C Major Chord

The C major chord is a little bit tougher to finger and while involve a little bit of stretching. Begin by placing your third finger on the 3^rd fret of the A string (5^th string). This is the root note, C. Then, place your second finger on the 2^nd fret of the D string (4^th string). This note is the third, E. Finally, place your first finger on the 1^st fret of the B string (2^nd string). This note is also a C. The fifth note is G, which will be played by leaving the G string open when you strum the chord. Now, strum only the bottom five strings. You can mute the low E string by touching it with the tip of your third finger, which is fretting the string below. When played correctly, an open C major chord will sound like this:

C Minor Chord

The C minor chord will be difficult to finger when you first start playing. Have patience with it, and try to get some of the easier chords down before you attempt this one. Begin by placing your third finger or pinky (whichever feels more comfortable) on the 3^rd fret of the A string (root note C). Next, place your first finger on the 1^st fret of the D string. This is the flattened third, D#. Finally, place your second finger on the 1^st fret of the B string. Leave the G string open. It may be hard at first to not mute the open G string, caused by difficult fingering around it. Concentrate on this as you practice, and it will eventually become second nature. Also, make sure you do not strum the high E string or the low E string as you play. An open C minor chord will sound like this:

Since the open C minor chord shape involves a very awkward fingering, it can be played easier using a minor barre chord shape, which we will touch upon in the barre chords lesson. But for now, let’s move onto the open G chord.

G Major Chord

The G major chord can be played two different ways. Let’s begin with the easier way first. Start by placing your second finger on the root note G, the 3^rd fret of the low E string. Next, put your first finger on the 2^nd fret of the A string to add the third, B. Finally, put your third finger on the 3^rd fret of the high E string. This is also a G note. You can strum all six strings in the G chord. The open D string acts as the fifth note, and the other open strings are just repeating the notes you have already fretted. An open G major chord will sound like this:

You can also play a G major chord is the shape of a “true G”. Keep the same finger shape, but move your third finger up to the 3^rd fret of the B string, and put your pinky on the 3^rd fret of the high E string where your third finger previously was. It is ideal to play a chord with a minimal amount of open strings. Therefore, this chord shape will be best after you have mastered the first open G chord position.

The G Minor chord cannot be played properly from the open position, and so is played best from a barre chord position. As previously stated, we will go into barre chords in the next lesson. So let’s finish up our open chord lesson with the most difficult open chord to play, the open F chord.