. 
First off in the open position at the end of the neck, lets press your index finger on the B string (second) at the first fret. Add your middle finger on the D string (fourth) and your ring finger on the G string (third), both at the second fret.
For the barred version of Am, this is even easier than A. Start off with the A chord at the fifth fret up the neck, and pull your middle finger off the string. There you have it – A minor.
